Favorite “Bad” Sci-Fi?

[PlaidSquadron]

On the boards that I tend to visit, you see a lot of “Favorite” this and that type questions. I get a kick out of these, since it allows people to get to know a little bit more about each other. So, I thought I would post one:

What is your favorite “bad” science fiction movie. You know the type: bad special effects, crummy acting, goofy plotlines or any combination of the three. You know its bad, but whenever you have the chance, you will sit down and watch it?

OK. I have two. Both are goofy films that I watched with my father on late night “Shock Theater” in the early 80s on the local tv stations

1) The first is “Navy Versus The Night Monsters.” It’s a really crummy 1960s monster movie. You know the type: Research station in the artic brings back prehistoric plant spores to a tropical island, where the spores instantly grow into large mobile man-eating plants, terrorize the small military hospital there, and have to be Napalmed by a rescue force in the end. It stars Mamie Van Doren (a Marilyn Monroe knock off who chose this film as her “return to films” after four or five year absence. Her best addition to this movie is her ever increasing bust size. This movie is a real howler, but one I can’t miss (I actually own a copy on VHS – probably the only one ever sold)

2) The second is one that is probably better known to this audience: “Ssssss” (I think I have enough s’s there) made in the early 1970s. It stars our own Dirk Bennedict in a movie he probably wants to forget. He plays a young student working with a gifted reptilian scientist. Over the course of the movie, Dirk falls in love with the scientists daughter, sleeps with her, and in the end is turned into a giant cobra by the crazy mad scientist. Just as an aside: Tim O’Conner from Buck Rodgers plays a carnival side show barker in the movie.

[justjackrandom]

When I was in college, I was part of an unofficial club patterned on motorcycle clubs called “The Three-Dog Knights”. We even had jackets. Our mission: As a group, see at least three barkers a month. If there weren’t any playing, we’d hit the video store, where one of the members worked (we’d get them free).

Having scarred myself for life (I still find myself attracted to bad films, just because they are bad…), I find it difficult to pick out what I would consider “the worst”, but several come immediately to mind as candidates:

Ator, with Miles O’Keefe
Any of the Gor films, with Jack Palance
Manos: the Hands of Fate – about as bad as they get
Horror of Spider Island – Late 50s early 60s cheesecake movie…almost as bad as “Manos”.
Laserblast – ugh…
Night of the Lepus – so painful because it actually had a good cast.
Overdrawn at the Memory Bank – Raul, Raul – what ever possessed you…

just a few of my favorites...

JJR

[Bijou88]

My favorite shlocky Sci-Fi movie is The Green Slime. It features American leading men, an Italian supporting cast and Japanese special effects. The titles says it all. Green slime is discovered on a wandering asteroid. Astronauts bring it back to a space station where it mutates into murderous guys in rubber suits. This is a great flick. It doesn't let niceties like charater motivation and logic get in the way of the action. I can't wait for the special edition DVD! :thumbsup:

[BSGDAN]

"StarCrash" (Who can resist Caroline Munroe as the leather-clad Stella Star!)

Dan

[Bombadil]

Anybody else remember a weird little Japanese super-spaceship/submarine movie called "Atragon"?

[Ian_W359]

Anybody else remember a weird little Japanese super-spaceship/submarine movie called "Atragon"?

I've seen it a couple of times, it got remade into an anime movie series some years ago as 'Super Atragon'.

All the best,
Ian W359
:)

[unowhoandwhy]

I loved all of the "Creature Feature" movies they played on my local station when I was a kid. The Godzilla movies, Swamp Thing, The Mummy, etc. They were campy at best, silly and very bad at worst, but I loved them all.

Another very bad movie that I enjoyed was "Amazon Women From Mars" which was a really bad spoof movie that I totally enjoyed. (Like the pirates who were laughing at the FBI warning on a videotape, etc.)

[PlaidSquadron]

Another very bad movie that I enjoyed was "Amazon Women From Mars" which was a really bad spoof movie that I totally enjoyed. (Like the pirates who were laughing at the FBI warning on a videotape, etc.)

