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People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
Movies & tvJUL 6, 2021

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones

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You grab your giant tub of delicious crispy popcorn (salted, not sweet, of course) and with a wide smile on your face, you take a seat in one of the red velvet cinema chairs. It’s been ages since you’ve seen a movie at the cinema and you’re practically vibrating with happiness!
The previews are always awesome, but then the movie starts and… oh, sweet Jesus no! It’s--it’s terrible. Yuck. You should’ve seen it coming—there were plenty of signs after all. And now you feel like you’ve wasted your money and time. Oh well, at least you’ve still got your popcorn, right?
You’re not alone if you’ve started mentally collecting all the telltale signs that a film’s going to be a waste of your time. The folks over on r/AskReddit have shared their own red flags that a movie is bound to be awful and we invite you to scroll down and have a read. Got any other signs that they missed but you’d love to share? That’s what the comment section is for, dear Pandas! Meanwhile, let’s check out these horror movie signs and pick out the most accurate ones.
I had a lovely and in-depth chat about the line between good and bad movies with redditor Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d who is an aspiring filmmaker and who created the viral thread in the first place. They told Bored Panda that everyone's responses helped them get a sense of where quality does and doesn't lie.
"I wanted to create this thread because I want to make movies myself, and I thought that if I could get some of Reddit's opinions on what makes a bad movie, then I could get a better sense as to what makes a good one. I had wanted to get at least a little bit of attention so I can get some answers to what makes a bad movie, but I didn't expect this much attention," they shared. You'll find our full interview with the original poster below, so be sure to read on.

#1

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When they need to save the world, but it's just America....
258points

#2

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When you've basically seen the entire plot of the movie and all main scenes in the trailer.
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246points

#3

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
It has anything to do with Steven Seagal.
243points

The thread, started up by redditor Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d, quickly grew in popularity. At the time of writing, it had gotten over 49.2k upvotes in the span of a single day. What’s more, it got a whopping 21.7k comments. And that proves that redditors really do care about what they watch. (And, let’s be honest… who doesn’t like complaining about the movie industry from time to time?) Keep in mind though, even awful movies can have some merit. We’ve all been there—a movie we’re watching is so mind-numbingly bad that at some point it starts to be good.

In redditor Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d's opinion, the dialogue and all of the various movie effects help determine whether the project will be a success or not. "I'm not exactly a movie critic, but I will say that the line between a good and a bad movie depends on dialogue, whether or not the lines that characters say to each other makes sense or contributes something to the film, whether or not the CGI or maybe the VFX looks good or not because that really makes an impact on a movies likeability, at least for me," they said.

"And of course if it has a good back story, if it's really going to catch your attention, that also plays a part in a movies likeability," they added.

#4

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
The preview shows a girl who’s Just Too Focused On Career to find love going back to her small hometown for whatever reason.
236points

#5

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When the main actors name is bigger than the title on the poster.
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222points

#6

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
If the whole synopsis is a terrible idea, like making a movie about emojis
190points

I was curious to get the redditor's take on whether we all instinctively know whether a movie is going to be a waste of our time or not. In their mind, it all depends on the audience in question. "I personally like action movies, but I also like a little bit of romance, so if I was going to watch a movie about the history of a company, for example, I would think that it would be a waste of time. Whereas some people might think the exact opposite."

As for why filmmakers tend to make the same mistakes over and over (and over) again boils down to their lack of taste which they may not have fully developed yet. "The people making the movie either don't know what makes a good movie, or they think that a bad movie is a good one. Now again, I'm not saying that I'm a movie critic and I know everything there is to know about film, but I, and most people I think, know a bad film when they see one, and maybe some people don't. And in my opinion, for the situation to be able to change, the people making the movie should be informed as to what makes a good film rather than what makes a bad film," they shared.

#7

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When it’s a Disney remake. Solid.
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186points

#8

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
If there are multiple trailers for a comedy movie, but they use the same joke in all of them.
185points

#9

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
If the character points out something that is blatantly obvious. IN A WORLD, WHERE ONE MAN, HAS TO SAVE THE WORLD. Man: ‘I have to save the world.’
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166points

Something very interesting that redditor Thats_What_Sh3_Sa1d pointed out to me was movie directors may not be at fault for making bad films. "A film can be bad just because it's bad," they told Bored Panda, pointing to 2017's 'Justice League' as an example.

"Justice League 2017 was not the best movie out there. It was so bad in fact, that they had to re-make it. And the remake was a lot better than the original because it had different directors/ However, just because it was better, doesn't mean that everybody liked it. I'm sure there were people who didn't like the better remake for whatever reason. And that's what I mean when I say a film can be good or bad despite the director," they shared that there's far more nuance involved than we expect. And reality is far from black and white, just like the view on the silver screen.

#10

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
Blatantly bad re-casting to the point where you wonder if it would have been better to just drop the character (Mummy 3)
153points

#11

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
Critics did not receive an advance screening in order to write a review. It means the studio is hoping to at least recover an opening weekend of ticket sales before word gets out.
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145points

#12

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
If Adam Sandler is in it.
137points

Whether the creators of the movie were self-aware or you learn to find the humor in the bad taste, either way, you inexplicably start enjoying yourself. It doesn’t happen with every gosh darn bad movie, but when it does, it’s magical. It’s a cult hit. It’s something you recommend to your friends.

The secret to bad movies being good, according to Uku Tooming in ‘The Puzzle of Good Bad Movies’ published in the Journal of Aesthetic Education, is that they give filmmakers a chance to experiment with the artistic possibilities of the project more than if the film were more mainstream. In other words, good bad filmmaking is intrinsically linked to the freedom of artistic expression.

So while many (probably most) bad films will remain truly amazingly awful because of how unadventurous and downright boring they are (who likes blatant exposition? Nobody!), a small handful might become cult classics because they dared go where others didn’t.

#13

Reviews state that it's "Scariest"/"Funniest" movie of the year. It rarely is
136points

#14

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When I can tell how it's going to end by just watching the trailer.
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134points

#15

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
When the advertising is "[Famous movie] meets [Famous movie]"...
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134points

#16

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
The female lead gets naked in the first 10-15 minutes.
You know they were already running on fumes for plot, so out come the ta-tas.
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133points

#17

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
An exposition in which one character explains everything that's going on to another character that should already know what is going on.
130points

#18

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
It stars Amy Schumer.
126points

#19

People Are Sharing All The Signs That A Movie Is Going To Be Terrible, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Accurate Ones
A comedian who hasn't been funny in ten years stars in it and plays multiple roles. (Looking at you Sandler, Murphy, and Myers)
120points

#20

If it starts with a sex scene.
117points
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