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Weekend Discussion Thread: Which Are the Truly Great Bad Movies?

If you’re reading this blog, then I assume that you are into bad movies as much as I am. I got into a discussion the other day about one that is very close to my heart: 1987’s “Masters of the Universe.” It came up because apparently a remake is in the works. :::sigh::: How can you possibly improve on a movie that rivals “Road House” as the best bad movie ever made? I mean that cast! (Dolph Lundgren, Frank Langella, Meg Foster, Billy Barty, a so-young-she’s-positvely-dewy Courteney Cox, Jon Cypher, James Tolkan, Christina Pickles, the list goes on and on) and scene after incredibly riffable scene of nonsense played (almost) completely straight. It’s a guity pleasure and my nominee for a list of the truly great bad movies.

Have you got one? Something that just makes you cringe, but every time you find it on TV you drop whatever you’re doing and watch the whole thing? Tell us! It can be something MST3k/RT/CT has done or it can be something else. Spill!

149 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Which Are the Truly Great Bad Movies?”

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  1. MSTie says:

    I’ve got one for you: “13 Ghosts,” the original one from 1960. I don’t know why, but it seemed like it was on TV at least once a month on Sunday afternoons when I was a kid, and my sister and I would watch it, clutching each other and positively scared to death. I credit this movie with making me afraid of any bed with a canopy and of being afraid to ever sleep on a bottom bunk bed (there’s a killer bed). Now, watching it, I don’t know whether to laugh or… laugh some more. It’s awful. But in a good, early ’60s sort of way.

       2 likes

  2. Well, now that you mention 13 Ghosts, I’d add anything directed by William Castle. It was never supposed to be anything more than disposable schlock, meant to fill a double bill, but his films have proven to be compulsively watchable. There’s House on Haunted Hill, of course, but my favorite has to be The Tingler! Come for the ridiculous plot and hokey “monster”, stay to see Vincent Price tripping on acid!

    I’d also add the works of Jack Hill. Spider Baby, in particular. It may be a bad movie to most, but it’ll always be a diamond in the rough for me. Jack Hill also directed a lot of the “women in cages” flicks and blaxploitation flicks of the 70’s.

       4 likes

  3. Jon A says:

    “The Black Hole.” Wildly inaccurate science, great score by John Barry, cheesy 80’s sci-fi, gorgeous-if-impractical design, and a rock solid cast either hamming it up or phoning it in. It’s got Ernest Borgnine, Maximilian Schell, Anthony Perkins, Robert Forster (Jackie Brown *and* D-War), and the uncredited voices of Roddy McDowall and Slim Pickins.

    Every time I hear Old B.O.B., I think “WHAT IN THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD O’SPORTS IS A GOIN’ ON HERE?!?”

    Plus you have to think the Bots would root for Maximilian (the cool red robot) like Megaweapon.

       3 likes

  4. lancecorbain says:

    Castle Monster-Can’t agree more on Blue Sunshine. Funny stuff.
    Jon A-The Black Hole was a childhood favorite of mine, and I agree, the ‘bots would’ve LOVED that movie.

       1 likes

  5. Professor Gunther says:

    Stoneman: I simply don’t dig KISS anymore. Listening to them feels like a lifetime ago (but not in a bad way). Believe me, I have plenty of friends in their late forties (like myself) who still love them, and I THOROUGHLY respect that. But they just haven’t held up for me (mostly because of jazz; it’s completely altered my aesthetic sense [in a way I like, I will confess]). (I’m also very weird in that the more I’ve gotten into poetry, the more I appreciate music WITHOUT lyrics. I love Sarah Vaughan, but I listen to Clifford Brown more regularly [who of course backed Sarah Vaughan on a very good album]. I should also point out that I DO listen to jazz that’s being recorded right now.)

    How could I forget Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band!? What a terrible, terrible movie (although I happily agree with you about the musical exeptions)!

