Badmovies.org Forum

Let's make our own badmovies.org list of the 100 Most Essential Bad Movies.

By essential, I mean movies that you believe are necessary for a basic literacy in the field of bad movies, not just movies that you happen to love.  Movies that would be required viewing if they offered a Ph.D. in bad movies.

To keep any one poster from dominating the list, please post only one title at a time, and don't make back-to-back posts: give someone else a chance.

Feel free to give an explanation as to why you chose it.

Please number your entry.

I'll start:

1. GLEN OR GLENDA (1953):  The movie that introduced Ed Wood to the world.  This pro-transvetite documentary with Bela Lugosi as some sort of omnipotent being, narrators narrating the story of narrators caught inside flashbacks inside of a flashbacks, and a demonic dream sequence featuring lesbian bondage that arrives out of nowhere, is one of the weirdest viewing experiences you'll ever see. 

-----THE LIST SO FAR (UPDATED 8/8)-----

1. Glen or Glenda?
2. Brainded (Dead-Alive)
3. Death Race 2000
4. The Maize: The Movie
5. Hell Comes to Frogtown
6. Manos: The Hands of Fate
7. Plan 9 from Outer Space
8. Super Mario Bros.
9. The Beast of Yucca Flats
10. Maniac (1934)
11. Torture Garden
12. Blood Freak
13. Sorority House Massacre II: Nighty Nightmare
14. Night of the Living Dead
15. Beginning of the End
16. The Toxic Avenger
17. Blood Feast (1963)
18. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
19. Return of the Living Dead
20. The Giant Claw
21. Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
22. Hercules in New York
23. The Beyond
24. The Brain that Wouldn't Die
25.  Evil Dead 2
26. Psychomania (1973)
27. Reefer Madness
28. Troll II
29. Carnival of Souls
30. Fantasy Mission Force
31. Eliminators
32. Faster p***ycat!  Kill! Kill!
33. The Valley of the Dolls
34. The Deadly Mantis
35. Bride of the Monster
36. Starcrash
37. Slave Girls from Beyond Infinity
38. The Abomination
39. The Creeping Terror
40. Flash Gordon (1980)
41. Robot Monster
42. Army of Darkness
43. Re-Animator
44. The Killer Shrews
45. The Giant Gila Monster
46. Dracula v. Frankenstein
47. The Blob (1958)
48. Phenomena (AKA Creepers)
49. Teenagers from Outer Space
50. They Live
51. Fright Night
52. Weird Science
53. Never Cry Werewolf
54. Straight Jacket
55. Sextette
56. Gamera v. Guiron
57. One Down, Two to Go
58. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song
59. Abby
60. Godzilla
61. The Road Warrior
62. Myra Breckinridge
63. The Abominable Dr. Phibes
64. The Boxer's Omen
65. Spider Baby
66. Rock n' Roll Nightmare
67. Pink Flamingos
68. Killer Klowns from Outer Space
69. Tourist Trap
70. Hawk the Slayer
71. The Astro-Zombies (1968)
72. Nude on the Moon
73. The Champions of Justice
74. Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge
75. Santa Claus (1959)
76. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
77. Terror is a Man
78. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
79. Ricki-Oh (The Story of Ricky)
80. Laserblast
81. The Terror of Tiny Town
82. Dolemite
83. Burial Ground (Le Notti del Terrore)
84. Clash of the Titans
85. Ninja Bachelor Party
86. Billy the Kid vs. Dracula
87. Robot Holocaust
88. Howard the Duck
89. Zombie Lake
90. Return of the Swamp Thing
91. The Asphyx
92. Deathstalker II
93. Freaks
94. The Lost Empire
95. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
96. They Saved Hitler's Brain
97. 3 Dev Adam
98. Megaforce
99. Creature
100. Eegah!

2. Braindead (Dead-alive in north america) 1992
Super-gory horrorfilm with tongue in cheek humor, and the only film ever to feature the line: "I kick ass for the lord"

BRAINDEAD/DEAD-ALIVE is a great essential choice!

3. DEATH RACE 2000 (1975):  Maybe it's not classically bad (since Corman and Bartel made exactly the film they intended to) but its definitely cheap, and shows that you can do something VERY different in the low-budget exploitation scene.

4. The Maize: The Movie (2004) - Minorly psychic guy spends hours repetitively wandering around in a corn maze, searching for his missing daughters whilst a stumbling-around redneck serial killer might or might not be looking for them...

Essential for being a modern example of ever-heightening(lowering?)-standards for "worst movies ever". Very little action (Mostly just the guy walking around the cornfield, yelling for his girls), bad acting (Literally like in those TV shows where "bad actor" characters sound like they're reading lines), confusing editing (Random jump cuts to previous or upcoming events), confusing, dull plot (guy walking in cornfield and about 10 other just as repetitive things), effects taken from Windows Movie Maker... There is really nothing good to say about this film, even if you're looking for a laugh (Unless you're as easily amused as I am :P).

