# Horrible movies with really great original soundtracks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 4, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718 "2022-10-04T19:50:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/21 "2022-10-04T23:51:51Z")
_City of Angels_ the movie has little to recommend it. The soundtrack is pretty damn good. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/22 "2022-10-05T00:11:33Z")
“Singles” is a rather lame comedy about the relationships of some twenty somethings, but the soundtrack album is a perfect time capsule of 1992 grunge and indie rock. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/23 "2022-10-05T00:57:56Z")
This is an easy one… _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ Unintelligible movie with a kick-ass soundtrack. Now, that doesn’t stop the movie from being a cult classic. And the stage show it was drawn from makes a bit more sense when you see a good production. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/24 "2022-10-05T01:20:27Z")
The Last American Virgin. Great 80’s tunes. The movie wasn’t actually horrible until the very last depressing scene. Walked out of the theater feeling terrible. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/25 "2022-10-05T01:27:57Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > I think the 1980 [Flash Gordon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_Gordon_(film)), original soundtrack by Queen, gets the prize for Greatest Disconnect: either the worst film with a good soundtrack, or the best soundtrack for a bad film. I like the film, but I have to admit the soundtrack is the best part. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/26 "2022-10-05T01:48:19Z")
_Ever After_ is a horrific movie, but the soundtrack by George Felton was one of the greatest things I’d listened to in my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/27 "2022-10-05T02:26:03Z")
I didn’t think _ **The Crow** _ was a bad movie when it came out. I saw it in the theaters, I was a little obsessed with it. It was all sorts of cool. It does pretty well on Rotten Tomatoes. It was good enough for some sequels and now even a reboot. Y’all, I got it on Blu Ray when it came out in 2011 and watched it and it was…not good. The visuals and action were good but the story and the acting were bad. I haven’t re-watched it anymore because I’m afraid to dislike it more. That being said, the soundtrack is, to me, one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. Second only to the aforementioned _Singles_ at least when it comes to 90s movies. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/28 "2022-10-05T02:47:18Z")
I’m hesitant to use the term “bad”—there are many movies that, by any definition, including my own, are of dubious quality or artistic worth that are dear to my heart, bring me genuine joy to watch, and I happily revisit time and time again. That being said…[Ennio Morricone](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001553/) has scored more than one movie that has a listing in _The Psychotronic Video Guide to Film_. For a more recent film, 2019’s _Dark Phoenix_ was a flawed, half-full movie at best, and somewhat tragically undermined and mis-handled during the production, by the sounds of it. But while watching it in the theater, I was just taken aback by how great the music was. Then the credits rolled…Hans Zimmer. Returned to scoring superhero films, after swearing off them because of the mixed reception to Batman v. Superman. Personally, I’ve felt that Zimmer just phones in some (not all) of his movie work, especially if it’s some mindless action flick. He sure as hell was _not_ phoning in or half-assing a note, this time. To paraphrase MST3K: I want to see the movie Zimmer _thought_ he was doing the music for. ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/29 "2022-10-05T13:23:55Z")
_Liquid Sky_. Directed by Slava Tsukerman. Soundtrack is a demented circus music, speeded up. Actually I liked this movie, but you must be baked in order to enjoy it. Most people would think it was a silly plot. Aliens, lesbians, and heroin in the NYC 1980s club scene… what’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/30 "2022-10-05T13:30:06Z")
> [@ArtBeforeScience](#): > > Aliens, lesbians, and heroin in the NYC 1980s club scene… So a documentary, then? ---
