A24 has proven itself to be one of the premiere distributors of challenging and critically acclaimed independent films in the modern era. Since its launch in 2012, the studio has found itself distributing and producing films in nearly every genre under the sun, allowing creative visionary directors to give justice to their distinct visions as a studio dedicated to lower-budget, experimental films. Some of the most acclaimed films of recent years, includingMoonlight,Everything Everywhere All at Once, andHereditary, are a part of this legendary banner.
However, it’s impossible for any studio, especially one with such prominence and popularity as A24, to be perfect in their portfolio, having several below-average films that are often forgotten in favor of their greater cinematic outings. Whether it be strange and underwhelming growing pains from the early years of the distributor’s lifespan or simply wild swings for the creative fences that served to alienate more than charm audiences,A24 is far from perfect, and these are the distributor/producer’s worst movies.
10’The Adderall Diaries' (2015)
Directed by Pamela Romanowsky
A true crime drama from the early years of A24’s filmography,The Adderall Diariesfollows writer Stephen Elliott (James Franco), who has been forced to deal with his painful childhood in destructive ways, including the abuse of drugs like Adderall. However, his life is suddenly thrown for a loop when his physically and psychologically abusive father (Ed Harris) suddenly returns, claiming that what Stephen has written about his past and his dark childhood is a fabrication. Stephen is forced to recollect and go through his memories to find out the truth of his past.
There are certainly pieces here for a compelling drama, including the complications of drug addiction and the impact that memories have on our lives, no matter how true they end up being. However, while it believes it’s telling a profound and groundbreaking story,The Adderall Diariesfails to even come close to the emotional weight or intelligence that it aspires to tell. It feels less like a woven-together story through a concrete vision and insteada jumbled mess of sequences and plot threadsthat were thrown together at the last minute. The only thing the film is remembered for nowadays is beingone ofTimothée Chalamet’s first movies.
The Adderall Diaries
9’The Vanishing of Sidney Hall' (2017)
Directed by Shawn Christensen
Attempting to combine the often unrelated genres of romantic drama and mystery,The Vanishing of Sidney Hall’s difficult balancing act proved to be a failure in the eyes of many critics and audiences. The film chronicles the story of Sidney Hall (Logan Lerman), a young novelist whose life is depicted across 12 years in a non-linear fashion between flashbacks and flash-forwards throughout different periods of his life. The film sees Sidney falling in love, writing the book of a generation, and mysteriously disappearing without a trace.
While the film sets up an aura of mystery and intrigue surrounding its lead character, the truth is that there’s very little concrete or compelling heft to latch onto when it comes to Sidney’s story. His experiences are relatively basic and don’t lend themselves to a deeply compelling narrative, contrived by clichés and tropes that were long since tired by the late 2010s. While the film certainly has its fans, critics ate the film to shreds, andit has the lowest Rotten Tomatoes score of any A24 filmat a truly pitiful 11%.
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8’The Sea of Trees' (2015)
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Whileacclaimed directorGus Van Santhas lent his hand to a multitude of beloved movies, directing classics likeMy Own Private IdahoandGood Will Hunting,The Sea of Treesis easily one of his worst directorial works. The film follows Arthur Brennan (Matthew McConaughey), a troubled physics professor who travels to Japan to end his life in the infamous suicide forest. Instead, he meets a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) whose attempts to claw back at life have him reflecting on a life-changing journey of self-discovery.
The Sea of Treesseems like it would be a slam dunk for Van Sant, tackling and dealing with similar darker themes of depression and suicidal tendencies as his other films. However,it comes across as surprisingly amateurish and too artsyfor its own good. For all the nuance and layers that this topic and concepts deserve, the film completely wastes its star-studded cast in telling a dull and underwhelming romp that has nothing to say and serves as hollow, empty noise.
The Sea of Trees
7’Barely Lethal' (2015)
Directed by Kyle Newman
A wild blinding of a high-stakes espionage action film with a quirky, coming-of-age teenage romcom,Barely Lethalis a premise that feels less like an A24 film and more like a Disney Channel Original movie. The film follows Megan Walsh (Hailee Steinfeld), a 16-year-old international assassin who has been living as a dangerous tool working top-secret missions across the world. However, she yearns to have a standard teenage experience and fakes her death to enroll as a senior at a suburban high school. Alas, it doesn’t take long before her former employers find her.
While there is inherent comedy and potential in its approach to the spy and teen genres,Barely Lethalplays it too safe to be anything to write home about. While it certainly wants to poke fun atthe clichés and tropes of the teenand spy genres,it falls into the same pitfalls as the films it mocks, creating a film much dumber than it thinks it is. The lower budget that normally acts as a positive for A24’s other works ends up becoming a major hindrance forBarely Lethal, with its lackluster sets and performances feeling especially phoned in.
Barely Lethal
6’Revenge of the Green Dragons' (2014)
Directed by Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Andrew Loo
An underwhelming gangster filmthat disappointed audiences and critics alike.Revenge of the Green Dragonsis aboutas by-the-numbers and generic as a crime film can get. Based on a true story of Chinese-American gang life during the ’80s and ’90s in New York City, the film follows immigrant Sonny (Justin Chon) as he joins the notorious Green Dragons gang as a child, working his way through the ranks. However, as he grows to be an increasingly infamous member of the gang and the community around him, his life slowly begins to fall apart.
