History Main / BMovie

As the studio system collapsed and the moviegoing audience increasingly deserted theaters for television, beginning in the late 1940s and continuing through the 1950s, the double feature faded from profitability and, thus, the need for major studio-distributed Bs declined, with many local TV stations using them for late-night programming. These kind of formulaic productions moved from theaters to TV along with their audience. On the other hand, the overall decline of the majors left room for independents with a B mentality -- Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures and Creator/RogerCorman being by far the most prominent -- to flourish. In the [[TheSixties 1960s]] and [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the term B-movie came to be synonymous with what was now called "{{exploitation film}}s" -- low-budget [[FollowTheLeader cash-ins]] with an emphasis on sensationalism, sexuality, and gore -- and the phrase is understood in those terms to this day. During the "Golden Age" of the B-movie in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the films were widely distributed and screened in older cinemas colloquially called "grindhouses," supposedly because the movies would be shown over and over again, grinding down the film. Since the dawning of cable TV and home video in The80s, few B-movies see theatrical release, but are typically produced as [[MadeForTVMovie TV movies]] or DirectToVideo releases, or released [[WebOriginal directly over the Internet]]. Creator/{{Syfy}} (formerly the Sci Fi Channel) in particular [[Film/SyFyChannelOriginalMovie produces many original B-movies]], and ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' maintained interest in the genre throughout the '90s, with its rereleases of classic B-movies with three characters making snarky comments on the action. While many B-movies are "bad" in terms of writing and execution, some prove to be SoBadItsGood. Those that attempt seriousness are usually full of {{narm}}.

* ''Film/TheBeastFromTwentyThousandFathoms'' (1953): The {{Trope Maker|s}} for the convention of the monster being [[NuclearMutant created by the bomb]] (predating ''Film/{{Go|dzilla1954}}jira'' by a single year), and one of the first giant monster movies per se following a hiatus that had been ongoing since 1933's ''[[Film/KingKong1933 King Kong]]''. A ferocious dinosaur is awakened by an Arctic atomic test and terrorizes the North Atlantic and ultimately New York City.

* ''Film/JourneyToTheSeventhPlanet'' (1962): Five astronauts [[ScienceMarchesOn land on Uranus]] and are [[MindRape mind raped]] by a giant alien brain. A bit less [[{{Narm}} narmy]] than standard 60s B-grade sci-fi/horror fare.

* ''Film/TwoThousandManiacs'' (1964): A [[{{Gorn}} splatter film]] in which residents of a [[DeepSouth deep southern]] town lure six tourists to obtain revenge for the town's destruction at the hands of Union troops during the Civil War by sacrificing them in the rituals of its annual festival. Second in Creator/HerschellGordonLewis' unofficial "Blood" trilogy.

* ''Film/TheySavedHitlersBrain'' (1968): [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As its title suggests,]] Nazi war criminals preserve Hitler's brain on a small tropical island until the time is right to resurrect him and, along with him, the Third Reich. Most of the movie consists of an earlier film, ''Madmen of Mandoras'', that got added half an hour of additional footage shot years later. This leads to a very weird effect concerning differences in film stock and fashion where everybody in the older portion has that clean-cut ''Series/MadMen'' look while the newer footage has folks clearly from the late [[TheSixties '60s]].

* ''Film/VirginsOfTheSevenSeas'' (1974): A kung-fu ''sex''ploitation film set during the Opium War, where five Caucasian virgin women gets captured alive by pirates who intends to sell them off as sex slaves. A Chinese kung-fu expert decide to teach them his skills in martial arts so they may escape their captors. Tons and tons of kung fu ''in the nude'' ensues.

* ''Film/CannibalHolocaust'' (1980): About a team of anthropologists who venture into the Amazon jungle in search of another team of anthropologists that disappeared and [[ShowWithinAShow recover some film footage]]; which reveals said previous team's fate. Style of the later half was the inspiration for ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' (see below). Featured the actual slaughter of several animals. [[BannedInChina Banned]] on about half the planet, and resulted in the prosecution of the director on suspicion that it was an actual snuff film. Also launched the popularity of the cannibal subgenre.

* ''Film/{{Madman}}'' (1982): An AxCrazy farmer hunts down and kills anybody who says his name.

