I like B-Movies.
I really do.
I always liked, since watching some serials on Wednesday afternoons on a local channel here as a kid to collecting some direct-to-DVD stuff nowadays.
Though it seems some people, particulary those more used to watching mainstream big budget movies, seem to regard B-movies like a silly market, something with no interest, something "stupid". Of the "so bad it's good" categorie.
But B-movies aren't just bad movies. I don't wanna hear that on this blog!
Actual movie. Yep.
B- Movies aren't just over-the-top movies with crappy effects/budget/acting.
They're a much larger part of us, horror fans/slasher fans/scifi flicks fans, culture-
They're simply movies who don't have what people's magazines call A-List directors, A-List actors or A-List studios.
Does it mean they're all bad? I wouldn't say that.
They're not studios films for once. Meaning a much larger liberty for the cast & crew.
That's what helped the genre grow during the 70s and 80s. They could show nudity, gore, scares when they shouldn't have been able to in theatres.
They're not Hollywood movies.
And that's why I like them.
Of course, they're mostly composed of horror movies now, because of these liberties they could take.
But you have to to see this what's good too. Many of those still rely on stop motion, animatronics, monster suits and other practical effects.
Of course, many more use crappy CGi, this was bound to happen with it being so cheap recently.
But they still often have the charm of not being used as primary focus like any blockbuster (Avatar, Star Wars Episode 2, Van Helsing...) and being just a tool used by the director in a story/movie.
But does it mean they're bad, or at least supposed to be bad?
I wouldn't say that!
And you better not too!
I'd say that of any of those 2 Transformers movies, that.. that was bad.
They don't have billion dollars-huge budgets, but it doesn't mean they can't be good because of that.
It's kinda ridiculous how much money is lost on some movies nowadays, it's like producers lost control of production costs over the years..
Son of the Mask had a budget of over 80 million (!!!) dollars it ended up in an horrible product I don't want to think about anymore.
A movie is always about a story, characters interraction. Be it an horror movie (and then, the main player becomes the monsters/killer) or comedy.
You can spend hundred of thousands dollars on making it in 3D or fluo or whatever... but it won't make it any good because you have a big pocket.
But B-movies aren't all just about monsters and slashers and stuff.
They can be about other subjects just like summer blockbusters aren't all scifi action flicks.
Of course, you can't make a romantic comedy B-movie and expect it to sell. Specially for this exemple I used where people always expect big name actors.
Bubba Ho-tep for exemple, wasn't just an horror or gore movie.
It was a very good movie, well written, amazing acting. Probably one of my all-time favs!
I'd rewatch that over The Dark Knight anyday!
Not all B-movies need to be campy, silly, over-the-top... Of course that's the easier ones to make.
You asking me how do we recognise these B-movies?
What is and what isn't a B-movie these days? The line seem to have gotten quite blurry nowadays...
First, don't expect a big name studio logo popping at the beginning, though some big productions started publishing such DVDs in Europe or in other places.
They don't get big releases on theatres, at least not on many screens, just a couple of places.
Many well-known actors started there, so you may find a young Jim Carrey or George Clooney.
But that's it. Debuting there careers ant nothing more.
Also don't simplify and call all horror movies B-movies.
Saw or Scream are the best exemple of hollywood horror movies. With tons of filters, pictures cleaned, big names on it, etc..
And parodies like Scary Movie? That's another hollywood movie series, a silly teen movie series.
Want a real spoof of the genre, try Monster Squad, Critters, Gremlins...
And yes, Joe Dante started by making Trailers for these movies, directed some and got famous later on.
Fan favorites like Bruce Campbell, Michael Gross, and many others seem to have been stuck and defined by the genre, so you only see them in Big Blockbusters as cameos. They didn't made the transition as easily as the directors coming from this genre (Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson..).. maybe because they're more easily recognisable and end up typecast in these roles..
On a good final note: for fans who also happen to like cartoons, these actors are often casted for voice work on animated shows. Often DC animation like the Justice League, the DC animated original movies serie, etc..
But some are still pretty amazing like Bubba Ho-tep! That's a more interesting story, better acted, well directed movie much better than so many summer blockbusters done on millions of dollars of budget!
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