 The critic Michael Medved characterized examples of the " so bad it 's good " class of low @-@ budget cult film through books such as The Golden Turkey Awards . These films include financially fruitless and critically scorned films that have become inadvertent comedies to film buffs , such as Plan 9 from Outer Space ( 1959 ) and The Room ( 2003 ) . Similarly , Paul Verhoeven 's Showgirls ( 1995 ) bombed in theaters but developed a cult following on video . Catching on , Metro @-@ Goldwyn @-@ Mayer capitalized on the film 's ironic appeal and marketed it as a cult film . Films which attract the derision of audiences can turn into outlets for fan creativity where fans impose their own interpretation , such as reinterpreting an earnest melodrama as a comedy . Jacob deNobel of the Carroll County Times states that films can be perceived as nonsensical or inept when audiences misunderstand avant @-@ garde filmmaking or misinterpret parody . Films such as Rocky Horror can be misinterpreted as " weird for weirdness sake " by people unfamiliar with the cult films that it parodies. deNobel ultimately rejects the use of the label " so bad it 's good " as mean @-@ spirited and often misapplied . Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson has further said that any film which succeeds in entertaining an audience is good , regardless of irony . The rise of the Internet and on @-@ demand films has led critics to question whether " so bad it 's good " films have a future now that people have such diverse options in both availability and catalog , though fans eager to experience the worst films ever made can lead to lucrative showings for local theaters and merchandisers . 