5.hell comes to frogtown

Thanks, Rev. Powell.
6. Manos: The hands of fate 1966
I had to do this. :lookingup: Often called, the "worst movie of all time", but after I saw it 4 times, it grew on me, and it WILL grow on you, too. There is no other movie like this. This is truly unique. It introduced us Torgo, the satyr (ok, the guy with the big knees) who is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) movie character of all time. The horrible acting, the pathetic excuse for a script, the terrible music, the dreamlike atmosphere, and the 10 minute long driving sequence at the beginning, make this movie unforgettable. It is so bad, it has achieved a status, that it cannot be criticized.It's not just "It's so bad it's good". It's something like: "it's so bad, it's so bad, it's good" :teddyr:. I enthuse this movie. And I know you do too.

7.  Plan 9 From Outer Space, need I say more.  Arguably the worst movie ever made, low budget, cheesy special effects, a pathetic cover up of unexpected cast change a plot that makes no sense.  It's the bad movie of bad movies.  Probably the first lesson if there was ever a B-movie course in any type of school.

The Super Mario Bros Movie for a classic bad videogame movie.

9.the beast of yucca flatts- has every thing a bad movie needs random breast shot
annoying narartor atomic monster and bad dubbing and a former wrestler. need i say more?

Good to see MANOS and PLAN 9 didn't get forgotten.  :smile:  SUPER MARIO BROS. goes at #8.  (Thanks, Skeleton)

10. MANIAC (1934):  This is one of the most insane explotiation movies ever made, and I'd hate for it to get forgotten just because it was made so long ago.  Features horrible acting, eyeball gouging, a catfight with syringes, and black and white boobies.

11. Torture Garden (1967) - Grown men and women curiously stumble into a carnival attraction, where they are shown visions of their respective demises by an eccentric showman played by Burgess Meredith, through the means of a stern-looking, hypnotic statue of Atropos.

One of the most perfect examples of the cult anthology film, done by the company (Amicus) that did 'em best. None of the segments are total stinkers, most are cliche morality tales, and each have classic b-movie qualities; "killer-animal", "conspiracy film", "Inanimate-object-gone-bad", "Poe-sploitation", and a "Minor-celebrity-vs-minor-celebrity" part for the tying segment. The film is heavy with 60s-70s budget-horror style, bright colors, hammy acting, and as I mentoned awesome plots... Did I mention there were 5 of them? :smile:

12. BLOOD FREAK (1972)- Z budget madness.  A guy with an Elvis 'do and shades meets a Jesus Freak chick and her pothead sister. He smokes weed,eats a whole turkey,and turns into a monster with a pinata for a head. He kills people and drinks their blood. And he cuts a guys leg off with a buzz saw.  God cures him. Th' End.  It's even weirder and stupider than it sounds...if that's possible.  You may need to do drugs to sit through it. Or that may be too dangerous and damaging to your psyche.

Sorority House Massacre II - Nighty Nightmare.  People watch B movies to see boobs, and this movie aims to please.  One of my favorites by schlockmeister Jim Wynorski, written and filmed in 7 days.  Takes the slasher formula and has a ton of fun with it.  Tag line:  It's Cleavage vs. Cleavers and the result is Delta Delta Deadly!

14-night of the living dead. need i say more?

#15) Beginning of the End, Bert I. Gordon's masterpiece of giant grasshoppers eating Chicago.
        This was the first time in a theater that I actually said out loud "I can't believe I paid money for     
         this !!".

Rev you should list these in your OP for quick reference.

but coming in at 16 is ...

"The Toxic Avenger" One of best releases from Troma's this film embodies Troma early style and movie making agenda. Pure camp, pure goof, pure B. While it was ignored in it's earliest releases it hit the scene with it's midnight night showing and word spread via word of mouth, proving again fandom can do more for movies than advertising. 

17.  I hate to call this a "bad" movie 'cos it means so much to me personally, but I have to contribute HGL's Blood Feast to the mix.  It's the very first gore movie, and I'm proud to say we kicked off the bloodletting here in sunny Florida.

A true cult classic that I can watch endlessly, along with all of Lewis/Friedman's other films.  I have it on laserdisc!

18. Rocky Horror Picture Show - Likely the first real audience participation film that to this day still is shown at midnight in many theaters. Love it or hate it's, required viewing in b-movieology

19. Return of the Living Dead, 1980s zombies and dancing Linnea Quigley, is definitely an essential..

20. The Giant Claw - worst. giant monster. EVER.

Great list so far
21.  Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter:  Vampires are murdering the local lesbian population, and the catholic church has had enough.  So they call on Jesus Christ, who has his own form of kung fu.  So it's up to Jesus Christ, and his Mexican wrestler friend, Santos, to stop the vampire scourge.  Also, it's a musical.

22 - Hercules in New York - The first Arnold movie!

23. The Beyond (1981) - "Do Not Entry!" Fulci created a surreal masterpiece of badness and gory shocks. Essential stuff  :teddyr:

24. One of my favorite movies of all time-BAD or otherwise...
the BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE (1959)-Jan inna pan,man!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYebuwQ8RPw

I haven't seen this one.  the trailer looks hilarious.

