Saturday, November 08, 2008

The A-Z Of Crap

Blog Cabins has started a new alphabet-based meme that's going around the Internet tubes. Basically, you go through all 26 letters and pick your favorite film whose title begins with each letter. Some film bloggers are using their own set of guidelines; for instance, my Facebook pals Larry Aydlette and Adam Ross are using crime dramas and movies he hasn't seen, respectively.

I thought I would use Crappy Movies as my base. Crappy Movies is a term I use to describe what are basically "psychotronic" movies, as film-writing pioneer Michael Weldon dubbed them: horror, science fiction, rock and roll, biker flicks, low-budget action flicks, basically anything with a cult and/or could also be dubbed "grindhouse" or "drive-in" movies. Despite the name, Crappy Movies are often very good. The main difference between a Crappy and a non-Crappy movie is financial, either because it has a large budget or it was financed by a mainstream Hollywood studio and aimed at all audiences. For instance, BATTLEFIELD EARTH is an incredibly crappy movie, but not a Crappy one, whereas THE GRAVY TRAIN is both a great and a Crappy movie. It's not always easy to define, but, like pornography, I know it when I see it.

For my post, I'm picking a favorite Crappy Movie for each letter. Not "the" favorite, but "a" favorite, since, for me, Crappy Movies are like children—how can I pick a favorite? The guidelines are that it has to be a Crappy Movie I have seen and enjoyed and it has to not yet be available on Region 1 DVD. In fact, it has to be a freaking crime that it's not easily available to Americans in DVD form.

A: AVENGING FORCE (1986)

B: BONNIE'S KIDS (1973)

C: CHAINED HEAT (1983)

D: DARKTOWN STRUTTERS (1975)

E: ENTER THE NINJA (1980)

F: FIGHTING MAD (1976)

G: GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)

H: HICKEY & BOGGS (1973)

I: IMPULSE (1974)

J: JOHNNY COOL (1963)

K: KILL SQUAD (1982)

L: THE LOST EMPIRE (1985)

M: MANHUNT IN THE AFRICAN JUNGLES (1943)

N: NINJA III: THE DOMINATION (1983)

O: ONE MAN JURY (1976)

P: PIER 5, HAVANA (1959)

Q: THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (1955)

R: ROCKSHOW (1980)

S: STARCRASH (1978)

T: TARZAN'S GREATEST ADVENTURE (1959)

U: UNHOLY ROLLERS (1972)

V: VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972)

W: THE WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME (1989)

X: THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (1967)

Y: YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE (1982)

Z: THE ZEBRA KILLER (1974)

Anyone who wants to make their own A-Z list, feel free to do so in the comment section, and I'll post them here at a later date.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

no takers yet? well, i love making lists:

A-Almost Human
B-Burial Ground
C-Carnival Of Souls
D-Dawn Of The Dead
E-Ex-Drummer
F-Fantasy Mission Force
G-Gore Gore Girls
H-Hell Of The Living Dead
I-Invasion De Los Muertos
J-Jack The Ripper (1976)
K-Kikujiro
L-Last Man On Earth
M-M
N-Nightmare City
O-Ogroff
P-Planet Terror
Q-Quelli Che Contano
R-Return Of The Living Dead
S-Satan's Black Wedding
T-Tenebre
U-Uzumaki
V-Virgin Among The Liiving Dead
W-What Have You Done To Our Daughters?
X-Xin Jing Cha Gu Shi
Y-Yakuza Papers
Z-Zombie

Alan said...

That's a truly great list of crappy movies. I can't resist lists either, so here's mine. I just had to indulge my post-apocalyptic obsession though. Well, apart from X and Y, when I couldn't think of any that fitted the bill.

A Aftermath (1982)

B Beyond the Time Barrier (1960)

C Creation of the Humanoids (1962)

D Damnation Alley (1977)

E Earth Dies Screaming, The (1965)

F Final Programme, The (1973)

G Glen and Randa (1971)

H Hardware (1990)

I Idaho Transfer (1973)

J Journey to the Centre of Time (1967)

K Kaze no na wa amunejia (1993)

(That's A Wind Named Amnesia, but I couldn't think of a K)

L Last Man on Earth (1964)

M Memoirs of a Survivor (1981)

N Night of the Comet (1984)

O Omega Man, The (1971)

P Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

Q Quintet (1979)

R Rats: Night of Terror (1984)

S Stryker (1983)

T Texas Gladiators (1982)

U Ultimate Warrior (1975)

V Vampire Hunter D (2000)

W Wheels of Fire (1985)

X X (1963)

Y Yasagure Anego Den: Dokatsu Rinchi (1973)

(Female Yakuza Tale... I got stuck again)

Z Zardoz (1974)