Buzz
Have you ever received an action figure that, at first glance, seemed like He-Man but was actually called ‘Man-man,’ rode a dragon instead of Battle Cat, wielded a cross-guard sword like William Wallace, and wore a neon lime green banana hammock instead of the iconic brown fur loincloth your favorite hero once wore so proudly? Kids have a finely tuned bullshit detector, but what about us adults? Why do so many parents settle for knock-off toys instead of the real thing? Is it laziness? Maybe branded toys are simply too costly. If money is the issue, why not find other ways to entertain the kids? Nobody wants ‘Man-man.’ Perhaps the audience for these second-rate toys is precisely who this list targets. A few items, though, are surprisingly impressive; either deliberately parodying or simply being unexpectedly entertaining. So let’s dive into this niche category. Caution: There’s no safety net here.
10. The Turkish Superman
‘Süpermen Dönüyor,’ a Turkish film released in 1979, reimagines the ‘Man of Steel’ with a very different spin. The plot closely mirrors the original Christopher Reeve film, but it’s set in Turkey rather than the United States. They even borrowed some of the soundtrack from the U.S. version—and the James Bond theme, too.
This entry isn’t just about laughing at ‘silly foreign films.’ Imagine being in 1970s Turkey, positioned between a crumbling, dangerous Soviet Union and a skeptical, cynical West, all while resisting the rise of Islamism spreading across the Middle East and Central Asia. Would you execute someone for stealing a loaf of bread to feed their starving family? And by the way, the director’s name is Kunt Tulgar. This movie, much like its time, is a whirlwind of disbelief… and that’s also the name of the main character: Tayfun.
9. Batman, Spiderman, and Godzilla… in a Ninja Video Game
And let’s not forget a Terminator and a Rambo knock-off for good measure! I absolutely loved this insane, beautifully crafted, and near-impossible-to-finish Sega Megadrive game. Alongside iconic titles like ‘Altered Beast,’ ‘Toejam & Earl,’ and ‘Streets of Rage,’ ‘Revenge of Shinobi’ helped Sega maintain its cool edge against Nintendo’s overwhelming grip on the video game world in the late 80s and early 90s. Despite the game’s impressive graphics, innovative level design, and killer soundtrack, it’s the outlandish inclusion of Batman, Godzilla, Spiderman, the Terminator, and Rambo as villains that really makes this game unforgettable.
The ultimate mind-bender occurs when, after several hours of navigating the brilliantly challenging levels, you finally face off against a blatant Rambo rip-off called—no kidding—‘Rocky.’ Game director Noriyoshi Ohba reportedly confessed that the inclusion of these clearly borrowed characters was a sign of his “lack of creativity.” But Mr. Ohba, anyone who designs an antagonist that transforms from Spider-Man into Batman certainly isn’t lacking creativity… perhaps just sanity.
8. James Batman
This film is a wild crossover that exists entirely within its own lead character—an idea that becomes much more compelling after ingesting a generous amount of DMT. A Filipino take on James Bond, named James Hika, teams up with Batman and Robin to defeat an evil communist group threatening nuclear Armageddon unless all nations submit to them as their overlords. Pretty standard 60s plot, right? Is it strange that the same actor plays both James Hika and Batman? Oh yes. Is it odd that this feels like a slightly extended, more Asian version of Adam West’s Batman? Absolutely. Is it weird that the funniest moment in the film is when James gets bitten on the butt by a giant centipede? Without a doubt. Is this just plain weird? Pass the DMT.
7. A Wide Range of Games by Gameloft
Many of the titles on this list are low-budget, clearly cynical cash grabs, riding on the coattails of more established franchises, or, arguably, works of homage and parody. But what happens when the derivative games are actually pretty good? Zelda games are fantastic. The Gameloft version of Zelda is also solid. See the dilemma?
Gameloft, founded by former Ubisoft executive Michel Guillemot, has created a slew of high-quality games that bear more than a passing resemblance to other well-known properties. From Halo to Call of Duty, you can find a surprisingly good take on these franchises made by this French gaming company. They’ve built a loyal following, with plenty of detractors but an equal number of fans. It’s like Icarus flying too close to the sun: his wings got singed, but not completely burned. Watch out, Gameloft… they might just take a cue from this and release a text-based adventure game starring Icarus after this mention.
6. Jaws 5: Cruel Jaws—The ‘Jaws’ Sequel That Isn’t Really a ‘Jaws’ Sequel
Who ever thought of the shark in ‘Jaws’ as being kind? Can a shark even be kind or cruel? Apparently, the fifth (or unofficial) ‘Jaws’ shark could be both, depending on the interpretation.
The plot follows the same blueprint as the original Jaws movie: a shark terrorizes a small coastal town, and a group of locals and a scientist go on a mission to eliminate it, all while saving the town from financial collapse, with a few casualties along the way. It's so similar to the first Jaws that it even includes footage from the original films (plus scenes from two other Italian Jaws knockoffs, ripping off the rip-offs – how meta!). The film was initially planned for a Blu-ray release, packaged as a double feature with the wonderfully titled 1983 Spanish/Italian sci-fi disaster ‘Exterminators of the Year 3000’. But the Blu-ray was canceled because of the use of copyrighted footage from the original films. Now, that's the true cruelty. Poor Jaws.