    I’m glad we both like the Ramones and jazz! :-)

    P.S. I am very aware of spoken word poetry, but I’m fairly traditional. I love Keats. I love it when my students hip me to things I haven’t heard of, though (and needless to say this happens all the time–but I’ve introduced some of my students to MST3K as well!). To quote Art Blakey, “it keeps the mind active.”

    I apologize for babbling.

       0 likes

  6. This Guy says:

    This might be weird for a MSTie to admit, but–I don’t really like bad movies. I don’t own them on DVD or Blu-ray (except riffed), and I don’t seek them out on TV. I’ve never really felt bad for movies riffed on MST3K or CT or RT VOD. The only MSTed movies I find merit in seem to be the same ones that the writers admitted they did too (Russian fantasies, Magic Sword.) So… maybe my answer isn’t anything. I did once have a straight-up copy of Plan 9 on VHS, though. That is one hilarious movie.

       1 likes

  7. Steelhawk says:

    Of all the “good” bad movies mentioned, my favorite is probably Masters of the Universe.

    I’d also like to nominate Night of the Comet. It has air-headed Valley Girls and a pre-Star Trek Voyager Robert Beltran. What more could a “good” bad movie ask for?

       1 likes

  8. MikeK says:

    Speaking of Masters of the Universe, there’s going to be a blu-ray of that movie out in a couple of months.

       1 likes

  9. Neptune Man says:

    From Hell It Came.
    The Giant Claw.
    In the Year 2889 (by non other than Larry Buchanan).
    The Day the Sky Exploded.
    Attack from Outer Space (Prince of Space without Krankor).
    Sergeant Kabukiman, from the Troma guys.
    Creature (a pretty good Alien ripp off with Klaus Kinski)
    It Came from Beneath the Sea.
    Empire of the Ants (by Mr BIG).
    The Mysterians, tokusastsu at its best.
    The Green Slime.
    Queen of Blood.

    I think I’ve watched too much tv.
    I don’t care what they think, I prefer this films over any souless Hollywood blockbuster (wich in many cases it’s a shameless rip off of many B-movies), or any pretentious artsy movie.

       6 likes

  10. Matt D says:

    The answer is of course Starship Troopers. It’s so silly, but I love it all the same.

       0 likes

  11. Cabbage Patch Elvis says:

    I’ve never considered Blue Sunshine a good bad movie. The ending is ridiculously abrupt, as if we just ran out of money……NOW! and had to quit filming, but other than that, I think it works really well on a very small budget.

    I really do think Ed Wood is the king of the good/bad film. There’s something about his films that are just so damn likable. Inept, sure, but very charming and fun to watch at the same time. He also worked with some incredibly interesting people. Tor Johnson, Paul Marco, Criswell, Harvey B. Dunn, the shrill-voiced harpy who played Gloria in Sinister Urge, the list goes on and on. Not great thespians, but very interesting to witness.

    Some other films that I’d put right up there with the top of the bad-but-good list:

    The Sadist – Arch Hall Jr. at his very best! Can’t get enough of that one!
    Mighty Peking Man – cheap King Kong rip off from the late 70’s.
    Blood Feast – the original gore film, it’s bloody (or red tempura painty), and jaw-droppingly bad. A classic!
    The Room – I have no idea how this film got made, but thank heaven it did! As Natalie from Werewolf would say, it’s absolutely fahcsunateng.
    Impulse – William Shatner at his Shattest. Smooth-talkin’ gigolo? Check. Swaggering tough guy? Check. Sniveling psycho with a mommy thing? Oooh, double check!

    Most “intentionally bad” movies are just that – BAD. Scary Movie and all it’s ilk are not funny to me. AT ALL. Occasionally, there are exceptions that are pretty bad, but very watchable and very funny:

    Spirit of ’76 – with David Cassidy as a time-traveler from the distant future America who travels back to 1976 to learn about the Declaration of Independence. Hilarious, corny stuff, featuring Leif Garrett as chick magnet Eddie Trojan!
    Killer Nerd – EXTREMELY low-budget slasher flick of sorts shot straight to video in the late eighties, starring Toby Radloff, friend of the late Harvey Pekar.
    The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra – I know this isn’t a favorite for a lot of people, but I think it really captures the spirit of so many low budget good-bad scifi movies from the 50’s and 60’s. A wonderful tribute, IMHO.