As a bare minimum for not only gangster films but the art of filmmaking in general, there has to be some sort of hook or interesting twist to keep audiences interested and engaged throughout the experience.Revenge of the Green Dragonshas very little when it comes to engagement as one of the most barebones and forgettable gangster movies ever released. It acts as a strange side note during A24’s early years,a fever dream of awkward editing and stilted performancesthat are better left to be forgotten.
Revenge of the Green Dragons
5’When You Finish Saving The World' (2022)
Directed by Jesse Eisenberg
Misfires in the modern era of A24’s era of production and distribution are much rare and unexpected compared to their early growing pains, yetWhen You Finish Saving the Worldis one such major exception. The film follows the increasing disconnect between Evelyn (Julianne Moore), a struggling suburban mother, and her son, Ziggy (Finn Wolfhard), a teenage musician building up his social media following.
Dramatic comedies are defined greatly by their characters and interactions with one another, and it’s difficult to have a good time withWhen You Finish Saving the Worldwhen all main characters are unbearably unlikable and annoying. From Ziggy’s fragmented teenage perspective and clout chasing to Evelyn’s failures at even attempting to understand the modern teenage space,the film quickly devolves into an aggravating experience. It certainly has its fans and isn’t completely devoid of positives, but it takes a certain taste in comedy to get enjoyment out of this experience. Suffice it to say, this is far fromthe best directorial debuts from actors.
When You Finish Saving the World
4’A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III' (2012)
Directed by Roman Coppola
The first film to be released by A24, the distributor would, ironically, only go up from here as there are few stranger and more confusing debut titles for a studio thanA Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III. The film follows the titular Charles Swan III (Charlie Sheen), a highly successful graphic designer with all the fame, fortune, and charm anyone could ask for. However, after an unexpected heartbreak leaves him lost and looking for inner peace, he and his friends embark on a journey of self-reflection to come to terms with a life without his now ex.
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan IIIis simply too all over the place and too unfunny to actually work.
Especially when compared to the competency and artistic works of recent years,Charles Swan IIIis still a strange and unexpectedculture shock that simplyfeels like a cinematic experience from a bygone era. While it’s attempting to be a similar style of zany, multi-genre comedy experience akin toThe Big Lebowski, the final product is simply too all over the place and too unfunny to actually work. It truly is ironic that A24’s first feature ended up being one of their worst, but at least things improved later.
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3’Mojave' (2015)
Directed by William Monahan
A strange and chaotic crime thriller that quickly folds in on itself due to incompetence,Mojaveis the type of strange, unenjoyable experience that baffles the mind in its ineptitude. The film follows Thomas (Garrett Hedlund), a successful Hollywood director and artist who, after a depressing night of partying, attempts to find refuge from all of his quarrels by traveling into the desert. However, he soon comes face to face with Jack (Oscar Isaac), a dangerous drifter with homicidal tendencies who gets into a long-lasting brawl with Thomas.
Mojaveis one ofthe most confounding yet simplest examples of how a film can go wrong, as the majority of its downsides come from a lack of skill or competence. DirectorWilliam Monahanis simply a much better writer than he is a director, as the performances and execution ofMojaveare wildly frustrating and feel like a major missed opportunity. Combined with some bafflinglyconfusing twists that only make the experience worse, it’s no surprise thatMojavehas been largely forgotten over the years.
2’Men' (2022)
Directed by Alex Garland
Alex Garlandis no stranger to providing a great number of iconic and exceptional films under the A24 banner, withEx Machina,Annihilation, andCivil Warreceiving mass acclaim from critics and audiences alike. However, he does not have a perfect record with the studio, asMenproved to be simply too chaotic and subtext-dependent, creating a strange and confusing experience that sharplydivided critics and audiences. The film follows a young woman who travels to the countryside after experiencing a tragedy, only to be met with an array of disturbing occurrences by the locals.
WhileMenstill has the claim to fame of Garland’s exceptional directing and visual style, it’s the story and screenplay where the film falls apart at the seamsto become a caricature of A24 films as a whole. The film’s overwhelming focus on subtext and allegorical meaning for what should be the simplest and most obvious message comes across less as poetic and smart and instead condescending and annoying. While there certainly was potential to make this concept and characters work well,Mensells them short.
Men (2022)
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1’False Positive' (2021)
Directed by John Lee
One of the few times where A24 would end up producing a film but passing on actually distributing it,False Positiveis a psychological horror film that confuses and anger much more than anything else. The film follows a struggling couple who, after months of trying and failing to get pregnant, finally seems to have found the perfect fertility doctor in Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). However, after becoming pregnant with a healthy baby girl, there is an undeniable sinister nature emanating from Hindle as the couple sets out to uncover this disturbing truth.
A mystery concept such asFalse Positiveis entirely reliant on its twist to make the film work, with the buildup, red herrings, and everything in between coming together to make this facet the most important part. However, in the case ofFalse Positive, the ending twist is so baffling and chaotic thatit derails and destroys every other aspect of the film. Even outside of this point, more knowledgeable film fans and critics were quick to point out the similarities betweenFalse Positiveand the horror classicRosemary’s Baby, with the former adding nothing to the table in terms of originality or flair to the concept.
