William Shatner Falls Far From His Star Trek Highs In His Worst-Rated Movie On IMDb

William Shatner's screen acting career has spanned decades, having begun in 1951 with an appearance in a whodunnit called "The Butler's Night Off." He was also famously a member of the Greek chorus in a rather striking 1957 film adaptation of Sophocles' "Oedipus the King," as well as Alexei in a 1958 adaptation of "The Brothers Karamozov." Having already appeared in multiple hit shows, including "The Twilight Zone" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.," Shatner exploded in fame after starring in "Star Trek." Gene Roddenberry's space opera wasn't a huge hit when it first aired, but it entered eternal syndication shortly after its cancellation, ensuring that it would remain in reruns for many, many years. Thus, "Star Trek" had become a cult hit by the early '70s, and Shatner became a permanent fixture in the pop consciousness.

Of course, his "Star Trek" fame was a two-edged sword. People knew who Shatner was, but he wasn't able to find the best work as a result. Shatner had a few plum roles over the years — he hosted all seven seasons of "Rescue 911" — but didn't start getting awards attention until he secured guest spots in "The Practice," playing the brash Denny Crane. Shatner won his first Emmy for "The Practice," and then won another, reprising his "Practice" role on the spin-off series "Boston Legal."

After that, jobs became catch-as-catch-can for Shanter, who celebrated his 94th birthday in March 2025. Case in point: In 2019 alone, Shatner appeared in a little-known straight-to-home-media sci-fi movie titled "Creators: The Past," an animated actioner titled "To your Last Death," and, weirdest of all, a horror film called "Devil's Revenge." Shatner also co-wrote "Revenge," and it happens to be his worst-rated film on the Internet Movie Database. Based on 459 reviews, it has a rating of 2.7 out of 10.

"Devil's Revenge" was written by Shatner and Maurice Hurley, who once served as the showrunner and head writer of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" during its first few seasons. Hurley and Shatner never really interacted at that time (Shatner wasn't creatively involved with "The Next Generation"), but they likely began interacting when Hurley pitched an idea for the 1994 film "Star Trek Generations," a film that Shatner did star in. Infamously, Hurley also butted heads with actor Gates McFadden (who played Dr. Crusher) and fired her for the second season of "The Next Generation." That might be his true legacy.

Hurley and Shatner eventually wound up working together on the 2002 film "Groom Lake," a low-budget sci-fi thriller that Shatner also directed and starred in opposite Amy Acker. Hurley and Shatner then reunited to make "Devil's Revenge" 17 years later. This time, helming duties were passed to Jared Cohn, the director of The Asylum's "Atlantic Rim" and other low-budget, straight-to-home-media movies like "Bikini Spring Break," "Little Dead Rotting Hood," and "Halloween P*ssy Trap! Kill! Kill!"

Shatner and Hurley came up with a marvelously trashy notion. "Devil's Revenge" is about John (Jason Brooks), an archaeologist who, upon finding a lost relic in Kentucky, begins having demonic visions. It seems that the relic was located in a cave that was a literal opening into Hell and had the stink of evil all over it. John then gathers up his family and returns to the cave, hoping to use their familial energy to destroy the relic and seal the hellmouth. Shatner plays John's militant, weapons-toting father, Hayes. In another link to "Star Trek," "Devil's Revenge" also co-stars Jeri Ryan, the actor who played Seven of Nine on "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Star Trek: Picard." (She portrays John's wife, Susan.)

"Devil's Revenge" doesn't sound like a very good film, and users on IMDb were harsh. The bulk of reviews bear a one-star rating, with many people saying that the film isn't scary in the least. The characterization was also slammed, as was Shatner and Hurley's script. It seems that certain characters drop in and out of the movie without notice. Some of the IMDb reviews were from Trekkies eager to see Shatner and Ryan acting opposite one another, but apart from a distant twinge of sci-fi novelty, there is not much else to be found.

Curiously, "Devil's Revenge" was high-profile enough to warrant a full-on review in The Guardian written by Phil Hoad. In England, the film was released as "The Tomb: Devil's Revenge." Hoad also gave the movie one star (out of five), writing, "No opportunity for crass emotional manipulation, deadweight exposition, or cornball reversals is left undisturbed." He also mocked Shatner's ultra-macho character, finding him wholly unconvincing.

Even more curiously, "Devil's Revenge" was also reviewed by critic Bobby LePire for Film Threat, and it somehow racked up a 9 out of 10. LePire felt that "Devil's Revenge" accurately depicted certain forms of mental illness and the abusive family dynamics that exacerbate them. He was clearly familiar with Cohn's work and with B-movies in general and could recognize that this one, compared to its zero-budget peers, stood out. Perhaps it's as good as "Atlantic Rim?"

"Devil's Revenge" can be streamed on the Roku Channel. As of this writing, it's the last film Shatner has written, although the 94-year-old has remained active and could very well pen another thriller any day now.