25. Evil dead 2 1987
Chainsaw-hand. Ash. Deadite. Boomstick. 'nuff said?
You simply shouldn't f**k with someone who has a chainsaw AND a gun :cheers:.

While that's probably true, I think you mean "f**k WITH someone."  :teddyr:

Thanks, typo corrected. :teddyr:

Good idea Cheeze; it's taken care of.

26. Psychomania

Here's a clip from a BBC documentary featuring scenes from Psychomania

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1-tDvENdkE&feature=related

OK! Bein' waiting to see if anyone would add this one...I'm am happy to do the honors...

27. REEFER MADNESS-This became a cult fav due to the hippie,groovy  what ever revolution of the late 60's. I dunno...I was to busy running away from my Dad's belt to give a flying f#ck about peace and love...but the movie is funny,and an overblown propaganda film. Fun for non dopers,even!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ixd7ZEbFgo

......this guy would LOVE a speed metal concert,eh?

TROLL 2: First off, it really is god awful. Secondly, I think its quickly displacing "Manos" as the fan-favorite worse movie of all time.

29.carnival of souls spookky and amazing on a small budget :cheers:

I was going to add CARNIVAL OF SOULS if no one else did...

Instead I'll go with 30. FANTASY MISSION FORCE (http://www.badmovies.org/othermovies/fantasymiss/),  because no one's suggested a chopsocky yet, and this "comedy" with hopping vampires, Amazon women, James Bond spy stuff and a tragic Nazi/punk demolitian derby/shootout at the end is as weird as it gets!

31 - Eliminators - It's got robots, it's got cavemen, and it's got kung-fu.

Faster, p***ycat! Kill! Kill! likely Russ Meyer's finest work and no b-move top 100 is complete without Russ Meyer.

Carnival of Souls is taken, Faster p***ycat Kill Kill is taken... 33 could be VALLEY OF THE DOLLS?  We need to have an "A" budget all-time favorite stinker!!  If FASTER p***yCAT KILL! KILL! is the Queen of Bad Movies, VALLEY OF THE DOLLS is the Princess!   :twirl:

THE DEADLY MANTIS: similar in some respects to THE GIANT CLAW with its wooden dialogue although its monster is arguably somewhat better albeit still quite cheesy at times. "In all the kingdom of the living, there is no more deadly or voracious creature than the Preying Mantis."

.35- BRIDE of the MONSTER (1955) -Bela,Tor, Kelton the Cop,that dope with the bird,a rubber octopus,Ed Wood! One of the best BAD movies ever! How many movies get a movie made about the making of it?

 (I like to post videos...!)  from ED WOOD....making Bride of the Monster....!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZbLFXqhbQM

I think we need a space opera, and I have to vote for "Starcrash."

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/starcrash/

Slave Girls From Beyond Infinity - hey, the title alone should warrant its inclusion  :teddyr:  This is one of the films that really got me hooked on Bad movies.  Two bikini-clad slave girls escape from a spaceship and crash land on a planet where they're hunted by a guy named Zed.  Basically a Most Dangerous Game style thing.  Totally cheesy dialog, great atmosphere, actors who aren't exactly going to win any awards but made a real honest effort to say their silly lines like they meant them, boobs, it's got it all.

37. The Abomination (so bad its good, one of my favs in my collection too)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INv5qfSJjTY

Actually, I think The Abomination would be #38.

And at #39 - The Creeping Terror! Nothing like seeing panic-stricken victims crawling into the maw of a waddling carpet.

For some prime cheese, plasters from end to end with cheesy dialog and quite possibility the greatest sound track ever ...

Coming in from 1980 ... FLASH GORDON

 # 41-ROBOT MONSTER!!!!

 No BAD movie list is complete without this classic of mindless ,mind blowing, insanity!!!!

No need to say more...Andrew says it best here:

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/robotmonster/

42.  Army of Darkness.  A great sequal and a clear representation of horror-comedy.

43. Can't believe no one's mentioned it yet, but Re-Animator! One of the most amazing blends of horror, mad science, sexual weirdness, and dark comedy and the movie that made me look at b-horror flicks as something more than just crap to watch on the Sci-Fi Channel on a Saturday night when I was a bored teen. :thumbup:

I'm with ya there Gracey! I saw it once when I was in high school, saw some kind of twisted cheap charm to it, then went back a year later to rent it again, only to discover the store had sold their copy! None of the other 12 rental stores I had membership to carried it, and it wasn't till years later when I found a copy on eBay that I could know happiness again.  :teddyr:

44. The killer shrews 1959
As a result of an experiment gone terribly wrong, some dogs in rugs giant mutant shrews terrorize a group of drunks  :cheers: on a small, deserted island.

45.the giant gila monster the conterpart of the kiler shrews :cheers:

No list would be complete,I believe...without Al.
(Read the rest with a Kasey Kasem voice)
Al Adamson...coming in at # 45 with the classic musical expliotation monster mash-
DRACULA vs. FRANKENSTIEN !

(yes.another clip! This IS BAD movies? Torture yerself!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19u7qfV2HJA

...oh gawd...so bad...so beautiful....!

The Blob, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster

Darth, all good choices, but please read the instructions in the first post: limit yourself to one movie per post!  (Also, specify which BLOB you mean--1950s or 1980s?)

