The Real Question

[Scott]

The problem is in the question. I don't think movies are a question of being over or  under rated. I like to us the term "obscure" films or "lesser known" when considering a film. A film isn't as underated as it is less known to people. Sometimes its a question of taste. Many people are offended by what we watch and take it to seriously. They don't know how to enjoy a B-movie. They are in the mode of "well it's not really scary" type of rational and because of this they miss the whole point of watching B-Movies. A B-Movie takes us to the  weird, strange, and the bizarre and thats why we watch them.

[Funk, E.]

Err? You've got a lot of different themes going here at once.

1) Under vs overate
2) Obscure vs mainstream
3) Successful in intent (i.e. scary) vs entertaining in spite of itself.
4) How to enjoy the "B"ness of a flick

I think under and over rated is a perfectly valid comparision regardless of it being a b movie or not

A lot of obscure movies, even low budget movies aren't "B" movie doe to their success as a film (for example "run lola run")

Yes, certain "b" horror flicks aren't about being scary so much as T&A (Sorority House Massacre 2)

And ultimate b movies are an acquired and rarified taste.

[Scott]

Well said Funk E. , for me I would say a good movie is one that is entertaining as opposed to being boring.  B-movies can be very entertaining and this can catapult a B-movie above a serious drama that may have the top stars in it.

The question about intentially being bad is also a main point. Like CHOPPER CHICKS FROM ZOMBIE TOWN or AMAZON WOMEN FROM THE MOON are not good b-movies, because they are trying to make a B-movie or atleast a parady of a bad movie. Niether is appreciated.

There are obscure movies that are good and the best was intended for them, but when they enter the realm of the weird, strange, and bizarre it dosn't matter if its a high or low income film. The main thing is dos it get your attention and is it entertaining. If its not entertaining then its boring. If its boring.

Impression can play a big part. Impression dosn't have to mean high budget.

[Funk, E.]

I see your point, but it would seem that instead of catagorizing films in terms of over or underrated  you're more concerned w/ classifing them in terms of boring or not. I have a hard time with that because I have a certain patience for slow movies if they keep my interest. My prime personal example is "The Addiction" No one likes it. Its slow, pretentious and overly intellectualized, but I happen to be a Philosophy major so not only do I get ALL of the references, but I'm also intrigued by the concepts discussed. So boring can be as relative as beauty.

"Chopper Chicks" might not have "worked," but others like "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death" did. As did "Return to Slaughter High" or "Dell Amore Della Morte" (Cemetery Man).

[Scott]

Good examples. I've been hearing about these movies CANNIBAL WOMEN IN THE AVOCADO JUNGLE OF DEATH and CEMETARY MAN. Since I havn't seen them I'll add them to my list, but i don't think they are at my local video story, but I'll check around for CEMETARY MAN at Hollywood Video.

Don't get me wrong. A slow film can be great. I don't believe in the non-stop action films. They need the space to make the action work. By boring I mean something that has no entertainment value at all. Directors just putting stuff on film that have no value(sometimes these turn into great films by accident). Again this comes back to taste. Intellectual elements are also great and sometimes prefferable depending on mood. Actually intellectual films are far and few between. If you know of any let me know. Thanks.

[Funk, E.]

Intellectual movies tend to bury the thinking stuff because it can easily become pretentious, but Felini and Ingmar Bergman tend to be pretty heady.

Excalibur could be considered intellectual because if you watch all of the symbolism in the movie a who subtext about man and nature emerges. That's pretty indicative of the better crafted brain films. Substantially less subtle would be something like Pink Floyd The Wall. Unbearable Lightness of Being, if that title doesn't say think I don't know what does :-D. The Rapture will thoroughly f**k with your head because it manages to high ethical concepts and place them in a very visceral context. Like I said The Addiction has got some high minded concepts in it, but it's definitely got a limited appeal. Ghost in the Shell has some interesting stuff in it, but it glosses over the more meaty issues. Jeez... help me out folks. Think of more brainy flicks.

[Scott]

And then you have some thing like WAYNES WORLD. There's brain food for you.

Actually films that are brain food to me are something that hits a symbolic image as opposed to what they might be saying. Something that leaves a lasting impression is brain food in the film world.