The finite nature of greatness means audiences have many more movies to avoid at all costs than those film fans absolutely have to see.

Films to avoid at all costs include comedies bereft of comedy, dramas with cringe-worthy acting, thrillers that put viewers to sleep, and movies too disturbing for any well-balanced human to stomach without suffering PTSD.

Whether the selections come from firsthand experience, critical consensus, or popular opinion, films from each of these categories made this list.

1. Epic Movie (2007)

Few film franchises have fallen off a steeper cliff than the Scary Movie saga. While Scary Movie 3 signaled to sentient fans that the franchise had lots its way, a series of increasingly absurd spin-offs left no doubt that the once-polarizing spoof films had become objectively sophomoric.

Epic Movie presently ranks as the worst-rated of the Scary Movie spin-offs. These movies lean into the sort of “physical comedy,” innuendos, and “gags” that make the characters in Idiocracy look like high-brow comedy connoisseurs. Superhero Movie, Scary Movie 5, and Date Movie deserve mention among the worst films ever released to the public.

2. Son of the Mask (2005)

Anyone who ignores the warnings of thousands of critics and decide to give Son of the Mask a shot will quickly say, “Son of a bleep, this was a horrible mistake.” Original films that fall on their faces are one thing. A special realm of Hades is reserved for those who mock a respected film or franchise.

Son of the Mask replaced Jim Carrey with Jamie Kennedy—an initial step towards certain failure. A bizarre melding of ancient mythology, talking infants, and cheap-looking CGI made many viewers wonder how this abomination relates to the original. This movie’s creators had no clue who its audience was, but whoever it is, stay far, far away from them.

3. Batman & Robin (1997)

While late 80s and 90s kids might feel nostalgic for Joel Schumacher’s 1997 stab at making a Batman movie, a 3.8 IMDb rating doesn’t lie. Kids don’t know any better, but they can enjoy movies as comically unserious as this one. From sets that make Tim Burton’s look like authentic period pieces to a plot that a second grader might call lazy, viewers will find plenty to pan about this dark chapter in Gotham’s storied history.

It seems as if writer Akiva Goldsman to see how many cliche one-liners he could pack the script. When Uma Thurman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and George Clooney can’t even coerce even lukewarm critical reviews, everyone should know a film is bad.

4. Cats (2019)

Those who missed Cats‘ epic box-office faceplant in 2019 might see this movie on streaming and think, “Hey, I remember that Broadway musical. This might be the film for me!” One might even recognize director Tom Hooper (from projects like John Adams and The King’s Speech) and assume this movie is worth a watch.

Not since the advent of euthanasia and de-clawing has anyone committed a crime against felines quite like Cats. Despite a cast including Idris Elba and Judi Dench, fans and critics immediately became dog people upon watching this film. From the off-putting appearance of the cats to a bizarre, Moulin Rouge!-like aesthetic and a nonexistent plotline, there’s nothing fancy about this feast.

5. Rollerball (2002)

Rollerball had everything going for it, at least on paper. A remake of the 1975 James Caan thriller, the 2002 reboot of Rollerball centered on a life-and-death sport that could have taken a Gladiator-like path into a classic action flick.

Instead, Rollerball succumbed to the action-without-substance cliche in the extreme. Chris Klein, LL Cool J, and Rebecca Romijn do not have nearly the acting chops to carry a film that lacks any cohesive plot.

Furthermore, rather than building up to a crescendo of compelling action sequences, the movie elects for a constant cacophony of action that leaves you numb and disinterested. It won’t take long for open-minded filmgoers to turn this one off and pop in the original instead.

6. Who’s Your Caddy? (2007)

Movies like Soul Plane opened a Pandora’s box, leading Hollywood executives to ask: “What if we put 22-inch rims on golf carts rather than airplanes?”

The answer is Who’s Your Caddy?, a movie that makes the absolute least of otherwise talented comedic actors like Jeffrey Jones and Terry Crews. Anyone looking for a film that explains in detail how not to get admitted to a country club, look no further. Search elsewhere for a comedy that delivers laughs rather than cliched race-based stereotypes (and not the witty Mel Brooks type).

7. Catwoman (2004)

Audiences were predictably excited to watch Halle Berry in a catsuit for a couple of hours. Director Pitof (yes, the one-named Pitof) would have had to beef up badly to destroy the goodwill audiences tend to extend to Halle Berry. Well, Pitof beefed up badly.

