15 Worst Movies Of The '90s, Ranked

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The 1990s were a golden era for cinema, and many of the great '90s movies still hold up today. The independent film movement carried the torch of the '70s New Hollywood, while major studios churned out big budget entertainment for the masses. There was truly something for everyone in the '90s, and one can look back on the decade as a time when we didn't know how good we had it. But that's not to say that every movie released in that 10-year period was a classic. As is the case with every filmmaking era, the '90s contained its fair amount of stinkers.

Here are the 15 worst movies of the '90s, ranked in ascending order of badness. You won't find "Armageddon," "Showgirls," "Indecent Proposal," or any other Razzie-worthy title that has since been re-evaluated. This ranking is reserved for the worst of the worst, movies so bad no sane person would argue they're actually secretly good. These are movies with so little artistic worth that their only value is laughing at them, not with them. Movies that couldn't crack double digits on Rotten Tomatoes if their lives depended on it. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the worst movies of the 1990s.

As Omni Corp continues its plans to replace Detroit with Delta City, residents of the crumbling metropolis put up a fight to stay in their homes. The evil corporate overlords employ a heavily-armed militia to force the residents out through violence and intimidation. While an underground resistance forms, the people look to RoboCop, the half-human half-robot hybrid created by Omni Corp from the bullet-riddled body of Officer Alex Murphy (Robert Burke), for help.

If the first "RoboCop" (1987) is a classic and "RoboCop 2" (1990) is a significant step-down, "RoboCop 3" (1993) is an outright abomination. Truly no one wanted to be apart of this after-thought of a sequel, with Burke replacing Peter Weller in the RoboCop suit. Even the 2014 reboot, which feels like an insult to the original, was greeted with a better critical response than this one, which waters down the R-rated bloodshed and neuters the satire in pursuit of an adolescent audience.

Cast: Robert Burke, Nancy Allen, Jill Hennessy, Remy Ryan, John Castle, Rip Torn

Director: Fred Dekker

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 104 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

While stuck in traffic, working mother Karen McCann (Sally Field) is chatting with her teenage daughter (Olivia Burnette) on the phone when she overhears a violent intruder rape and murder her. When the perpetrator (Kiefer Sutherland) is let off on a legal technicality, Karen's anger intensifies, even as her husband (Ed Harris) tries to move on. Karen decides to take matters into her own hands, taking self-defense classes and learning how to shoot a gun in the hope of enacting revenge.

Director John Schlesinger was one of the bright lights of the New Hollywood, winning an Oscar for "Midnight Cowboy" (1969) and helming such classics as "Darling" (1965), "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" (1971), and "Marathon Man" (1976). So it's disheartening that he spent most of the '90s directing junk like "Eye for an Eye" (1996). What could be a somber study in grief and the limits of vigilante justice comes across instead as crass and insensitive, despite the best efforts of a wasted cast.

Cast: Sally Field, Kiefer Sutherland, Ed Harris, Beverly D'Angelo, Joe Mantegna

Director: John Schlesinger

Rating: R

Runtime: 101 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Having retired to Palm Beach, former wrestler Sean Armstrong (Hulk Hogan) is in need of a new job. His large stature makes him a perfect bodyguard for tech entrepreneur Alex Mason Sr. (Austin Pendleton), but what his boss really wants is for Sean to take care of his two rambunctious children (Robert Hy Gorman and Madeline Zima). Despite their bad behavior, Sean takes a liking to the kids, and when they're kidnapped by a criminal mastermind (David Johansen) trying to get his hands on one of Mason's computer chips, he goes into rescue mode.

Among the most successful wrester-turned-actors, Hulk Hogan starred in a lot of films throughout his career. While few of them could actually be called good, 1993's "Mr. Nanny" ranks among the worst movies Hulk Hogan ever made. It's a stunningly unfunny family comedy that sought to capitalize on the success of "Home Alone" (1990) by blending slapstick violence with wholesome laughs, and lands with a resounding thud. 