Oh, I'm sorry.. The one that I nominate is The Blob from the 50's.

47. Phenomena/Creepers 1985
A great gory b-movie about a girl who can communicate with insects, trying to find a killer who is..well killing young girls.
Possibly the only film featuring a chimp with a razor blade. And with a GRUDGE against who killed her master! That chimp is in the movie for two things: To kick ass, and chew bubblegum. And she's all out of bubblegum.
Oh, and the her name is Tanga.

48.teenagers from outer space

Actually, we're on 50 now.

50.  They Live.  No real plot and every main character dies.  Not to mention Rowdy Roddy Piper shooting up a bank.

51. Fright Night (1985) - Teenage horror fan gets caught up in the R-rated exploits of a vampire moved in next door...

Essential viewing as the quintessential Friday-nite flick, as well as a good "first-'cool'-horror-film" with boobs, cool effects, a horror-savvy hero, a hot girl-next-door, a smugly terrifying villain, and an eccentric monster-hunter.

... and Marcy from "Married... With Children". :tongueout:

Yes... AS the hot girl-next-door :smile:

While I'm thinking of the 80s, I'll mention...

52 - Weird Science - This movie has it all: Kelly Le Brock, geeky high school kids getting in trouble while the parents are away, computers with quasi-magical powers, bras on heads, Vernon Wells and Micheal Berryman, wacky 80s fashion, an out-of-control house party, a nuclear missile, and especially Bill Paxton in the role that pretty much set the tone for his career.

I wish I could have mentioned more than one, because this is something of a companion piece to the last one I mentioned :wink:

53. Never cry Werewolf (2008) - Basically Fright Night, except with a werewolf instead of a vampire, and a female heroine.

Essential example of a perfect ripoff; characters, events, settings, all taken from a superior movie without giving credit in any way to the original, not even dropping hints with an eerily similar title.

54. STRAIT-JACKET (time for some WILLIAM CASTLE cheez). 
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/08/53524224bp8.jpg)

Just thoughts: we are missing or week in some genres.  Here are some, but there are more:

Blaxsploitation
Wrestling/ex-wrestlers
Kaiju (giant rubber monsters)
Fantasy
Martial Arts
60/70s Exploitation

I'm going to advance one that needs to be on the list, just because it is so awful:

Sextette (http://www.badmovies.org/movies/sextette/)

It's a tough choice, but if I had to nominate a kaiju flick based on entertaining cheesiness and all-around 'WTF?' factor, I'd have to say Gamera vs. Guiron for #56.

Definitely with Andy for Guiron. By far my favorite old skool Gamera flick and Guiron is the greatest rubber monster movie ever created. He's got a giant friggin' Ginsu for a head and he shoots throwing stars out of his ears!  :teddyr:

57. - As for the lacking blaxploitation genre, there are a lot of possibilities, but I just saw an amazing mash-up of four of the greatest blaxploitation actors of all time as Jim Kelly, Richard Roundtree, Jim Brown, and Fred Williamson all teamed up for One Down, Two to Go. If it had Rudy Ray Moore and they all fought Blacula, it'd be the greatest movie of all time. :thumbup:

I noticed some of these were missing, though I did nominate FANTASY MISSION FORCE earlier, which at least represents the martial arts.

Blaxplotation, you say?

58. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song:  Melvin van Peebles dropped too much acid just before he thought up this tale of a black stud in a live sex show who beats up corrupt honky cops and runs to Mexico.  The first balxploitation movie.

(Anubis posted while I was typing, but I still want SWEETBACK).

56 1/2. make it the gamera series if thats okay for the list to say it

Everybody needs some sweetback every once in a while Reverand...  :wink:

Sextette is WORSE than bad...IMHO....it's EVIL! EVIL!!!! Painfully torturous!  That movie can induce suicide or murder! Ahhhhhh!  Ouch! Ouweeeeiiiieeee! God...please bury me under the dirt....deep! In the ground! UNDER VAST AMOUNTS OF DIIIIIIIIIIIIRT!!!!!!!!!

Oh...That outta my systym...the ultimate blaxpo-Satan movie....

59. ABBY-Dam Carol Speed is SCARY!!!!

This combines Blaxpo and satan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSNyD9Lz0TU

It just occurred to me that speaking of giant rubber monsters ...

60. Godzilla (1954) is not on the list ... but you know it pronounced Godzirra.

Don't get out much do you.  :bouncegiggle:

This list needs some a little more "post-apocalyptic carnage" representation, so I nominate for No. 61: The Road Warrior.

Of course not! There are vampires out there in the night, and hideous sun-demons every other time! It's just like that Russian Dozer series ya' know?? :buggedout:

By the way, since something got posted before I did, I'll go ahead and mention that The Road Warrior is one of the few movies my dad actually likes all the way through!

Good stuff, movie not to bad either.

SEXTETTE got me thinking... 61.? MYRA BRECKENRIDGE ... anybody see this one?   :bouncegiggle: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uxEtK_zoB4 
"Everything you've heard about MYRA BRECKENRIDGE is true!"

