.jpg){kind=small}
Everyone looks forward to the latest movies from massive franchises such as Marvel and DC. But what about the Awesome B-grade movies that are good clean fun, yet slip under the radar?
B movies are the ones that are filmed using a tight budget without elaborate expectations about their box office performance or exposure. Here are some B movies that I really enjoyed watching that you guys might like to queue up on an idle Sunday noon.
(To be ultra clear these are not movies that are so bad that they are good but they are movies that are underrated but still fun to watch.)
Awesome B-Grade Movies 1. Evil Dead (1981)
Sam Raimi is breaking the net these days with the Spider-men in No Way Home trying to save the day. Before Raimi was pioneering superhero movies, he was a B movie A-lister with the Evil Dead franchise.
I think most Evil Dead fans will agree that this movie franchise, in general, has aged well, making Bruce Campbell a household name. Hell, he has cameos in every Sam Raimi Spidey movie to date and even got a series of his own on Netflix - Ash vs Evil Dead.
Ash Williams ends up in trouble when he and his friends hole up in a cabin in the middle of the woods and read from a book that should not have been touched. Enter the Deadites - undead Zombies imbued with regeneration powers from hell.
Ash's sole mission in this franchise is to chop down every Deadite in his way and exclaim "Grooovee!"
Check out My Favorite Retrofuturism Movie Genres
2. Evil Dead 3: Army of Darkness (1992)
The word of mouth for Evil Dead was so good when it came out that, I watched the Army of Darkness without hesitation. In fact, I saw this movie before watching the first in the series.
When Evil Dead dropped, international movies such as the ones from the US took several months to years to be released in India. So if the word of mouth was good, it would feed a lot of hype, and the number of people who would watch it went up way before release.
You might like Classic Paul Verhoeven Movies To Celebrate Halloween
3. Grindhouse: DeathProof (2007)
Even though this movie was part of a double bill coupled with Grindhouse: Planet Terror, I saw only this one. These days you would never associate Quentin Tarantino's name with B-movies, but this one was a standard B-movie with a relatively low production cost and a less-than-mainstream release.
Kurt Russell plays the role of the easy-to-hate serial killer who traps young women in a death chamber built into his crash-proof car. This all comes to a grinding halt when he tries to mess with the wrong group of girls who turn the tables on him and kick his ass to completion.
Take a look at My Top 5 Favorite Sci-Fi Movies
4. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
B grade or not, this is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen to date, with the most eclectic cast and practical effects. There's Cash from Tango and Cash, played by Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall from the relatively new Sex and the City series, and Po's dad from Kung-fu Panda, James Hong.
That's just the beginning - the plot is outlandish, to say the least, with kidnapping, magic, and great action sequences. It was really fun and funny.
5. Tremors (1990)
I caught the more campy Tremors 2 which premiered in 1996, which was significantly lower in quality than the first that starred Kevin Bacon. The plot revolves of Tremors 1 revolves around underground goo-gahs called Graboids which pop up like a jack in the box to snatch up whatever is walking around.
These salt of the earth people get together to survive the unexpected attack and we get to watch a whole lot of practical effects with explosions, alien goo, and more.
B Grade at its best Hubie Halloween - Netflix Movie Review
6. Fright Night (1985)
The best thing about this vampire movie is the detailed practical effects that keep the audience at the edge of their couch. Chris Sarandon delivers one of his most memorable performances here along with Roddy Macdowell of Planet of the Apes fame. Sarandon went on to give us The Princess Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas after this.
The plot centers on this teenager teaming up with a TV personality within the movie to take down an ancient badass vampire and the minions he has raised. The end sees the teen lead end up with the girl in a happily ever after. This movie is a comedy horror which should not have been classified as a B movie, it's that good.
7. If Looks Could Kill (1991)
This movie is basically a cross between Spiderman: Far From Home and 21 Jumpstreet. This Never Been Kissed clone sees Richard Grieco battle villainous baddies as an undercover spy in a school, when on an overseas school trip.
It's been quite a while since I've seen this movie on cable, but I still remember it having a pretty solid plot, good humor, and great action sequences with practical effects. Effects used here seem to be the bread and butter of the genre.
8. Flash Gordon (1980)
A campy depiction of the American Dream ( still unsure of what that entails ), Flash Gordon tells the story of a quarterback going on space adventures to defeat an evil space dictator.
If you forget that it's a bit too on the nose, and how intricately campy it is, the movie becomes a lot more enjoyable. I was introduced to Flash Gordon through the cartoon Defenders of the Earth, which puts this movie squarely on my to-watch-later list. Yes, the last pic in the collage is from Ted.
9. Death Wish
10. 'Cyborg' (1989)
Director: Albert Pyun
Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988)
11. Red Sonja
12. The Blob 1988
13. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension 1984
14. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation 1994
If you ask me, this is one of the best movies out there, past or present. But even though the movie is written and executed well, it doth have its obvious flaws, hence landed here on this list.
The emperor of Outworld, Shao Kahn has plans to conquer the realm of Earth by bringing back Queen Sindel from the dead to lead his invasion forces.
The Outworld emperor Shao Kahn opens a portal to Earthrealm and has resurrected Queen Sindel, Princess Kitana's long-deceased mother, to facilitate his invasion. Thunder god Raiden and Earthrealm warriors Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, and Johnny Cage try to defend themselves, but Kahn kills Cage.
15. Masters of the Universe 1987
16. Solo 1996
17. The Hunted 1995