in praise of the "b-movie"

[ctc]

So;

Thanks to a member here, I got a clean copy of "The Horror of Party Beach," which I maintain is the GREATEST B-Movie ever! But note I said "B" movie, and not "movie." The B-moive is it's own special critter: a cheap production, slapped to gether with no money , in no time, featuring the most outrageous monster the prop guy could make from three coat hangers and a raincoat, stilted dialogue, 30 year old teenagers, and (if you're lucky) Vincent Price.

It seemed like each one was trying to outdo the others for outrageousness. And nothing beats the monsters from "Horror:"


*spoiler alert*



....which are radioactive (probably pirate) zombie mutant protozoan-colony vampire fish monsters. (Seriously.) Top THAT, Spielberg!

But it got me thinking, NOBODY makes B-Movies any more. Well; they DO, but they cost 200-million dollars and feature big name stars. Which I think is a shame; and why it's so easy to hate newer sci-fi and fantasy films.

When you watch a z-grade b-movie you KNOW what you're in for, and it takes a lot of the pressure off. You're not expecting a cinematic tour-de-force. Or convincing effects. Or any sort of acting. So you're more accepting of whatever happens. And what happens is usually a beautiful mess! Science twisted beyond recognition. Creatures unhindered by the slightest concepts of "evolution" or "biology." Plots untouched by "logical progression."

In short, imagination. Imagination like that of a child, unfettered by the real world. (Really; zombie vampire radioactive fish monsters....)

But nowadays there's so much at stake; huge budgets, egos, expectations.... The imagination is gone 'cos each film HAS to be made "right" or the gazillion dollars spent on it will be at risk. So you get essentially the same thing, over and over. The effects become the draw 'cos there's nothing else. Even the surprises aren't that surprising. (I figured out "District 9" from the ad. Hell; I've figured out every movie from the last 9 years from the ad, since they all contain the end scene in 'em!) The imagination has been researched and focus group'd out of 'em.

Which is a shame, 'cos I LIKE different. The more different, the better! Which is why I love the old B's. Even the bad ones. Hell; ESPECIALLY the bad ones!

Don C.

[tay666]

I hear ya.

I routinely subject myself to the bad movies on Sci-Fi every weekend.

Really miss the good old days with MonsterVison on TNT with Joe Bob Briggs.

[fallensaviour]

I love B-movies and I must disagree with you on the best.
My favorite and I beleive the greatest B-movie ever is the evil dead!!!

Regardless it is truly one of the last true B-movies.
I recently just watched screamers 1 and 2 low budget sci-fi B-movies.
I love the B's more so than mainstream flicks.

[palitoy]

I challenge your assesment of that movie as the "greatest" but will agree with you that they are indeed more entertaining than most main stream movies.

I have hundreds of ineptly made, sloppily written masterpieces that I treasure more than most major studio releases.

[thunderbolt]

Greater than Plan 9??? After all plan 9 was the one that worked.

[kingdom warrior]

I grew up on a steady diet of B-movies. Both english and spanish. Nothing like Late night monster movies. I like when a Director has a limited budget and will do anything to get the shot done....

What once scared me as a child now amuses me as an adult.

as for Greatest B-movie for me hands down it's Santo Vs.Las Momias de Guanajuato. Starring EL Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras.....that's some good late night cheese!

[Mod Style]

I agree that EVIL DEAD was one of the last great B movies.I know, I just used the words " GREAT", and " B movie" in the same sentence.There is a lot of un-watchable garbage out there, but I think the movies we are talking about here, still have SOME value; whether it cheese, or un-intended comedy.
I've even heard people refer to my beloved Hammer films as B movies.As for the MOTHER of all B movies, Plan 9 gets my vote!

[ctc]

>There is a lot of un-watchable garbage out there, but I think the movies we are talking about here, still have SOME value; whether it cheese, or un-intended comedy.

That's part of what I was getting at: it's easy to enjoy the silliness of a $40,000 movie. It's tougher to laugh at a $300 million dollar movie that's equally as inept and silly.

>as for Greatest B-movie for me hands down it's Santo Vs.Las Momias de Guanajuato.

Oh man, Santo's hard to beat!

>I beleive the greatest B-movie ever is the evil dead!!!

But that's a pretty good try! The early/mid 80's were a high point for b-movies; probably 'cos of VHS. (I think my fave from that era is "The Stuff." Or maybe "Evil Dead 2." Or it could be "Killer Klowns From Outer Space." But the remake of "Invaders From Mars" was good too....)

>I've even heard people refer to my beloved Hammer films as B movies.

Y'know.... the Hammer stuff is hard to peg. They're DEFINITELY of the b-film "high-shock-schlock" school of filmmaking; but they're also way too classy to be lumped in with stuff like "Robot vs the Aztec Mummy." I'd be tempted into seeing them as a new wave of "Universal Monsters" style films. The Universal films weren't done as b-movies. For their day, they were pretty heavy duty films effects and budget-wise. And they got mainstream feature release. (Whereas the B's proper sorta had their own distribution network.) We tend to lump them with the B's 'cos they have monsters and the effects aren't up to the modern standard. The Hammer stuff was done up proper, and (if memory serves) they were pretty much mainstream releases in Britiain, weren't they? I guess that makes them "A-" movies? (Or "B+"?)

