A good question

[Dennis]

I've liked "B" movies ever since I was young, they were the only ones I could afford to see, didn't have VHS or DVDs, very few had color TVs. Watching them you can tell that the people involved, cast and crew, almost know what they're doing, but not quite. It's sort of like watching one of your children learning to ride a bicycle, sometimes funny, sometimes painful, but in general an enjoyable experience, and for about 90 minutes or so you can relax and forget about everyday life's little problems.

[JaseSF]

They commonly had three elements I really loved:

1) a threatening monster of some sort which inevitably sends people screaming in terror (or howling with laughter depending on its effectiveness)
2) at least one very familiar star whose performance I looked forward even if what he or she had to work with was very little
3) action-adventure as our heroes set out to defeat the monsterous threat often threading through dangerous climates and domains to get there

[KYGOTC]

Conveinently, b-movies make great gifts! I gave "THE STUFF" to a friend as a graduation present and "EVIL SPAWN" to a friend as an 18th birthday present. The later now hates me!

[respectmeordye3]

I usually prefer the movies with a higher budget than a B-movie but there on those rare times when I have enjoyed a certain B-movie to a high budget movie----for example, I prefer almost any family comedy starring Hulk Hogan-such as Mr. Nanny or my personal favorite Hogan movie Suburban Commando to high budget trash such as Home Alone 3.

As for the reason why I like to watch B-movies at all?

Basically it's because I like to see how much effort and love will be put into the movie and see if the movie is being made to entertain people or entirely for money. It's usually pretty easy to tell them apart-a movie made for people to enjoy is done with a lot of care, and a movie done just for the money is given very little care or no care at all........ 

[Patient7]

I just love how stupid some of them are and how I can point out problems in what's going on.  "Why is the school suddenly empty?  The killer's been there for, what, 5 minutes. "

[Shadow]

I grew up with B movies. As a kid in the 70's, all the Saturday afternoon and late night movies were flicks from the 40's and 50's, so to me, stuff like that was just normal. As I got older, I incorporated stuff that came after the 50's into my viewing habits and the rest is history.

[Newt]

Exposure when young definitely has something to do with developing the ability to appreciate B-movies.  I grew up watching them with my Dad.  I got to stay up late as a treat and saw some of the classics with him.  Price/Karloff/Cushing/Lee were my heroes.  Maybe once a summer we'd see a triple-feature at the drive-in.  Heaven!  (This was back in the late 60's-early 70's)  I have no doubt that my world-view has been altered: expanded, if you will.

My ten-year-old has been bugging me for an answer to 'the question' for a while now.  Seems he really wants to know what I see in these movies.

He looks at the older b+w baddies and cringes at the effects.  "So Mom; tell me how they can be so bad they are good, again?  They are so bad they are funny?  How are they fun?  I don't get it."

He has a hard time seeing anything of value in them - including humour.  For example, I was enjoying "Attack of the Giant Leeches" and "The Devil Bat" and "Killer Shrews" and more (you get the idea) and he thought I had lost my mind.

This from a child who has cherished his well-viewed copy of the original Godzilla for most of his life. 

Then: I was watching the original "Night of the Living Dead" yesterday evening and he kept taking peeks.  At the end he said, "You know, for an old one that wasn't so bad".

There is hope. 

[Patient7]

Exposure when young, that's how I got hooked.  9 p.m. wciu, every Saturday night!  HOORAY!!!! 

[Jack]

I grew up in the late '70s and early '80s, when they had slashers at the theaters, made-for-TV horror movies on TV, and post-apocalyptic T&A movies and every form of straight-to-video cheese at the video store.  I also watched a ton of Kung Fu movies, and Elvira's Movie Macabre probably contributed as well.  As a fan of horror and sci-fi, if all I watched was "good" movies, I'd have about 6 movies a year to watch.  And 5 of them would suck. 

I think I probably just don't have very good taste, as bad acting, cheap effects, stock footage and ludicrous plots don't bother me at all.  I enjoy the creativity and heart that low budget stuff has.  I almost always find the characters in low budget movies to be sympathetic and likable, something I can only rarely say about the big budget stuff.

[316zombie]

yup,it's the heart that goes into them,same reason i work on grade z indie movies for free,with no credit.i get such joy from helping these kids who are very serious about their stuff,no matter how little money they have!i also cook for them,but that's a different story.
and i must agree that i grew up with these moviesin the 60's and 70's,both from the drivein and tv.i watch very few movies made after 1980,and i STILL have hundreds to find,buy and watch!

[threnody]

I like them because they are often unbelievable and terribly cheesy. I've always liked weird. Even better if they're black and white. It's a good combination. I feel like I'm truly being entertained, instead of watching some people bicker over mundane things. I find reality boring these days. That's where b-movies come in!

[SynapticBoomstick]

A lot of great and diverse answers thus far, I don't feel as dumb for not having an all-inclusive answer

[Patient7]

I like them because they are often unbelievable and terribly cheesy. I've always liked weird. Even better if they're black and white. It's a good combination. I feel like I'm truly being entertained, instead of watching some people bicker over mundane things. I find reality boring these days. That's where b-movies come in!

Black and white is fine, unless you're like me and your single source of bad movies has to show ONLY black and white until universal realizes that it's made movies in color.  Evey Saturday night I hope for somethin, but it's just another classic.  And after you've seen b&w films every Saturday for MONTHS, you realizze that old films don't really have much of a plot.  Even by bad movie standards.

[threnody]

I like them because they are often unbelievable and terribly cheesy. I've always liked weird. Even better if they're black and white. It's a good combination. I feel like I'm truly being entertained, instead of watching some people bicker over mundane things. I find reality boring these days. That's where b-movies come in!

Black and white is fine, unless you're like me and your single source of bad movies has to show ONLY black and white until universal realizes that it's made movies in color.  Evey Saturday night I hope for somethin, but it's just another classic.  And after you've seen b&w films every Saturday for MONTHS, you realizze that old films don't really have much of a plot.  Even by bad movie standards.

That's true. I just like the old feeling. It's comforting. On my television, more colour horror films are played than black and white films. I would trade with you if I could.

[Patient7]

I like them because they are often unbelievable and terribly cheesy. I've always liked weird. Even better if they're black and white. It's a good combination. I feel like I'm truly being entertained, instead of watching some people bicker over mundane things. I find reality boring these days. That's where b-movies come in!

Black and white is fine, unless you're like me and your single source of bad movies has to show ONLY black and white until universal realizes that it's made movies in color.  Evey Saturday night I hope for somethin, but it's just another classic.  And after you've seen b&w films every Saturday for MONTHS, you realizze that old films don't really have much of a plot.  Even by bad movie standards.

That's true. I just like the old feeling. It's comforting. On my television, more colour horror films are played than black and white films. I would trade with you if I could.

Oh, don't get me wrong, black and white is great, it's just that like most good things, you can overdose on it.