Breaking in the newbies

[Andrew]

I think my favorite part of "Teenage Catgirls in Heat" was listening to the rain of cats.  If memory serves, they were inside a building that had a tin roof and the sound was very pronounced.

I really must get that DVD...

[mr. henry]

great question...it's a science...

if they like the "airplane" movies, then of course Killer Tomatoes usually gets laughs. for others, the troma philosophy can show there is also an anti-establishment  philosophical side to making b-movies.

for sci-fi, i concur with the earlier post about buckaroo bonzai...i also think the likes of Dark Star can show a good story can surpass a low budget...plus it shows that muffin pans can double as space armor.  tons of pre-talent in Dark Star: Carpenter of course, one actor went on to write Aliens (if i'm correct), etc...now you can also make the argument that we knew about raimi and jackson back in the b-days...

i always take the route that accidental humor is way better than most intended humor these days...and many of the best ideas exist in low-budget-land...probably because there are less hands in the budget...less focus groups...etc.

of course us that frequent this site already know all of this...as the enlightened, we must spread the word.

-mr. henry

[Abby]

I think it depends on the people.

For general grown-up audiences, my stock "b-movie 101" lineup includes Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Abby (that was true even before I did the site, btw). The third movie varies -- Tremors is great for the unB-aptized. A little Ed Wood goes a long way. I've toted Flash Gordon once or twice, too. Blacula gets a little slow, I've found. Everyone on earth needs to see Head.

I recently brought Sinful Dwarf, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, and This Night I Will Possess Your Corpse to a group of non-genre fans who expected me to provide entertainment, and they were satisfied (Sinful Dwarf was by request). Previous doses of entertainment I'd exposed them to included the aforementioned films.

I cleared a frat house one time in college with Can't Stop The Music. For real. Everyone went outside after Danny Boy. At another small party, people fled during Darkstar (frankly, I don't blame them), but I was sad the day I cleared a room with Forbidden Zone. People are insane. Why run from Tattoo? Stupid minds. Stupid stupid. I made a guy throw up when I showed Bad Taste among friends once.

[Andrew]

I tried showing this to the group after last B-Fest and they just could not get into it.  Probably because everyone was talking and only paying attention to the movie now and then.  This is a film where you have to pay attention.  You will still get lost, but you will not lose interest.

Of course, everyone is different and so some people will not like the film.  Personally, a strange kingdom ruled by a midget, with a frog butler, and a princess who doesn't wear a top, is a kingdom that interests me.

[Pete B6K]

I showed 'Dolemite' and 'Killer Klowns from Outer Space' to my uninitiated friends, and they went down a treat.

When I was just getting into B-movies a troma-obsessed friend showed me 'Bloodsucking Freaks', which is about one of the worst you could show a newbie.  I still think hate that film.

Pete

[AndyC]

I think the biggest hits with my fiance have been movies that are almost too bad to be believed. A mildly bad one doesn't do as much as a flick that just makes her exclaim "I can't believe somebody made this!"

Bad effects, overacting, botched day-for-night photography, and that sort of thing seem to get her interest. The Sidehackers was a hit, as was the Cave Dwellers, although I don't know if she would have liked them as well without the MST3K treatment. She loved the Killer Shrews just fine as it was.

The other ones she seems to enjoy are the very old sci-fi flicks that feature rockets with big square control rooms, female crew members serving coffee and clearing the table, and generic scientists spouting hokey technobabble. She got a kick out of Angry Red Planet and It! The Terror from Beyond Space.

I think the old 50s movies have a certain innocent charm.

Then again, she drove 8 hours to Chicago with me and sat through 17 hours of B-Fest this year, when she had barely been introduced to bad movies. Is it any wonder I'm marrying her.

[J.R.]

Geez, all you have to do is show someone Scary Movie 2 or Pearl Harbor to show them that big budget, mainstreammovies can be sloppy, incoherent and inane. Then pop in a B-gem like Army Of Darkness or Forbidden Planet and let the rest take care of itselfl.

P.s.-just saw Scary Movie 2 last night and I think it's all the evidence necessary tp try the Wayans clan entire for crimes against humanity.

[John]

>Personally, a strange kingdom ruled by a midget, with a frog butler, and a
>princess who doesn't wear a top, is a kingdom that interests me.

 Me too! Not too sure about the 20 inch cattle prods though...

[Redjack]

Whats not to like about Ornella Muti in spandex??

[Redjack]

I've always used the tried and true 3 stage initiation.   Start em off with  Buckaroo Banzai,  then watch one of the Evil Dead flicks (usally Evil Dead 2)  then move into the realms of brain numbing with People Under the Stairs.    If they're still with me at this point, they're ready for the true shining stars of B-movies.

[Biscuitrocious]

"Can't stop the Music" is evil. Pure and simple: EVIL.

I've found that the best movies to break people in on are "Glen or Glenda," "Dolemite II: Human Tornado," and and lesbian-vampire movie. I wish I could remember the name of the one I'm thinking of, but there are so many...

Also, most of the Full Moon Pictures catalog is suitably crappy.

[Lee]

I've never found People Under The Stairs brain numbing. I Was A Teenage Zombie on the otherhand.....UHG! What was I thinkin renting that?

[Foywonder]

My Picks:

I COME IN PEACE
THE X FROM OUTER SPACE
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
THE GREEN SLIME
INFRAMAN
THE BRAINIAC
GODZILLA VS. MEGALON
BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS
MST3K: POD PEOPLE, GAMERA VS. ZIGRA, & OPERATION DOUBLE 007

[jmc]

I think GLEN OR GLENDA Is too much for the neophyte to handle, especially if they've been conditioned to enjoy the bland movies of today.   You can't go from pablum to steak!   Still, Wood is a good starting point, if it's his less difficult stuff like PLAN 9, NIGHT OF THE GHOULS, or BRIDE OF THE MONSTER.  

MST3K stuff can be good, but I hate the way some people can't seem to enjoy the movies on their own.  


I know!  HELL OF THE LIVING DEAD!

[BoyScoutKevin]

It's a luv 'em or hate 'em type of film, so you have to know your target audience, but, a number of bad movie virgins have seen "Lair of the White Worm" for the first time and enjoyed it. For no other reason then it is an early appearance of Hugh Grant, and Amanda Donohoe looks good in anything or nothing. Of course, the film gets better on repeated viewings, as there is so much going on in the film, you always miss something the first time you see it. Enjoy!