5. Snakes on a…
Train? Wait, let me check IMDb... Ah, tricked again! There’s something unsettling about a movie ripping off another film that already feels like a parody of itself. It leaves a bad taste, like being swindled. Snakes on a Plane, despite its over-the-top absurdity, is a hilarious and campy ‘so bad it’s good’ film that comes across as a strangely brilliant, self-aware piece of cinematic art. You’d think that the folks at ‘The Asylum’ would have attempted to copy that campy charm.
But no. ‘Snakes on a Train’ is just a cheap, low-budget monster flick. Samuel L. Jackson must be turning in his Beverly Hills mansion.
4. Smelling a CG Rat
For many of us across the fragmented Atlantic, we can recall the cheap, blocky, poorly animated cartoons aimed at children, seemingly all coming from France, which were sold to TV networks and broadcast to a generation of confused kids who just wanted to watch Scooby-Doo. ‘Ratatoing’ is Brazil’s take on this trend. The title, which sounds a bit like a verb for rat torture, follows the animated tale of a French rat living in Rio de Janeiro who, by some miracle, is also an incredible chef. The bizarre animation is unsettling enough to haunt your nightmares for years. This whole series is based on the concept that could barely hold up a film. The studio behind this mess, Video Brinquedo, seems to specialize in Pixar rip-offs, with ‘Cars’, ‘Up’, and ‘Wall-E’ all getting nightmarish versions. It makes ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s’ Child Catcher look like a rookie in the field of ruining children’s entertainment. So, anyone up for watching some masked men have a quick ‘ratatoing’ session? No? Well, it’s still probably better than watching this disaster of a show.
3. A Whole Ton of Books That Ripped off ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
It was only a matter of time before a flood of unauthorized parodies, knockoffs, and questionable fanfics emerged from the runaway success of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. This series is the ‘Harry Potter’ of the erotic fiction world. But you know you’ve truly arrived when evangelical, biblically literalist Christians take your work and make it their own. Congratulations, EL James, you’ve officially won the literary game!
From ‘Fifty Shades of Grace’ (and there are at least ten versions of these, each by a different author) to ‘Fifty Shades of Pray’ or ‘Fifty Shades of Christ’, the Christian community seems to have embraced this series and run wild with it.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with fan fiction, genre-bending parodies, and the like. More power to the motivated Christian authors looking to capitalize on the success of a popular franchise; it can be done well. But let's not get too judgmental (I’m sure the Bible has something to say about that). People like the original ‘Fifty Shades’ series. Feel free to mock it, that’s fine. Create a fun parody, sure, but make it unrelated to the original – that works. But then, just as we get snarky critiques from places like The Atlantic, foolishly comparing the ‘guilty pleasure’ book to Booker Prize-worthy works, we also get Christian parodies that condemn the ‘sins’ of the original characters and reframe them as born-again prudes (with writing that’s somehow worse than the original books, which is quite the achievement). Do you not believe in ‘live and let live’, or do you simply have a guilty conscience?
2. The Amazing Bulk
It's common for those behind copycat movies or intellectual properties to take a sneaky approach to renaming things. Think ‘Superguy’ instead of Superman, ‘Catman’ instead of Batman. But what if someone went the extra mile with a double whammy of ‘rip-offitude’? Enter a synonym paired with a rhyming alternative? Genius. These folks have mastered the art of rebranding, striking gold with their creativity, loading the bases, and coming close to clinching the ‘Cashing in on Name Recognition World Series’. And to top it all off, the main character is purple. It’s a win.
With heavy reliance on stock footage and internet-sourced video clips, this film feels more like something from Roger Corman, the master of schlock and low-budget productions, than a work directed by Corman himself. Depending on your mood and level of inebriation, this is the kind of movie that’ll either have you laughing until you’re in physical pain or make you hurl your remote, a boot, or possibly a loved one straight through the TV screen.
1. The Italian Spiderman
“Salvami, l’Uomo Ragno!” screamed Maria Gianetta as she ran from the evil Folletto Verde. Recall that iconic scene? Of course not. That moment doesn’t exist. And as for Spider-Man wielding a pump-action shotgun? You bet that’s in the mix. Enjoy, you lucky viewer.
This film is a deliberate parody, an Australian-made tribute to 60s and 70s Italian action flicks like ‘The Three Fantastic Supermen’. These films were part of a brief wave that celebrated older, niche cinematic genres, similar to Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’ and Jason Eisner’s ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’. As the only entry on this list meant to be funny, there’s no need to nitpick inconsistencies or point out the liberties it takes. The sole reason for its inclusion here is to highlight just how significant this subculture and fringe interest has become. Check out the film on YouTube, along with the fantastic comedy series ‘Danger 5’, created by the same team.
