Top 10 Impressive B-Movies
These B-movies are A-ok! Join http://www.watchmojo.com as we count down our picks for the top 10 impressive B-movies. For this list, we're taking a look at the most memorable B-movies.
Special thanks too our users Brody Nicholas Eiffel Jay, Chris Morris, Rory Jones, Jedimperial96 and Daniel Gonçalves for submitting the idea at WatchMojo.comsuggest
#10: “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957)
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Successfully blending suspense, horror and humor, this black-and-white flick only cost $70,000 to make, yet it earned $1 million at the box office, which was quite a feat in the 1950s. Armed with a zany plot, “Attack of the Crab Monsters” follows a research team that sets out to find a scientific expedition that disappeared in the Pacific Ocean before them, only for the group to encounter two giant radioactive crabs in heat. What’s not to love? Besides the wonderfully campy story, the underwater scenes are great as they take inspiration from the book by Jacques Cousteau and the oceanographer’s fame during that era.
#9: “Piranha” (1978)
This wildly successful parody of “Jaws” played into similar animal predator-themed B-movies of its time and terrified summer moviegoers with its frenzied school of piranhas that killed anything in its wake. The plot is simple: the U.S. government secretly engineered piranhas for the Vietnam War and canned the experiment at the war’s end. However, through the indiscretion of the lead scientist on Operation: Razorteeth, some surviving creatures were released and many deaths ensued. The film cost under $800,000 to make and earned $16 million at the box office, and even Steven Spielberg quipped that it was his favorite knock-off of his film “Jaws.”
#8: “The Blob” (1958)
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What’s scarier than an oncoming slow-rolling evil blob from outer space? Well, a lot of things, which makes this movie one of the campiest horror films ever produced. This is further solidified by the movie’s straightforward name, with producers opting out of the initial title “The Molten Meteor.” Even with such a simple premise though, the film’s technical aspects dazzled audiences and made the sci-fi horror a box office smash hit. “The Blob” is further memorable for being Steve McQueen’s first big screen lead role.
#7: “The Room” (2003)
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Tommy Wiseau wrote, directed, produced, and starred in “The Room,” which is often considered one of the worst films ever… impressively bad, you might say. However, its nonsensical plotline, awkward dialogue and camera shots have earned the 2003 film cult status. Intended as a serious romantic-drama, Wiseau has since re-billed it as a black comedy after it faced critical backlash. While the story follows a poorly executed love triangle between a banker, his fiancée, and his best friend, the real gems are the narrative flaws and subplots, such as the scene in which characters are inexplicably playing football in tuxedos. It doesn’t make much sense as whole, but “The Room” is oddly worth suffering through again and again.
#6: “Braindead” [aka “Dead Alive”] (1992)
This “zom-com” was directed by Peter Jackson of “The Lord of the Rings” fame. Its plot is classic B-movie material, following the spread of a zombie virus through a hybrid creature known as a “Sumatran rat-monkey.” This creature is the offspring of tree monkeys that’ve been raped by infected rats – so, needless to say, “Braindead”’s filled with tons of gore. Called “Dead Alive” in North America, its most memorable scene is perhaps when the main character fights his zombie mother, during which she sucks him back into her womb. Initially a box office failure, the comedy horror flick has since garnered a cult following and critical acclaim.
#5: “The Toxic Avenger” (1984)
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This flick is well known for its unapologetic ‘80s blend of camp and gore! In this superhero movie, the protagonist begins his journey as a scrawny nerd named Melvin that’s picked on while he’s working as a janitor at a local gym. Like many superhero origin stories that have come before and after it, “The Toxic Avenger” sees the protagonist fall into a toxic vat, only to be disfiguringly transformed into the super strong titular character, affectionately known as Toxie. The movie’s plot was screwball enough for it to attain cult following through midnight movie showings and garnered it enough success for multiple sequels and a cartoon series – though the latter was unfortunately poorly received.
#4: “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
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This ‘60s movie immediately became the standard for zombie films! George Romero’s classic was produced on a measly $114,000 budget and earned more than $30 million at the box office! As it was released a month before the introduction of the MPAA film rating system, many unaware parents let their children go see “Night of the Living Dead,” and since many came out emotionally traumatized, a public outcry quickly ensued. Despite this, the zombie movie has made a lasting impact on the horror genre and has actually been selected for the National Film Registry for its historical and cultural relevance. Spawning multiple sequels, its success also allowed co-creator John A. Russo to write the novel “Return of the Living Dead,” which was turned into a successfulB-movie of the same name in the mid-’80s directed by Dan O’Bannon.
#3: “Plan 9 from Outer Space” (1959)
This is director and writer Ed Wood’s seminal sci-fi film! Often regarded as one of the worst productions in cinema history, it also has one of the most passionate cult followings. The black-and-white sci-fi horror flick’s plot is surreal – aliens want to prevent mankind from destroying the universe by initiating Plan 9, which brings the planet’s dead back to life – and expectedly, there are a lot of issues! This includes redundant dialogue and actors reading from their scripts during scenes. Terribly… great!
#2: “The Evil Dead” (1981)
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This film single-handedly launched the careers of director Sam Raimi and lead actor Bruce Campbell. Its plot was straightforward: five college kids are staying in a cabin in the woods when they inadvertently unleash the undead through an audiotape. “The Evil Dead”’s story and gore even had Stephen King raving! This cult classic was an instant financial success everywhere but in the States, and spawned two well-received sequels, “Evil Dead II” and “Army of Darkness.” Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions: - “Foxy Brown” (1974) - “Crippled Avengers” [aka “Mortal Combat” and “Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms”] (1978) - “Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine” (1965) - “Enter the Ninja” (1981) - “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” (1965)
#1: “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” (1978)
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This is a classic comedy horror flick – director and writer John DeBello intentionally created a B movie that was a satire of B movies. As such, “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” is filled with references to horror classics, such as Hitchcock’s “The Birds” and Spielberg’s “Jaws.” The premise is simple: tomatoes that are tired of being consumed have somehow been turned into evil killers, and it is up to a presidentially appointed team to save America. Despite a meager budget and poor critical reviews, the comedy horror became a surprising success among moviegoers, attained cult status and spawned several sequels. Do you agree with our list? What are your favorite B-movies? For more excellent Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