       3 likes

  12. MSTie says:

    Castle Monster — you’re so right about House on Haunted Hill. I treasure my Michael J. Nelson riffed & autographed version!

       2 likes

  13. MikeK says:

    I’ll choose two movies, Cannonball Run and Cannonball Run II, especially Cannonball Run II.

       1 likes

  14. EricJ says:

    @61 Most “intentionally bad” movies are just that – BAD. Scary Movie and all it’s ilk are not funny to me. AT ALL.
    The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra – I know this isn’t a favorite for a lot of people, but I think it really captures the spirit of so many low budget good-bad scifi movies from the 50?s and 60?s. A wonderful tribute, IMHO.

    Now, y’see, I would’ve put Larry Blamire’s movies in that “Intentionally ‘bad’ = Physically painful” category–
    Anyone who’s ever wanted to strangle Blamire after that Ballyhoo “Jam Handy” short on the Manos disk (look, I’m pretending to be 50’s–I’ll try to turn everything into a punchline by saying something arcane, quirky and stupid every other line!…Dear gods, it was like some homemade imitation of David Byrne from “True Stories”) will be with me on this, I think. Anyone else discover they were starting to find Mr. Handy more interesting than the forced jackhammer attempt to make him cult-goofy for cult-ref’s sake?

    (ahem)…But I digress.

    @40 – If we can do animated movies, I have a bit of fondness for Don Bluth’s “Rock-a-Doodle”. Now that one is just one insane film.
    Granted, most of the film is a sick kid’s fever dream, so…

    Don Bluth frightens me. 0_0”

    But if we’re talking “Sick/Fever-dream kids movies”, in tone, if not plot–and just for comparison, I’d seen “Return to Oz” in a theater–I remember after getting that new 3DTV, being excited that Vudu.com on the PS3 was going to premiere the 3D version (which US disks weren’t getting) of RottenTomatoes 0% Club favorite “Nutcracker 3-D”, a warm-hearted holiday trifle from the director of Runaway Train.
    So naturally I had to watch…Egads. “Fever dream” simply doesn’t cover it. (You can start with Nathan Lane playing Albert Einstein, and that’s one of the more pleasant parts.)

       2 likes

  15. Cabb:

    Oh, I think a few things qualify Blue Sunshine as a bad movie. One, the plot–ten years after dropping acid these people suddenly lose their hair and go berzerk at the same time. Two, Director Lieberman instructed the late Zallman King to play it over the top, oblivious to the fact that over-the-top was the actor’s niche already, resulting in a tense, yet brooding, protagonist hilariously overreacting to everything around him. Three, the terrified mob at the mall “There’s roughhousing in the disco, run for your lives!”. Four, the afflicted maniacs just look wacky with their bad bald-wig make-up jobs. Not as bad as a lot of horror movies, Lieberman was an inspired director, but it certainly makes me laugh a lot. It’s kind of like if Cronenburg did Reefer Madness.

    I’ll have to check out Impulse…

       1 likes

  16. John M Hanna says:

    The worst kinds of movies to me are ones that just aren’t bad, they’re boring. Ones that they apparently just left the camera running. Many ‘art’ films fall into this category.
    Bad comedies are always a chore. Look at any Adam Sandler movie.

       5 likes

  17. Watch-out-for-Snakes says:

    Masters of the Universe was my first experience with cinematic dissapointment. I was HUGE into He-Man as a kid (sure, we all were) and I can remember leaving the theater thinking “that’s not He-Man. That was terrible.”. So I’ve never been able to enjoy that one, even by bad movie standards.

    Nice to see mention of The Wraith and Yor: Hunter from the Future in comments above. Also, I see Samurai Cop and I raise you a Hollywood Cop ( same director, both terrible movies).