Critics noted that they felt scratched across the face by endless, heavy-handed cat-centric cliches. The acting, writing, and plot were similarly shlocky. Halle Berry, for her many strengths, is not the level of actress who can thrive with her paws tied behind her back. Those looking for a more serious, authentically catty portrayal of Catwoman should refer to Zoe Kravitz’s portrayal in 2022’s The Batman.

8. Point Break (2015)

The remake of the revered Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze-led Kathryn Bigelow heist thriller Point Break offends on several levels. Some films simply don’t benefit from a remake, and Point Break falls into that category. 1991 wasn’t that long ago, and the original held up well enough to make a remake redundant.

If studio executives were bent on completing the cash grab, though, they could have put some effort into it. A few exciting wingsuit scenes are insufficient to compensate for eye-roll-inducing dialogue, a paper-thin plot, and a total absence of fun.

9. The Emoji Movie (2017)

Hollywood has proven its ceaseless dedication to milking dollars from every conceivable fad, from Angry Birds to eggplant emojis. Unfortunately, audiences’ willingness to pay for movies that should never have been movies ensures this trend continues.

Shameless fad monetization results in catastrophes like The Emoji Movie, which lacks any semblance of cohesive thought, cleverness, or heartwarming vibes. This is no Wreck-It Ralph or Toy Story. The film grossed more than $217 million worldwide, so look out for similar projects like the NFT Movie and Fidget Spinner Film at some point in the grim future.

10. Daddy Day Camp (2007)

Eddie Murphy’s Daddy Day Care became a surprise box office success, grossing over $164 million worldwide on a modest budget of $60 million. Like any financially successful project in Hollywood, executives inevitably tarnished Daddy Day Care‘s legacy with a straight-to-DVD-level follow-up that was inferior to the original in every way.

Lazily repurposing the original plot and replacing Eddie Murphy with a washed-up Cuba Gooding, Jr. led to one of the most critically hated “comedies” ever made. The film’s decision-makers couldn’t even be bothered to create a new lead character. They just swapped Eddie for Cuba, kept the same name, and thought audiences wouldn’t notice. They noticed.

11. Police Academy: Mission to Moscow (1994)

The comedic pantheon has no shortage of police-themed spoofs, with Leslie Nielsen’s many creations ranking among the best. Then there is Police Academy: Mission to Moscow, which, well, stinks.

Fans loved the Police Academy films, but Moscow proved a bridge too far. It is difficult to sustain any film franchise through six installments, and the Police Academy movies performed worse and worse as the anthology stretched on. By the time Mission to Moscow reached the public, fans of the original films had tuned out, and they avoided a film disaster of nuclear proportions.

12. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997)

The history of game-to-movie adaptations includes many movies that are the equivalent of The Red Ring of Death. Atrocities like Street Fighter and Double Dragon paved the way for Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, which had the daunting task of doing justice to a classic multi-player fighting franchise.

Perhaps executives believed that diehard Mortal Kombat fans would turn up no matter the quality. Halloween store-level costumes, unconvincing combat sequences (perhaps the film’s mortal sin), and a grandiose but juvenile plot about saving the earth from inter-dimensional invaders made for one bad movie.

13. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011)

Adam Sandler’s orbit of comedians have all produced mindless comedy films, and most fans expect a bad movie from David Spade or Rob Schneider every few years. It takes a special level of bad, then, to garner the sort of hatred that Nick Swardson’s Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star has attracted.

Fans of Sandler-type comedies can tolerate kindergarten humor. What they won’t tolerate, though, is a purported comedy that doesn’t even prompt the most willing audience member to chuckle. Comedy lovers, therefore, should avoid Bucky Larson at all costs, particularly for those looking to laugh in the next couple of hours.

14. Liger (2022)

Most of us realize why Mike Tyson has not embarked on an acting career. Except when plays an autobiographical role, Tyson is one of those guys viewers can’t forget is Mike Tyson. Acting isn’t in the cards for those people with a larger-than-life persona.

That fact didn’t stop Liger director Puri Jagannadh from casting Tyson as an MMA fighter and mentor. While it’s one of the more believable roles Tyson could occupy, the movie feels like a face-punch of cliches and poor acting, making it an action movie worth avoiding like an incoming roundhouse kick.