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.

Favorited 24 times, disliked 0 times, added to 22 watchlists.

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.

Remove ads
  1. 2 new

    The Room

    2003, in 2 top lists Check
  2. 11 new

    Plan 9 from Outer Space

    1957, in 6 top lists Check
  3. 5 new

    Troll 2

    1990, in 2 top lists Check
  4. 51 new

    Mortal Kombat: Annihilation

    1997, in 0 top lists Check
  5. 3 new

    Birdemic: Shock and Terror

    2010, in 1 top list Check
  6. 18 new

    Braindead

    1992 — a.k.a. Dead Alive, in 8 top lists Check
  7. 46 new

    Killer Klowns from Outer Space

    1988, in 3 top lists Check
  8. 24 new

    The Toxic Avenger

    1984, in 4 top lists Check
  9. 41 new

    Masters of the Universe

    1987, in 1 top list Check
  10. 100 new

    Hercules in New York

    1970, in 0 top lists Check
  11. 42 new

    Cyborg

    1989, in 1 top list Check
  12. 49 new

    Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

    1965 — a.k.a. The Leather Girls, in 8 top lists Check
  13. 87 new

    The Blob

    1958, in 5 top lists Check
  14. 52 new

    Mac and Me

    1988, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 84 new

    Piranha

    1978, in 4 top lists Check
  16. 81 new

    Hobgoblins

    1988, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 75 new

    Robot Monster

    1953 — a.k.a. Monster from Mars, in 2 top lists Check
  18. 38 new

    Death Race 2000

    1975, in 4 top lists Check
  19. 36 new

    Space Mutiny

    1988, in 1 top list Check
  20. 13 new

    The Return of the Living Dead

    1985, in 3 top lists Check
  21. 77 new

    Basket Case

    1982, in 2 top lists Check
  22. 86 new

    The Blob

    1988, in 2 top lists Check
  23. 65 new

    The Stuff

    1985, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 74 new

    Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead

    2006, in 2 top lists Check
  25. 20 new

    Chopping Mall

    1986, in 1 top list Check
  26. 39 new

    Shark Attack 3: Megalodon

    2002, in 1 top list Check
  27. 48 new

    Silent Night, Deadly Night 2

    1987, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 71 new

    Feast

    2005, in 2 top lists Check
  29. 6 new

    Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

    2006, in 1 top list Check
  30. 63 new

    The Final Sacrifice

    1990, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 12 new

    House on Haunted Hill

    1959, in 1 top list Check
  32. 14 new

    ThanksKilling

    2009, in 0 top lists Check
  33. 93 new

    Death Bed: The Bed That Eats

    1977, in 1 top list Check
  34. 55 new

    Showdown in Little Tokyo

    1991, in 1 top list Check
  35. 92 new

    King Kong Lives

    1986, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 80 new

    Leprechaun 3

    1995, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 73 new

    The Gingerdead Man

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  38. 89 new

    It's Alive

    1974, in 1 top list Check
  39. 4 new

    Samurai Cop

    1991, in 0 top lists Check
  40. 54 new

    C.H.U.D.

    1984, in 1 top list Check
  41. 72 new

    Ator 2: L'invincibile Orion

    1982 — a.k.a. The Blade Master, in 0 top lists Check
  42. 90 new

    Dolemite

    1975, in 2 top lists Check
  43. 17 new

    Enter the Ninja

    1981 — a.k.a. Ninja I, in 0 top lists Check
  44. 101 new

    The Giant Claw

    1957, in 1 top list Check
  45. 53 new

    Future War

    1997, in 0 top lists Check
  46. 66 new

    Megaforce

    1982, in 1 top list Check
  47. 33 new

    Ben & Arthur

    2002, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 34 new

    Class of Nuke 'Em High

    1986, in 0 top lists Check
  49. 32 new

    The Incredible Shrinking Man

    1957, in 10 top lists Check
  50. 1 new

    Hard Ticket to Hawaii

    1987, in 0 top lists Check
Remove ads
Show all 101 movies

Last updated on May 12, 2014; source