# Attack Of The Killer B (Movie, That Is)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 3, 2001, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582 "2001-09-03T23:06:52Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2001, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/21 "2001-09-04T18:14:32Z")
I haven’t seen it, and I don’t think it’s a howlingly bad movie as described here – but in his [review](http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert1/cst-ftr-rog18f.html) Roger Ebert says the latest Jurassic Park movie is, “in its own B-movie way it’s a nice little thrill machine.”
Which makes me wonder, what ARE the B movies of today? Anyone have a definition?
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### Author:  [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2001, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/22 "2001-09-04T20:02:38Z")
Howyadoin,
Let’s not forget **Kentucky Fried Movie**!
-Rav
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### Author:  [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2001, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/23 "2001-09-04T22:59:13Z")
[Blaxploitation](http://www.blaxploitation.com/) put the “B” in… aw, the hell with it.
You can’t go wrong with _Shaft, Coffy, Superfly, Hell Up In Harlem,_ and the grandaddy of 'em all, _Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song_.
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### Author:  [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/24 "2001-09-05T04:50:03Z")
**Sofa King** , you forgot some classics: Rudy Ray Moore’s movies. He’s the ex-stand-up comic behind such blaxploitation classics as _Dolemite_, _Dolemite: The Human Tornado_, _Disco Godfather_, and _Petey Wheatstraw The Devil’s Son-in-law_.
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### Author:  [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/25 "2001-09-05T05:16:01Z")
“Head” the Monkees only movie.
“Zoot Suit” a Hispanic musical starring Edward James Olmos when he still had hair.
“The Warriors” classic surreal film. Also by the same director,
“Streets of Fire” a “Rock and Roll Fable.”
“Serial” you have to have lived the 70’s to understand this one.
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### Author:  [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/26 "2001-09-05T05:27:12Z")
I just got one the other day, _Blind Fury_, with Rutger Hauer as a blind swordsman.
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### Author:  [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/27 "2001-09-05T06:14:04Z")
**detop** , for shame; that one is a classic film and should be on AFI’s top 100! 😉
Actually, that reminds me of another great Rutger Hauer B Movie: _The Blood of Heroes_.
It in turn reminds me of a fairly recent great B Movie: _Six-String Samurai_.
Why did _TBOH_ remind me of _S-SS_? Because if I had a band, it would be named one of the two. 😃
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### Author:  [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/28 "2001-09-05T13:01:06Z")
Woohoo!
Shameful confession time. In college, I was one of the founding members and eventual president of the Boston University B Movie Association. We watched almost all of the movies already listed.
The best (worst?) part was every February, when, co-sponsored with the African-American student group on campus, we would host a Blaxploitation Film Festival to honor black actors. Shaft, Superfly, The Last Dragon, Black Belt Jones, Cleopatra Brown, et cetera, et cetera.
I’ll just list the two movies that have never gotten out of my mind:
[The Gladiator (1986)](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0091121)
[Tag: The Assassination Game (1982)](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0084756)
_The Gladiator_ is a film about a man who soups up his pickup truck and becomes a vigilante after the Evil Black Car injures his brother. It’s crap. I’ve written a screenplay for a sequel.
_Tag_ features Robert Carradine and Linda Hamilton (!) in a college dart-gun game that Robert takes a little too seriously. You’ve gotta love it.
_The Blood of Heroes_ is still my favorite Rutger Hauer movie. 🙂
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### Author:  [@that\_darn\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that_darn_cat)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/29 "2001-09-05T16:21:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Drastic \*
>
> Full Moon Entertainment (the folks behind the _Puppet Master_ series) put out some other gloriously bad movies before they started trying to inject deliberate humor, which screwed up the balance of the inadvertent variety–_Oblivion_ largely marked the beginning of the end there. ]
I love Full Moon movies! I actually liked _Oblivion_, and I loved _Highway to Hell_. “That Pinto might get you to Hell, boy. But this car will get you back.” Hmm, that’s not showing up on IMDB as one of their’s. OW well, still a fun flick.