    The works of Hershell Gordon Lewis are pretty grand, my favorite being Wizard of Gore. I also gotta mention Troll 2, Night Train to Terror, Eliminators, Switchblade Sisters, The Sadist (see my avatar above), Squirm (you da Wormface!), and my all time fave, go-to bad movie, THE HILLS HAVE EYES -PART II, from 1985. It’s terrible, Wes Craven is slumming it, a blind girl is the final girl, there’s dirt bikes and Michael Berryman, and a dog has a flashback to events from the first film. It’s amazing, I cherish my VHS copy.

       4 likes

  18. Cabbage Patch Elvis says:

    @65 Castle Monster – Okay, okay! Man, I’d hate to come up against you in the court of bad movies! I must admit I haven’t watched Blue Sunshine in some time, but I guess some of the really effective moments (the early cabin sequence, for instance) are really pretty shocking (in spite of the bulgy bald wigs), and for me sort of elevate the film a bit.

    I highly enjoy Impulse. It’s fun to watch Shatner try and be “subtle”. I got a pretty good copy through 5 Minutes to Live, a site that sells copies of public domain titles. It’s been a few years though. I’m not sure it’s still around. Here’s a taste of Impulse someone put together on youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR77EVit5mA

       2 likes

  19. MSTie says:

    @45 — again, I forgot about “Hausu” (“House”). What WAS that? Horror, soft porn, comedy, fantasy, just an acid trip??? I watched it online and hated it yet couldn’t look away. It was that bad. Gotta admit I never want to see it again, though.

       0 likes

  20. Cabb: Shat in a Panama hat. Magic!

       1 likes

  21. Captn Ross Hagen says:

    Did anyone else notice the changes to the rest of the site?
    I for one miss all the other stuff, and the older entries.
    Is this the way it will look from now on?
    Very unhappy with the blank white space.

       5 likes

  22. Dr. Batch says:

    Any of the TREMORS sequels.

       2 likes

  23. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2
    ROBOTECH: THE MOVIE
    DEATHWISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN
    DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

       0 likes

  24. PondosCP says:

    My two favorite movies of all time are what some would consider “guilty pleasures”:
    ZAPPED!
    THE PARTY ANIMAL

       2 likes

  25. Midwest MSTie says:

    #71
    I agree. I hope it’s a temporary glitch.

    I have a soft spot for SyFy channel movies. If there’s a tornado movie marathon, or superstorms, or sharks, I’ll admit to starting up the DVR. It’s hard to explain what I like about them. They are all, essentially, the same plot (troubled but loving father must save his family; environmental bad guy has a crisis of conscience due to mutant sharks attacking his hometown; trouble maker can’t convince the police/his dad/his mom/his girlfriend that hurricane-tornado-supervolcano is set to start up). They all feature bad cinematography, acting, music, dialogue. Since they all seem to be shot in California, whenever they take place in Seattle or New York, they feature establishing shots of those locations and then absurdly obvious California settings. One of my favorite bits in any of these movies was when a character got out of a taxi and walked into a building, in a superstorm disaster flick set in New York City. It was a bluescreen of New York in the background for a five second shot of her walking 15 feet. The lighting on her didn’t match the footage in the background, people looked like they were going to walk into the actress at any second. It was hilarious. Also, the same reporter appeared every time any character turned on the news, at any time of day. Apparently she works 19 hour days. But, I keep watching. Hard to explain.

    Another favorite, and I apologize to no one for liking it, was Jersey Shore Shark Attack, which premiered just last month. The main characters were parodies of the Jersey Shore cast. It featured appearances by Paul Sorvino and Tony Sirico. Sorvino looked embarrassed and annoyed in his two and a half minutes of screentime. The effects were horrible. And Joey Fatone was eaten by a shark. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen committed to film. For that, I give the cast and crew kudos. It takes guts to make something like that. I enjoyed every minute.

    Roger Corman’s Creature from the Haunted Sea is another bad movie I enjoyed, but I’m not sure it counts as a bad movie. It doesn’t take itself seriously, so the ‘bad’ aspects become sort of a parody.

