The Qualification List: Every Movie We've Ever Defended
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Every film in the original Slept-On Cinema run began with the same test: it was at 50% or lower with both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes when we selected it. Then Stan Steamer and GrobeStreet make the case for a second look.
Choose by your kind of night: use our Movie Week guide for Monday-to-Sunday picks, or go straight to Friday night, Saturday afternoon or a lazy Sunday.
That threshold is the archive’s origin story, not the whole identity today. Slept-On Cinema has grown into a broader Movie Optimist project: genuine cinematic optimism, no guilty pleasures, and a better way to find movies worth another look. This page preserves the qualification history; Movies Critics Got Wrong and The Reappraisal carry that idea forward.
Scores move as reviews and audience ratings are added. The numbers below are a snapshot checked September 12, 2026 except where a later check is noted; they do not rewrite why a film qualified when we chose it. A limited-rating title is marked rather than assigned a made-up percentage. Episode 37 is a special episode, not a scored feature-film pick.
Browse the full 80-episode archive to listen spoiler-free first, watch the movie, then come back for the reappraisal.
| Ep. | Movie | Critics | Audience | Selection note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Net (1995) Read our review | 44% | 44% | Qualified at selection |
| 2 | Anaconda (1997) Read our review | 41% | 24% | Qualified at selection |
| 3 | Over the Top (1987) Read our review | 32% | 50% | Qualified at selection |
| 4 | Jeepers Creepers (2001) Read our review | 47% | 49% | Qualified at selection |
| 5 | Shocker (1989) Read our review | 30% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 6 | Timecop (1994) Read our review | 43% | 39% | Qualified at selection |
| 7 | Surviving the Game (1994) Read our review | 35% | 48% | Qualified at selection |
| 8 | Lake Placid (1999) Read our review | 47% | 37% | Qualified at selection |
| 9 | Last Action Hero (1993) Read our review | 42% | 48% | Qualified at selection |
| 10 | Snake Eyes (1998) Read our review | 43% | 36% | Qualified at selection |
| 11 | The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) Read our review | 17% | 44% | Qualified at selection |
| 12 | Paycheck (2003) Read our review | 27% | 45% | Qualified at selection |
| 13 | Femme Fatale (2002) Read our review | 49% | 49% | Qualified at selection |
| 14 | Batman Forever (1995) Read our review | 41% | 33% | Qualified at selection |
| 15 | Freddy vs. Jason (2003) Read our review | 41% | 50% | Qualified at selection |
| 16 | Birdies Read our review | — | — | Current RT page has limited ratings |
| 17 | Hollow Man (2000) Read our review | 25% | 28% | Qualified at selection |
| 18 | Dante's Peak (1997) Read our review | 34% | 39% | Qualified at selection |
| 19 | Disturbing Behavior (1998) Read our review | 36% | 40% | Qualified at selection |
| 20 | Eraser (1996) Read our review | 46% | 40% | Qualified at selection |
| 21 | The Strangers (2008) Read our review | 50% | 48% | Qualified at selection |
| 22 | Jennifer's Body (2009) Read our review | 47% | 36% | Qualified at selection |
| 23 | The Relic (1997) Read our review | 41% | 34% | Qualified at selection |
| 24 | Reign of Fire (2002) Read our review | 42% | 49% | Qualified at selection |
| 25 | Black Christmas (2019) Read our review | 41% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 26 | Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) Read our review | 55% | 40% | Current critic score changed after selection |
| 27 | Knock Knock (2015) Read our review | 37% | 19% | Qualified at selection |
| 28 | Johnny Mnemonic (1995) Read our review | 19% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 29 | Entrapment (1999) Read our review | 40% | 50% | Qualified at selection |
| 30 | Passenger 57 (1992) Read our review | 30% | 38% | Qualified at selection |
| 31 | Money Train (1995) Read our review | 22% | 29% | Qualified at selection |
| 32 | Scooby-Doo (2002) Read our review | 32% | 41% | Qualified at selection |
| 33 | 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Read our review | 37% | 50% | Qualified at selection |
