Paste Magazine's The 100 Best “B Movies” of All Time

Paste Magazine's The 100 Best “B Movies” of All Time's icon

Created by mightysparks.

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From Paste: Not every film can be the Citizen Kane of its day. For every high-budget “A movie” that commands significant promotion and funding from its studio, there are piles of B movies that scratch and claw their way into existence without the benefit of things like “a budget” or “a script” in some cases. To compare them with A movies in terms of resources and immersiveness isn’t a fair proposition. Instead, discerning film fans are able to simply appreciate them for what they are.

But what does “best” mean when we’re talking about films often famous for their shoddy construction? It certainly doesn’t mean “best-made.” It also doesn’t mean “worst-made,” or else films like Manos: The Hands of Fate and The Beast of Yucca Flats would make prominent appearances. They’re not on this list because the meaning of “best” here is “most entertaining,” and I defy you to be entertained by Manos without its MST3k commentary or a pound of medical-grade marijuana. If these films are painful, they’re also equally fun.

Whenever possible, I tried to keep the list to more obscure titles. Although John Carpenter’s Halloween is a great example of a superbly made “B movie” in terms of budget, any film fan has most likely seen it already. Gathered here is a collection of some of the most entertainingly cheap and endearingly bad movies ever made.

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  1. 79 new

    The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

    1953, in 3 top lists Check
  2. 75 new

    Robot Monster

    1953 — a.k.a. Monster from Mars, in 2 top lists Check
  3. 44 new

    It Came from Beneath the Sea

    1955 — a.k.a. Monster from Beneath the Sea, in 0 top lists Check
  4. 101 new

    The Giant Claw

    1957, in 1 top list Check
  5. 32 new

    The Incredible Shrinking Man

    1957, in 10 top lists Check
  6. 11 new

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    1957, in 6 top lists Check
  7. 87 new

    The Blob

    1958, in 5 top lists Check
  8. 12 new

    House on Haunted Hill

    1959, in 1 top list Check
  9. 60 new

    The Tingler

    1959, in 4 top lists Check
  10. 67 new

    Mr. Sardonicus

    1961, in 0 top lists Check
  11. 50 new

    The Magic Sword

    1962, in 0 top lists Check
  12. 29 new

    The Haunted Palace

    1963, in 1 top list Check
  13. 70 new

    X

    1963 — a.k.a. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, in 5 top lists Check
  14. 15 new

    Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine

    1965 — a.k.a. Dr. G and the Bikini Machine, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 43 new

    Dr. Terror's House of Horrors

    1965 — a.k.a. The Blood Suckers, in 1 top list Check
  16. 49 new

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    1965 — a.k.a. The Leather Girls, in 8 top lists Check
  17. 64 new

    Kingu Kongu no gyakushû

    1967 — a.k.a. King Kong Escapes, in 1 top list Check
  18. 68 new

    The Valley of Gwangi

    1969 — a.k.a. The Lost Valley, in 0 top lists Check
  19. 100 new

    Hercules in New York

    1970, in 0 top lists Check
  20. 76 new

    Santo el enmascarado de plata y Blue Demon...

    1970 — a.k.a. Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 85 new

    The Vampire Lovers

    1970, in 1 top list Check
  22. 99 new

    The Big Doll House

    1971 — a.k.a. Bamboo Dolls House, in 0 top lists Check
  23. 69 new

    Pánico en el Transiberiano

    1972 — a.k.a. Horror Express, in 1 top list Check
  24. 26 new

    Foxy Brown

    1974, in 3 top lists Check
  25. 89 new

    It's Alive

    1974, in 1 top list Check
  26. 38 new

    Death Race 2000

    1975, in 4 top lists Check
  27. 90 new

    Dolemite

    1975, in 2 top lists Check
  28. 58 new

    Du bi quan wang da po xue di zi

    1976 — a.k.a. Master of the Flying Guillotine, in 3 top lists Check
  29. 23 new

    Black Samurai

    1977 — a.k.a. Black Terminator, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 93 new

    Death Bed: The Bed That Eats

    1977, in 1 top list Check
  31. 7 new

    Can que

    1978 — a.k.a. Crippled Avengers, in 2 top lists Check
  32. 84 new

    Piranha

    1978, in 4 top lists Check
  33. 94 new

    Prophecy

    1979, in 0 top lists Check
  34. 17 new

    Enter the Ninja

    1981 — a.k.a. Ninja I, in 0 top lists Check
  35. 83 new

    Alone in the Dark

    1982, in 1 top list Check
  36. 72 new

    Ator 2: L'invincibile Orion

    1982 — a.k.a. The Blade Master, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 77 new

    Basket Case

    1982, in 2 top lists Check
  38. 96 new

    Mazes and Monsters

    1982, in 0 top lists Check
  39. 66 new

    Megaforce

    1982, in 1 top list Check
  40. 9 new

    Ren zhe wu di

    1982 — a.k.a. Five Element Ninjas, in 2 top lists Check
  41. 62 new

    Il mondo di Yor

    1983 — a.k.a. Yor: The Hunter from the Future, in 1 top list Check
  42. 19 new

    Moron Movies

    1983, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 54 new

    C.H.U.D.

    1984, in 1 top list Check
  44. 45 new

    Ninja III: The Domination

    1984, in 0 top lists Check
  45. 24 new

    The Toxic Avenger

    1984, in 4 top lists Check
  46. 88 new

    Ninja Terminator

    1985, in 0 top lists Check
  47. 13 new

    The Return of the Living Dead

    1985, in 3 top lists Check
  48. 65 new

    The Stuff

    1985, in 2 top lists Check
  49. 20 new

    Chopping Mall

    1986, in 1 top list Check
  50. 34 new

    Class of Nuke 'Em High

    1986, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on May 12, 2014; source