Favorite "B" Horror Movie

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Well, archaic thinking aside, I consider B horror to be stuff that is imitative of relatively classier and/or popular horror. The Evil Dead series has a certain prestige within horror circles, whereas Ghoulies does not, AFAIK. Similarly, Night of the Demons is clearly derivative of/inspired by Evil Dead, yet is IMO a good horror in its own right.
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It's not archaic, it's where the term derived from. As people seemed to be wondering what a "B" movie is, I gave them the answer.

Evil Dead was most definately a "B" movie. Both low budget and horror.

However, even now, while Sci-Fi and Fantasy is currently A list material (and is often cast with A list talent) Horror is still pretty B movie. Whilst kids films and Superheroes and fantasy stuff is often £100m-$200m+, horror rarely gets close to that kind of figure. Not only that, but when those amounts are spent, it's so watered down that it pleases neither mainstream nor horror fans. The recent Wolfman film springs to mind. Of course, the horror film doesn't lend itself to the marketing/merchandising department, which is part of the problem for Hollywood. Just look at Van Helsing.

One of the reasons that horror movies are so prolific is because they're cheap and there's a devoted following out there. To the extent that the recent remakes of horror royalty, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Halloween and Friday The 13th, all made a profit. Hell, even the much derided Black Christmas and (even worse) Prom Night remake took more than twice what it cost to make.

Now take a look at the difference in casts. The horror casts are either unknowns or teen tv totty, looking to make the jump to movies. Unknowns and/or up and coming talent, especially female. Classic "B" movie casting. When A list talent is involved, it's still usually low budget or, at most, around the average cost of an average Hollywood movie. The Sixth Sense is the biggest budgeted horror film I can think of with A list talent attatched and that cost $60m which, at the time, I think was around the average cost of a Hollywood film and that took over $600m worldwide. And that's when $600m was a lot.



It is archaic thinking. I don't know or assume it's your thinking, but it is archaic. Classing movies by subject matter worked in a time when social conventions were more prudish and it was the norm to look down upon art that dealt with death, violence, sex, and all the varied hidden human fears and desires that couldn't be mentioned in polite society.

We live in a different world now.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Most B-movies have always been full of sex and violence. Some of my fave films (Joe, Easy Rider) would rate as such, while other faves (A Clockwork Orange, Straw Dogs) would not, due to budget. I'm not going to comment on what's going on nowadays but I certainly believe they make B-movies today although perhaps they don't fall so much into "genre flicks".
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Old post, but I can't sleep!

I loved Sleepaway Camp and Basketcase. So cheesy and silly, so entertaining!



Movie Viewer since the Dawn of Time or thereabouts
I've always been partial to the Tingler and Mr. Sardonicus.
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Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.
Great choice! Dead Alive! aka Braindead (1992) is certainly one of my faves.



I'm also a fan of Ginger Snaps (2000)



and I'm not sure this one counts but May (2002)


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Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.
So basically, you guys are just picking the really good horror movies, because hey, they're horror. Horror = "B".
No.
I know that the debate of what a B-Grade Movie is still seems to be up for debate, but I've always thought of them as the lesser known movies that generally went straight to video/dvd and usually have a smaller budget and in the horror area, tend to be a little cheesier (though perhaps not intentionally).

So, with all that in mind, I chose the three movies above.



I get ya. Just saying, if we were at a true horror fansite, some of these movies would be considered classics that don't belong here. It's a relative thing.



Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.
A B-Grade movie can be a classic can't it?
I mean, I'd say Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) is most certainly a classic, but it's still a terrible movie.



I meant classic in the usual sense that they are considered some of the best of their genre. If you are equating Dead Alive or May with Plan 9, then I see no point in continuing this conversation.



Don't torture yourself, Gomez. That's my job.
I wasn't comparing them, I was just using Plan 9 as an example. But we do agree on one thing, I too see no point in continuing this conversation.



Correct me if I'm wrong but I've always assumed that a B-movie meant low budget but I suppose it could also mean low sales
Having said that, I guess one could call Heaven's Gate (the western ) a B movie even though it cost a ton of money to make but did terribly at the box office.
Personaly, I liked the movie. I just though the editing stunk and loused up a movie that could have been really good.



and I'm not sure this one counts but May (2002)
^ Nice to see someone mention that underrated film, May was wonderful but pity the director hasn't come out with anything good since, shame. Ginger Snaps is fantastic too. I'm with Deadite though, don't view them as B-Movies.



^ Nice to see someone mention that underrated film, May was wonderful but pity the director hasn't come out with anything good since, shame. Ginger Snaps is fantastic too. I'm with Deadite though, don't view them as B-Movies.
Didn't like The Woods? It was nowhere near May's brilliance, but still I thought it was quite good.

And yeah, Ginger Snaps is a great werewolf movie. There aren't too many of those.