Badfilm: Incompetence, Intention and Failure

This book explores the formal characteristics of bad films and how they are appreciated and valued as cult texts, focusing on how failures in post-production sound, recycled footage, performance, and editing contribute to their appeal. It includes case studies of classic "so bad they're good" films.

Format: Hardback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2021
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

This captivating book delves into the realm of "bad films," a subcategory of "bad cinema" characterized by incompetence and often exacerbated by material poverty and restrictive production conditions. It establishes a framework for identifying and analyzing the formal characteristics of failure within this genre, emphasizing the central role of intentionality in the appreciation and valuation of bad films as cult texts. Drawing upon debates surrounding cult cinema and film form, the book includes a series of case studies of classic "so bad they're good" films, such as Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster, and The Beast of Yucca Flats. Through these in-depth investigations, the book explores the impact of failures in post-production sound, recycled footage, performance, and editing on American bad films from the 1950s and 1960s. By doing so, it offers insightful ways to consider how we identify and respond to failure, as well as the intricate workings of failure itself.

This captivating book delves into the realm of "bad films," a subcategory of "bad cinema" characterized by incompetence and often exacerbated by material poverty and restrictive production conditions. It establishes a framework for identifying and analyzing the formal characteristics of failure within this genre, emphasizing the central role of intentionality in the appreciation and valuation of bad films as cult texts. Drawing upon debates surrounding cult cinema and film form, the book includes a series of case studies of classic "so bad they're good" films, such as Plan 9 From Outer Space, Robot Monster, and The Beast of Yucca Flats. Through these in-depth investigations, the book explores the impact of failures in post-production sound, recycled footage, performance, and editing on American bad films from the 1950s and 1960s. By doing so, it offers insightful ways to consider how we identify and respond to failure, as well as the intricate workings of failure itself.

Weight: 450g
Dimension: 161 x 242 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781474450423