Comments: Schlock SF Movies

I thought The Crawling Eye was neat. Then again, I was 10 at the time. Saw it on local tv on a show known as Science Ficton Theater with Moona Lisa. Pre-dated that LA broad by a good number of years.

Yes, the special effects were cheesy, and the plot had more holes than a round of swiss cheese homesteaded by starving mice, but it was fun!

Posted by Alan Kellogg at April 24, 2005 12:42 PM

Curse of the Wasp Woman scared the snot out of me when I was a kid, and is still creepy now, although somewhat schlocky as well.

Posted by Alan at April 24, 2005 03:36 PM

Plan 9 From Outer Space! Yes! That defines Schlock!

I think the inside of the space ship in that picture looks like any 1950's high school science lab!

Posted by Seth from Massachusetts at April 24, 2005 07:22 PM

May not be quite what you are looking for, but I recently bought the four "St. Trinian's" films and their precursor "Best Days of Our Lives". Hammer (and of course Rank) films have always been a somewhat guilty pleasure.

Posted by John Anderson at April 24, 2005 09:44 PM

The Raven. The quintessential Roger Corman film with VP, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and a very young Jack Nicholson. Peter Matthesson did the screenplay. It's a delicious sendup of every 50's and 60's horror film every made, and completely hilarious.

Posted by bud at April 25, 2005 11:30 AM

Another send-up of those old flicks is "Lost Skeleton of Cadavra". It's recent, and the extra features on the DVD explains why and how they did the film. It was a blast seeing how they did the cheesy special effects!

Posted by Roger Ritter at April 25, 2005 01:01 PM

For a real treat, schlocky SF _AND_ guns: Hell Comes To Frogtown.

For just fun stuff made on almost no budget: Dark Star, and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

A little more budget: Killer Klowns From Outer Space.

Still more budget, and a standard reference for movie trivia quotes: Buckaroo Banzai.

Not schlock at all -- its non-musical predecessor is a low budget classic -- the SF horror doo-wop musical comedy Little Shop of Horrors.

I have too many DVDs.

Posted by Timothy Fox at April 26, 2005 12:31 AM

You can get The Crawling Eye on DVD on eBay for under $10.

Posted by tim at April 26, 2005 11:28 AM

Not schlock, but truly good films-- Invasion of the body Snatchers [the original 1956 version] and Forbidden Planet, with Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, Earl Holliman, and Leslie Nielson.

Posted by John Cunningham at April 26, 2005 12:40 PM

It's hard to beat Killer Klowns from Outer Space, though Navy vs. the Night Monsters or Attack of the Killer Tomatos (which is worth it just for the theme song) come close.

Earth Girls are Easy and Buckaroo Bonzai are pretty high on the schlock meter too, but are still worth watching... at least once.

Posted by Zendo Deb at April 26, 2005 07:16 PM

I grew up on a diet of 50's SCI-FI horror movies each weekend at the Franklin theater - (2 movies and a road-runner cartoon) for 35 cents...15 cents for soda and popcorn. Rodan, Mothra, It came (from wherever), Them, The Giant (whatever), the incredable shrinking/growing (whatever), etc.

I found a movie that just tickles me everytime I watch it. My wife hates it, my kids hate it, my friends and neighbors hate it, and as far as I can see by its popularity...the world hates it. I'm sure you hate it too.
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Tank Girl!

I even bought the music CD.

Posted by trainer at April 28, 2005 01:04 AM

My two faves: House on Haunted Hill (have it on DVD) and the Tingler. Cheese...pure cheese, in a good, cheesy kind of way. Add to my list "The Brain that Wouldn't Die", also went by the name "Corruption" when I first saw it on my old black and white TV in the 70's, came on the late-late movie one night.

What great movies- tacky, low budget, and fun.

I have on a DVD compilation with Dennis Hopper in it, he's in love with a woman who truns out to be a mermaid in a carnival, cheesy, but has its creepy moments.

Look for the cheap compilations, they will usually have a "quality" tacky B movie and a couple of fillers that are just pure, enjoyable, popcorn-poppin' crap.

Posted by Head at April 28, 2005 11:44 AM

I had to do an whole post on Buckaroo Bonzai and Attack of the killer tomatoes!

& The Raven - great, great movie, but wasn't it Vincent Price, not Karloff?

My other favorite is that brain and spinal cord movie. Bunch of brains with spinal cords attached would slink around like snakes, then leap up and attach themselves to the back of someone's neck and eeeeeeewwwwwww! suck out their brains.

Posted by Persnickety at April 29, 2005 05:20 PM

The Tingler. The schtick was wiring one seat in the theatre for an electrical shock.
Cheese-whiz.

Posted by Jack K at April 30, 2005 01:12 PM


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