Continuing on with the Halloween theme for the month and today I’m counting down something that has nothing to do with anime and everything to do with a deep love of terrible horror movies. However, there’s formulaic horror that blends character archetypes, cheap jokes, and sometimes questionable special effects but still manages to entertain and then there’s just terrible movies and B Grade Horror walks a very fine line between the two with many movies tipping over into the trash heap. Here are some of the winners from the genre that are well worth the watch provided you like the formula they are going to dish out. And as always, feel free to throw your suggestions into the comments below (I always love finding a good terrible horror movie).
Please note, there will be spoilers below.
Honourable mentions: Bats, Eight Legged Freaks, and Underworld.
Number 5: Anaconda
With questionable CG not being the biggest flaw in this movie about a film crew travelling down a river and ending up first hunting giant anacondas and then somehow becoming their prey, Anaconda still manages to deliver some solid entertainment. It is strictly by the numbers and each jump scare and turn in this story could more or less be measured out in accordance with the generic mould for this type of story, but there was still some genuine effort put into character performances and direction even when the script and special effects weren’t quite up to the challenge. The end result is a fairly entertaining story with a few cringe inducing moments and ultimately a villain whose motives never make much sense because you just can’t imagine any possible outcome where his plan would have succeeded.
Number 4: Arachnophobia
From giant snakes to a swarm of spiders taking over a small country town. Arachnophobia does at least have a fairly stellar cast on board and every one of them delivers in their role. What works with this movie is it isn’t just playing with spider phobia, it plays on the fear of the unknown, of introduced species in eco-systems, of small town culture, and even of feeling that you have knowledge. That, and there’s a lot of fairly deadly spiders prancing around. This one mostly succeeds at genuine horror at times though the final act brings about a few fairly laughable moments and whoever did the sound effects for the spider was really taking some creative licence.
Number 3: Resident Evil
Yeah, there had to be a zombie movie on this list and Shaun of the Dead is too much of a spoof and 28 Days is actually too close to actually being horrific for me to put it in my collection of bad horror films. Resident Evil, at least the first movie, is a fantastic cocktail of anti-corporation messaging as well as a few of modern medicine and AI computers. Featuring a pretty fantastic line up in its cast, this movie delivers a slow build up in the exploration phase, some decent action and jump scares as well as tense sequences in the middle, before delivering a final smack down well and truly worthy of any Resident Evil game. Love this film.
Number 2: Tremors
Alright, not even close to horrific, this movie still manages to build up a decent amount of suspense in the first third when the monster is kept strictly off screen. We see shaking dirt, see things tremble and shake, and we see the after effects as people and objects have been either dragged under ground, or people have had to climb to get away from the unseen assailant. What really sells this movie is some fairly decent dialogue between the characters. It all fits into that quippy don’t take anything too seriously model, but each character offers something to the cast and there’s a genuine feeling of isolated community coming from them. Then the monsters are revealed and it is mostly pretty entertaining as we see whether the gun toting locals can actually take on giant underground worms. The sequels (I’ve only seen up to the fourth though I’ve recently found out there are more) come with progressively less impressive story lines as is usually the case, but this first film is very solid entertainment.
Number 1: The Descent
Probably the only thing actually close to real horror on this list and that’s mostly because the thought of being trapped in a cave is scary enough. Being trapped with flesh eating monsters who track you by sound is just terrifying. Join six women as they go on what they think will be an amazing adventure exploring a cave. However, a tunnel collapsing cutting off their exit and the realisation that one of them had taken them somewhere unexpected so help would not be coming quickly turn this into a fairly tense and claustrophobic affair. Then the monsters show up and things quickly get worse. If you are squeamish about blood this one is definitely not for you because between the monsters, accidents in a dark and unexplored cave, and the women’s personal dramas, there is definitely going to be blood.
Right, so a small departure from anime but given how much I love these kinds of movies I felt this was an appropriate time to share this list. If you happen to like creature features or bad slasher flicks I’d love to know what you would have put on your list.
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
Consider supporting the blog by:
Or use one of my affiliate product links:
Can’t agree more on Resident Evil, it will forever be my guilty pleasure!
It’s just a fun film to watch.
Not sure what your definition of B-horror is, but I would recommend Terrifier on Netflix. from 2017, as simple killer clown movie that’s a bit tongue in cheek and very gorey. Also Slither from 06 might be up your alley.
Netflix has some pretty solid B Grade Horror (my definition would be horror films that have all the elements of horror but are more cheesy than actually scary). I haven’t seen Terrifier but I’ll keep my eye out. Then again, I’m not big on killer clowns. It scared me when I was young and it is one horror I never really got over.
Oh, then I would say avoid Terrifier!