| 34 | Annabelle (2014) Read our review | 28% | 35% | Qualified at selection |
| 35 | The Nun (2018) Read our review | 24% | 35% | Qualified at selection |
| 36 | The Meg (2018) Read our review | 47% | 44% | Qualified at selection |
| 37 | Birdies — Special Episode Review and both episodes | — | — | Special episode; not a feature-film score row |
| 38 | High Voltage (2018) Read our review | 33% | 23% | David Arquette / Hollow Body film; RT page checked October 1, 2026 |
| 39 | Virtuosity (1995) Read our review | 28% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 40 | The Lawnmower Man (1992) Read our review | 35% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 41 | Sudden Death (1995) Read our review | 53% | 40% | Current critic score changed after selection |
| 42 | Spy Hard (1996) Read our review | 7% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 43 | Universal Soldier (1992) Read our review | 34% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 44 | Species (1995) Read our review | 42% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 45 | Reindeer Games (2000) Read our review | 25% | 28% | Qualified at selection |
| 46 | Daylight (1996) Read our review | 28% | 37% | Qualified at selection |
| 47 | Judge Dredd (1995) Read our review | 22% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 48 | Hard to Kill (1990) Read our review | 33% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 49 | Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) Read our review | 34% | 38% | Qualified at selection |
| 50 | Pain & Gain (2013) Read our review | 49% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 51 | Texas Chainsaw 3D (2013) Read our review | 20% | 40% | Qualified at selection |
| 52 | Hellboy (2019) Read our review | 17% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 53 | The Fan (1996) Read our review | 42% | 35% | Qualified at selection |
| 54 | Pacific Rim Uprising (2018) Read our review | 41% | 36% | Qualified at selection |
| 55 | The Voyeurs (2021) Read our review | 45% | 45% | Qualified at selection |
| 56 | The Day After Tomorrow (2004) Read our review | 46% | 50% | Qualified at selection |
| 57 | 2012 (2009) Read our review | 40% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 58 | Celtic Pride (1996) Read our review | 12% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 59 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982) Read our review | 50% | 31% | Qualified at selection |
| 60 | Double Impact (1991) Read our review | 33% | 43% | Qualified at selection |
| 61 | Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) Read our review | 40% | 44% | Qualified at selection |
| 62 | Volcano (1997) Read our review | 48% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 63 | Undisputed (2002) Read our review | 50% | 46% | Qualified at selection |
| 64 | Sgt. Bilko (1996) Read our review | 31% | 47% | Qualified at selection |
| 65 | The Hurricane Heist (2018) Read our review | 47% | 23% | Qualified at selection |
| 66 | Showgirls (1995) Read our review | 24% | 38% | Qualified at selection |
| 67 | Knowing (2009) Read our review | 35% | 42% | Qualified at selection |
| 68 | Drive Angry (2011) Read our review | 46% | 37% | Qualified at selection |
| 69 | Wishmaster (1997) Read our review | 26% | 40% | Qualified at selection |
| 70 | The Final Destination (2009) Read our review | 28% | 35% | Qualified at selection |
| 71 | Godzilla (1998) Read our review | 20% | 28% | Qualified at selection |
| 72 | Urban Legend (1998) Read our review | 31% | 38% | Qualified at selection |
| 73 | The Skulls (2000) Read our review | 9% | 43% | Qualified at selection |
| 74 | Tammy and the T-Rex (1994) Read our review | 43% | 39% | Qualified at selection |
| 75 | Swimfan (2002) Read our review | 15% | 32% | Qualified at selection |
| 76 | Congo (1995) Read our review | 24% | 30% | Qualified at selection |
| 77 | The Shadow (1994) Read our review | 38% | 45% | Qualified at selection |
| 78 | Alien 3 (1992) Read our review | 43% | 46% | Qualified at selection |
| 79 | Predator 2 (1990) Read our review | 36% | 44% | Qualified at selection |
| 80 | Alien vs. Predator (2004) Read our review · Listen to Episode 80 | 21% | 39% | Episode 80, October 2, 2026 |
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