100 essential SF B-movies, as chosen by you!

[Jack]

Jason X - not a lot of love for this one, though those of us who do like it seem to really enjoy it.  The whole "take the worn out slasher franchise and stick it in space" fad deserves a mention on the list.  I flat out loved this one.  I'm a big sci-fi fan, but most stuff in the genre is junk.  Then along came Jason X and it was one of those that needed to be added to the DVD collection immediately    I thought it had much better acting than your average slasher, a lot of fun set pieces, good characters, more than enough action for 2 or 3 slashers, and the requisite amount of silly cheesiness.  Not quite enough boobies, but nothing's perfect.

[AnubisVonMojo]

No.56 - Robo-Vampire - Because I neglected to give by arch-nemesi Thomas Tang and Godfrey Ho representation on the regular b-movies list. Robo-Vampire is a convoluted mess that has something to do with a dime store Robocop character set loose on international drug smugglers who use black magic, hopping vampires, an evil ghost woman, and a monster wearing a beat-up "monkey alien" mask from Godzilla Vs. MechaGodzilla. And when I say "dime store Robocop", I mean it in the literal sense because there's one scene where the hero is blown up, and if you pause it at just the right time, you see his stunt double: an empty man-sized suit of tin foil...

It's one of the worst movies I've ever seen, based almost entirely on the p**s-poor production costs, but helped along by Tang's infamous insistence on always covering two movies in pheromones, locking them in a room together, and forcing them to mate until they produce a disturbing hybrid movie. That's right, for anyone unfamiliar with The Tang, he likes to take incomplete movies and splice new material into them to make a complete movie, trying in vain to smoosh the two into some semblance of a coherent movie... and always failing.

[Kester Pelagius]

Looks like there's been some confusion with the numbering so I'll just chime in with a nomination by way of correction...

53. Leprechaun 4: In Space!


AND I'm going to ask for a second in contesting the inclusion of Robo Vampire (currently in the #54 slot).  This is akin to a Polonia Bros movie only it's an edit of unrelated footage that, in my opinion, contains NOTHING of science fiction in it. At least the Polonia Bros movies were SF, this is not.  At best it's a no budget hopping vampire/action spoof at worst it's a trash movie that, either way, is hardly essential SF viewing.

EDIT: Some alternate choices: Lady Terminator, Shocking Dark, Robotrix, &tc.

[AnubisVonMojo]

AND I'm going to ask for a second in contesting the inclusion of Robo Vampire (currently in the #54 slot).  This is akin to a Polonia Bros movie only it's an edit of unrelated footage that, in my opinion, contains NOTHING of science fiction in it. At least the Polonia Bros movies were SF, this is not.  At best it's a no budget hopping vampire/action spoof at worst it's a trash movie that, either way, is hardly essential SF viewing.

KP, the hero is a rip-off of Robocop: a man gunned down in the line of duty and turned into a half-man, half-cyborg. Far as I understand it that counts as science fiction. If you don't like it though it's your list, feel free to remove it.

[Kester Pelagius]

AND I'm going to ask for a second in contesting the inclusion of Robo Vampire (currently in the #54 slot).  This is akin to a Polonia Bros movie only it's an edit of unrelated footage that, in my opinion, contains NOTHING of science fiction in it. At least the Polonia Bros movies were SF, this is not.  At best it's a no budget hopping vampire/action spoof at worst it's a trash movie that, either way, is hardly essential SF viewing.

KP, the hero is a rip-off of Robocop: a man gunned down in the line of duty and turned into a half-man, half-cyborg. Far as I understand it that counts as science fiction. If you don't like it though it's your list, feel free to remove it.

Doesn't matter what character is being "spoofed" this flick, IMO, isn't science fiction anymore than BAD GIRLS ON MARS or AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON is.  I'm not saying it's not worth watching I'm just not sure it's an "essential" sci-fi B-movie especially when there are far more worthy movies, like Robotrix maybe?

Besides wasn't black magic involved in the creation of the cooking mitten wearing hero?  (EDIT: That's a serious question BTW.  It's been ages since I've seen this and it didn't leave much of a impression on me.)

If no one else has a problem I'll leave it stand.

[AndyC]

The Green Slime

[brooky1969]

Sorry, looks like I was the one who botched up the order.

51. From Beyond

Scientist goes piddling around opening up other dimensions to the detriment of all. Another Stuart Gordon masterpiece with plenty of everything to keep most of us happy.

[JaseSF]

50. JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET starring John Agar in yet another memorable role as astronauts find hotties on the seventh planet or is that really what they've found or is it an illusion created by something insidious?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Cix53XRVs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Cix53XRVs

[peter johnson]

50.  The Time Travelers (1964)

Ib Melchior worked with a very low budget to produce a genuinely neat little story with a trick ending that evokes infinity.  See how many influences he either is drawing from or later inspired.  A small watershed in B films, this film heavily influenced the look of Star Trek on TV 2 years later, and the music in the disco scene is more than a little reminiscent of the Star Trek theme -- in fact, some of my musician friends think it IS the same music!  There's one scene where an actor playing an android sticks his torso through a backdrop so his "legs" can be realistically destroyed.  Also influenced the TV series "Time Tunnel" -- in fact, they may have used some of the same sets.


Isn't everyone proud of me for not naming "ROBO-C.H.I.C.", especially given the recent "Robo" exchange ?


peter johnson/denny restrained

[peter johnson]

Eek!  I mean 51 --

[JaseSF]

Should be 49 as this list is counting the other way around.

[Kester Pelagius]

48. Moon Zero Two - The Hammer sci-fi western (?) moon epic that no one's ever heard of.  A great introduction to the wild and wacky world of "mod" space fashions that also appeared in better known TV series such as Space: 1999 and UFO.  Stars James Olson (The Andromeda Strain).

[AndyC]

47 - The Colossus of New York - Nothing like seeing a hulking cyborg go on a homicidal rampage through the United Nations.

[AnubisVonMojo]

I retract my Robo-Vampire submission. As my new choice, I pick...

No.54 - The Terrornauts - Did you know that intergalactic neanderthals have mastered space travel? It's true. Did you know that their invasion fleets fly in symmetrical patterns not unlike those in an '80s video game? True again. All this and more can be found in this 1967 British sci-fi extravaganza. Just ask its hero!

[JaseSF]

#46. TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000 (1958): How did we miss adding this classic before?! We build a machine that can send objects into the future, only what if some 'thing" comes back?!