Cast: Hulk Hogan, Sherman Hemsley, Austin Pendleton, Raymond O'Connor, Mother Love, David Johansen

Director: Michael Gottlieb

Rating: PG

Runtime: 84 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Plex, Roku, Tubi, Apple TV

Photographer Elliot Slater (Paul Mercurio) travels to an island resort called Eden, where he can indulge in various kink fantasies with the head dominatrix (Dana Delaney). Unbeknownst to Elliot, he's snapped a photo of a notorious jewel thief (Stuart Wilson), who follows him to the island with his criminal partner (Iman) to recover the evidence. Hot on the thief's trail are a pair of undercover detectives (Dan Aykroyd and Rosie O'Donnell), who are befuddled by the sexual antics taking place.

Considering how successfully he transformed smutty material into fairy tale romance with "Pretty Woman" (1990), you'd think Garry Marshall could work his magic on Anne Rice's submission romance novel. Yet 1994's "Exit to Eden" is a stunning miscalculation, an attempt to blend an exploration of kinky sexual predilections with a slapstick crime comedy. The results are neither sexy nor funny, and despite the many whips, chains, and blindfolds that are trotted out, it's surprisingly boring.

Cast: Dana Delaney, Paul Mercurio, Iman, Stuart Wilson, Héctor Elizondo, Rosie O'Donnell, Dan Aykroyd

Director: Garry Marshall

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 minutes

Where to watch: Buy on Amazon

Evil scientist Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery) has discovered a way to control the weather, and plans to use it as a way to rule the world. British Ministry agent John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) and meteorologist Emma Peel (Uma Thurman) are dispatched to stop him, but Peel's alleged involvement in de Wynter's plot makes her a potential suspect. While trying to stop de Wynter, Steed also tries to clear Peel's name, having fallen in love with her.

No, these aren't the Marvel "Avengers." This "Avengers" is adapted from a 1960s British television series starring a young Diana Rigg ("Game of Thrones") as Emma Peel. The '90s was a boom period for movies based on '60s TV shows, with films like "The Fugitive" (1993), "The Addams Family" (1991), and "The Brady Bunch" (1995) finding fresh takes on old material. The same cannot be said of "The Avengers" (1998), which feels shockingly sloppy for a big budget blockbuster.

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Shaw, Eddie Izzard

Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 89 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

When a portal to Earth opens, Outworld emperor Shao Kahn (Brian Thompson) jumps through with his army intent on unifying the two worlds and ruling over both. He's got just seven days to complete this task, which is more than enough time for the opposition to mount a defense. A group of brave martial artists engage Kahn's warriors in a game of Mortal Kombat to determine who will control Earth.

As is usually the case with cinematic video game adaptations, filmmakers have struggled mightily to make a good movie out of "Mortal Kombat." Paul W.S. Anderson's 1995 version isn't exactly a classic, but it's practically "Citizen Kane" compared to its 1997 sequel, "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation." While the first movie works as schlocky fun, the follow-up feels like a soulless cash grab, with shoddy visual effects and clunky action sequences barely masking an incoherent plot, alongside characters more two-dimensional than their video game counterparts. 

Cast: Robin Shou, Talisa Soto, Brian Thompson, Sandra Hess, Irina Pantaeva, James Remar

Director: John R. Leonetti

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 95 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV

Slackers Bud (Pauly Shore) and Doyle (Stephen Baldwin) get dumped by their eco-conscious girlfriends Jen (Theresa Hill) and Monique (Joey Lauren Adams) for their immature behavior. While driving back home, they make a pit stop for the restroom, and end up locked inside a bio-dome created by Dr. Noah Faulkner (William Atherton). Dr. Faulkner has sealed his team of scientists inside the dome for a year, and although initially intent on escaping, Bud and Doyle decide to use it as a way to win back their girlfriends.

One of the oddest movie star creations of the '90s was Pauly Shore, who headlined a series of braindead comedies throughout the decade. The nadir of his leading man career was "Bio-Dome" (1996), a comedy so unfunny it should be quarantined. Unlike his comedic contemporary Adam Sandler, Shore did little to imbue his man-child characters with a sense of pathos, making his antics all the more obnoxious. 

