14 Movies So Bad That Their Own Directors Can't Stand Them

No one can deny that directors play an important role in the filmmaking process. They have their own vision for what the film looks like and their vision largely impacts the final product. So, great directors always imagine what and how things happen in their movies. However, moviemaking is never an easy job, which is required the cooperation of a bunch of other members of the film crew, such as actors, screenwriters, producers, or even investors.
When things go wrong, disagreements between directors and others will happen. As a result, directors feel they have little control over the final product and decide to get out of the project. Later, they don’t want to make any reference to the movie, and some directors use pseudonyms when they didn't like their products. Meanwhile, the studio can hire someone else to re-edit the film but the result would look truly different from what they expected. Without a doubt, these movies literally look like a mess.
Today, we’ve compiled a list of 14 movies that are so bad that even their own directors can’t stand them. Keep scroll down and check them out!

#1 Alan Taylor - Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Source: theplaylist

Thor: The Dark World was produced differently than any other Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Thor was a mess, despite the fact that Marvel changed different directors.
Director Patty Jenkins, who left and directed the DCEU's blockbuster hit Wonder Woman, was fired, and that was when it all began. Then they employed Alan Taylor, a Game of Thrones filmmaker. He later admitted that he hated the experience, claiming that he had hoped for a "childlike wonder" in the film, but it turned out to be a dark and serious release.

#2 Josh Trank - Fantastic Four (2015)

Source: polygon

Fox was looking for a director who had proven himself with an original superhero film when they intended to reboot the Fantastic Four franchise. Chronicle, a found-footage superhero movie about a group of kids with special abilities, was directed by Josh Trank.
One of the lowest-rated superhero movies ever was the end outcome, nevertheless. Trank disliked the finished film because it had been edited without his participation. For being unable to manage the large budget, he blamed the studio, and they blamed him. Since this flop, Trank has only produced one film.

#3 David O. Russell - Accidental Love (2015)

Source: telemagazyn

Accidental Love was filmed by David O. Russell in 2008. The film, which was titled Nailed, was never released. After seven years, the starring movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal had its new title released. Cast and crew members who weren't paid on time walked off the set.
The studio continued finishing the picture, even having it recut and altered to see if Russell might show up again. He watched the trimmed version but refused to finish the movie. He sought a pseudonym even if the movie based on the work he made had to have his name on it. Russell said, "I am no longer involved in the project and cannot call it 'my' film."

#4 Tony Kaye - American History X (1998)

Source: footeandfriendsonfilm

American History X is a good movie, but when you talk to director Tony Kaye, one gets a very different story. Kaye went on to direct a film about racism from the perspective of a brother who ends up in prison and a younger brother who follows in his footsteps.
However, Kaye was locked out of the editing room when star Edward Norton took over the film and changed it from Kaye's vision to something very different. Kaye hated the movie so much that he wanted it to be named Humpy Dumpty (via The Guardian). After this incident, Kaye spent many years away from film directing.

#5 Arthur Hiller - An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)

Source: legacy.mubi

In a case of art imitating life, Arthur Hiller agreed to helm the parody film An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn. The film is about a director who, as the title suggests, utilized the pseudonym of directors when they didn't like their products.
What really happened was that Hiller eventually lost control of the movie and asked to be referenced as Alan Smithee to disown it. The trouble came with producer and writer Joe Eszerhas, who tried to recut to film. After seeing the finished product, Hiller insisted that his name be removed.

#6 Joel Schumacher - Batman & Robin (1997)

Source: hollywoodreporter

The release of Batman & Robin signaled the Caped Crusader franchise's end. The film was the second Batman film directed by Joel Schumacher, who opted to forgo the gloomy, gothic aesthetic of Tim Burton's first two films and made it a more vibrant, comic book-inspired style.
Fans loathed it, and until Christopher Nolan rebooted it, there wasn't another Batman film. Chris O'Donnell has never kept quiet about it, claiming during the DVD commentary that George Clooney has apologized numerous times and that it was a toy commercial. Regarding himself, Schumacher stated, "I want to apologize to every fan that was disappointed because I think I owe them that"

#7 David Lynch - Dune (1984)

Source: slate

David Lynch is one of the most respected filmmakers in cinema history. But, when it comes to his attempt to adapt the classic sci-fi Dune, the director never had good memories of the project. Still, the film now has a cult following, despite the fact that it has many different cuts of the film.
The film's rough edit was four hours long, whereas Lynch's version was only three. However, the studio cut it up because they wanted it to be shorter. Lynch left dissatisfied, and if he can avoid it, he will never talk about the movie. He was also given the opportunity to recut the film by Universal, which he also turned down. Later, Lynch said that he thought he "sold out" while shooting the film.

