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 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Do TV movies count? Our discussion in another thread about sci fi shows that didn’t age well reminded me of Tekwar. It aged so badly that it became amazing. This is probably the “best” scene from the whole movie:

TV movies are fair game!

Speaking of them...

"The intruder within" was a movie i saw as a kid that was a totally naked ripoff of "Alien" and had no shame about it. Imagine "Alien" on an oil drilling platform and you've got it.

It wasn't bad, actually. Not great, but not totally bad. It was what it was. I wish MST#K could have gotten a crack at it.

Mean Streets, one of my favorites Scorsese movies seems pretty low budget.

Then you have Reservoir Dogs.
Clerks.
Night of the Living Dead.

I didnt like the Blair Witch Project initially. Made me dizzy and I hate "found footage" movies, but the real life backstory of Rustin Parr and the Blair Witch legends made me appreciate it alot better.

LOL. Rustin Parr and the Blair Witch were invented by the filmmakers. All part of the hoax and viral marketing around the film. Which is really what made the thing such a phenomenon, something lost on people who didn’t experience it at the time. So in a way, you kinda got a taste of it.

Seeing BWP in theaters when it first released was a whole new experience of fear for me. This kind of “found footage” stuff was unequivocally NOT what you would ever expect to encounter in a cinema in those days and it made a huge difference. I don’t think it is something you can get just by reading about 20+ years later.

I think it has already been mentioned ITT but the culmination of all low budget, B-movie sensibilities is Tremors. It’s not just good for what it is, is is a downright superb movie.

 Manchu wrote:
Seeing BWP in theaters when it first released was a whole new experience of fear for me. This kind of “found footage” stuff was unequivocally NOT what you would ever expect to encounter in a cinema in those days and it made a huge difference. I don’t think it is something you can get just by reading about 20+ years later.

I think it has already been mentioned ITT but the culmination of all low budget, B-movie sensibilities is Tremors. It’s not just good for what it is, is is a downright superb movie.

1: I kinda wish i could have been there for the Blair Witch phenomenon. It really kinda takes away from it because the blair witch isnt as good anymore because of being burnt by too many found footage movies.
2: All the remors are good, Especially two.

I did not sleep much the night after I saw Blair Witch Project in the theater. Y the time I saw it the viral marketing campaign had already been exposed and wound down, but it was still very effective at engaging the “how would I feel in that situation” lobe of my imagination. No other movie has caused such a lasting impression of fear for me since I accidentally saw Communion as a child.

Also, my friend threw up at the very end with a tremendous splattering sound. It got all over my brother.’s pants and shoes. Chimichanga and a bag of skittles. It was incredible. I’ll always be haunted by the look on the cleanup guy’s face.


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Although it’s a great movie, Tremors isn’t really a B movie itself. Tremors 2 is, though.

“I had to fight them off with a combination of small arms and hand-to-hand techniques.” *chef’s kiss*

I can literally hear the line in my head right now in the voice.
God such a fun movie.
Maybe thats what makes a good movie, whether you enjoy it.

I just watched "Trancers" for the first time since 1984.
About to watch the 1990 sequel.

Tim Thomerson (who was in everything SF in the 80s), a very young Helen Hunt.

The odd prop from Blade Runner in the background, too.

I haven’t seen anybody mention Iron Skies yet? Space Nazi from the moon?! Doesn’t get more B-movie than that. Silly, camp and hilarious.

A much better film, but still a B-movie is Dead Snow. I have a friend who will watch any zombie film, regardless of how terrible, but this one was great.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Tremors isn’t really a B movie itself.

That’s where you’re wrong, boyo. Average film budget in 1990 was $25M+; Tremors only cost $11M. So Tremors checks the low-budget box. It also checks the genre box, specifically being a ‘50s-style creature feature. Now, you can argue that the studio was aiming higher than B movie box office performance but it wasn’t to be; which ultimately cemented its B movie status by turning it into a cult classic on top of everything else.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Do TV movies count? Our discussion in another thread about sci fi shows that didn’t age well reminded me of Tekwar. It aged so badly that it became amazing. This is probably the “best” scene from the whole movie:

I think you mean.... William Shatner's TekWar. I vaguely recall reading a book or two as well.

 Manchu wrote:

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
Tremors isn’t really a B movie itself.

