Guardian readers have shared their most excruciating viewing experiences, as part of a roundup of the publication's zero-star reviews. These range from a disastrous Playmobil animated film to a 1970s television show featuring chimpanzees, and even a stage play that emptied the auditorium at the interval.
Olly, 47, from Birmingham, said Playmobil: The Movie was "excruciating" – despite hoping for a surprise on par with The Lego Movie. He noted that the best part was the opening song, where Anya Taylor-Joy sings about imagination before the police deliver news of the parents' death, which he described as "by far the biggest laugh". Meanwhile, Catherine from Massachusetts recalled Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp as "the single worst piece of garbage ever inflicted on TV viewers", with chimps dressed up and given items to chew while humans supplied cheesy dubbed dialogue.
Ke from Ireland described Waterworld, starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper, as "unintentionally hilarious", a zero-star cultural moment but a five-star bonding experience. Will from London said of Ricky Gervais's After Life: "I'm still processing how awful it was." He criticised the show for relying heavily on the c-word and for featuring scenes in which the protagonist commits serious crimes, including threatening a child with a hammer, that are barely mentioned again.
A former journalist recalled reviewing Moonshine by Snoo Wilson at Hampstead Theatre in 1999, calling it "an absolute disaster on every level" – an incomprehensible plot, stultifying dialogue, and a set design like a freshers' week post-pub effort. By the interval, most of the audience had left, with the artistic director desperately trying to persuade the one other remaining audience member to stay.