\

Seen it, got the DVD it's Raquel Welch for pete sake.

This list needs a Vincent Price movie. But I simply can't choose. All of his movies are too great. Someone help me out.

The Raven with Vincent Price.  That one's pretty goofy.

The Raven's a good choice.

I would also nominate The House on Haunted Hill (original).

Are you guys just mentioning suggestions yet? I would like to officially add The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

63. The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1970) - A mad doctor (Of music) played by Vincent Price takes his elaborate revenge on several other doctors who let his wife die -

Essential because it's a fine example of a horror icon, masterfully playing (Straight, for the most part) one of the types he's best at :) . Not only do we have Price's brilliant performance of the "man out for slow, vicious revenge" and the piece's incredible imagery, but the death traps Phibes uses to exact his revenge throughout the film are inspired. Fans of SaW type horror flicks may see some basis in this gem :)

to boad most saw fans wouldnot like it

I don't think ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES belongs on the list; I don't think it's a "Bad" movie, but more of an "Unusual" one...  :wink:

Well it depends on what you consider a bad movie! I just see the term (At least in the way of this site) to mean a "b-movie", or one that doesn't have a straight plot, script, characters, etc... (Which is why I thought The devil wears Prada belonged in "Good Movies" a bit back, it had a big budget and from what I hear, a garden variety plot and execution). I would think Fright Night, which I mentioned here before, was probably in fact an average "Hollywood picture", but I mentioned it here due to it's b-film elements, most notably it's characters.

In short, I tend to think of a "bad movie" as what the highbrow critics or sometimes opening day audiences would refer to as a "bad-movie", not necessarily a literally bad film! :smile:

I always describe bad movies as the punk rock of film.  Sure they have technical glitches, and they turn off the average person, but there's something interesting there.

I just had my mind blown by one of the craziest damn movies ever to come out of Hong Kong, so to add a little more flavor and utter nonsensical psychosis to the list, I'd like to nominate for No.64: The Boxer's Omen. Review forthcoming later tonight at tombofanubis.com. :buggedout:

So you think Punk Rock is "interesting" but with "technical glitches"?  :lookingup: 

I will say I guess PHIBES is pretty "bad," though I'm one of the legion of lovers of that film...

How about #65 SPIDER BABY ??

We haven't had a musical movie that I saw, so how about "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare" for number 66.  And it's got Satan!  For number 66!

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/rrnightmare/

#18. Rocky Horror is classified as a musical.

However we had a John Waters that I saw ..

67. Pink Flamingo's

Maybe that's worded poorly  :tongueout:

Sometimes I step outside myself and look at the music and movies I like and think "wow, this is pretty horrible stuff."  But I still like it.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe there's something wrong with me.  Maybe I need cooler friends that appreciate my sensibilities.

OK, I had to add it because I love this movie,

#68 Kiss Me Quick:  cool theme music, sexy girls, ridiculous plot, stupid jokes, total exploitation.

69. Tourist Trap

70.  Hawk the Slayer

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/hawkslayer/

We're in the home stretch... only 30 more to go.  Make sure your favorite gets represented.

71.  THE ASTRO-ZOMBIES (1968):  Ted V. Mikels must be represented on any essential bad movies list.  The only movie in history where the monster rejuvenates himself when he runs down by pressing a flashlight to his forehead.  With John Carradine and Tura Satana.

There is no Doris Wishman on here --

72:  Nude on the Moon

While I have a soft spot for "Dildo Heaven" and "Blaze Starr Goes Nudist", "Nude on The Moon" is in its own class for garish, in-your-face, nudity for its own sake stupidity.  There is no acting.  There is no plot.  The space suits are beyond dumb -- The budget was probably a negative number.  Just headshakingly awful films she made . . . yet at their heart there was a dumb sort of sweetness & unabashed vouyerism that makes Russ Meyer seem coy by comparison.
peter johnson/denny wishman

We really need a luchadore film.  One of the better Santo flicks might be a good one, but I'm going to suggest "The Champions of Justice," because it has everything that normally goes into the genre - and super midgets.

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/champjustice/

There's a decided lack of Full Moon representation on this list as well. As such, I nominate for No.74 Puppet Master 3: Toulon's Revenge. I could've easily gone with any of the other installments, but this one has killer puppets murdering Nazis and introduces my father's favorite puppet: Six-Shooter!  :teddyr:

Any K. Gordon Murray films on the list?  If not, I nominate Santa Claus (1959).

76. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 - Leatherface and his eccentric family continue their multiple massacres, but this time they're being chased by an obsessed sheriff and a leggy radio host...