#8 Jerry Lewis - The Day The Clown Cried (1972)

Source: imdb

If directors hated their films, they will try to prevent the movie's public release. This is what happened with Jerry Lewis when he helmed the comedy The Day the Clown Cried.
Jerry Lewis refused to let the film be released once he finished it. The narrative centers on a German clown who amuses kids while they are brought to their deaths in gas chambers. Lewis would declare it to be an error and put it away indefinitely, making sure it was never made public.

#9 Kevin Yagher - Hellraiser: Bloodline

Source: cineycine

As Kevin Yagher signed on for Hellraiser: Bloodline, the franchise had slipped into the direct-to-DVD fare, but it hadn't scraped rock bottom yet. Yagher, a master of special effects, was unhappy with the outcome when he consented to direct this fourth attempt. In the end, he decided to change his credit to Alan Smithee.
Yagher did his job and turned in the movie under budget and on time, but the studio wasn't pleased. When Yagher refused to placate the studio with re-shoots and a happy ending, they hired Joe Chappelle to step in and finish the movie. Yagher claimed that the final film was not the one he worked so hard on.

#10 Kiefer Sutherland - Woman Wanted (1999)

Source: imdb

A talented actor, Kiefer Sutherland had already proven himself in films like Lost Boys, Young Guns, and Flatliners. He had a nice small role in Truth or Consequences, N.M. in 1997 but he decided to stop working behind the camera and focus on directing.
His second directing venture, however, was not as enjoyable. Sutherland and Holly Hunter co-starred in the film Woman Wanted. He has never expressed his dislike for the film, but he did disown it and give it the Alan Smithee title.

#11 Noah Baumbach - Highball (1997)

Source: imdb

One of the most distinctive voices to emerge from the independent film industry of the 1990s is Noah Baumbach. He has shown himself to be a master of dialogue-driven dramas with brilliant character pieces like Kicking and Screaming, Frances Ha, and The Squid and the Whale. He did, however, take the helm of a film in 1997 that he later regretted directing.
In the film Highball, which starred Eric Stoltz and Justine Bateman, a couple tries to spice things up by throwing rollicking cocktail parties. Baumbach disapproved of the film and eventually removed his name from it, giving credit to the pseudonym Ernie Fusco (The A.V. Club).

#12 Babylon AD (2008)

Source: telegram

Babylon AD was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, who had a clear concept for the final product. Despite directing the critically praised La Haine in 1995, the studio would not leave their hands off Babylon AD as he made it, and he said they kept interfering every step of the way.
Vin Diesel played a man who was transferring a woman from Russia to the United States while she was carrying an organism inside her that might be the Messiah. Kassovitz claimed that his intention was to present a tale about the challenges of crossing borders in the modern era, but that instead, "pure violence and stupidity" were the outcome (via The Guardian).

#13 David Fincher - Alien 3 (1992)

Source: theplaylist

Ridley Scott already made a seminal horror movie with Alien and James Cameron followed it up with one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time, Aliens. But when it comes to Alice 3, things changed a lot. Indeed, David Fincher really had a tough act to follow. But Alien 3 was a failure, though, Fincher is one of the greatest filmmakers ever.
A negative experience with the film also obsessed Fincher (via The Guardian). In an interview, he said that he was let go from the film more than once and that he had to battle for everything. Additionally, he claimed that he hated the film more than anyone else in the world.

#14 Dennis Hopper - Catchfire (1990)

Source: imdb

Dennis Hopper once directed one of the most recognizable movies in history when he took part in the movie project Easy Rider. His 1990 film Catchfire was a different narrative, though that one was a great hit and contributed to Hollywood's permanent change.
Problems between Hopper and his actress Jodie Foster on the set were the beginning of it. In the end, the studio hired a re-editor for the film before it was released, which prompted Hopper to sue. He didn't win any money, but his name was replaced with the Alan Smithee credit.