Also, _Cast a Deadly Spell_ Lovecraft-esque flick with magic mixed with a Phillip Marlow stytle detective story. Good fun.
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### Author:  [@Pixellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixellent)
#### Post date: [September 5, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/30 "2001-09-05T17:28:59Z")
_Hollywood Boulevard_: Two trailer editors for New World Pictures, Allan Arkush and Joe Dante, bet their boss, Roger Corman, that they could make a movie cheaper than any movie he had ever made. Being Roger Corman, there was no way he could turn them down. The result is an extremely cheap, very funny parody of New World Pictures itself, focusing on the adventures of a young starlet who lands roles in such deathless classics as _Machete Maidens of Mora Tau_ and _Atomic War Brides_. Half the fun is in spotting all the stock footage from real New World productions used to pad the movie; the other half is seeing Mary Woronov as The Bitchy Diva From Hell, Paul Bartel as The Pretentious Director, and the immortal Dick Miller as the heroine’s agent. With music by Commando Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen. What more can you **ask** for?
(Incidentally, Allan Arkush went to direct _Rock n’ Roll High School_ and Joe Dante went on being Joe Dante, god bless 'im.)
_The Final Programme_: Possibly the single strangest science fiction film ever made. Almost literally indescribable, except that it bears the same resemblance to the Michael Moorcock novel on which it’s based that an acorn squash bears to a Nissan Pathfinder. Very funny. Very weird. A must-see.
Both movies are now available on DVD. Jesus, I love technology.
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### Author:  [@katiekilldare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katiekilldare)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2001, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/31 "2001-09-06T03:01:43Z")
_Noises Off_ is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, really. I rented it for $.50 and laughed my head off. Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Michael Caine. Hilarious.
_Soapdish_ also has a great cast (Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr, Sally Field) and gets funnier every time I watch it. And I watch it pretty often.
_Dead Again_ is a great one, too - clever plot and it’s fun to hear Kenneth Branaugh’s American accent before it turned into a Woody Allen impression.
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### Author:  [@silent\_rob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silent_rob)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2001, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/32 "2001-09-06T05:22:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by katiekilldare \*
> **_Noises Off_ is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, really. I rented it for $.50 and laughed my head off. Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Michael Caine. Hilarious.**
Woo!! Right on, **katiekilldare**! That is such a wonderful movie, and only a handful of people seem to know it even exists. Though, I own a copy (bought it PV’d), so I’m slowly spreading the word, a few new people watching it at a time. 😃
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### Author:  [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2001, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/33 "2001-09-06T14:28:42Z")
Wow, “Six-String Samurai” was a great movie in that it was original and bizarre.
In addition, I’d like to add “From Beyond”, based on a story by Lovecraft and appears to be directed by the same guy who did Re-animator. The lead actor is the same in both, and he fares about equally well in each.
You can’t forget “Night of the Comet” either. A delightful blend of “Valley Girl” and “The Omega Man” with a Tempest video game adding a wacky twist at the start/end of the film.
Then there was “Dead End Drive-In”, which was sort of a Roach Motel for the UK’s (I think it was there, it has been some time) riffraff.
And my favorite, most bizarre B-Movie is easily “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2000”. Besides the fact that not many people die (which you would expect in a slasher flick), the film had enough really bizarre scenes, and best of all, starred Matthew McConahay (“The Wedding Planner”) and Rene Zellweger (“Nurse Betty” among others).
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### Author:  [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2001, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/34 "2001-09-06T15:38:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by LlamaPoet \*
> **In addition, I’d like to add “From Beyond”, based on a story by Lovecraft and appears to be directed by the same guy who did Re-animator. The lead actor is the same in both, and he fares about equally well in each.**
Yes it is.
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*And my favorite, most bizarre B-Movie is easily “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2000”. Besides the fact that not many people die (which you would expect in a slasher flick), the film had enough really bizarre scenes, and best of all, starred Matthew McConahay (“The Wedding Planner”) and Rene Zellweger (“Nurse Betty” among others). \*\*
You should try _Motel Hell_ then.