Just about every horror franchise gets silly and self-spoofing eventually; I hear Freddy Krueger gave up on being menacing in about the 4th installment, around his own 4th chapter, Chucky started killing more for fun than profit, the Leprechaun's primary focus switched from horror to comedy in only it's second sequel and into full-fledged camp in the next part, since about part 3, Friday the 13th films have realized their own campiness... I could go on... However it seems that by the pre-production of "Part 2", Texas Chainsaw (Which, though a b-movie type and a perfectly made scary film, isn't essential to a b-film PHD IMO) had already become a phenomenon, and the only way Hooper wanted to do a sequel was to make it go a totally different direction... In a way, he succeeded. Though the second "Texas Chainsaw" ended up having a lot of things in common with the first, these things were totally exaggerated to a hilariously comical extent; Drayton is not only a cook, but an award-winning chili-maker! Leatherface is not only childlike, but mentally an awkward teenager! Grandpa is not only old, he's the oldest man alive! The film serves up rehashes and caricatures of many of the film's most memorable scenes, just compare the dinner scenes! People said that the first film was ironic as it only had one killing by chainsaw, this one absolutely reveled in chainsaw action, climaxing in a chainsaw-duel near the climax! The film reveled in the violence and gore people thought they saw in the first, and though not every fan of the first liked this one, Hooper made a cult classic, and a completely "WTF" film :wink: . (I hear part 3 was played straight, to mediocre results :tongueout: )

SANTA CLAUS goes on the list at 75. 

I'd like to suggest we need more third world films on the list... Filipino, Indonesian, Turkish, Indian, etc.  I'm not really an expert in any of those genres so I'll leave it to others to make a nomination.

Santa Claus is Mexican; but I'm not sure if Mexico is a third world country.  I'd say out of your list of countries, The Philippines most deserves inclusion, since they have a proud history of cult/exploitation.  I suggest Terror is a Man (1959) at #77 - the great granddaddy of Filipino exploitation.

78.santa clause conquers the martians

79. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

The full length movie can be found here:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=417949348888674336 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=417949348888674336)

80. Teenagers From Outer Space: "A young alien (David Love) falls for a pretty teenage Earth girl (Dawn Anderson) and they team up to try to stop the plans of his invading cohorts..." (IMDB Plot Summary). Beware the Lobster's Shadow!  :wink: The disintegrators were cool though.

Sorry, Jase, already nominated as #49 (see first post).

Pretty amazing that this thread went 80 nominations before the first repeat.

No.80 - Laserblast. That's all I'm gonna say about that.  :teddyr:

That would be 81.


So 82. The Terror in Tiny Town (1938) ... I think one of the first if not the only 100% full exploitation film with midgets. Gun slinging midgets.

Nope Cheeze, it's No.80. Teenagers From Outer Space was already added to the list as pointed out by the Reverand.

82 - Dolemite - the quintessential blaxploitation movie.

 83.BURIAL GROUND!!!! (Nights of TERROR)!!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38FOl-2C51k


...and of course...the scariest thing about it....MICHEAL!!!!

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

AH!

Greetings,

Well I've been lurking around here for a while, and this topic finally spurred me on to register. Hope I'm not out of line suggesting

84. Clash of the Titans

How can you not include a movie about a recovering Robutussin addict who goes to Korea to learn to become a ninja so he can retrieve his girlfriend from the local bicycle gang?


85.  NINJA BACHELOR PARTY!!!!!

No.86 - A classic (in the loosest meaning of the word) genre-blender of a bad movie must-see: Billy the Kid Vs. Dracula. :cheers:

87 - Robot Holocaust - Crappy robots, sock puppets, hot chick who can't act, and a giant spider...leg!

88.  Howard the Duck.  Midget in a duck suit hanging around with Tim Robbins...

Good list.  Nice to see spaghetti space opera (Star Crash) represented but a bit light on Euro Horror.  I mean how can you NOT include. . .

89. Zombie Lake (http://www.badmovies.org/othermovies/zombielake/)

This movie is much maligned as being the WORST zombie movie ever, despite the fact Troma shat out more than a few turds worse than the actual worst of the worst; Oasis of the Zombies.  What cinches this as a must see for me are the aqua nazi zombies, the magical pond-lake-swimming pool, and the inability of the script writer to do simple math!   :teddyr:

Jim Wynorski needs some representation here so: 90. Return of Swamp Thing starring Heather Locklear and a scene chewing villain played by Louis Jordan. Looks and feels like a TV Movie but I digs than comic book opening and "Born on the Bayou".

Really?  You're going to nominate a Harryhausen flick as one of the essential bad movies of all time?  I'd have gone with Ferrigno's Hercules myself.  Then again that mechanical owl is darned annoying.  If ever we do a top 100 list of most annoying creatures in movies that owl would have to rank as #1!

91 - The Asphyx - The secret of immortality is to shine a spotlight on the killer muppet that each of us has. I love this pseudo-Hammer British flick.

Because JaseSF has a point and sword-and-sorcery has been under represented. .

92. Deathstalker II

 :cheers:

93. Freaks

Better jump in one more time while I can . . .

THE LOST EMPIRE

Three D-cup actresses and not a brain cell between them produce lines of dialogue like:


"I hate robot spiders!"

Is it possible that no one has listed ...

"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"?

I think this is 95

Are you kidding, I love Bubo!

Wow, you guys really went to town on this list last night and this morning!

I apologize, but I have to do this:

96. THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN

Because this list needs more pain...

Make the last 4 good ones!

97.  "3 Dev Adam" - the Turkish spider man.  It was either this or else the Indian Superman.