That’s where you’re wrong, boyo. Average film budget in 1990 was $25M+; Tremors only cost $11M. So Tremors checks the low-budget box. It also checks the genre box, specifically being a ‘50s-style creature feature. Now, you can argue that the studio was aiming higher than B movie box office performance but it wasn’t to be; which ultimately cemented its B movie status by turning it into a cult classic on top of everything else.

...but that cast.

 Manchu wrote:
Seeing BWP in theaters when it first released was a whole new experience of fear for me. This kind of “found footage” stuff was unequivocally NOT what you would ever expect to encounter in a cinema in those days and it made a huge difference. I don’t think it is something you can get just by reading about 20+ years later.

As I've said before, I saw it opening night and there were definitely people in the theater who thought it was real or at least weren't sure. The audience mood and reaction was a little different than your typical jump-scare horror film.

Space Invaders, made in the 90s. Kinda bad, but very entertaining, for me at least. Also its budget was $3m

 Conservative Heretic wrote:
Space Invaders, made in the 90s. Kinda bad, but very entertaining, for me at least. Also its budget was $3m

The one with the Martian who sounds like Jack Nicholson? That was a charming movie, and very quotable. “You win the Trinitrotoluene Award.”


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Looks like Spaced Invaders is also on YouTube.

I loved spaced invaders, pretty funny and family friendly.

There's a weird movie called "the keep" that's actually pretty good, the thing is it's just not as good as it should be.

I mean, every individual element of the film is really good to excellent. Cast, acting, plot, cinematography, atmosphere, writing, effects... They're all at least really good or even excellent when considered individually, but somehow, the movie itself is just Ok.

I just don't get it, the movie it just somehow less than the sum of its parts. I can't really understand why it wasn't better as a whole.

It's definitely worth watching, absolutely. It's just as I watch it and look at the parts of it I just can't understand why the movie wasn't better than just Ok as a whole.

Is it the movie based on the book? In a castle with a “vampire” who calls himself Molassar? The book is by the guy who wrote the Repairman Jack series, which I recommend.

The Keep was directed by a young Michael Mann, pre-Miami Vice IIRC. It has his 80s-music-video style to it. I think its main problem is the ending...I'm not sure that the film lays out the mythology well enough, and the ending just comes across like a bunch of nonsense.

Scott Glenn is kind of a weird choice for the hero. Or maybe he plays it weird. I dunno...it's just weird.

It's a good setup, though. It's reminiscent of Event Horizon in that regard. Really good setup that just kinda falls apart in the third act. Tangerine Dream did the soundtrack, in case anyone is into them.

 Matt Swain wrote:
I loved spaced invaders, pretty funny and family friendly.

There's a weird movie called "the keep" that's actually pretty good, the thing is it's just not as good as it should be.

I mean, every individual element of the film is really good to excellent. Cast, acting, plot, cinematography, atmosphere, writing, effects... They're all at least really good or even excellent when considered individually, but somehow, the movie itself is just Ok.

I just don't get it, the movie it just somehow less than the sum of its parts. I can't really understand why it wasn't better as a whole.

It's definitely worth watching, absolutely. It's just as I watch it and look at the parts of it I just can't understand why the movie wasn't better than just Ok as a whole.

If that's the one I'm thinking of... WW2 German soldiers and some SS in a castle in Romania with a "vampire" hunting them all down? Is that the one? I'd heard that the F/X guy died before finishing the end confrontation. He hadn't storyboarded it out, and left no notes as to what the hell he was planning. So the director had to pull a rabbit out of his backside at the last moment and try to tie it all together. I've heard that was a contributing factor to the reason the film doesn't seem to hang together well.

Do 80s fantasy movies count? Love those

 Tengri wrote:
Do 80s fantasy movies count? Love those

Sure do! Hell I loved labyrinth and i'm not a fantasy fan or a muppet movie fan, but david bowie....

Dark city is a good movie that gets overlooked because of the matrix and the fact people think it was a matrix ripoff despite coming out about a year before the matrix. I'm a RHPS fan and liked it partially because Richard O'Brien was in it and the role of Mr. Hand was written just for him.

Interestingly enough the same female lead was in both the movies I just mentioned.

Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Sarah Brightman, Anthony Stewart Head, Paris Hilton, nu-metal.

Bosh.