Last week I saw a press screening of One Missed Call. And by press screening, I mean a screening at 10:00pm pt the day before the film was released nationally. I’m not entirely sure why studios offer such last minute screenings, as most publications have a deadline earlier in the week. I think they basically hold these type of screenings as a way to say “see, we screened it for you, you just didn’t come.” Because not many press show up at these last minute showings, and they know that will be the case. That’s probably why they dump the worst of the worst movies on Thursday nights, hoping that no press will actually show up.
One Missed Call was worse than I ever imagined it could be. Even the audiencing was laughing throughout at moments that were intended to be scary, but instead came off as stupid or over-the-top. I told my local publicist while exiting the theater that it was “The Worst movie of the year,” adding “but it’s only been three days.” But truth is, I racked my brain, trying to think of the last movie I had seen which may have been worse. Last year’s Joel Schumacher thriller The Number 23 starring Jim Carrey quickly entered my mind, but even that was more enjoyable. So I brought my quest to the one website that makes movie reviews their business - Rotten Tomatoes.
It came to no surprise that One Missed Call is officially “The Worst Reviewed Film of the year (So Far)” according to the numbers laid out. The film is currently getting a dismal 0% tomatoemeter rating with 48 reviews. But truth is, only six other films in history have gotten over 40 reviews and currently hold strong (or should it be weak?) at a 0% positive critic rating:
- Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
- Roberto Benigni’s Pinocchio
- King’s Ransom
- Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2
- National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers
- Crossover
The last of which is a teen streetball craptackular called Crossover, which was released in September of 2006. So the answer is:
One Missed Call is the Worst Reviewed Movie of the last 16 Months.
Trivia: Daddy Day Camp might have earned the highly coveted 0% tomatoemeter rating if it wasn’t for Fred Topel, a movie critic who wrote that the “story actually provides a strong moral center about fathers and sons communicating.”
Thanks to the Rotten Tomatoes team of Jen Yamato, Alex Vo, and Tim Ryan for their help with this report.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
It’s bound to be bad
January 9th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
poor Ed Burns, he deserves better then this crap.
January 9th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Could you post the other 6 movies that were at 0% and over 40 reviews? You’ve gotten me curious
January 9th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Nantook: I have updated the story with that information. I had meant to include it, thanks for the reminder.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I’m suprised that there weren’t more National Lampoon movies in the craptacular bin.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
That trivia about Daddy Day Camp is priceless. Just absolutely hilarious.
There are so many horrible movies, but when you flip through the ads in the NY Times Arts & Leisure all you see is positive taglines from random reviews from a radio station in Houston or wherever. I always laugh and try to think about who those critics might be.
This was a great article. Thanks.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
When the call goes straight to voicemail, your world goes straight…to hell!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
One Missed Call made me jump ….. I liked it ….. the cell phone creeped me out and that ring tone ….. I don’t think it should have ended they way it did.
Its not like 28 days but it wasn’t that bad …. more like for TV movie but I would buy it.