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It takes a good eye to enjoy bad movies
"It's the 80s"
"Do a lot of coke and vote for Ronald Reagan"
You need to know what is wrong and why it is funny
And that requires the ability to deconstruct films
"This movie feels like an emo teenager's idea of"
" 'Oh MaN iT'Ll Be So SaD iF i KiLl MySeLf' "
For a long time, the Mainland Chinese film industry
Was not big enough to foster such a culture
That is why "so-bad-it's-good" Chinese movies are rare...
Until recently
In the past decades, China has become a box office juggernaut
People crave movies
Cinematic culture has grew
And so has the maturity to enjoy films ironically
Thus, the Chinese shlockbuster is born
To be clear, these are not shameless knock-offs
They are B movies
Intentionally campy, like Sharknado
Made with a low budget and distributed online
And the best part?
The filmmakers behind the shlock are passionate and sincere
Resulting in some surprisingly entertaining movies
Oh, and they have insane-looking posters, too!
Today, let me introduce you to Chinese web movies
How it came to be
And why despite their questionable qualities
Its rise is nevertheless a good thing
From snakes to sharks to train full of rats
This is the insane world of Chinese schlockbuster
[The Insane World of Chinese Shlockbusters]
[Chapter One]
First, a few movies:
Khepri is a monster movie about genetically engineered
Garbage-eating cockroaches
These critters achieve sentient through an AI hivemind
And begin to see humanity as garbage
"Yes, they are magnificent aren't they"
From the description
You can tell how ludicrous this movie is
And it lives up to your expectation
A swarm of cockroaches coming out of a shower head...
Is both hilarious and actually kinda terrifying
The rattling from the vent builds suspense
Before a tsunami of roaches pours in
There are legit well-done moments
This is the best sh#t ever.
Highly recommended.
Rat Disaster is basically Train to Busan
But with flesh-eating rats
Although low budget, it looks like a proper movie
It also looks absolutely stupid
But A Plague Tale was nominated for The Game Award
Set during wartime China
The film uses rats as a symbol of a decaying society
It doesn't really work when the rats are pulling a World War Z
But I appreciate the effort to elevate the film
Then there's Mutant Python
Which is just straight-up a competent movie
Despite its name, this is actually a folk horror film
The titular mutant python is a yokai of sort
And it looks f#cking sick!
In the film, the monster attacks a village
And the only way to appease it is a virgin sacrifice
A solution that splits the village into factions
In fear, anger, and greed
The villagers begin fighting each other
The "mutant" part of the title not only describes the snake
But also the twisted human heart
Good stuff!
Of course, not everything is gold
Crazy Spider looks like absolute dog sh#t
And Huge Shark is a complete rip-off of The Shallows
There are also Bloodthirsty Bees
Big Octopus
Sea Monster, etc.
Now, you may expect me to hate these movies
In the same way I hate the lazy, sleazy
Theatrically-released Chinese horror film
But I don't
And to know why these movies are different
We need to first know the history of Chinese web movies
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[Chapter Two]
The online video market is getting very lucrative in China
With multiple competing platforms
And a massive user base
There's a lot of money to be made
And thus, dedicated media companies were formed
Meanwhile, cine-mania also swept China by storm
People began making their own movies
And putting them online, just as a sort of hobby
"Hello, my name is Taka"
"Call me Tripi"
It's peanut butter meets jelly
It's wannabe filmmaker meets money
Thus, the web movie industry is born
Early web movies were understandably shoddy
But always wild and imaginative
From Diao Chan vs Zombie
To Chinese Lara Croft gunning down imperial guards
If you can think of it, it can be made
A common characteristic found in these films
Is the "localized culture"
SiPing Young People for example, is a youth gang movie
Set in the city of Siping
If you have never heard of Siping, don't worry
Neither have most of China
It's not a historical tourist destination
The decision to make this city front and center isn't for marketing
It was because the filmmakers were passionate about their own town
That passion made this film
One of the top-grossing web movies of 2016
Another notable example is "The Drop of Dragon"
A movie about a 1934 Chinese urban legend
In which a village saw a dragon falling out of the sky
Niche, localized, and approachable
These movies don't have the baggage of "high art" cinema
It is enjoyable for everyday people
Who just want to see their lives on screen
They may look like sh#t
But they are "my sh#t"
It doesn't matter anyway
Because the overall quality catches up pretty quickly
Loads better than many SyFy channel movies, I can tell you that
With more movies being made
Market preference also became clear
In 2018, "Snake" became the highest-grossing web movie on YouKu
And this snake also looks pretty sick
This is an old-school, "lost world" style adventure film
With piranhas and stuff
Yeah, it's a surprisingly thrilling movie
No wonder why it became a hit
The sequel, Snake 2, is the second-highest Yuku movie in 2019
With Water Monster taking the top spot
Water Monster is also a period piece
The creature is presented as a folk monster
As we've seen, this is a pretty common practice in web movies
The films may have gotten bigger
But the localized culture remains
Monster movie is one of the only horror subgenres in China
That isn't insultingly bad
Which may explain their popularity
It's also one of the few genres that do not require a large screen
And often, do not require your attention
It's easy to enjoy while you are slacking off at work
Or at home and half asleep
Whatever the reason, it became clear that
Monster movies are what people crave
And the industry responded accordingly
[Chapter Three]
All of the movies I listed today are available on YouTube
And they all have millions of views
You can imagine how popular these films are
On Chinese platforms
The phenomenon is so big
There are market studies done on it
And as this study shows
The budget is growing fast
The rating is also growing, albeit not significantly
So, why are people watching these?
We already mentioned one of the main reasons:
The localized factor
These are Chinese movies catered toward a Chinese audience
No language or cultural barriers
Easily accessible at any time
While their qualities are hit or miss
A lot of people also have a soft spot for them
There are a lot of comedy recap channels
That make fun of these films
But at the end of their videos
They often still praise the movies
"I got to say, the plot in 'Drop of Dragon' may be lacking"
"But in terms of VFX and acting"
"It's leagues better than your average web movie"
"Give it a watch if you are interested"
"I mean, it is free"
Written reviews are similar
Many people bash them
But many also acknowledge the potential
It was looking at these reviews
That I realized how special these movies are
Many critiques I saw are constructive
Pointing out specific flaws
Praising good parts in otherwise bad movies
There are nuances on display
It's a professional way to approach film criticism
To me, the existence of shlockbusters
Is an indication of a maturing market
The Chinese film audience is becoming more sophisticated
More conscious of what they consume
People find it fun to deconstruct movies
And not just indulge in anger-tainment
It takes a good eye to enjoy bad movies
I think that's great news
[Conclusion]
Personally, I enjoy these movies because it's just creative
This culture reminds me of monster movies from 1950s America
They are films that push their premises to the absolute limit
In this scene from Khepri
A survivor begs to be let into the safe room
Only to reveal himself to be a corpse
Puppeted by the cockroaches
The originality is mindbogglingly impressive
And I think most of you also prefer this
Over the routine and predictable popcorn movies
At the very least, that seems to be the attitude held
By the Chinese audience
Make no mistake, people who watch these movies
Know they aren't high art
They just aren't snobby enough to look down on them
And are willing to enjoy them for what they are
They are low-budget creative endeavors that take risks
Passion projects made by people
Who genuinely want to craft something
That is unique, entertaining
And Chinese