Don C.

[fallensaviour]

Invaders from mars!!!
Wasn't that the one where they had like huge potato heads?
That was hilarious as well.
Evil dead 2,yes that is great.
Almost the exact same story as evil dead.So I guess I'll let that pass.
Oh man the B movie royalty has to be Bruce Campbell as the king and Linnea Quigley as the queen.
I'm afraid to guess how many hours I have lost watching their cheesy movies...LOL

[unataper]

A friend of mine has been working on a movie that pays tribute to B Movies. It's called, "It Came From Trafalgar". It has been a work in progress for a few years. It is all shot and now in the editing phase. Check out the website: The

Hank Williams III, Linnea Quigley and Brinke Stevens (and MANY more) are in it.

[fallensaviour]

That looks pretty sick!!!
Man some fantastic names in the cast;gunnar hansen,linnea,reggie banister Wow I'm impressed it has potential to be great in a b kinda way...LOL
I look forward to seeing this!!!

[mazinz]

So;

Thanks to a member here, I got a clean copy of "The Horror of Party Beach," which I maintain is the GREATEST B-Movie ever! But note I said "B" movie, and not "movie." The B-moive is it's own special critter: a cheap production, slapped to gether with no money , in no time, featuring the most outrageous monster the prop guy could make from three coat hangers and a raincoat, stilted dialogue, 30 year old teenagers, and (if you're lucky) Vincent Price.

It seemed like each one was trying to outdo the others for outrageousness. And nothing beats the monsters from "Horror:"


*spoiler alert*



....which are radioactive (probably pirate) zombie mutant protozoan-colony vampire fish monsters. (Seriously.) Top THAT, Spielberg!

But it got me thinking, NOBODY makes B-Movies any more. Well; they DO, but they cost 200-million dollars and feature big name stars. Which I think is a shame; and why it's so easy to hate newer sci-fi and fantasy films.

When you watch a z-grade b-movie you KNOW what you're in for, and it takes a lot of the pressure off. You're not expecting a cinematic tour-de-force. Or convincing effects. Or any sort of acting. So you're more accepting of whatever happens. And what happens is usually a beautiful mess! Science twisted beyond recognition. Creatures unhindered by the slightest concepts of "evolution" or "biology." Plots untouched by "logical progression."

In short, imagination. Imagination like that of a child, unfettered by the real world. (Really; zombie vampire radioactive fish monsters....)

But nowadays there's so much at stake; huge budgets, egos, expectations.... The imagination is gone 'cos each film HAS to be made "right" or the gazillion dollars spent on it will be at risk. So you get essentially the same thing, over and over. The effects become the draw 'cos there's nothing else. Even the surprises aren't that surprising. (I figured out "District 9" from the ad. Hell; I've figured out every movie from the last 9 years from the ad, since they all contain the end scene in 'em!) The imagination has been researched and focus group'd out of 'em.

Which is a shame, 'cos I LIKE different. The more different, the better! Which is why I love the old B's. Even the bad ones. Hell; ESPECIALLY the bad ones!

Don C.

you hit the nail on the head here. Though I just cannot watch those low budget films on sci-fi (they are bad and not in a good way with horrible effects that totally ruin it. Give me the guy in a rubber suit any day).

I think most true B-movies died out in the 90's before cgi took over and destroyed the charm of most b-films (hence back to my sci-fi channel comment)

though for that great B-movie rubber monster feel you need to see the film "bog". A budget dvd was released of this lost gem

[ctc]

>Though I just cannot watch those low budget films on sci-fi (they are bad and not in a good way with horrible effects that totally ruin it.

I can't watch most of those either, but it's usually 'cos they're pretty typical stuff. The effects don't bother me; the spectacle of a film is only a small part of what I enjoy. Weird concepts and ideas appeal to me way more.

>before cgi took over and destroyed the charm of most b-films

My gripe with CGI is that they recycle vectors too much, so everything ends up looking the same. Space fights always play out the same, the monsters move and often look the same, the streets all look the same..... I MUCH prefer a monster made out of an umbrella and six pounds of latex; mostly 'cos the kid part of my brain never atrophied and still "fills in the blanks" that the effects can't.

>for that great B-movie rubber monster feel you need to see the film "bog".

I've heard mixed things about this one. Although I did kinda like "Monster in the Closet."

Don C.

[mazinz]

Will see what I can do about getting you BOG, right up along the same caliber as horror of party beach (though I enjoyed Bog more)

Most of the sci-fi channels are just plain bad in every respect despite the cgi effects. I found four that were tolerable: I am omega, mamoth, bloodsuckers (hired mercs taking on vampires in space), and their film version destroying one of my favorite book series, Deathlands

[david_b]

I loved ALL the beach and horror 'b' movies. The only recent Sci-Fi film I could think of in the same general vein, was "Mars Attacks", but it of course was TOO expensive to be considered a classic b-movie.., so it wasn't as much FUN.., but it tried.

OR.., PLEASE don't forget the Tarantino Grindhouse movie.. "PLANET TERROR".. More radioactive, zombies you could shake a stick at..!

Planet Terror - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the BEST to come along in a while..!!!

david_b