Cast: Pauly Shore, Stephen Baldwin, William Atherton, Joey Lauren Adams, Kylie Minogue

Director: Jason Bloom

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 88 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Apple TV

Weapons designer John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) quits his job when a colleague, Nathanial Burke (Judd Nelson), causes an accident that leaves another co-worker, Susan Sparks (Annabeth Gish), paralyzed. When Burke goes rogue and starts using the military-grade weapons for crime, Irons dons a steel suit to fight back. Assuming the role of superhero Steel, Irons works with Sparks to stop Burke and his thugs from taking total control.

Much like Michael Jordan, basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal tried his hand at acting while off the court. With "Steel" (1997), he became one of the first Black actors to portray a comic book superhero — it's just a shame the movie doesn't live up to its historical significance. Less a movie than it is a Sunday morning cartoon stretched out to a feature length runtime, "Steel" has little in the way of dramatic tension, and centers on a character so one-dimensional it hardly matters who's wearing the steel suit.

Cast: Shaquille O'Neal, Annabeth Gish, Richard Roundtree, Judd Nelson, Irma P. Hall, Ray J

Director: Kenneth Johnson

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 97 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Having survived the runaway bus debacle, Annie Porter (Sandra Bullock) is looking forward to a luxury cruise with her boyfriend, LAPD Officer Alex Shaw (Jason Patrick). Unfortunately for Annie, her beau has booked a trip aboard a ship that has been taken over by a disgruntled former employee (Willem Dafoe) intent on crashing it into an oil tanker. It's up to Annie and Alex to stop this madman before he can cause massive ecological damage.

It's understandable why everyone would want to make a sequel to "Speed" (1994), a critical and commercial hit that succeeded thanks in large part to the chemistry between Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. Yet "Speed 2: Cruise Control" (1997) is a sequel so bad it ended the franchise, unsuccessfully trying to swap out Reeves with Jason Patrick. Even a typically gonzo performance by Willem Dafoe pales in comparison to Dennis Hopper's villainous turn in the first film. 

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Jason Patrick, Willem Dafoe, Temuera Morrison, Glenn Plummer

Director: Jan de Bont

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 121 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

A pair of evil scientists (Kathleen Turner and Christopher Lloyd) have been experimenting on newborns to tap into a vast universal knowledge that gets lost when they start talking. Their experiments have created a horde of baby geniuses used to decipher a secret language that transcends those spoken by humans. One of the babies, Sly, manages to escape and finds his twin brother, Whit, who gets mistakenly taken back to the lab.

There are few things more unsettling to watch than babies being made to act like adults, which makes "Baby Geniuses" (1999) something of a horror movie. While "Look Who's Talking" (1989) made the wise decision to keep Bruce Willis' infant voiceover limited to interior monologue, "Baby Geniuses" uses CGI to create walking, talking tykes that come across as creepy instead of cute. About the one saving grace of this disaster is that it's slightly better than its sequel, "SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2" (2004).

Cast: Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall, Peter MacNicol, Ruby Dee

Director: Bob Clark

Rating: PG

Runtime: 97 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Roku, Apple TV

In an alternative future, science has allowed dinosaurs and humans to live alongside each other. Human police detective Katie Coltrane (Whoopi Goldberg) teams up with a talking Tyrannosaurus named Theodore Rex (George Newbern) to investigate a series of dinosaur murders. Their investigation leads them to a nefarious plot to bring about a second ice age that will wipe out the prehistoric population once and for all.

The success of "Jurassic Park" (1993) made dinosaurs cool again, leading to a string of imitators like the abysmal kids' movie "Theodore Rex" (1996). Production was notoriously fraught, with Whoopi Goldberg attempting to back out of a verbal agreement before shooting began. The Oscar-winner ultimately agreed to star in the film under threat of legal action, which added to its mounting budget. Suffice it to say, "Theodore Rex" does not rank among Whoopi Goldberg's best on-screen performances, and after numerous delays, it was dumped on home video and flopped badly.