    In my opinion, a serious contender for the title of The Worst Film Ever Made would have to be Nothing but Trouble with Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd. I’m sure Crow had it in mind for his Film Anti-Preservation Society. I can usually find something in a bad movie to enjoy, even if its at the movie’s expense. This is one of the few I cannot enjoy on any level.

    Also, since Night of the Comet was mentioned: I enjoy that one as well. I’m not sure I’d call it a bad movie, though.

       4 likes

  26. Neptune Man says:

    #71: Changes? I thought the page was suffering from some sort of glitch or malfunction.

       2 likes

  27. Edward says:

    My favorite good bad movie is Road House by a mile. I love the fights and that dialogue cracks me up every time.
    Also the 80’s version of Night of the Demons. Pure exploitation flick. The lipstick scene alone puts it on my good bad list.

       2 likes

  28. YourNewBestFriend says:

    I dunno, kids. I think there’s an implied parameter here that kind of sends things in two directions. “Bad” is easy, “Never done by MTV” is easy. “Every time it comes on TV”–well, that’s a different story. NONE of the really good bad stuff comes on TV.

    I mean, can you imagine for a nanosecond Black Devil Doll from Hell, Night of Horror, or even a big-budget extravaganza like Housegeist, playing even at 3:30 AM on a UHF station in Moorhead?

    How about a new category, Favorite Bad Movies That Will Never Come Out On DVD?

    Incidentally, if you love/hate Xanadu/Can’t Stop the Music/The Apple, seek out Toomorrow.

    If you think Solar Babies or Sergeant Kabuki Man sucks dead moose on toast, don’t stop till you’ve seen Pocket Ninjas–you WILL know the meaning of “hate” when you see what they do to Robert Z’Dar.

    And finally, Misery Brothers. Just…Misery Brothers.

       2 likes

  29. HauntedHill says:

    For me it’s Flash Gordon. The only problem is it is SUPPOSED to be cheesy/bad as a homage to the original look and feel of the 30’s serials, so I’m not sure if it technically counts. As far as unintentionally ‘bad’ movies go, I love Street Fighter. The movie is so awful and wretched it loops itself and become entertaining in a “can’t turn my eyes away from the train-wreck” sort of way….

       1 likes

  30. Cabbage Patch Elvis says:

    @64 EricJ – to each their own of course, but in my comments, I intentionally only refer to the first Lost Skeleton movie and not his other works.

       2 likes

  31. Canucklehead says:

    So many choices. For me, the best era for the “best worst” films would definitely have to be the 1970s. An era that includes Orca, Tentacles, Empire of the Ants, Earthquake, the Airport movie series, and countless others are so fun to watch. For me, though, the one that I love watching more than any others is “The Concorde…Airport ’79”. From plot to character, this one doesn’t skimp on the ridiculousness. If Rifftrax or Cinematic Titanic ever got the chance to do this one, I would be chomping at the bit.

       1 likes

  32. Son of Bobo says:

    Haunted Honeymoon: Gene Wilder comedy that everyone seems to hate, but I watch it at least once a year.
    The Beast Must Die: Peter Cushing in a werewolf murder mystery.
    The Howling 5: Another werewolf murder mystery, but in a really cool Romanian castle with lots of shadows and a great performance by Phil Davis.
    This list must make me seem like a werewolf fan, but really I am a big old creepy house fan and these movies offer that.
    Doctor Mordrid: Bad in many ways, but Jeffrey Combs in the title role, is an excellent, romantic superhero.

       0 likes

  33. matthew redwine says:

    meet the feebles. peter jackson’s finest/worst

       2 likes

  34. Robert L Lippert Jr says:

    Dungen Master staring Richard Moll ‘Bull’ from Night Court
    Open Water I really dispise this one a married couple get lost at sea bicker and moan then get eaten by sharks
    The Stupids staring Tom Arnold nuff said

       0 likes

  35. rvoyttbots says:

    THE LOST WORLD 1960 Whenever I stumble on it, I got to watch it.

       0 likes

  36. Cröe says:

    @10:
    I promise, right after I ask this question, I’ll really just relax:
    in the microcosm of bad cinema, brought to us by Corman, Francis, Wood, Boll and HAROLD P. WARREN, for crying out loud, how can you even begin to justify “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King” as contenders for “truly great bad movies”? :-?

