Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s time to praise the genius that is “No Rules Cinema” - a particularly baffling, yet highly entertaining category of films that back-break the traditional rules of moviemaking in the most extreme ways possible. Ridiculous effects, inconceivable plots, and deliciously horrendous acting are just a few pieces of the No Rules puzzle, though most often, it’s the delirious effect they have on viewers that tend to set these fine productions apart from the rest. Torturous to most, these classics of modern ironic hilarity are only for the strong of heart and most humorous of souls.

For those on the hunt, members of the No Rules club can be found in everything from high-to-extremely low budgeted entertainment that tend to sway towards the darker and more combustable genre affairs. While fine specimens hit the movie houses just once in a blue moon, the rest of the alumni are packed away in Hollywood’s hollowed vaults of embarrassment. Most recently, audiences were treated to one of the most in-your-face examples with Kurt Wimmer’s jaw-dropping epic of misguided ambition, Ultraviolet (2006), which found Milla Jovovich shooting swords out of her arms and riding a future motorcycle up the side of skyscrapers while being chased by not one, but two helicopters!

Lowbrow effects are usually a staple of these flicks, though none are used to such a gloriously excessive degree than 2004’s Torque, whose finale is yet another unrestrained motorcycle chase - this time, through Los Angeles at 1,000 mph using super bikes and explosive fuel. This scene alone makes Matrix Reloaded’s much-hyped road race seem like it was done in slow motion. The result is a frenzied slice of exhilarating confusion for any viewer that sticks with the flick. Thankfully, the rest of the running time consists of over-the-top actors laying down priceless dialogue when they’re not fighting on top of motorcycles in front of Pepsi and Mountain Dew billboards.

Of course, new technology isn’t a prerequisite for any honorary No Rules movie member, as evidenced in Lou Ferrigno’s wild collaborations with Italian director Luigi Cozzi on Hercules (1983) and its oh-so-cleverly titled sequel the following year, The Adventures of Hercules. Besides throwing a bear into space and other ludicrous feats, Ferrigno faces off in both films against a Burger King-look-alike villain who, in their final no-holds-barred confrontation, transforms into an animated dinosaur snake in effort to battle the muscleman’s own neon gorilla metamorphosis. Cozzi’s previous foray into sci-fi madness Star Crash (1978) is also highly recommended, wherein David Hasselhoff rocks an extreme perm and a bootleg lightsaber as he joins forces with Christopher Plummer as the glamorous Emperor of the Galaxy.

Big budgeted bombs are also a good place to look for these slices of special goodness. Everything from John Travolta’s absurd ode to Scientology Battlefield Earth (2000) to Stephen Sommers‘ nonstop schlock ride Van Helsing (2004) hold high in the baffling world of “What the heck were they thinking?” filmmaking. Jean-Claude Van Damme is another culprit to look for in such wild productions, the best being Knock Off back in ‘98, where he battles Paul Sorvino and exploding blue jeans (for real!).

Many other examples lie dormant on video and DVD racks everywhere just waiting to be discovered. In fact, part of the fun with No Rules Cinema is taking hits for the team only to stumble upon yet another slice of gold to be replayed to friends and fellow trashcan movie lovers everywhere over and over again.

Explore the wild world of No Rules Cinema here…

Torque
Knock Off
Ultraviolet
Hercules
The Adventures of Hercules
Star Crash
Future War
Mortal Kombat: The Annihilation
Battlefield Earth
Van Helsing
Resident Evil: The Apocalypse
Ninja in Action
House of the Dead
Alone in the Dark
Amityville II: The Possession

A Sound of Thunder
Bulletproof Monk