Ouch, I'm hurting just thinking about that movie.

98 - Megaforce - Tight jumsuits, lightning-bolt camo, flying bluescreen motorcycle and Persis Khambatta!

I'm not sure how both "Bad Taste" and "Killer Klowns from Outer Space" missed the list, but if anyone wants to second one of them, ,

Have you thought of pulling any of these?

While I have grave doubts that "Carnival of Souls" or "Spider Baby" belong on here, both of them certainly being eccentric films, but, I would argue, actually quite good movies, I absolutely do NOT think Todd Browning's "Freaks" belongs on ANY list with "Plan 9" and these others.

"Freaks" was way ahead of its time in portraying alienation and overweening greed -- Even Eric von Stroheim's "Greed" doesn't go as far.  Browning made a difficult film, sure, but a bad one?  I'd rethink that . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

Well, with a list that includes such classics as Death Race 2000, Evil Dead 2, Flash Gordon (1980), and The Road Warrior then yeah I feel like it belongs. It's a fantastic movie that people with mainstream tastes tend to roll their eyes at when I mention it. Plus Harry Hamlin gives it some "bad" cred, it has gratuitous nudity, and a popular catch phrase "Give us back the eye!!!" as well. And the owl.

In honor, I have chosen Medusa as my avatar.

This is a great list. I'll have to bump a few of these I haven't yet seen up in my netflix queue. Surprised Barbarella isn't on here.

99. Creature

Because it's the ONLY hybrid knock-off of Alien and Planet of the Vampires, plus it has Klaus Kinski.  And the alien creature SFX are just plain awful.

 :cheers:

I don't know, PJ/DC.  My plan was just to allow open nominations, and let people pick what they want, whether I agreed or not.  

Some of the movies chosen (like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) really aren't bad at all, but they were influential on bad movies that followed, so I think they belong.  

I'd defend CARNIVAL OF SOULS and FREAKS on the list.  SOULS was technically very bad, but the badness actually added to the otherwordly feel of the movie, and so made it an accidental success.  FREAKS is a tougher call, but the acting and the outre, exploitative  subject matter make it appropriate to me.

The ones I wouldn't have added as "too good" are CLASH OF THE TITANS, SPIDER BABY, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, and THE ROAD WARRIOR.  

These types of lists always have some controversal choices on them, whether they are picked by badmovies posters or the AFI.  The debate about what belongs and doesn't belong is most of the fun.

That said, if someone were willing to voluntarily retract their own choice to make room for something else, that would be great.  I's be willing to retract DEATH RACE 2000 to make more room if people want.  It may be "too good" for the list.

Also, we can continue debating about what should be on the list even after the 100 point mark.

It does seem like sci-fi and fantasy got short shrift.  Granted spaghetti space operas are an acquired taste but how did Galaxy of Terror not make the list?

Guess there's only one thing to do.  Make this the TOP 500 ESSENTIAL BAD MOVIES list!   Who seconds the motion?  (And don't you dare remove DEATH RACE 2000!!!!!!)  :wink:

Seconded.  :thumbup:

Point taken.  Yet. .


I agree.  Great little flick with moments of utter bad.  Like the owl.   :tongueout:

That said it's a very interesting list.  A lot of movies I remember my friends saying I had to see and quite a few I've never seen but mean to.  Like Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter.  I've been meaning to pick this up but just haven't ever gotten around to it. And there's even a few I've tried to forget I ever saw. . . LOL.

I personally am going to cap the "official" list at 100.  But I'll keep DEATH RACE on for you, Kester.  :wink:

If we want to go for a larger number of movies, how about 366?  That would be one bad movie for every day of the year, with one "special" movie every year for leap years.   :wink:

That said, we're still awaiting #100.  Ghouk suggested either BAD TASTE or KILLER KLOWNS, both excellent choices.  Anyone want to pick between them?  Anyone want to take a prior nomination off to make room for the other?

I think we should all individually submit our own "Top 100" lists, and compile them into an averaged list, although THAT list would probably wind up being 300 long or so. .

Arch Hall Jr. has to be included. So why not the unintentionally hilarious Eegah! also starring Richard Kiel as a caveman. So many more not listed though like Project Moonbase and Cat-Women of the Moon.

Sooooooooooooooooo....what's number 100???? The suspense is driving me CRAZY!!!  :buggedout: AH!

I like EEGAH! for # 100 myself.

Yea right, it's the SUSPENSE that is doing that, ,

Killer Klowns or Bad Taste? Oh thats a toughie, personally, I'd have to go with bad taste, although i have quite a fondness for both of these movies

Yeah, I agree.  That should be on there.  We can take out Kiss Me Quick because we already have another Nudie Cutie (Nude on the Moon).  Or we can expand the list.

Also, I vote Killer Klowns over Bad Taste, because we already have Braindead (Dead Alive), although I love both movies.

CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON was pretty influential as well. Just think it helped spawn MISSILE TO THE MOON, QUEEN OF OUTER SPACE, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS, FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE and even more!

I'll throw in a vote for Killer Klowns from Outer Space, though as someone looking to benefit from this list, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing it expanded.

