Cult classic low budget horror and science fiction films.

Recently watched the fine film "Island of Terror" with Peter Cushing and Edward Judd (directed by Terence Fisher) a surprisingly good low budget horror flick and wanted to create this thread for a discussion low budget horror/science fiction films from both Europe and the U.S.

There are a number of horror/science fiction films that are quite enjoyable despite the passage and effects of time. Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires" and Freddie Francis' "The Skull" are both examples of two budget films that made the use of their budgets stretching them as far as possible with pretty good results.

Any older b-movie science fiction or horror films you enjoy?

 

Plan 9 From Outer Space

 

Cyborg - A low budget Jean Claude Van Damme flick. A surprisingly bleak dystopian look at the future, with a nice 80s synth-heavy score.

 

Plenty to choose from, so I'd expect this thread to get long. Don't have anything to contribute, but I will later. I agree with your choices, except "the skull," I just found nothing worthwhile in that one.

 

What was the budget for The Blob?

 

First one to come to mind is 1971's The Brotherhood of Satan, with Strother Martin and LQ Jones. I first saw it when I was about 13 and thought it was cheap and dumb, but I saw it again 20 years later and thought it was a creepily effective li'l film that found some clever ways to get around its limited budget.

 

Love Alison's(sp?) Birthday. Many many flaws but engrossing and you really come to care about the characters.

 

The 80's had a butt load of cheaply made, crank em out horror movies. I couldn't see these fast enough. Re-animator. Wolfen. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, C.H.U.D., The Fog, Madman Mars, Motel Hell, Maniac, and my personal fave... the Evil Dead and its sequel. I was 13 or 14 in 1980-81. Don't know how I got into these (mostly rated R flicks) but I did.

 

Return of the Living Dead

 

Bubba Ho Tep

 

Gosh, loads of 'em...

Black Sunday
Black Sabbath
Blood and Black Lace
X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes
Die Monster, Die
Deranged
Motel Hell
Death Race 2000
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I Spit On Your Grave
Fight For Your Life
Last House on the Left
House on the Edge of the Park
The Hills Have Eyes
Return of the Living Dead
Zombi 2
I Drink Your Blood

 

For some reason the sound the monsters in Island Of Terror make reminds me of the synth sound in Maxwell's Silver Hammer.
The Brainiac
Kill Baby Kill
Ship Of Monsters
Frankensteins Bloody Terror

 

The howling, The fog, The stepford wives

 

The Fifty Foot Woman[1958]...The Thing[1951]...Them[1954]Curse Of The Werewolf[1961].

 

Black Christmas (1975)

 

Primer (2004)

 

From the Fs

Flesh Gordon
Flesh Feast (with Veronica Lake)

 

I've always enjoyed that one. I don't know how many times I rented the VHS from Blockbuster when I was in high school.

 

Teenagers From Outer Space
Horror Of The Black Museum
Frankenstetn's Daughter - this laughably bad cheese-fest scared the bejesus out of my 6 year old mind to the point that I started crying in the theater and my brother had to take me home, berating me all the way. This is the same guy who told me we were going to see a cartoon by the name of The Snow Queen but in actuality, it was Horror Of Dracula. Good times. Oh yeah, I payed it forward years later by taking my younger sister to see The Exorcist. Her girlfriend who wanted to tag along got so traumatized she had a fit of hysterical laughter for several minutes. Good times.
Humanoids From The Deep. They had me from fish/man monsters raping women to continue the species.

 

The Evil Dead was the first movie I thought of...a cult classic

 

Just finished watching "The Quatermass Xperiment" (1955). Very much in keeping with this theme, the film goes for the End of the World via invaders from space, all presented in a threadbare but ingenious production.
C.

 

I've spent most of my life watching low budget science fiction and horror movies. Just a few to start:

Miracle Mile (1988) with Anthony Edwards and Mare Winningham. It's dated for all sorts of reasons, but the central idea still has a bit of a kick to it.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) was made for under half a million dollars and is still guaranteed to get under your skin. What a hell of a creepy film.

The Quiet Earth (1985), a low key post apocalyptic film from New Zealand.

 

It The Terror From Beyond Space (1958) The first time I saw Alien I remembered this low budget monster-on-the-loose epic from when I was a kid. For the titular character think The Creature From The Black Lagoon's really ugly brother.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) Cool, creepy vibe and who could forget Klatu, Barada, Nicto? My older brother continued his reign of terror by convincing me the world was going to come to a stop just like in the movie I was watching.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) Great story with a poignant ending that left me speechless as a kid.

 

Carnival of Souls (1962)is extremely low budget (IMDB says about $30,000) but surprisingly well made.

The Wicker Man (the 1973 Christopher Lee film, not the dreadful 2006 Nicholas Cage remake) had a budget of about half a million pounds--not a 'low' budget, but not a huge one either--and is an excellent suspense film. I read somewhere that Christopher Lee considered The Wicker Man to be his best film.