Got a fav classic B horror flick?

Wow...looks cool, never seen it.

 

I'm currently reading HIDDEN HORROR (available an Amazon, but I purchased it from the authors at a horror convention) and the 2nd film they recommend:

AT MIDNIGHT I'LL TAKE YOUR SOUL

 

If you have a Roku (maybe other services as well), it's free, on Pub D Hub channel.

 

Would FREAKS be considered B? Either way, one of my very favorites.

 

Now there's a wild one! Banned for years IIRC. VERY well done.

 

I only saw THEM! for the first time in the past year and I really enjoyed it. Also, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON is great and is on a very good 3-D Blu-ray.

 

Them is an all time fav of mine. "It's THEM".....chilling line.

Creature From The Black Lagoon is a beautiful movie.
I wouldn't put any of those Universal horror movies in B flick status, A grade classic stuff there.

 

Mario Bava's "Planet of the Vampires" firmly resides in "B" movie territory with its low-budget cheap effects and weak acting, but the inventive and atmospheric direction elevates it well beyond the normal fodder. Bava was one of the true masters of accomplishing a great deal with very little.

Aaron

 

Wasn't that thing great? Man, I thought that was hokey when I was like 7! "Hey! Can't they see the wires?" But man, it's such a fun movie, as are most of the Castle films of this era.

Well, they were considered B-movies at the time in terms of budget and cast, and a lot of them actually went out as double-bills in theaters. There's plenty of B-movies that are still good films, and I think a lot of the 1930s/1940s Universal horror classics fall in that category.

 

Not sure if this is exactly a "classic" per se, but it is a memorable what-the-hell-were-they-thinking viewing experience:

The Giant Claw (1957)

 

I love Planet Of The Vampires and lots of Mario Bava in general, but this film knocked me out the first time I saw it ..... great look and atmosphere ! Interesting that I read every now and then how it has similarities to Ridley Scott's Alien ..... here's an example ....... http://filmconnoisseur.blogspot.com.au/2011/03/mario-bavas-planet-of-vampires-1965.html

Anyway, a great film !!

 

Outstanding flick, love the mood and atmosphere.

 

Probably a D flick, but hey, it was cool in it's own way.

 

Yes, I have.
Caught it on Encore(?) maybe, one day.

jerol

 

I know what you're saying, but if nothing else I would think most classic Universal "horror" had a much better budget than the usual B flick fodder we'll see in this thread, pushing them to A status for the genre back then with better scenery, effects.

I may be wrong though. The underwater shots in Creature make me think better than a B flick and the Wolfman's transformation was astounding.

Not worth splitting hairs though for sure.

 

Indeed, and that Film Connoisseur link is excellent! Thanks for posting that.
The "Alien" reference is most obvious in their visit to the ancient ship, and blatantly obvious at that. Anyone who is familiar with Scott's film will not miss it.
Bava is one of my cinematic heroes in that he's one of the most interesting visual directors I've ever seen given his resources. He never had any money to work with but his films are dazzling (not to mention influential) despite their many obvious limitations. I lean toward the brilliant "Kill, Baby, Kill" as my favorite of his, but so many of them are worthwhile it's hard to rank them.
All I can say is that if anyone can forgive low-budget limitations and appreciate inventive direction(and if you're in this thread in the first place you probably can), give some Mario Bava flicks a shot. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Aaron

 

At any rate this thread forced me to cancel my Doors music binge I started.

Instead I popped Reptilicus into the player.

Looking lovely, sounding great, part of the 4 play DVD from MGM, looks much better than the earlier single DVD release IMO. Certainly could look better, hoping for a restored blu ray at some point.

Now a pizza must go into the oven.

 

Motel Hell! Rory Calhoun! love that!

 

Speaking of Hotels/motels...how about 1960 Horror Hotel/the City Of The dead w/Christopher Lee? Very atmospheric & moody IMO. not sure what release is the best at this point though, but a better one is certainly in dire need.

 

Well, it's sci-fi horror, but I think Invaders from Mars is just genius.

 

Many of the Toho films fit well here, like Destroy All Monsters and the Godzilla series.

 

Eh, I know for a fact some of the later Mummy pictures were released first-run on double bills, so (to Universal) they were lower than an "A" picture ($1 million budget). Don't confuse budget with quality; hell, Citizen Kane was technically a B-picture released by RKO. And it bombed. All of the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies at Universal were B-movies, and I think a lot of those were classics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_movie

 

Oh yeah, I love it!!! Anyone know what the best release is of it? I have a few and they all suck.

 

The first thing that came to mind. A fave from the days of Sir Graves Ghastly's show.

Horrible title. Worse movie:

But it did get the MST3k treatment some years later.

This movie wasn't released. It escaped !