Both a harsh critic at times, and a staunch defender of diversity and creative choices in filmmaking, Roger Ebert is arguably the most esteemed and well-known film critic of all time. Though he sadly passed away in 2013 after a long battle with cancer, his film reviews live on in the public memory as a testament to his perceptive view of cinema and eloquent way of talking about it.

One thing he was known for was not holding back when it came to his movie reviews. When Ebert thoroughly enjoyed and admired a film, he would say so enthusiastically. When he hated one, he would proclaim it loudly as he did for films like Pink Flamingos and Caligula. The critic wrote some of the worst movie reviews ever — not in terms of the quality of his writing, oh no, but in terms of how brutally he talked about the films he was reviewing. There are undeniably some films that he despised more than most, sometimes giving them his infamous lowest-possible rating: No stars and a thumbs down.

15 'Jaws: The Revenge' (1987)

Directed by Joseph Sargent

The fourth and final film in the Jaws franchise and one of the worst sequels of all time, Jaws: The Revenge focuses on the recently widowed Ellen Brody, who goes to visit her son Michael after her other son Sean dies from a shark attack while on the job. During her visit, she strikes up a new romance, but things go awry when the group is terrorized by a great white shark out for revenge. How a shark is able to hold a grudge and set out on a quest for revenge was a mystery for all, including Roger Ebert.

This film interestingly ignores the events of the movie Jaws 3-D, and was one that Roger Ebert found to be not only a “bad movie, but also a stupid and incompetent one.” He also went further and claimed that it wasn’t a good thriller either, which is a deep cut for a Jaws movie. According to Ebert, though, viewers are better off watching a movie that doesn't propose sharks are capable of thirsting for payback.

14 'Dirty Love' (2005)

Directed by John Asher

In Dirty Love, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg plays a woman who finds out her boyfriend is cheating. After breaking up, she steps back onto the dating scene to get back at her ex, all the while ignoring the one guy who might be right for her: her nerdy friend John. Though it's supposed to be a comedy, some would call it one of the unfunniest films ever put on the silver screen.

This is a film that Roger Ebert particularly did not enjoy, having some very strong words for it in his review. He claimed that the film was so pitiful that “it [was] hopelessly incompetent” and said that he was unsure if anyone “involved [had] ever seen a movie, or [knew] what one is.” For anyone thinking about watching Dirty Love, it’s certain that Ebert would advise against it.

Watch on Tubi

13 'The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)' (2011)

Directed by Tom Six

One of the most infamously grotesque and disturbing horror movie franchises ever, the Human Centipede trilogy is certainly an entertaining talking point. The second installment, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), follows a disturbed loner who sets out to create a 12-person human centipede. No one asked for the first film, no one asked for a sequel, but Tom Six delivered anyway.

From the get-go, Ebert calls the film in his review "an ugly, artless affront to human decency." It's certainly not hard to see why the critic had such contempt for the movie, since it has everything he usually hated: No heart, nothing of any real value to say, and gratuitous shock value. It's certainly a cult classic that isn't without it fans, but Ebert would have never called himself one of them.

12 'North' (1994)

Directed by Rob Reiner

Based on a novel by Alan Zweibel, North stars Elijah Wood as the title character, a young boy who is bright but severely neglected by his parents. He meets a man who encourages him to legally separate from them and search the world for a much better replacement, but North soon realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Roger Ebert reviews could get quite poetic with his use of words, so when he was particularly concise when expressing his distaste for a movie, one knew that things were serious. Judging by his review of North, it might be safe to argue that it’s one of the films he despised most. Simply put, he “hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it.” He even said he was insulted by the very thought that some people might like it, which is an extremely low blow.

11 'Freddy Got Fingered' (2001)

Directed by Tom Green

In the black comedy Freddy Got Fingered, a struggling cartoon artist decides to fabricate something life-changing about his father for attention when his pitch for a cartoon gets rejected in Hollywood. The devious lie is that his father is molesting his younger brother Freddy, and it sets off an insane chain of events for the family. The movie has its fans, but for the most part, it's usually considered one of the worst of all time.

Roger Ebert felt that the movie not only “doesn’t scrape the bottom of the barrel,” but that it doesn’t even “deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence with barrels.” Needless to say, the esteemed film critic absolutely hated this film about how an egregious lie tears apart a normal family. He didn't find it funny, and general audiences tend to agree.

Watch on Criterion

10 'B.A.P.S.' (1997)

Directed by Robert Townsend

In B.A.P.S., one of the campiest comedies of the '90s, Oscar winner Halle Berry plays Nisi alongside Natalie Desselle’s Mickey, two stylish waitresses who dream of opening their own hair salon that doubles as a soul-food restaurant. To achieve these dreams, the two fly to L.A. for an audition but instead strike up a conveniently close friendship with an elderly millionaire.

Though it's a film that fans of Berry thoroughly enjoy without any irony or shame, Roger Ebert found it less than satisfactory. He is quoted as saying that the film "doesn’t work" but would "bring us all together... in paralyzing boredom." The general critical consensus aligns with his opinion, but with so many modern audiences still loving the movie for what it is, one can't help but wonder if a re-evaluation is in order.

9 'Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo' (2005)

Directed by Mike Bigelow

In the somewhat-of-a-cult-classic comedy sequel Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, Rob Schneider plays the titular gigolo who resumes his career of prostitution when his former pimp returns to his life and requires his assistance. While Deuce attempts to figure out who is framing his friend for multiple murders, he encounters many ladies and obstacles along the way.

Though many fans of Rob Schneider love this wacky movie for what it has to offer, Ebert reviewed the film and called it “aggressively bad, as if it wants to cause suffering to the audience” and he went on to personally address the star, saying: “Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.” There’s not much else one can add after a scathing review like that!