* ''[[Film/TheNoahsArkPrinciple The Noah's Ark Principle]]'' (1984): Before his giant [[SummerBlockbuster Summer Blockbusters]], Creator/RolandEmmerich began his career with the most expensive student film ever to be produced in Germany, about a space station that could be used to control the weather. Story's not much to speak of, but the sets and special effects are phenomenal for their budget; no doubt one of the factors that enamoured Emmerich to Hollywood.

* ''Film/WarDog'' (1987): The original inspiration for Film/UniversalSoldier.

* ''Film/Werewolf1996'' (1996): A man is cursed with lycanthropy after being stabbed with a werewolf bone.

* ''Film/DragonballEvolution'' (2009): A teen named Goku learns about his past and sets out to stop an evil alien warlord named Lord Piccolo from finding the mystical Dragon Balls and taking over the world. The movie was a box office flop and was [[InNameOnly universally panned for it's unfaithfulness]] to the original work [[Franchise/DragonBall it's based on]].

* ''Film/SweatyBeards'' (2010): A ButtMonkey Viking tries to become a [[TheBerserker Berserker]] and avenge his parents death in a swordfighting tournament.

* ''Film/WillysWonderland'' (2021): A ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' knockoff about a janitor who finds himself trapped in an abandoned family entertainment center haunted by eight murderous animatronic mascots.

* ''[[Film/Thanksgiving2023 Thanksgiving]]'' (2023): A man dressed up as a pilgrim goes on a spree murdering survivors of a Black Friday incident. Yet another film spun off from a {{Film/Grindhouse}} trailer.

* ''Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974'': Five hippies going to visit the vandalized grave of one of their number's grandfather fall prey to a murderous backwoods family of cannibals, one of which, Leatherface, wields a chainsaw. Bashed on its release, regarded as a classic nowadays. Turned into [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre a franchise]], including three sequels, a remake and its sequel, and an alternate sequel to the original. By Creator/TobeHooper.

* ''Film/TerrorFirmer'' (1999): A SerialKiller goes around killing people who violate family values, and starts stalking the set of a Creator/{{Troma}} film.

Having said all that, in the same period as that outlined above and much later, B-Movies came to be seen with respect and admiration by several film-critics, first [[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave in France]], and [[UsefulNotes/TheAuteurTheory then Britain and the United States]]. Several B-Movies of the 1940s and 1950s, came to be VindicatedByHistory and were embraced for their subversion of the restrictions of MediaNotes/TheHaysCode. The code often focused more heavily on the A-Picture and this meant the B-Movie fell BeneathSuspicion. This meant that directors, paradoxically, had more freedom on a B-Movie than an A-Picture. Several films, especially FilmNoir, which today are regarded as classics were B-Movies in their day. For example, ''Film/{{Detour}}'', by Edgar G. Ulmer, would later be cited by the likes of Creator/MartinScorsese, Creator/FrancoisTruffaut and as a major masterpiece of cinema. The likes of Creator/WilliamCastle were admired by his more high profile peers like Creator/OrsonWelles and Creator/AlfredHitchcock. Hitchcock in fact took inspiration from the popularity of Castle's low-budget productions to bring ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' OutOfTheGhetto. Creator/RogerCorman likewise became celebrated for providing many aspiring film-makers entry into making Hollywood films, everyone from Creator/FrancisFordCoppola to Creator/JamesCameron. As a film-maker, Corman also made stylish film adaptations of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's horror films as well as anti-racist films like ''The Intruder''. Indeed, Corman often insisted, as did many other B-Film-makers that they made "A-Movies on B-Budgets".

Critics noted that the low-budget and limited resources often provided an avenue for film-makers to compensate by technical innovation and heavy use of style, and this meant that the old fashioned B-Movie [[MyRealDaddy is a truer ancestor]] of the modern independent film, in form, even if the latter's content, is closer to the A-Movie of old. The reverse is also true however. The [[UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood modern blockbuster cinema]] is A-Movie in terms of its cast and large budgets, [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications the chastity of its storyline and aesthetic]], but it is B-Movie in terms of its content (Science-Fiction, Action Movie, Superhero films) which were [[EveryoneHasStandards considered low]] even by the standards of the B-Movies (many of them being serials and usually not played as part of a Double Bill). Starting with ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', many blockbusters were, initially, derisively named "a B-movie with A-Budget" and many of these blockbusters carry the same stigma of the original B-Movie but in an inverted fashion. These films actually make more money and are seen by more people in America and the world (whereas the original B-Movie rarely enjoyed wide-distribution compared to its A-counterpart), [[AwardSnub but rarely win any awards]], compared to the under-seen OscarBait. Movies that can be considered B-movies tend not to get too widely noticed these days, many of them going direct to video on VHS and later DVD-Blu Ray. They existed for a bit longer in other markets, in Hong Kong, and parts of India, but gentrification spread there eventually. Today, the style of B-Movie has come to be appreciated by some for its {{camp}} value, there have been a number of successful big-budget movies that emulate B-movie tropes and production values in a sort of AffectionateParody. In addition, there have been film-makers who seek to revive and update the old B-Movie aesthetic for what they value as its low-budget inventiveness and sincerity. The style saw a resurgence in the late 2000s as the rise of streaming video and ready access to video recording and editing made low-budget filmmaking and distribution easier than ever.