Not to pick nits or anything...but...

Its Amazon Women on the Moon. And you ar right, it is hillarious. The old guy wandering through the scenes, Arsenio Hall getting beat up by his VCR - very funny.

My favorite shlocky Sci-Fi movie is The Green Slime..)

Another of my favorites! This is the movie when I recognized the 60s typical "love triangle" in bad movies: Two men (rivals), usually a scientist and a military guy, fighting over the love of a beautiful woman (who can't chose between them) until one of the guys sacrafices himself for the group. The surviving guy has usually just made peace with his rival. But I love the green slime!.)

Night of the Lepus – so painful because it actually had a good cast.

I agree! But how can you not like a movie where the monstors are hideously large rabbits?

[unowhoandwhy]

Not to pick nits or anything...but...

Its Amazon Women on the Moon. And you ar right, it is hillarious. The old guy wandering through the scenes, Arsenio Hall getting beat up by his VCR - very funny.


You're right it is. But, in my defense, there is a movie called "Amazon Women From Mars" it just isn't the one I was talking about... :/:

[braxiss]

i would have to put the toxic advenger films at the top of the list, even though i still get a good laugh everytime i see them.

[Ian_W359]

How about 'Kingdom Of The Spiders' with William Shatner, I guess it's supposed to be a serious film - about a town being overrun by killer spiders - (my tape even has an '18' certificate), but I find it quite amusing.

All the best,
Ian W359
:)

[LucianG]

Bijou88 wrote:

My favorite shlocky Sci-Fi movie is The Green Slime. It features American leading men, an Italian supporting cast and Japanese special effects. The titles says it all. Green slime is discovered on a wandering asteroid. Astronauts bring it back to a space station where it mutates into murderous guys in rubber suits. This is a great flick. It doesn't let niceties like charater motivation and logic get in the way of the action. I can't wait for the special edition DVD!

I can't believe it! When I saw the title of this thread a few moments ago, my first thought was "Green Slime", but Bijou88 has already beat me to it! Fun, bad movie, with the slime feeding on heat to grow into something that looked like it was right out of the AD&D Monster Manual. Of course, it came out years before the MM....

[Bijou88]

I just discovered A fun little flick entitled "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" at the local Hollywood Video. The film was made last year. However, the plot, dialog, acting, SFX, music and "look" of the movie scream Ed Wood 1957. If you love (like I do) cheesy sci-fi from the 50s, TLSOC is required viewing. It was even shot at Bronston Canyon! I found this movie to be much more entertaining than most of the big budget souless schlock that Hollywood often turns loose in the summer. If you want to be entertained for 90 minutes, seek this movie out. You will thank me for it.:alien:

[Sci-Fi]

A fun Sci-Fi poster site for everyone:
http://cinemacom.com/50s-sci-fi-REST.html

[space1999.dk]

Any of the Gor films, with Jack Palance

Jack Palance has made quite a few good "bad" films.
"The Shape Of Things To Come" from 1979 is a great contender to the title of being sooo bad that it is fun to watch. Furter more: Barry Morse (Victor Bergman from "Space: 1999") plays the hero in this film. Not the typical hero type ;)

[koenigrules]

OK Bijou88, you might remember this British bad sci-fi film which The Green Slime modeled itself upon: Island of Terror with Peter Cushing.
Apart from Cushing's brilliant performance, especially when his hand is infected with the cancerous growth & needs to be chopped off by Edward Judd (a pretty effective scene), everything else in the movie really stunk!
The creatures have a turtle, shell-like base that moves about on its own (although you can see the wheels at times), and there is a tentacled appendage which flops around from side to side (though you can see the wires). The sounds the things make are exactly like those used in Green Slime. In fact, at the end of the movie the Japanese are experimenting with a cure for cancer and sure enough, the creatures are reborn- paving the way for yes, The Green Slime, which was made a couple years later.
I love this movie because it's so bad.
KR