Cast: Whoopi Goldberg, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Juliet Landau, Richard Roundtree, Bud Cort

Director: Jonathan R. Betuel

Rating: PG

Runtime: 92 minutes

Where to watch: Buy on Amazon

Los Angeles bank executive Zach Shepard (Corbin Bernsen) gets transferred to Oregon to manage a small town bank. Unbeknownst to Shepard, he's just been named president of not a financial bank, but a sperm bank, led by Dr. Grace Murdock (Shelley Long). Facing a supply shortage, they decide to hold a fundraiser by offering a $100,000 prize to the most fertile man in town. As the men abstain in order to contribute, the local brothel grows angry at the sperm bank for cutting into their business.

In his zero star review, Roger Ebert likened watching "Frozen Assets" (1992) to being "an eyewitness at a disaster." Indeed, this movie was received so radioactively that it can scarcely be found today, perhaps because everyone involved did everything they could to make it disappear. It boggles the mind as to why anyone thought this was a good idea, least of all Shelley Long and Corbin Bernsen, a pair of TV stars who tried unsuccessfully to parlay this into a movie career.

Cast: Shelley Long, Corbin Bernsen, Larry Miller, Dody Goodman, Gerrit Graham, Matt Clark

Director: George T. Miller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 96 minutes

Where to watch: Buy on Amazon

Russian mobster Konstantine Konali (Ron Perlman) has developed a hugely popular computer game that secretly allows players to destroy security systems. Unable to stop a string of robberies carried out by Konali, the Russian police enlist their American counterparts for help. Unfortunately for the Russians, America doesn't send their best, as the bumbling members of Police Academy arrive to help take Konali down.

The "Police Academy" films were surprisingly popular throughout the '80s, despite each entry earning terrible reviews. But even by the low standards of the franchise, the seventh and final entry, 1994's "Mission to Moscow," scrapes the bottom of the barrel. With only George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, and David Graf returning, pretty much everyone was done with the series by the time this one came along, and given the rancid reception it received from critics and audiences, there was no desire for a "Police Academy 8."

Cast: George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, G.W. Bailey, David Graf, Claire Forlani, Ron Perlman, Christopher Lee

Director: Alan Metter

Rating: PG

Runtime: 83 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Androgynous misfit Pat (Julia Sweeney) falls in love with Chris (Dave Foley), whose gender is also tough to pin down. Pat's neighbor, Kyle (Charles Rocket), becomes obsessed with uncovering Pat's gender identity, and goes to great lengths to determine whether they're a boy or a girl. This puts a strain on Pat's relationship with Chris, as does Pat's partnership with the band Ween.

The success of "Wayne's World" in 1992 kicked off a slew of movies based on "Saturday Night Live" characters — some good, some bad. 1994's "It's Pat!" ranks among the worst "SNL" movies, and it's not just because its portrayal of an androgynous character is woefully transphobic by todays standards. Even if the film weren't shockingly insensitive and cruel in its depiction of a gender ambiguous individual, the insistence on making that one joke the basis for an entire movie wears thin very quickly. Barely clocking in at feature length, "It's Pat!" is a real dud.

Cast: Julia Sweeney, Dave Foley, Charles Rocket, Kathy Griffin, Tim Meadows

Director: Adam Bernstein

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 78 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

In the year 1999, the Earth has been ravaged by the destruction of the ozone layer, and is only saved by a protective shield that casts the world in eternal darkness. 25 years later, Highlander Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) has grown old after losing his powers of immortality. When the Earth's protective shield is threatened, Connor regains his immortality through a power known as the quickening, and teams up with ancient noble Juan Ramírez (Sean Connery) to save the world.

1986's "Highlander" might be cheesy, but it's at least fun, which cannot be said of its 1991 sequel. Few movies are as incomprehensible as "Highlander II: The Quickening," which feels as though it were edited with an ax instead of scissors. Even the director, Russell Mulcahy, was unsatisfied with the finished product, eventually releasing a directors cut that sought to make something that was semi-watchable out of the ashes of its failure.

Cast: Christopher Lambert, Virginia Madsen, Michael Ironside, Sean Connery, John C. McGinley

Director: Russell Mulcahy

Rating: R

Runtime: 91 minutes

Where to watch: Prime Video, Plex, Tubi