* ''Film/KingOfTheZombies'' (1941): On a spooky island, three stranded travelers find an evil doctor working with foreign spies and in control of zombies. Only zombie film to have been nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward (for Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic Picture) (Edward Kay)).

* ''Film/TheLastShark'' (A.K.A. ''Great White'') (1980): ''Film/{{Jaws}}''... [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace WITH]]... [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} a great white shark?]]

* ''Film/{{Transmorphers}}'' (2007): No, not ''Film/Transformers2007'', '''''Transmorphers'''''. By the Asylum. [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} It's actually]] ''Film/TheMatrix'' [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} or]] ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' [[UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}} made on a sub-zero budget]].[[/index]]

Some of the ground rules for B-movies date back to these early origins: they were and are produced on a limited budget with actors that are not household names. While B-movies may occasionally have very well-written scripts and gripping plots, the primary goal is not deliberate art or widespread commercial success, but cheap, disposable entertainment. As such, B-movies tend to be genre pieces, in such categories as [[TheWestern western]] (by far the most popular B-genre in Hollywood's Golden Age), {{horror|Tropes}}, ScienceFiction, or {{crime|AndPunishmentSeries}}. B-movies are often heavily {{trope|riffic}}-[[ClicheStorm laden]], and a particularly successful one can become a {{trope maker|s}} for big-budget films in the future. During the 30's and 40's, B-series were often highly successful; for example, ''Film/AndyHardy'', ''Film/CharlieChan'', ''Series/TheCiscoKid'', ''Franchise/TheSaint'', and even ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' (in the sequels produced by Universal).

Having said all that, in the same period as that outlined above and much later, B-Movies came to be seen with respect and admiration by several film-critics, first [[UsefulNotes/FrenchNewWave in France]], and [[UsefulNotes/TheAuteurTheory then Britain and the United States]]. Several B-Movies of the 1940s and 1950s, came to be VindicatedByHistory and were embraced for their subversion of the restrictions of UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode. The code often focused more heavily on the A-Picture and this meant the B-Movie fell BeneathSuspicion. This meant that directors, paradoxically, had more freedom on a B-Movie than an A-Picture. Several films, especially FilmNoir, which today are regarded as classics were B-Movies in their day. For example, ''Film/{{Detour}}'', by Edgar G. Ulmer, would later be cited by the likes of Creator/MartinScorsese, Creator/FrancoisTruffaut and as a major masterpiece of cinema. The likes of Creator/WilliamCastle were admired by his more high profile peers like Creator/OrsonWelles and Creator/AlfredHitchcock. Hitchcock in fact took inspiration from the popularity of Castle's low-budget productions to bring ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' OutOfTheGhetto. Creator/RogerCorman likewise became celebrated for providing many aspiring film-makers entry into making Hollywood films, everyone from Creator/FrancisFordCoppola to Creator/JamesCameron. As a film-maker, Corman also made stylish film adaptations of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's horror films as well as anti-racist films like ''The Intruder''. Indeed, Corman often insisted, as did many other B-Film-makers that they made "A-Movies on B-Budgets".

* ''Film/DontGoInTheWoods'' (1981): Two couples go for a camping trip in the woods and are set upon by a grizzled old mountain man, who also kills a bunch of other random people. Frequently regarded as the single worst [[SlasherMovie slasher film]] of all time.

