Best Bad Movie Podcasts Ranked

FIELD REPORT: The Podcast Landscape

The bad movie podcast ecosystem is larger than most people realize and more competitive than it has any right to be. At last count, this correspondent has identified over forty active podcasts dedicated to reviewing, mocking, celebrating, or simply enduring terrible cinema.

Not all of them are good. Some of them are, ironically, bad in the non-entertaining way. The following ranking is based on six months of listening, cross-referenced with audience data, back-catalog depth, and the critical metric: would you actually want to spend two hours with these people while watching Manos: The Hands of Fate?

Tier 1: The Must-Listen

1. How Did This Get Made?

Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, Jason Mantzoukas Format: Three comedians watch a bad movie, then record a live show discussing it with a guest. Episodes: 300+ Where to start: The Face/Off episode, the Howling II episode, or the Sleepaway Camp episode.

HDTGM is the biggest bad movie podcast on Earth, and it earned that position. The chemistry between the three hosts is genuine — Scheer is the organizer, Raphael is the moral compass (she frequently asks "how did this get made?" with genuine anguish), and Mantzoukas is the chaos agent who finds the insane logic thread in every terrible film.

The live format gives it energy that studio-recorded shows lack. The audience reactions — gasps, groans, collective "WHAT" — add a dimension that makes you feel like you're at the screening.

Strength: Comedy-first. Even if you haven't seen the movie, the episode is entertaining. Weakness: Doesn't always go deep on the filmmaking. More riffing, less analysis.

2. RedLetterMedia (Best of the Worst)

Hosts: Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman, Rich Evans, rotating guests Format: Three panelists each bring a random bad movie. They watch all three, then debate which is "Best of the Worst." Episodes: 200+ Where to start: Any episode. Seriously. The format makes every episode self-contained.

Best of the Worst is the thinking person's bad movie show. Where HDTGM goes for laughs, BotW goes for understanding. The panel genuinely analyzes why these films fail — the production context, the creative decisions, the market forces that produced them. Then Rich Evans laughs and the analysis collapses into joy.

The format — competitive selection, group viewing, post-viewing panel — is the best structure in bad movie media. It creates tension (whose pick will win?), surprise (nobody knows what the others brought), and genuine debate.

Strength: Depth. They find films nobody else covers and treat them with genuine curiosity. Weakness: Videos average 60-90 minutes. This is a time investment. It is worth it.

3. The Flop House

Hosts: Dan McCoy, Stuart Wellington, Elliott Kalan Format: Three comedy writers watch a bad movie and discuss it over approximately sixty minutes. Episodes: 450+ Where to start: The Geostorm episode or the Cats episode.

The Flop House has been running since 2007, making it the longest-running bad movie podcast still in active production. The hosts are professional comedy writers (McCoy and Kalan have written for The Daily Show; Wellington is a bartender who is funnier than both of them).

The vibe is less performative than HDTGM and less analytical than RedLetterMedia. It's three friends who have been doing this so long that their shorthand is impenetrable to outsiders and irresistible once you're in.

Strength: Consistency. 450+ episodes and the quality hasn't dropped. Weakness: The first fifty episodes have rough audio. Start at episode 100 if audio quality matters to you.

Tier 2: The Deep Cuts

4. We Hate Movies

Hosts: Andrew Jupin, Stephen Sajdak, Chris Cabin, Eric Szyszka Format: Four hosts discuss a bad movie with genuine anger and affection simultaneously. Episodes: 600+

The angriest bad movie podcast, in the best way. These four hosts have a dynamic that produces escalating frustration — they start by noting problems and end by yelling about them. It's cathartic.

5. The Bechdel Cast

Hosts: Jamie Loftus, Caitlin Durante Format: Bad (and good) movies examined through a feminist lens.

Not exclusively a bad movie podcast, but their bad movie episodes are their best work. Watching them dissect the gender politics of Showgirls or Catwoman adds a dimension that pure-comedy shows miss.

6. God Awful Movies

Hosts: Noah Lugeons, Eli Bosnick, Heath Enwright Format: Weekly reviews of religious and faith-based films.

A niche within a niche: bad religious movies. The hosts are atheist comedians reviewing films made for evangelical audiences, and the culture clash produces comedy that broader bad movie shows can't replicate.

7. MovieBob's Really That Good / Really That Bad

Format: Solo deep-dive video essays on specific films.

Not a podcast per se, but the video essay format allows for a depth of analysis that conversational formats can't match. His Batman & Robin essay is essential viewing.

Tier 3: The Specialists

8. Blank Check Podcast

Covers entire filmographies of directors, including their terrible films. The M. Night Shyamalan series, which includes The Happening and The Last Airbender, is a masterclass in understanding how bad films happen.

9. Kill James Bond!

Three hosts review every James Bond film in order, including the deeply terrible ones. The Roger Moore era episodes are peak bad movie podcasting.

10. Bad Movie Fiends

A smaller show that covers deep-cut obscurities that even HDTGM and BotW haven't touched. If you've exhausted the big shows' filmographies, this is where you go next.

How to Listen

Strategy 1: The On-Ramp

Start with HDTGM. Pick an episode about a movie you've seen. If you haven't seen any of their movies, start with the Face/Off episode — everyone has seen Face/Off, and if you haven't, you should.

Strategy 2: The Deep Dive

Start with Best of the Worst. Watch the video version on YouTube. The visual format — seeing the panelists' reactions, seeing clips from the films — adds immeasurably.

Strategy 3: The Marathon

You're on a road trip. You need twelve hours of content. Queue up The Flop House starting at episode 200. You will arrive at your destination having laughed continuously for the duration of your drive.

Strategy 4: The Homework Approach

Listen to the podcast episode before watching the film. Then watch the film. Then re-listen to the episode. The second listen is always better because you now understand the references.

The Ecosystem

These shows are not competitors. They are a community. HDTGM hosts have appeared on The Flop House. RedLetterMedia has referenced God Awful Movies. The bad movie podcast world is small enough that everyone knows everyone and large enough that there's room for every approach.

This correspondent will continue monitoring the airwaves.

DEVELOPING.