If we really need to subtract, then I don't mind my pick of Clash of the Titans being pulled, as I've maybe misjudged the "feel" of the list.

Eegah!  gets #100.

Ghouk's idea is a good one, if we really want to do an AFI type list.  (It would also allow for ranking, by counting votes).  I would suggest that we limit ourselves to 10 nominations each, rather than the full 100.  I'd be willing to compile such a list.  Just PM me your 10 choices.

Otherwise, we can just keep adding to this thread:

101. Bad Taste
102. Killer Klowns from Outer Space.     

And brooky, several people defended your choice of CLASH OF THE TITANS, so maybe your sense of the list wasn't off after all.

I don't know if it'll take off with the same degree of success as this thread did but, as the 100 mark has been met, I started up a second list.  This time for SF B-movies.  Isn't that how the AFI lists do it, have top 100 lists broken up into genres?  Granted there's likely to be some repetition but nothing wrong with that.

Now who volunters to start threads for/manage the horror and fantasy lists?

I agree with you, but I chose Freaks as one of the classier additions to the list to go along with choices like Godzilla and Night of the Living Dead.  I think it's a very good and very important film, but it's arguably exploitive, some of the acting is iffy, and it surely had an influence on some future b-filmmakers.  Plus it was banned like crazy in various places and I think that that's pretty cool.  But if we're going to make a list of cruddier films I'd be willing to remove it if anyone else feels like it doesn't belong.

My alternative choice:  Planet of Dinosaurs

I missed it the first time, but I just noticed TexasCharlie retracted KISS ME QUICK.  So, #68 is open.  The next poster can suggest a replacement.

Please make it clear you're replacing it by writing 68. [NAME OF YOUR MOVIE].  Sometimes it's difficult to tell if people are making an official nomination or just suggesting possible choices for discussion.

I was very happy with the list as it ended up (although of course people can continue adding films, and anyone can vote to retract one of their own nominations in favor of something else).

I think we hit all the obvious choices.  All the major genres got mentioned.  There were a several obscure (to me) films (THE MAIZE: THE MOVIE, THE BOXER'S OMEN), a couple of controversial choices to spark debate (FREAKS, CLASH OF THE TITANS), and a couple of worthy films that didn't quite make the cut (BAD TASTE, KILLER KLOWNS).  All the things a top 100 list needs to spark debate.  I'm sure if another b-movie message board got hold of this list, they'd tear it apart: "Why is WEIRD SCIENCE on the list instead of BATTLEFIELD EARTH?"

You guys were great!  Even though I wouldn't have made all the same choices, there really wasn't a clunker on the list.  This community really has an amazing depth of knowledge of crappy cinema: a panle of "experts" wouldn't have come up with very different choices.   

I'm ashamed to say I've only seen 44 of these movies myself, less than half the list.  I don't think I'm worthy of a Ph.D. in bad movies yet.  Maybe just a B.S. degree  :smile:.

     

I'd suggest ...

68. Killer Klowns from Outer Space


I fun yet stupid clown horror movie.

Yeah, looking at the whole list, I'd say it turned out pretty good. We're never going to come up with a perfect list of one hundred, because there is so much material out there and this is such a subjective thing. I think anybody looking to get a solid grounding in bad movie appreciation (assuming you can do that without having grown up on bad movies) would have a good starting point with this list. It includes most of the really notorious titles, and enough variety to let a b-movie novice get a taste of everything and define a personal taste in bad movies (bad being interpreted very broadly). That to me is what an essential list is all about. Maybe a few genres are under-represented, but again, it's subjective.

Surprised the following didn't get mentioned though:

The Brain From Planet Arous
Horror of Party Beach
Creature From the Haunted Sea
It Conquered the World
The Mole People
Monster From the Ocean Floor
Phantom From 10,000 Leagues
Killers From Space
The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies

It would be extremely difficult to come up with the perfect top 100, yes the list could aways be refined. Over all it's a pretty decent list.  :thumbup:

I wonder how similar this list would be if it was made up now?

Likely more modern B-Movie or meme style films would dominate. The Room, Miami Connection, Troll 2, Who Killed Captain Alex, Cool Cat Saves the Kids and so on will probably make the new list. Sadly the SyFy Channel or Asylum stuff would make it on there too (Sharknado). 

There's a few legitimatly good movies on the list that I wouldn't mind replacing.  "Meme pick" or not, I do think Troll 2 deserves a spot. 

There is a good reason it is on so many lists.

Oh I don't think Troll 2 doesn't deserve it but it has boomed in popularity due to the meme. People know it or vote for it even if they never saw the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4)

Some films I would nominate:
Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo (1984)
The Galaxy Invader (1985)
Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
Street Fighter (1994)
Night of the Demon (1980)
Jaws 3-D (1983)
Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)
Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958)
Mac and Me (1988)
Titanic: The Legend Goes On... (2000) - the one with the rapping dog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHNztg0X3s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxHNztg0X3s)
The Crater Lake Monster (1977)
Space Thunder Kids (1991)

Trying not to dip into the MST3K, Rifftrax, or Red Letter Media bucket.