Top 10 Worst Movie Sets

Although “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” had almost double the budget of its 1995 predecessor, somehow everything got a major downgrade, including the sets. If this were a student film or a theme park stunt show, the various temples here would look pretty impressive. As a multi-million dollar motion picture, though, this is one butt-ugly experience with bleak colors and dilapidated, unimaginative set pieces. You know you’re in trouble when the videogame’s 16-bit backgrounds look more glorious than the movie’s art direction. It’s a fatality on the eyes. But fortunately, for audiences at least, these sets were destroyed during Hurricane Katrina so we won’t have to put up with them ever again.

Yet another video game movie that failed to live up expectations, “Super Mario Bros.” will have you contemplating if the filmmakers ever even picked up a Nintendo controller. When you think of Mario’s world, what comes to mind? Green hills, welcoming clouds, and mushrooms the size of skyscrapers. That’s the complete opposite of this film’s dark, dank dystopian parallel dimension. This city looks like table scraps of “Blade Runner” with no blocks, green pipes, or castles anywhere in sight – almost like it was built in an old cement factory. Inaccuracy to the game aside, thesets are still explosively overblown.

Jim Henson was truly one of the most influential visionaries who ever lived. Much of his creative genius shines through in “Labyrinth,” although this particular set piece looks pretty lame and dated. Bu then, the same could be said about David Bowie’s random, totally unnecessary musical number, “Magic Dance.” While the song is admittedly kind of fun in its absurdity, Bowie’s bombastic, flamboyant musical stylings don’t really match the cramped, dreary environment. His throne room isn’t especially fun, whimsical, or magical, diminishing our desire to get up and dance.

While the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” TV series was never known for groundbreaking visuals or exotic locations, the Rangers’ first theatrical outing does, arguably, up the ante - but barely.Despite the theatrical treatment, the film falls short of its ambitions to appear epic. Case in point: Planet Phaedos. With obviously fake mountains, obviously fake backdrops, and just an obviously fake atmosphere all-around, this set wouldn’t even cut it for old school “Star Trek” or an episode of “Xena: Warrior Princess.” Devoid of anything resembling creativity, inventiveness, or originality, the art direction is a failure on all fronts.

We apologize on Rob Reiner’s behalf to any Alaskans that sat through this movie. On a quest to find nicer parents, young North travels north to an Inuit village. What he discovers there is so stereotypical, inaccurate, and offensive that the audience might think they’re watching a racist cartoon – you know, like those offensive pieces of animated propaganda from the War? Snow-white picket fences, igloos with garage doors, and ice flow lines? Are you kidding us? It’d be one thing if these visual gags were clever and funny or – y’know – actually worked, but they’re about as uncomfortable to look at as the rest of “North.”

Yet another movie that didn’t exactly strive for authenticity, “¡Three Amigos!” shot exactly none of its scenes in Mexico. Unlike “North,” however, this film’s unrealistic sets do amount to some good humor. There’s an especially fun salute to Technicolor backdrops from classic westerns as our bumbling heroes sing around a campfire while the sun goes down. That being said, the scenery is about as believable as what you’d see on a “Saturday Night Live” sketch or at a museum exhibit. It’s still technically cheesy, but at least it’s lovingly cheesy.

Named, we assume, for the film’s main set, much of “The Room” is staged like a play…but we’re not sure which elementary school is responsible for this production. The film was primarily shot on a soundstage, with the most blatantly clear instance being the rooftop scenes where San Francisco is greenscreened, poorly, into the background – despite the fact that director Tommy Wiseau had access to an actual San Francisco rooftop! But instead of using it, Wiseau spared no expense, setting up fake-ass bricks, a patio set and a...shed... thing? to completely replicating the San-Fran experience! Anyway, how is your sex life?

With so many other nostalgic ‘80s cartoons getting the live-action cinematic treatment as of late, “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” could use a reboot. It couldn’t possibly look any worse than this 1987 feature. Where Skeletor’s throne room in the cartoon series was sufficiently, nightmarishly badass, this one seems confused. Does it want to be mystical, high-tech, hellish, or just silly? In any case, the Overlord of Evil should really fire his interior designer. It might have been the largest set in decades, but Skeletor deserves better than this and so does Frank Langella. And so do we!

There’s no doubt about it, “The Princess Bride” is a perennial classic that’s perfect in every way. That being said, part of the film’s charm does derive from the fact that it is so corny. Much of that corniness leaks out from the film’s sets, which occasionally look about as real as something out of a fairy tale, the most evident example being the summit of the Cliffs of Insanity. While the scene will have you smiling all the way through, there’s no denying that the set, backdrop, and props are inconceivably fake.

Before we strike the set with our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- Outer Space
“Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” (1987)
- Captain Manzini’s Shop
“The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” (1987)
- The Grave
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
- Spooky Island
“Scooby-Doo” (2002)

“Plan 9 from Outer Space” has been hailed as the worst movie ever made and you can understand why based on this horrendously campy graveyard. This set is obviously phony: like, did Ed Wood seriously think the audience wouldn’t notice that cardboard headstone tipping over? Filmmaking may be about the big picture, but absolutely nothing in this particular picture is even remotely convincing. The set is so shamelessly low-rent, half-assed, and passionately sucky, however, that it isn’t surprising “Plan 9” is also often considered the best worst movie ever made.

Do you agree with our list? What do you think is the worst movie set ever constructed? For more entertaining Top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.