World Horror Network

Although B-movies  are not generally presented or accepted as fine cinema in the first place, some of the films from this genre have become known for being markedly worse than others, sometimes being referred to as Z-movies.

Some B-movies have become cult classics, partly as a result of their peculiarities. Fans of low-budget cult films often use the phrase “so bad it’s good” to describe movies that are so poorly made that they become an entertaining “comedy of errors”. Unlike more mundane bad films, these films develop an ardent fan following who love them because of their poor quality, because normally, the bevy of errors (technical or artistic) or wildly contrived plots are unlikely to be seen elsewhere.

Glen or Glenda (1953)

A semi-autobiographical  quasi-documentary about transvestism , starring and directed by Ed Wood . After a nightmarish dream sequence, Glen undergoes psychotherapy to help cure his affliction. Béla Lugosi appears in this film, as he did in several other Wood films toward the end of his career. Many of Wood’s fans and critic Leonard Maltin  insist that this was far worse than Plan 9 from Outer Space ; Maltin considers it “possibly the worst movie ever made”.  In his book Cult Movies 3, Danny Peary  suggests that this is actually a radical, if ineptly made, film that presents a far more personal story than is contained in films by more well-respected auteurs.  This film was included in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.

Robot Monster(1953)

A science fiction  film, originally shot and exhibited in 3D , featuring an actor dressed in a gorilla suit and what looks almost like a diving  helmett . The film, produced and directed by Phil Tucker , is listed in Michael Sauter’s book The Worst Movies of All Time among “The Baddest of the B’s.” It is also featured in The Book of Lists  10 worst movie list, in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time , and in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. The Golden Turkey  Awards  confers its main character the title of “Most Ridiculous Monster in Screen History” and, listing its director Phil Tucker among the runners-up to “Worst Director of All Time” (the winner being Ed Wood), states that “What made Robot Monster ineffably worse than any other low-budget sci-fi epic was its bizarre artistic pretension”. Noted film composer Elmer Bernstein  wrote the score for this film. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and was fondly remembered by author Stephen King who quotes, and agrees with, a review in Castle of Frankenstein  magazine (”certainly among the finest terrible movies ever made”, “one of the most laughable poverty row quickies”).

Plan 9 from Outer Space poster

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

Ed Wood’s Plan 9 was labeled the “Worst Film Ever” by The Golden Turkey Awards. But reception from professional critics was generally positive: the review site Rotten Tomatoes reported that 62% of critics gave the film positive reviews. This movie marked the final appearance of Béla Lugosi. Wood idolized Lugosi, and before Lugosi’s death, he shot a small amount of test footage of Lugosi. This was then placed in the movie and repeated several times. Following Lugosi’s death, the character was then played by Tom Mason, the chiropractor of Wood’s wife at the time, who played his scenes holding the character’s cape in front of his face. Wood was apparently undeterred by the numerous physical differences – such as height and build – that distinguished Mason from Lugosi; e.g., that Mason was nearly bald while Lugosi retained a full head of hair until his death. Years later, video distributors such as Avenue One DVD began to make light of this, adding such blurbs as “Almost Starring Bela Lugosi” to the cover art. Due to difficulty in finding a willing distributor, the film was not released until 1959. It has played at the New Orleans Worst Film Festival and was included in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made. Plan 9 was also mocked on the television series Seinfeld by Jerry in the episode “The Chinese Restaurant,” in which he said, “This isn’t like plans one through eight. This is plan nine, the one that worked! The worst movie ever made!”

In 1994, Tim Burton directed Ed Wood, which included some material about the trials and tribulations of making Plan 9. In the television series The X-Files, Fox Mulder watches Plan 9 whenever he needs to focus on a difficult problem, claiming that the film is so incredibly bad that it shuts down the logic centers of his brain, allowing him to make intuitive leaps of logic. He has seen the movie 42 times. In the 1996 edition of Cult Flicks and Trash Pics, the authors state that, “The film has become so famous for its own badness that it’s now beyond criticism.”