Troll 2
Manos: The Hands of Fate
Night of the Lepus
Microwave Massacre
Zombie Nightmare
Ever seen Best Worst Movie?
Yes, that was a fun one…
Hey….why not make a post about horror anime….
Because I’ve done that the last two years. I do have one focused on anime with blood coming you next week and my favourite horror anime from the past five years coming out the week after though so hopefully you enjoy those.
Here’s my post from 2017: https://1https://100wordanime.blog/2016/11/01/tuesdays-top-5-anime-to-watch-for-halloween/
Great choices! Remember going to the theater to see Anaconda and I absolutely love Arachnophobia. So fun!
As a kid Arachnophobia was actually kind of scary. As an adult, it is just great fun. I really love watching it.
Yo, Tremors is a PERFECT movie. It might not be the best ever, but I literally have no issues with it!
Also, Descent’s alternate ending was terrifying.
Tremors is definitely one of those that is just a classic and it doesn’t matter that it is a bit dated, it is still great fun to watch.
I absolutely loved this post! As you know I really like these kinds of horror movies, and I have seen all of them. Tremors is simply a classic, and it’s a shame that the tv series that would have starred Kevin Bacon again, did not get a green light (they only shot the pilot episode). It’s a terrific and fun film, and one that I have seen so many times. It never gets old 😊😊
The Descent is amazing as well. (too bad that the sequel was really bad 😢). Great post! 😊😊
The sequel to the Descent was terrible. Not even good terrible. Just terrible. I was so disappointed because it was the kind of story that a sequel could have really worked for, and yet they just populated it with stupid characters and terrible plot points and ultimately the end was really unsatisfying.
Glad you enjoyed the post.
That one really was absolutely terrible. Despite some of the original castmembers returning, it amazed me how they really managed to make such a bad movie😢
Oh well, at least we will always have the original to rewatch 😊
Yes to all of those. Lots of fun. I’ve loved Tremors since the day it came out. Can’t remember how many times I’ve seen it.
I still remember the very first time I watched Tremors (I was way too young), and the first time the ground started shaking behind a character I hid behind the chair. But as the movie progressed, even the younger version of me just appreciated how incredibly fun the movie was and I eventually stopped hiding and just watched the rest of the movie. A lifetime love was born.
There’s just so many great moments in that movie. The shootout in the basement, the ice cream machine, and fishing with dynamite to name but a few.
The cast work great and even some of the sillier moments, such as the pole vaulting sequence, just work.
I love this list so much! I’ve seen all of these movies and even though they don’t all hold up well against subsequent viewings I still can’t help but watch them whenever they’re on TV.
They are just fun movies. I really enjoy this genre and there were so many movies I could think of, but when I thought of the movies I watched over and over again, this is the list I finally decided on.
Maybe you can do a part two next year too? Make this an annual thing.
I certainly have enough movies in my horror collection to come up with a new list for next year. I’ve still got a couple of Halloween themed lists for the month, the next two are a little more anime focused and then I have another movie one before Halloween lined up.
OOH! I’ll be on the lookout for those then! 😀
For me, “28 Days Later,” “The Ruins” (which, personally, is one of the most annoying horror films I’ve ever seen), and “As Above, So Below” (I think it had too much religious background for me) would belong on a B Grade list. While the premises of “The Ruins” and “As Above, So Below” caught my attention, they didn’t pan out in any enjoyable way while I watched them.
I actually quite enjoyed The Ruins, for what it was. It isn’t one I’d watch over and over but for a once watch it was kind of dumb fun. 28 Days Later I like but for me it actually crosses a bit into real horror (the zombies creep me out).
Being trapped in small spaces… Nope nope nope.
One of the few fears I don’t really have. I’ve done a couple of guided cave crawls and I really love the challenge of fitting through gaps that don’t look like you should be able to. While I don’t think I’ll ever just head out and try it on my own, as part of a group through an already explored cave, it is actually kind of fun.
what about Santa Claus conquers the Martians would you watch it?
Not sure I heard of that haha
Yay, Tremors! I bought the 1-5 box set recently having not seen any of the films. The first is by far the best, though I msut confess, I found some entertainment in the sequels. I need to get around the 6th one eventually.
Tremors is SO cool! I watched the first two, and I’m just waiting for the right time to watch the newest one.
Anaconda is also very cool. There are sequels, but they are not nearly as good as the first one.
Resident Evil is also a lot of fun, and the cast is cool
The Anaconda sequels never really grabbed my interest. I think because they never got the few surviving cast members back. At least with Tremors there are some character connections, at least through the first four (don’t know after that).
The box set used to be 1 – 4 (that’s the one I have). I love the first two movies, the third and fourth a little less so.