The Internet Movie Database, IMDb, is a compendium of movie information, allowing fans to scour through their favorite filmmaker or actor’s filmography with ease. It also allows all of its registered users to rate films as they see fit. While the site uses a weighted average scheme to try and weed out ratings made in review bombing attempts, it’s not a perfect system, and many genuinely great films continue to suffer mediocre ratings.
Based on their individual rankings, the consensus among IMDb users is that these films fall somewhere between mid and definitively bad. Now, everyone is entitled to their (wrong) opinion, and no one can tell anyone else how to feel about a film, but just a cursory look at some of the reviews people have written for these films reveals some truly bizarre takes that make you wonder whether they were watching the same movie. There’s just no other way to explain how the following films have such inexplicably low rankings when they are actually great.
6
‘Under the Skin’ (2013)
IMDb Score: 6.3
On one hand, it’s understandable that a film like Under the Skin would inspire such divisive ratings. It’s a slow-burning, surreal film that is the very definition of “not for everyone.” On the other hand, there is far too much to appreciate about Jonathan Glazer’s cerebral alien thriller for it to rank so low. The film’s critical response was generally more positive, if not still without consensus, as some called it the best film of its year, while others argued it lacked a cohesive narrative.
What all the critics agreed on was Scarlett Johansson’s stellar performance as an extra-terrestrial stalking the streets of Scotland for victims to take back to her black void. The purpose of her predation is never explicitly stated, and the film relies more on its visceral imagery than heavy plotting to tell its story, which explores the human condition through the eyes of its inhuman protagonist. Under the Skin is unnerving and thought-provoking, and even though some viewers might find it taxing to their patience, it’s far better than its IMDb reputation.
5
‘The Empty Man’ (2020)
IMDb Score: 6.2
The Empty Man deserved a better reception than it got when it was first released. A wildly ambitious cosmic horror film, it was a victim of Disney’s buyout of 20th Century Studios, which left the film in post-production limbo before it received an obligatory release after a COVID-related delay. The film also suffered from misleading marketing that suggested a teen horror film more akin to the similarly titled Slender Man or The Bye Bye Man.
In reality, the movie is more of a dark detective procedural, following James Badge Dale’s haunted former cop as he investigates the disappearance of some missing teens, which leads him down a twisted path of cults and spirit beings. The Empty Man is bleak, weird and maybe too ambitious for its own good, but even when it becomes a little disjointed, there is far more to recommend the film than not, including an incredibly atmospheric prologue that is more effective than some whole horror movies.
4
‘Killing Them Softly’ (2012)
IMDb Score: 6.2
It’s hard to say what audiences were expecting from Killing Them Softly in 2012. Maybe they wanted a more conventional crime thriller or something more action-packed, but they certainly didn’t get what they wanted, as evidenced by the film’s unjust F CinemaScore and slightly better but still criminally low IMDb ranking. It’s par for the course for director Andrew Dominik, whose films, from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to Blonde, have often received polarized responses.
The Australian director’s American crime film, based on the novel Cogan’s Trade by George V. Higgins, uses the criminal underworld as an allegory for late-stage capitalism, hence its updated setting during the 2008 recession. It’s all about the economics of crime and killing, as Brad Pitt’s hired gun negotiates rates for bodies after he’s brought in to clean up the fallout of a poker game robbery. Killing Them Softly is a deeply cynical film, and it belongs alongside another underrated crime thriller adapted from Higgins’ prose, The Friends of Eddie Coyle.
3
‘Babe: Pig in the City’ (1998)
IMDb Score: 5.9
There’s a special place in cinematic hell for those responsible for Babe: Pig in the City rating so low. Sure, it’s a weird, dark urban fantasy that is tonally so dissonant to the small and charming first film that it could cause whiplash if watched back-to-back, but this great adventure is unlike almost any family film ever made. Directed by Mad Max filmmaker George Miller, who produced and co-wrote the first film, this sequel has more in common with his apocalyptic action franchise than it does with its predecessor, with wild action and colorful villains galore as Babe finds himself lost in a fanciful, near-dystopic metropolis.
Few critics or audiences knew what to make of the movie when it was first released, but Babe: Pig in the City has naturally earned itself a cult following since then — that hasn’t exactly translated to its IMDb entry. Any interested viewers should ignore its online ranking and instead listen to the advice of Roger Ebert, Gene Siskel and singer-songwriter Tom Waits, all of whom count the film among their favorites. When the man who gave us Bone Machine recommends a family film, you know it’s something special.
2
‘I Saw the TV Glow’ (2024)
IMDb Score: 5.8
Some films can take time to grow on you. Others operate on such a strange wavelength that they are never going to appeal to some viewers. Both hold true for I Saw the TV Glow, a fiercely original and personal film by Jane Schoenbrun that somehow failed to even crack a 6 on IMDb. It’s an allegorical horror movie about transgender identity that follows two friends and their obsession with a childhood television show, with an aesthetic that oscillates between the warmth of nostalgia and a sinister neon nightmare.
I Saw the TV Glow is clearly a film that will resonate more with some viewers than it does with others. Even if the film’s narrative feels hollow to some, there is no doubting the technical skills of director Schoenbrun or cinematographer Eric Yue, or the incredible performances by Justice Smith or Jack Haven. At the end of the day, and despite the admitted polarizing nature of its execution, I Saw the TV Glow has the kind of audaciousness we need to see more of in movies.
1
‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ (1986)
IMDb Score: 5.6
Expectations can be everything when it comes to enjoying a movie. Anyone going into Tobe Hooper‘s sequel to his gritty horror masterpiece The Texas Chainsaw Massacre might be expecting something at least mildly similar in tone and approach, and they would be dead wrong. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is Looney Tunes levels of wacky. It’s a big, bloody black comedy that was deliberately made by Hooper to bring the hidden humor of the first film to the forefront.
Between Dennis Hopper going ham as an unhinged Texas ranger out for revenge against the Sawyer clan and Bill Moseley‘s iconic performance as new family member Chop Top, there’s not a square inch of unchewed scenery to be found in this gonzo sequel. Anyone expecting something even remotely near the same ballpark as the first film will likely be disappointed. Even in this age of the internet, where all information (and misinformation) is at our fingertips, there still seem to be a number of IMDb users who had no idea what they were getting into with this movie based on their reviews. It may not be the Massacre movie you want, but there is no way a movie this deliriously entertaining should rate so low.
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