**Author:** ![ArtBeforeScience](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@ArtBeforeScience](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArtBeforeScience)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/31 "2022-10-05T13:41:50Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > So a documentary, then? No. _Liquid Sky_ is not a documentary. It’s science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/32 "2022-10-05T14:12:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Mind you- the original _Blues Brothers_ with a _fabulous_ soundtrack, had a plot that could be written on a cocktail napkin… in lipstick. Not going to disagree with you there, although with the grittier cinematography and direction, I think it was better than the sequel. A lot. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But didn’t see that movie about the dude who goes back in time or something and then sings all their songs. Maybe it was better than I thought. [Yesterday](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8079248/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0). It wasn’t bad, other than Kate McKinnon. She overacted her role. Absolutely took me out of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/33 "2022-10-05T16:34:26Z")
I’m going to go super _super_ obscure for this one… If I have the history right, Jackie Chan got freed from an onerous contract with Lo Wei by the intervention of Jimmy Wang Yu, who used that leverage to get Jackie into a couple of his own really crappy kung fu flicks, once he’d become a superstar. The first was the “I’m not imagining this, you can see this also, right?” lunacy of _Fantasy Mission Force_ in 1983 or so, and the second was the dull and grim prison drama _Island of Fire_ in 1991. In the latter, he’s onscreen for like eight minutes, even though his mug is all over the poster. His fight scenes are fine; the rest of the movie’s a throwaway. I watched it during my HK action flick period when I’d see pretty much anything in Cantonese and hated it even then, but…I remember the score and the closing song (probably sung by Jackie Chan) being freaking awesome. Enough so that I’d scour Chinatown CD stores for a long time in the vain hope that there was a release of it. The movie got rereleased in North America as _The Prisoner_, with Chan’s the only face on the front of the box, but I can only assume the distributor changed the score along with the dubbing. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/34 "2022-10-05T16:40:20Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > “Singles” is a rather lame comedy about the relationships of some twenty somethings, but the soundtrack album is a perfect time capsule of 1992 grunge and indie rock. Hey, good to see this! The guy I played guitar with (in a beatnik coffeehouse… we’re old) worked on that album! No guitar, just technical stuff. He recommended _The Battle of Evermore_ as “a cool Zep’lin cover”… “The Lovemongers” are really Ann & Nancy Wilson, doing an acoustic side gig. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/35 "2022-10-05T16:43:35Z")
> [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](#): > > **Young Einstein** , what was supposed to be Yahoo Serious’ big break in America. Incredibly stupid and not particularly funny movie, but a great selection of 80s Aussie alternative acts on the soundtrack. Great movie, since you took my pick I’ll go with **Airheads**. I like the movie, but it has 29% on the tomato meter so I guess it qualifies as ‘horrible’. The soundtrack is wonderful and doubles as the soundtrack of Sitnam’s Teenage Years. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/36 "2022-10-05T16:50:43Z")
**Tank Girl** was hard to sit though, but the soundtrack CD was well worn during my 1 hr+ commute in the mid-90s. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eUKWMOZFTGs/hqdefault.jpg "Joan Jett & Paul Westerberg Let's Do It Tank Girl OST") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUKWMOZFTGs) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/37 "2022-10-05T17:02:41Z")
I’m glad to see a lot of my picks mentioned, specifically Blues Brothers 2000 (don’t have movie, do have CD), Conan the Barbarian (have both), Heavy Metal (which is a fine movie but crippled by format with an awesome soundtrack), but I’m surprised I didn’t see my first pick here. Star Wars Episode 1. I mean, terrible, TERRIBLE movie, but the soundtrack, OMFG. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/38 "2022-10-05T17:03:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > He recommended _The Battle of Evermore_ as “a cool Zep’lin cover”… > “The Lovemongers” are really Ann & Nancy Wilson, doing an acoustic side gig. I only learned that years after I bought the album. It’s as good as the original, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/39 "2022-10-05T17:36:16Z")
I’m tempted to say _Easy Rider_, but it’s a terrific movie. Same with _Animal House._ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718/40 "2022-10-05T17:54:52Z")
Okay. I thought of one: _The Party Animal_. **Great** soundtrack, movie not so much. Well, I like it. 😉 [The Party Animal - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Party_Animal) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horrible-movies-with-really-great-original-soundtracks/972718.md?page=3)