       3 likes

  37. Matches4Mikey says:

    @Professor Gunther – So are you also a big fan of “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”? Personally I can’t get enough Riff Randell.

       3 likes

  38. Mr. E says:

    #42 I loved “Bug” when I was a kid. I saw it again recently and I still liked it. It’s perfect for this thread.
    #52 I’ve always thought that William Castle movies were generally better than their reputations. “Homicidal” is pretty neat and “Mr. Sardonicus” is a lot of fun
    #82 Dr. Mordrid is one of those films which is either an extremely good bad movie or a pretty bad good movie

    “Hawk the Slayer”, anyone?

       1 likes

  39. Slartibartfast, maker of fjords says:

    I would like to add two more to the list. First, Incubus with William Shatner. The directors used Esperanto, because evil does not talk in any nationality. But everyone in the movie speaks Esperanto, and nobody in the real world does. But, I couldn’t resist sitting through to the end, if only to know what language was being spoken. Second is The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Granted this was supposed to be a children’s movie; Dr. Seuss’ only feature film. It is bad, but the musical interludes are interesting. Also, for its time, it was definitely nightmare fodder for a ten year old.

       2 likes

  40. Really, I’m always seeking out more good “bad” movies, and I’ll probably never stop until I’ve watched them all. Fortunately, with sources like 42nd Street series of movie trailer compilations, Mill Creek, YouTube and Netflix, I’ll never urun out of places to look.

    Alligator: The first script lands on Dino de Lautentis’ desk, he reads it and says, This is crap! Get John Sayles to write it!

    The Phantom of the Opera (starring Robert Englund): Here’s an example of a movie that ought to be bad but is unusually good. One of the best adaptations of Gaston Leroux’s work. I like Englund’s Phantom (who is basically a slasher killer in this version) better than his Freddy Krueger. Gory and audacious but never bad. And yet how many people have even heard of it?

    I, Monster: In the same vein of the last movie, Christopher Lee plays “Jekyll and Hyde”, with the always perfect Peter Cushing as his foil. This was always my favorite version of Jekyll and Hyde growing up, though it is hindered somewhat by a few poor technical choices. Lee makes a perfect Dr. Jekyll and a monstrous Mr. Hyde, though his character is actually named Marlowe/Blake in this version, for whatever reason.

    The Dunwich Horror: H. P. Lovecraft! Dean Stockwell! Ed Begley Sr! Er, Sandra Dee?…Not a very faithful adaptation but not bad at all. The best parts are when some supernatural whatsit, Yog Sothoth I guess, starts mowing down townspeople through the magic of Cthulhu-Vision.

    Blood of Dracula’s Castle: Yes, Al Adamson films are always bad but seldom boring, and this one is certified cool. John Carradine is fun as a moon-worshipping butler in the service of Mr and Mrs. Count Dracula, now apparently shacking up in a dilapidated Arizona estate. The highlight is probably Robert Dix (Forbidden Planet) as their psycho-killer henchman who is equal parts hip, square and sadistic. He goes on a Devil’s Rejects-style killing spree after escaping a nuthouse for the sanctuary of Dracula’s “castle”. Dracula is played by Alexander (Gaaaryyyy) D’Arcy, though here his voice is not dubbedd, and he’s something of a bad actor, as it turns out.

    The Sword and the Sorcerer: Good. Bad. Richard Lynch. Richard Moll. ‘Nuff said…

       1 likes

  41. eegah says:

    Some of my faves:

    Mutant Hunt (from the director of “Robot Holocaust”, contains the phrase “Space Shuttle Sex Murders”)
    Wild, Wild Planet
    Knock Off (with Jon Claude Van Damme and Rob Schneider)
    Samurai Cop (Z’Dar? Z’Dont!)
    A*P*E (with the mom from Growing Pains)
    The Concorde: Airport ’79 (they open the window of the plane and shoot out of it o_O)
    Cyclone (w/ Heather Thomas)
    You Got Served

       0 likes

  42. AlbuquerqueTurkey says:

    Queen of Outer Space – Zsa Zsa Gabor, non-actress eye candy, costumes stolen from Forbidden Planet, insipid dialogue, 50s treatment of women, hokey plot, all in major studio living color – one of the most entertaining, truly bad movies ever made.