As the studio system collapsed and the moviegoing audience increasingly deserted theaters for television, beginning in the late 1940s and continuing through the 1950s, the double feature faded from profitability and, thus, the need for major studio-distributed Bs declined, with many local TV stations using them for late-night programming. These kind of formulaic productions moved from theaters to TV along with their audience. On the other hand, the overall decline of the majors left room for independents with a B mentality -- Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures and Creator/RogerCorman being by far the most prominent -- to flourish. In the [[TheSixties 1960s]] and [[TheSeventies 1970s]], the term B-movie came to be synonymous with what was now called "{{exploitation film}}s" -- low-budget [[FollowTheLeader cash-ins]] with an emphasis on sensationalism, sexuality, and gore -- and the phrase is understood in those terms to this day. During the "Golden Age" of the B-movie in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the films were widely distributed and screened in older cinemas colloquially called "grindhouses," supposedly because the movies would be shown over and over again, grinding down the film. Since the dawning of cable TV and home video in TheEighties, few B-movies see theatrical release, but are typically produced as [[MadeForTVMovie TV movies]] or DirectToVideo releases, or released [[WebOriginal directly over the Internet]]. Creator/{{Syfy}} (formerly the Sci Fi Channel) in particular [[Film/SyFyChannelOriginalMovie produces many original B-movies]], and ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' maintained interest in the genre throughout the '90s, with its rereleases of classic B-movies with three characters making snarky comments on the action. While many B-movies are "bad" in terms of writing and execution, some prove to be SoBadItsGood. Those that attempt seriousness are usually full of {{narm}}.

* ''Film/MegaPythonVersusGatoroid'' (2011): An animal activist and a park ranger confront/cause a massive ecological disaster involving enhugened snakes and supermutated alligators. This MadeForTVMovie is primarily noteworthy for the big show-stopping battle between its lead monsters: [[TheEighties 80s]] pop princesses Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Really!

Critics noted that the low-budget and limited resources often provided an avenue for film-makers to compensate by technical innovation and heavy use of style, and this meant that the old fashioned B-Movie [[MyRealDaddy is a truer ancestor]] of the modern independent film, in form, even if the latter's content, is closer to the A-Movie of old. The reverse is also true however. The [[UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood modern blockbuster cinema]] is A-Movie in terms of its cast and large budgets, [[UsefulNotes/MediaClassifications the chastity of its storyline and aesthetic]], but it is B-Movie in terms of its content (Science-Fiction, Action Movie, Superhero films) which were [[EveryoneHasStandards considered low]] even by the standards of the B-Movies (many of them being serials and usually not played as part of a Double Bill). Starting with ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', many blockbusters were, initially, derisively named "a B-movie with A-Budget" and many of these blockbusters carry the same stigma of the original B-Movie but in an inverted fashion. These films actually make more money and are seen by more people in America and the world (whereas the original B-Movie rarely enjoyed wide-distribution compared to its A-counterpart), [[AwardSnub but rarely win any awards]], compared to the under-seen OscarBait. Movies that can be considered B-movies tend not to get too widely noticed these days, many of them going direct to video on VHS and later DVD-BR. They existed for a bit longer in other markets, in Hong Kong, and parts of India, but gentrification spread there eventually. Today, the style of B-Movie has come to be appreciated by some for its {{camp}} value, there have been a number of successful big-budget movies that emulate B-movie tropes and production values in a sort of AffectionateParody. In addition, there have been film-makers who seek to revive and update the old B-Movie aesthetic for what they value as its low-budget inventiveness and sincerity. The style saw a resurgence in the late 2000s as the rise of streaming video and ready access to video recording and editing made low-budget filmmaking and distribution easier than ever.

* ''Film/BigMoneyHustlas'' (2000): The Music/InsaneClownPosse parody cop dramas and exploitation films with help from Film/{{Dolemite}}, [[Series/WhatsHappening Fred "Rerun" Berry]], pro wrestler Wrestling/MickFoley, and friends. In short, if you're a {{Juggalo}}, you've already seen it and you love it. If not, well...

* ''Film/BigMoneyHustlas'' (2000): The Music/InsaneClownPosse parody cop dramas and exploitation films with help from Film/{{Dolemite}}, [[Series/WhatsHappening Fred "Rerun" Berry]], pro wrestler Wrestling/MickFoley, and friends. In short, if you're a {{Juggalo}}, you've already seen it and you love it. If not, well...

* ''Film/WinnieThePoohBloodAndHoney'' (2023):
Literature/WinnieThePooh and his buddy Piglet become [[OurSlashersAreDifferent slasher villains]] after Christopher Robin abandoned them.