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### Author:  [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2001, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/35 "2001-09-06T22:04:50Z")
I just saw the 1966 version of _The Killers_, which should have been a B picture even if it wasn’t. Hell, it’s got… well, you’ll see.
Anyway, I think this film is a case study of why some second rate films can age like a fine wine. This film _should_ suck, but I would argue that it doesn’t any more. Here’s why:
- The bad guys are the good guys! Or they’re bad, but the others are worse! Or something like that.
- Lee Marvin is doing his latent-H tough-guy bit. I can’t even claim to have gaydar, but I’m willing to bet that Anthony Perkins tied this guy up and whipped him at some point. His sidekick is doing a Richard Widmark routine that wouldn’t make the lounge at Cable Beach.
- One shot of pure cinema history: Ronald Reagan, Angie Dickinson, and Mr. Roper sitting together pretending to watch a race.
- Shelby Cobras racing at Riverside!
- Ronald Reagan impersonating a cop!
- Big, fat, wallowing American cars barreling through what looks suspiciously like Hazzard County.
- And finally, a dramatic climax that appears to take place at the Cleaver residence.
Like I said, shoulda sucked, but now it’s cool. Forget the fractious plot, the rape of Hemmingway, and the Hollywood-mandated ending. You will find no capital “B” anywhere in the name Ronald Wilson Reagan, but it’s pasted on practically every picture he ever made.
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### Author:  [@naughty\_wicked\_zoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naughty_wicked_zoot)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2001, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/36 "2001-09-10T20:38:54Z")
this is my specialty, i LOOOVVE bad movies!!! i like good ones, too…
anyway:
skeeter
nice girls don’t explode
pucker up and bark like a dog
the incredibly strange creatures…yada yada
blood sucking freaks
orgy of the damned
vampyres
there’s nothing out there
eating raoul
barbarella
conan the barbarian
alien from LA
nasty rabbit
gothic
i’ll stop now. i could go on and on…
sad, huh?
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### Author:  [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)
#### Post date: [September 10, 2001, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/37 "2001-09-10T22:56:08Z")
How about **Transylvania 6-5000**? Geena Davis as the sexiest vampire this side of… well I can’t think of a sexier vampire, 'cause Geena is just so yummy. But except for her, the movie stank.
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### Author:  [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2001, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/38 "2001-09-11T01:42:25Z")
My God, I just realized that three-quarters of the movies I’ve seen came from this thread.
Speaking of Geena Davis, catch her in “Earth Girls Are Easy.” Based on Julie Brown’s song. GD first appears in a string bikini ::drool::
Rest of the movie’s pretty good, too.
And how come no Troma films listed yet? They’re the King of the B’s (alongside Bruce Campbell, of course).
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### Author:  [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2001, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/39 "2001-09-11T03:44:49Z")
I recently picked up _Last Man Standing_ on DVD, for dirt cheap. Now, _Yojimbo_ was a great film, and _Fistful of Dollars_ was a fine remake after which wise movie-making souls would have left well enough alone.
Luckily, wise souls, especially of the movie-making variety, are fairly rare, so this Bruce Willis vehicle was made. People get too hung up on the bad remake factor–but I think it’s one of the great unrecognized comedies of the past few years. Willis gives a marvelous unpassioned performance wherein he wears pretty much the same slightly-open-mouthed blank grimace throughout the entire film, utters perfectly deadpan voice-over lines like “I wanted to stay sharp, so I switched from whiskey to beer”, and goes through action scenes in which he doesn’t so much pretend to aim his pistols at targets as the targets enthusiastically hurl themselves into his line of fire. Oh, and Christopher Walken, bless his freakishness, puts in a role in which he is…well, a Christopher Walken role.
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### Author:  [@Zaphod\_Beeblebrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zaphod_Beeblebrox)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2001, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attack-of-the-killer-b-movie-that-is/79582/40 "2001-09-11T04:26:45Z")
Anyone ever heard of the movie _Rollerblade_? There might be more than one film with that title. The one I’m speaking of features semi-nude nuns fighting on roller skates. It’s an odd piece of work.
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