All the answers to your many questions about this website can be found here.
What's the point of this site?
The Agony Booth is primarily devoted to posting recaps of
the worst movies ever made, with the occasional recap of a bad TV episode.
These are not "movie reviews". Bad movies are thoroughly analyzed and dissected in order to
bring deeper understanding of how cinematic disasters occur in the first place.
But above all, the point of this site is to have fun mocking the type of movies
we love to hate.
Who started this site, and why?
This site was started by me (Albert
Walker) in April of 2002. I was inspired by several other sites that were doing the same thing,
most notably Jabootu's Bad Movie Dimension and Television Without Pity. There
are lots of other sites that post recaps, many of which are listed on
the Wikipedia entry for "recapping".
I'd like to think this site is inspired by them all, in one way or another.
Your reviews are funny, but they're too long!
Why don't you make them shorter?
If you really have to ask this question, this is not the site for you.
Move along now, nothing for you to see here.
Why would anyone read this stuff when it takes less time
to watch the movie?
See the answer to the question above.
In some places, your recaps are referred to as "reviews". What's up with that?
This is a result of a recent change. Going forward,
all articles consisting of lengthy scene-by-scene analysis of a movie or TV show
will be referred to as "recaps". This is to set them apart from movie "reviews" which
simply give you a brief overview of the plot and the writer's opinion. Unfortunately, this
site has a body of work going back years that refers to the recaps as "reviews". If you see
"review" being used, most likely it's an older recap.
Where does the name "agony booth" come from?
It's from an episode of the original Star Trek called
"Mirror, Mirror". That's the one where Kirk and the crew cross over to a parallel
Enterprise where Spock has a beard, and everyone carries knives. When officers
break the rules, they're forced to spend time in the "agony booth", a small chamber
that induces horrific pain.
(An "agonizer", a smaller, portable version of the agony booth,
is used for lesser offenses. The Agonizer section of this site features
more conventional reviews of films that are not bad enough to warrant full-length recaps.)
More information can be found at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki.
Why don't you recap [insert movie/TV show]?
Unfortunately, this site's list of movies and TV episodes that
we plan to recap is long enough to last for years to come. We are not
hurting for ideas when it comes to recap material. You can suggest something if you want, but the
odds of us recapping your suggestion are pretty much nil.
Why don't you watch [insert movie/TV show]? It's really bad!
As with the question above, the people who write for this site
each have their own list of films they want to watch. (Particularly those of us with Netflix.)
You can suggest something, but there really aren't enough hours in the day to watch
every movie that's recommended to us.
I really want to write for your site. Do you take reader submissions?
Yes! Click here to find out how you
can submit a recap to the Agony Booth!
I'm an indie filmmaker. Can I send a screener for you to review?
You are more than welcome to send us a screener. However, please keep in
mind that this is a site devoted to bad movies. The only way a review will appear
on this site is if your movie is bad (or good in a cheesy/trashy way).
If you can handle your film being ripped apart, feel free
to send it in. Contact us for a mailing address.
Where can I get a copy of [insert movie/TV show recapped on this site]?
Check the first page of the recap.
The poster image should have a link to buy the movie from Amazon. If there is
no "click to buy" link, the movie is probably not available from any mainstream online retailer,
which means you're on your own. We do not sell or trade movies. Almost all of the rare and hard-to-find movies
featured on this site were found on eBay. Sorry, we have no inside track
on acquiring rare movies.
Why does it take so long to update your site?
We post no recaps before it's time. These recaps are the result of
hours and hours of really hard work. If they were written and posted quickly, they would suck.
And you don't want this site to suck, do you?
When is the next recap going to be posted?
There's no set schedule for updates.
Asking when the next recap will be posted won't cause it
to be posted any faster. If this site isn't updated often for you, you're free to start
your own website where you post 20,000+ word articles that are both funny and entertaining.
Oh, and you have to do it for free. Not so easy, is it?
How can I contact you?
Use the handy Agony
Booth Contact Form. That's kind of what it's there for.