    Also, anything Japanese pseudo sci-fi – Frankenstein Conquers the World, The Attack of the Mushroom People, etc. When I find one of these on late-night TV, the remote stops.

       2 likes

  43. Professor Gunther says:

    Matches4Mikey: I LOVE Rock n’ Roll High School! I can’t even think of it as bad (although I’d put PLENTY of Corman’s efforts in that category); it’s just cool.

    I’m glad you mentioned it, and I’m with you on Riff Randell!

       1 likes

  44. Cabbage Patch Elvis says:

    Rock n’ Roll High School would be a great film if only for the Ramones, but it’s much, much more than that. And I’d chew off my own arm to hang out and smoke a doobie with Riff Randell, Rock and Roller (especially if I could hallucinate the Ramones too)!

       3 likes

  45. Steve Vil says:

    Tourist Trap. God, I love that movie. The plot: Five kids get picked off one by one when they happen upon a wax museum owned by a crazy mannequin maker who just happens to also have telekinetic powers. Stars Chuck Connors, Tanya Roberts (in her first role!) and Jocelyn Jones (who should have been a big star). The acting is top-notch despite the B-movie special effects. I was always freaked out by mannequins as a kid so this movie always gave me the creeps. The script is actually very good and there are a few interesting twists (one you’ll see coming and two you won’t). A friend of mine who knew my fandom of the film actually found me a vinyl copy of the SOUNDTRACK which I actually played quite a bit. I’d love to see CT take this movie on because despite the good acting and plot (and some genuinely scary moments), the effects are fairly bad (most of the film’s budget was spent on your average department store dummies that don’t really do much except stand around). Example: a woman gets strangled by a scarf that she’s wearing. You can clearly see the limp ends of the scarf where the strings are tied so an off-camera stage hand can choke her with it. Regardless, I love the film and have owned, watched and rewatched it many, many times.

    Runners up: The Room and Grace & The Storm.

       6 likes

  46. Crow T. Robert says:

    Frank Sinatra in The First Deadly Sin – everybody is JUST SO HAPPY to be in a movie with Frank Sinatra!
    Poltergeist 3, which could only have been made worse by having musical numbers.
    I’ll see your Jaws 3 and raise you Jaws: The Revenge.
    Super Mario Brothers – wrong for all the same reasons as Masters of the Universe, but with Bob frigging Hoskins!
    Omen IV – Made for TV… and it just goes downhill from there.
    Exorcist 2 – Richard Burton vs. Guiron!

       0 likes

  47. Edwin B says:

    Any of the Japanese monster movies are still fun to watch, Gamera, Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas, etc… As a kid I loved them, and watching them now is good fun.
    Birdemic is great! Has the vibe of Teenage Strangler, amatuerish but fun.

       3 likes

  48. feargal zeppo says:

    I’m a huge Corman fan…no, honestly, I think he’s done some amazing stuff, his Vincent Price films are largely wonderful, and I usually find myself entertained by even the slightest of his efforts. “Little Shop,” “It Conquered the World,” the list goes ever on, almost always fun. Even the ’70s sexploitation schlock of the student nurse/women in prison series, he aims to please, and scores. “Death Race 2000”? Come on, that’s a good time, every time.

    Schwarzenegger. Particularly “Commando,” the most hideously violent comic book action flick of all time. “Conan” is also awful, yet I can’t turn away. Ever.

       1 likes

  49. Ray The Whimsical Lampshade says:

    Gymkata
    Superman 4
    Bratz

       1 likes

  50. Mark Honhorst says:

    Don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but Larry Cohen’s 1974 movie “It’s Alive” about a killer baby roaming around LA is a true masterpiece.

       7 likes

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