Watch the Worst Movies of 2015 Review Themselves

Schadenfreude: German for the immense joy of watching a bad movie trip over itself. With plenty of high-profile films in 2015 that failed to ignite the box office, captivate viewers, or both, there’s an opportunity to make an end of the year “worst of” list that’s not just another mean-spirited takedown. After all, why not let the movies speak for themselves?

Sometimes, it seems the actors and writers are speaking through the film directly to the audience, such as when Liam Neeson practically looks into the camera in Taken 3 to acknowledge how “predictable” his movie daughter thinks he is. Other times, the words on the page prove to be an ironic forecast, like in the painfully humorless Fantastic Four’s observation that they didn’t go anywhere.

So let us thank the screenwriters of Hollywood for these happy accidents, that we might reflect upon the year past and smile, knowing that 2016 will bring us even more glorious cinematic face plants.