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961)

A film by Coleman Francis shot silently with added narration. It features a seminude prologue (which implies necrophilia) completely unrelated to the rest of the film, and a scientist turning into a monster played by Tor Johnson. Leonard Maltin’s TV and Movie Guide calls it “one of the worst films ever made”. Bill Warrensaid “It may very well be the worst non-porno science fiction movie ever made.” It was also featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000

Manos: The Hands of Fate has an opening nine-minute sequence in which nothing much happens but endless driving through the countryside, due to the opening credits being left out.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

This holiday staple was the creation of Nicholas Webster. When Martian children get to see Santa Claus only on TV, their parents decide to abduct Santa to make them happy. Like many others in this category, it has been featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000 and is also included in the IMDb’s worst 100. Also cited on a 10-worst list in The Book of Lists, in The Fifty Worst Films of All Time, and in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.

Monster A Go-Go (1965)

A Herschell Gordon Lewis film, Monster was begun as Terror at Halfday by Bill Rebane, who would later go on to make The Giant Spider Invasion; the film was left incomplete, only to be purchased by Lewis, who reportedly needed a second film to release on a double bill, and who shot some additional footage. The picture consists mostly of men sitting around drinking coffee and talking; the ending consists of a long speech by the narrator informing us that “there was no monster.” All Movie Guide calls the film a “surreal anti-masterpiece”. At one time it held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 and is officaly the worst movie they have ever seen.

Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

A low-budget horror film made by El Paso fertilizer salesman Hal P. Warren, about a family on vacation that stumbles upon an isolated house inhabited by a polygamous cult. Among its most notorious flaws, besides poor production qualities, is an opening sequence with little dialogue in which the family drives through the countryside for several minutes looking for their hotel. Also, a teenage couple is seen making out for no apparent reason nor with any connection with the plot. John Reynolds, who played the character Torgo, supposedly a satyr, wore a rigging for his legs that made his performance extremely awkward. The film gained cult popularity by being featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It has held the #1 spot on the IMDb Bottom 100 repeatedly. It also has a 9% rating at Rotten Tomatoes ,  and the one positive review linked on Rotten Tomatoes is for its Mystery Science Theater appearance rather than the film itself (which the reviewer, Mike Bracken, calls “unwatchable”).

Hobgoblins (1987)

This film by Rick Sloane was also made famous after it debuted on Mystery Science Theater 3000. At its lowest rating, it repeatedly made the IMDb worst movie list at number two, second only to Gigli. MST3K writer Paul Chaplin later commented on Hobgoblins, saying, “It shoots right to the top of the list of the worst movies we’ve ever done.” Efilmcritic.com called the it “Jim Henson’s worst nightmare.” It is also the only film considered the worst of all time to have a sequel, Hobgoblins 2, made twenty years after the original.

Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2 (1987) 

A sequel to the controversial Silent Night, Deadly Night, this film was panned for over-the-top acting, excessive flashbacks, and a laughable script. Budget problems prevented the filmmakers from creating an entirely new story, so much of the movie consisted of the original Silent Night, Deadly Night in flashback. Its DVD commentary reveals that the directors were originally instructed to simply edit the original movie without any new content and promote it as a sequel. It has also developed an internet meme for a scene in which the main character is on a killing spree and shouts “Garbage day!” before shooting a man taking out his garbage.

Deadly Prey (1987)

This action film featured a ridiculous plot, horrible acting, and laughable production values, and was considered by many to be the definition of a “so-bad-its good” movie. It is also very poor knock-off of other popular action movies of the time (Rambo). The film is about ex-Vietnam vet Mike Danton, who is kidnapped and sent to the “jungles” of Los Angeles by a mercenary orginazation just to be used as a training soldier for the new recruits.Danton kills his enemies in the most unbelievable and hysterical ways, such as stabbing a man with a little twig which, somehow, turns into a spear and impales him, all while having a broken arm.

Troll 2(1990)

Not only one of the “least scary horror movies ever”, according to Yahoo! Movies, but “by pretty much any measure… one of the worst films ever made”. A movie in which vegetarian goblins try to trick a family into turning into plants so they can devour them. Director Claudio Fragasso removed his name from the movie, instead using the pseudonym Drago Floyd. Despite the script being written in awkward language (Fragasso, along with most of the crew, were Italian and spoke English only as a second language), Fragasso insisted the American actors deliver the lines as written. The goblins in the movie are midgets wearing burlap sacks and latex masks. Campy acting, confusing plot twists, and unintentional homosexual innuendos have contributed to give the movie a cult status comparable to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The movie’s child star, Michael Stephenson, is working on a documentary about the movie titled “Best Worst Movie.”

-taken from wiki’s worst b-movies of all time list.