These So-Bad-They’re-Good Horror Movies Deserve an Oscar for Effort

I’ve been on a bit of a binge this week. Not of anything classy or award-winning - or impactful to the buzz or brainwaves - but something truly awful in that straight-to-VHS, “who funded this?” level of B-movie horror flicks that are so bad, they're good!

I’ll be honest with you, I can’t stop watching them.

The Charm of Cinematic Disaster

You know the movies I'm talking about. The monster looks like it was made out of dryer lint and a glue gun, or every time they cut to the antagonist, it's the exact same four-second clip of the ancient first-generation CGI shark floating across a field of blue... The plots never make any sense, but that’s just part of the charm.

While I grew up on classics like Killer Klowns and Army of Darkness, the new-age cinematic train wrecks are bordering on being actually good. They’re creative in a way all of the new modern million-dollar CGI horror flicks aren't... But they're also evolved pretty far beyond some random artsy guy making a movie with $200 and a fog machine. We're living in the B-movie horror Renaissance.

So Bad It’s Brilliant

Movies like “Attack of the Killer Refrigerator,” “Blood Hook,” or “Night of the Lepus” — yes, that’s the one with the killer rabbits — remind us that horror doesn’t always have to be perfect. Watching a train wreck is most of the fun, and if the flick happens to be good, it's just a bonus.

Is the acting bad? Of course. There have been movies we could have sworn were about to border into adult entertainment, but it was only because it was that bad. The Sharkansas Women's Prison Massacre was one of those, but it actually redeemed itself with the silly plot. Other movies didn't get the eventual nod, but instead a "Thank God that's over..." by the time we were done, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Bottom of the Barrel — and Beyond

Worth noting, Shark Exorcist may be the absolute bottom of the barrel for me... But we watched it from beginning to end. Monsturd wasn't any better. 

So if you, like us, are burned out on big-budget Hollywood reboots and polished CGI ghosts, hop into this hot mess of epic, horrible Halloween movies and enjoy the magic of a real mess.

Here's a quick list of some of the best B-movies to pop out in the last few years. Enjoy.