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. 11 new

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    1957, in 6 top lists Check
  2. 13 new

    The Return of the Living Dead

    1985, in 3 top lists Check
  3. 15 new

    Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine

    1965 — a.k.a. Dr. G and the Bikini Machine, in 0 top lists Check
  4. 20 new

    Chopping Mall

    1986, in 1 top list Check
  5. 27 new

    The Roller Blade Seven

    1991, in 0 top lists Check
  6. 30 new

    Time Chasers

    1994, in 0 top lists Check
  7. 31 new

    The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

    2001, in 1 top list Check
  8. 32 new

    The Incredible Shrinking Man

    1957, in 10 top lists Check
  9. 37 new

    Hell Comes to Frogtown

    1988, in 1 top list Check
  10. 38 new

    Death Race 2000

    1975, in 4 top lists Check
  11. 42 new

    Cyborg

    1989, in 1 top list Check
  12. 44 new

    It Came from Beneath the Sea

    1955 — a.k.a. Monster from Beneath the Sea, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 46 new

    Killer Klowns from Outer Space

    1988, in 3 top lists Check
  14. 53 new

    Future War

    1997, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 54 new

    C.H.U.D.

    1984, in 1 top list Check
  16. 60 new

    The Tingler

    1959, in 4 top lists Check
  17. 64 new

    Kingu Kongu no gyakushû

    1967 — a.k.a. King Kong Escapes, in 1 top list Check
  18. 65 new

    The Stuff

    1985, in 2 top lists Check
  19. 66 new

    Megaforce

    1982, in 1 top list Check
  20. 68 new

    The Valley of Gwangi

    1969 — a.k.a. The Lost Valley, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 69 new

    Pánico en el Transiberiano

    1972 — a.k.a. Horror Express, in 1 top list Check
  22. 70 new

    X

    1963 — a.k.a. X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, in 5 top lists Check
  23. 75 new

    Robot Monster

    1953 — a.k.a. Monster from Mars, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 79 new

    The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

    1953, in 3 top lists Check
  25. 81 new

    Hobgoblins

    1988, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 84 new

    Piranha

    1978, in 4 top lists Check
  27. 86 new

    The Blob

    1988, in 2 top lists Check
  28. 87 new

    The Blob

    1958, in 5 top lists Check
  29. 94 new

    Prophecy

    1979, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 97 new

    Iron Sky

    2012, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 101 new

    The Giant Claw

    1957, in 1 top list Check
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Last updated on May 12, 2014; source