While 2024 was, for me, a better year for movies, I still saw some movies I didn’t like. Similar to my worst movies list of 2023, most of the films on this year’s list were disappointing or average. But, unlike 2023, the top four titles are from different genres. The dishonorable mentions section has returned! This time, however, there are more DNFs (did not finish). Like I have said in past lists, my top ten worst movies I saw in 2024 list is not intended to be mean-spirited, negative, or disrespectful. It’s just a list of my own, honest opinion. Since I reviewed some of the movies on my list, I will provide the links to those reviews in this article.
Dishonorable Mentions
The Reluctant Debutante, The Gambler: Luck of the Draw, Jazz Ramsey: A K-9 Mystery, Million Dollar Lethal Listing, CrimeTime: Freefall (I turned it off after about forty minutes), Mermaid Down (I turned off this movie after about twenty minutes), Blood, Sweat and Cheer (I turned it off after about eighteen minutes), and Temptation Under the Sun (I turned off this movie after about twenty-two minutes)
10. Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch
In the 2020s, Hallmark has come up with story ideas that worked well enough for a stand-alone mystery movie, but unsustainable for a multi-chapter series. One of these ideas came from Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch. This film made the same mistake as Mystery Island: not allowing the protagonist to use her skills to solve the case. For Lauren, the main character in Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch, her psychology skills were so underutilized, she seemed more like an over glorified intern. Thick French accents making several characters difficult to understand is another major flaw of the film. It prevented me from being fully invested in the story. Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch was, in my opinion, a disappointing movie. But compared to the other titles on 2024’s worst of the year list, Hallmark’s production was, simply, ‘underwhelming’.
Take 3: Crimes of Fashion: Killer Clutch Review
9. Boy in the Walls
When I first read the synopsis for Boy in the Walls, I thought the film would be a spookier version of 2016’s Boy in the Attic. Sadly, this was not the case. The 2023 Lifetime presentation contained a mystery that was drawn out for too long. It also doesn’t help how the protagonist made one dumb decision after another. Without spoiling the film, all I’ll say is the title is misleading. If you haven’t watched either referenced movie, I’d recommend Boy in the Attic.
8. The 39 Steps
In my review of The 39 Steps, I said the 1935 picture was the most “meh” title from Alfred Hitchcock’s filmography. This statement was made due to the limited sense of urgency and intrigue within the story. As I also said in my review, The 39 Steps seems longer than an hour and twenty-six minutes. The drawn-out nature of the movie created a slow and boring build-up to a reveal that feels kind of ridiculous and anti-climactic. While romance has been incorporated in some of Alfred’s films, it didn’t work in The 39 Steps. Richard and Pamela’s attraction for one another was too abrupt, welcoming the presence of the “insta-love” trope. Even though The 39 Steps was a disappointing movie, I gave it a lower placement on my list. Comparing the 1935 film to Alfred’s other productions, Hitchcock’s filmography shows how much he improved as a director.
7. Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Pack of Lies
There are some movies that, in my opinion, should have been documentaries instead. The 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, Pack of Lies, is just one example. This film in the Hallmark Hall of Fame collection is based on a true story. While “based on a true story” movies can be engaging, intriguing, and even thought-provoking, Pack of Lies was disappointing. Like I said in my review of the 1987 production, the film was a two hour slow and tedious build-up to a resolution that was underwhelming and anti-climactic. The creative team’s decision to choose telling over showing caused other flaws, from little lapse in time to things not making sense. Pack of Lies proves Hallmark Hall of Fame movies are not created equally. However, there are other Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations from the 1980s I like, such as the adaptations of The Secret Garden and A Tale of Two Cities.
Take 3: Hallmark Hall of Fame’s Pack of Lies Review
6. One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
While A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery was slightly better than One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery, I was still disappointed in the latter film. For starters, Victor Webster and Alison Sweeney had no on-screen chemistry. A character (not Hannah) solves the mystery by making an assumption about the case and being conveniently correct. But the worst part about One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery was Delores’ subplot. Up until this film, Delores was very against Hannah getting involved in cases, as well as dating Mike. So, for Delores to become a private investigator and seem to treat her new job as a joke completely went against her character. In fact, this was such a bad creative idea, Delores’ private investigating career was barely mentioned in A Sprinkle of Deceit: A Hannah Swensen Mystery. If there are more Hannah Swensen films in the works, I really hope Delores receives better story ideas.
5. My Life Is on the Line
This Lifetime movie had one of the network’s most creative story ideas. The 2024 picture was about a woman who tried to solve a mystery on her computer at her office cubicle. But the longer I watched this movie, the sooner I realized that aforementioned idea wasn’t sustainable for a feature-length production. Instead, the novelty of how the mystery was solved got old very quickly. My Life Is on the Line is yet another Lifetime film where the protagonist makes a collection of dumb choices. Her decision-making is so bad, other characters in the story, including her boss, call her out for it. Lifetime’s 2024 presentation was, for me, the most disappointing movie of the year.
4. Network
Network holds the honor of not only being the first film I reviewed for my Comparing with the Critics series, it’s also the first film I disagreed with the critics on. Even though Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert placed the movie in their list of the top five films from 1976, I would call Network one of the “Dogs of the Year”. For me, it was more of an endurance test, where the story’s first half was a drawn-out search for a resolution to the movie’s conflict and the second half was a yelling contest. Being a pretentious picture by taking itself too seriously and telling a dry, boring story didn’t work in Network’s favor. There are movies from the 1970s I like. Unfortunately, Network isn’t one of them.
Comparing with the Critics – Best of 1976 – Network
3. Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s
It’s ironic that Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Heartache and Homecoming became the third worst movie of 2023 and now Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s became the third worst movie of 2024. When you look past this irony, you’ll see how Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s shares some of the same flaws as its sequel, like not understanding how technology works. Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s contains its own flaws, with poor special effects as one example. While this movie is so bad, it’s, at times, unintentionally funny, I do acknowledge how challenging it can be to create a cinematic project. In fact, the best way to sum up Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s is the quote, “Mistakes are proof that you are trying”.
Take 3: Mount Hideaway Mysteries: Exes and Oh No’s Review
2. Revenge Best Served Chilled
This Lifetime movie from 2022 had a very misleading title and synopsis. Not only is there no revenge in the story, there’s also nothing being chilled throughout the film. According to a plot summary I read, Revenge Best Served Chilled is about a series of murder mysteries taking place at a wine expert competition, with the protagonist trying to clear her name and solve the mysteries. The movie actually emphasizes the wine expert competition to the point where there is little to no mystery involved. Like Boy in the Walls and My Life Is on The Line, the protagonist, Emily, makes so many dumb decisions. I, honestly, should have turned this movie off after Emily doesn’t lock her family’s restaurant’s front doors as she’s spending the night at the restaurant. But I naively thought Revenge Best Served Chilled was going to be a better movie.
1. Frankenstein (2004)
I referenced this movie while reviewing the Hallmark adaptation of Frankenstein, as I was pointing out a technical error on Wikipedia. When I saw the version of Frankenstein starring Vincent Perez, I immediately knew it was going to be the worst movie I saw in 2024. While this movie contains some interesting ideas, those ideas are bogged down by other ideas. The excessive number of ideas made the story feel like a series of vignettes either loosely connected to each other or not connected at all. What also makes the overall story weak is how nothing is explained. The ending is one of the most “sequel bait” endings I’ve seen in a long time. I would strongly discourage readers from checking out this version of Frankenstein. More time will be spent being frustrated than entertained.
Have fun in 2025!
Sally Silverscreen
18 Cinema Lane 