A Turkish E.T., a vampire motorcycle, an Indonesian Terminator, a Bruce Lee wannabe... According to critics, unintentionally bad cinema is gaining a wider public due to the lack of originality in today’s blockbusters
E.T. didn’t just come down to Earth in the Steven Spielberg movie. He also landed in South Africa, Turkey and again in the United States, as well as in other countries. Although his name wasn’t E.T., and his appearance left a lot to be desired. These aliens starred in movies such as Nukie and Mac and Me, some of the most outrageous ripoffs of the classic film.
“We didn’t just screen the first Turkish version [of E.T.] — Badi — another one was also shot in the country, in which E.T., who is male, falls in love with the man in whose house he takes refuge,” explains Carlos Palencia, the head of CutreCon, a Spanish festival dedicated to cinema that is unintentionally bad.
CutreCon — which will hold its 14th edition next year between February 5 and 8 — shines a spotlight on trashy movies, the films made with lofty intentions that fell apart in production and became unwitting parodies. With audiences keen for different cinema experiences, these movies are winning over a passionate legion of fans, filling theaters with laughing and disbelieving spectators.
But it’s important to define this genre: trash cinema is not the same as bad cinema. “The beauty of trash cinema is that to recognize it you have to have seen very good films. It is the leap between The Searchers and a piece of shit starring Eric Roberts and Michael Paré with a pair of pistols,” explains movie critic Fausto Fernández.