Classic low-budget science-fiction, fantasy & horror films that you like?
- Thread starter Galileo7
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Define "low-budget" please. Would Tremors (1990) be excluded because it cost $11 million to make? Or are we excluding all movies made or distributed by major studios? If so, which studios are considered major - just the Hollywood ones or any country's production companies such as Hammer, Rank, and EMI in the UK? An example would be the Hammer film Quatermass and the Pit (1967), which cost £275,000 to make.
Low-budget genre films that I like? Pretty much all of them. 
Oh, god, where to begin?
Pretty much any Val Lewton horror film from the 40s, but especially THE SEVENTH VICTIM and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. See also William Castle movies like I SAW WHAT YOU DID and THE TINGLER.
Also:
THE ABOMINABLE DOCTOR PHIBES, SPIDER BABY, THE RAVEN (the Vincent Price version, not the Lugosi one), both BLACULA movies, BRIDES OF DRACULA (my all-time favorite Hammer horror flick), the original NIGHT STALKER tv-movie and its sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, and too many others to mention . ...
Pretty much any Val Lewton horror film from the 40s, but especially THE SEVENTH VICTIM and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE. See also William Castle movies like I SAW WHAT YOU DID and THE TINGLER.
Also:
THE ABOMINABLE DOCTOR PHIBES, SPIDER BABY, THE RAVEN (the Vincent Price version, not the Lugosi one), both BLACULA movies, BRIDES OF DRACULA (my all-time favorite Hammer horror flick), the original NIGHT STALKER tv-movie and its sequel, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, and too many others to mention . ...
When I was a kid, I thought those post-apocalyptic b-movies like Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn and Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone were the greatest things ever because they took me on a journey to a different place. But as an adult, they don't hold up at all and the nostalgia isn't enough for me. But one thing they have going for them that a lot of assembly line blockbusters today lack is charm.
Scream Factory Blu-rays would've been the greatest thing ever for me as a kid.
Scream Factory Blu-rays would've been the greatest thing ever for me as a kid.
I mentioned "classic" to lock it into twentieth century studio films with low budgets or independent films. Low budget would mean up to several million dollars. Just have fun sharing whatever small films that you like.
I am hoping that we might introduce each other to some interesting small films.
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The Beast Must Die, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, The Last Man on Earth . . ..
Does the original Scottish version of THE WICKER MAN count? That's one of my favorite movies.
(Not to be confused with the Nicholas Cage remake which I've never been able to bring myself to watch.)
Does the original Scottish version of THE WICKER MAN count? That's one of my favorite movies.
(Not to be confused with the Nicholas Cage remake which I've never been able to bring myself to watch.)
Yes, absolutely, The Wicker Man(1973) only had a budget of £500,000 resulted in a memorable film.
Beneath The Planet of the Apes(1970) had a $3 million budget.
Escapes From the Planet of the Apes(1971) had a $2.5 million budget.
Planet of the Apes(1968) which had a$5.8 million budget , Beneath the Planet of the Apes(1970) and Escape from the Planet of the Apes(1971) make a good trilogy.
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes(1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes(1973) needed a third film to make a separate trilogy. Although, the Planet of the Apes(1974-1975) CBS tv series could be considered the third chapter in lieu of the third film.
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70s TV was a great time for horror films like 'Don't Be Afraid of the Dark' 1973, Kim Darby, the remake was OK but did less with more. Another classic TV one is Trilogy of Terror, Karen Black is just delightful in it. Duel, 1971, the scariest truck ever. An older film, I really liked The Shadow of the Cat, 1961, cat avenges murdered owner. Is the cat really killing them, purposefully, or are the people in the house just displacing their guilt on the cat?
Oh, and the Spanish should not be left out. One favorite series started with 'Tombs of the Blind Dead' 1971, zombie Templar Knights out killing the unwary. Others in the series are 'Night of the Blind Dead', 'Ghost Galleon', and 'Night of the Seagulls'.
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Just as a fun little bit of reference, Rise of the Planet of the Apes had a budget of $93million, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' was $235 million or $209 million if you remove the tax incentive it received, and War for the Planet of the Apes' was $150 million. The budgets went up just a bit between the two series.
This is where I point out that both "Trilogy of Terror" and "Duel" were scripted by Richard Matheson, who was pretty much the king of 1970's horror TV-movies. See also "The Night Stalker," "The Night Strangler," and the Jack Palance version of "Dracula."
Halloween (1978)
Dark Star, heck yeah
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Wicker Man (1973), yep
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Phase IV
Village of the Damned (1960)
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My all-time favorite low-budget film is Split (1989) by Chris Shaw. It's avant-garde and not for all sensibilities, but it has a cult following.
Dark Star, heck yeah
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Evil Dead (1981)
The Wicker Man (1973), yep
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Phase IV
Village of the Damned (1960)
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My all-time favorite low-budget film is Split (1989) by Chris Shaw. It's avant-garde and not for all sensibilities, but it has a cult following.
Battle Beyond the Stars...
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