It’s pure sleaze all the way. It’s a deliriously weird sci-fi horror flick where aliens who just happen to look like clowns land on Earth in a ship that just happens to look like a big-top tent, then turn people into cotton candy and eat them. Starring bodybuilding brothers Peter and David Paul, better known as The Barbarian Brothers, it’s just a nothing of a movie, existing only because they had a few guys on hand whose skills included “being huge” and “knowing an identical huge guy.” Even in the cheap action movie segment, neither of them would ever have gotten a chance on their own, but together there’s magic in the air.
The British studio also produced plenty of “off-brand” horror flicks as well, though, and one of the most infamous was surely Thank god for Roger Corman, the prolific B-movie producer/director who gave first chances to so many young filmmakers. Each set of ninjas has their own colorful, outrageous costumes and fighting styles, such as tunneling through the ground (earth ninjas) or blinding their enemies with reflective armor (gold ninjas). If he doesn’t, a cadre of militant nurses will trigger an explosive device strapped to his groin and blow up his junk. Pyun (director of the largely forgotten 1990 MST3k’s Kevin Murphy has described this film as essentially a softball that was lobbed to the show’s writers, and it’s hard to disagree with him. B*A*P*S (1997) Bar Hopping (2002) Barabbas: (1953, 1962 & 2012) Baraka (1992) Barakat!
You know what you’re getting here: Nudity, abusive guards, a plethora of shower scenes and a daring escape. It’s a definitive example of the trashy 1980s horror flick, a movie I heard whispered rumors of growing up but never would have been allowed to view. The movie wants to have a serious message about pollution and the rape of the natural world, but it’s impossible to get past how bizarre the monster looks. Let it be known: I love Glenn Berggoetz. A classic of the “teens party in a spooky location and all die terrible deaths” sub-genre, their deaths in this case are caused by an ancient demon that they unwittingly release from the cellar of a creaky old funeral home. If it’s from Troma you know it’s going to be tasteless, but the original This may truly be the quintessential 1950s sci-fi B movie, a groundbreaking study in cheap moviemaking and innovative special effects, with an intriguing story to boot. Still the most well-known of Larry Blamire’s films, it’s also probably the best. A sumptuous story of revenge across generations; check out This is pretty much the only “high-budget” action film that ninja-master Godfrey Ho ever had a chance to make, which is to say he had more than 20 bucks.
The political humor is a bit much and the Sarah Palin-esque American president quickly grows grating, but it’s no worse than you’d see in your average mockbuster from The Asylum, coupled with much higher production values. Only four years after Even in the cheapo horror genre, babies are typically handled gingerly and obliquely. Plus they have the talents of Vincent Price as the descendent of a notorious madman—but how much evil runs in the family blood? The first entry on this list to receive the MST3k treatment, The first of special effects titan Ray Harryhausen’s major features, Most of these films have been of the “so bad they’re good” variety, but Larry Blamire’s work should legitimately be recognized for its loving caricature of various genre pictures. Made for only $33,000, Any list like this would be remiss without at least one Mexican luchador epic, a genre of folk hero film exceedingly popular for several decades.
Although John Carpenter’s Remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger burst into the public consciousness with There are certain genres you have to check off in a list like this, and the “women in prison” film is a classic sub-type of the larger 1970s exploitation genre. This movie and its successors are pretty much the reason why the historical concept of the “ninja” is largely unknown to the average person today.
The most incredible thing one realizes after watching It stands for “Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers,” if you were wondering.