B Movie Nation

Foundational Cinema

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Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)

It’s hard to believe 1973’s “Invasion of the Bee Girls,” also known as “Graveyard Tramps” (Yeah, that’s a good title – rolling my eyes), was written by Nicholas Meyer, who went on to direct significant films like “Star Trek II,”…

The Swinging Barmaids (1975)

A psycho killer is stalking the waitresses of the “Swing-a-Ling Club”. While his identity is no mystery to the viewers, the dense characters and the police are a different story. So will the killer run out of the stuck-up and…

How To Save The Movies; A Lesson Courtesy of The Micro-brew Revolution

“Don’t be too proud of this technological terror you’ve constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” -Darth Vader The statement that bigger is better and that technology motivates audiences, are the…

Combat Shock (1984)

“Combat Shock’ differs from most Troma releases it that it is not “intentionally” cheap and idiotic (a la “A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell” to name but one, of many). Filmed amidst the squalor of inner city slums, and admittedly…

The Candy Snatchers (1973)

An innocent Catholic schoolgirl named Candy (played by Susan Sennett of BIG BAD MAMA fame), daughter of a jewelry store manager, is kidnapped by a trio of small time criminals who plan on handing her back over to her family…

Please Murder Me (1956)

It’s a pity this little (apparently independent?) film noir has not merited a decent restoration and DVD reissue (no one apparently bothered to renew the copyright so scratchy prints were out for a while in 1995 on VHS on “Nostalgia…

Loophole (1954)

If Loophole had starred a well known actor like Robert Mitchum this film would be better known. But Barry Sullivan good actor that he was never made it to the top tier. As it is it does have Dorothy Malone…

Highway Dragnet (1954)

Richard Conte is Jim Henry, just released from the USMC, decorated several times, so we know he’s a good guy. He stops for a drink in a Las Vegas bar while hitch-hiking to meet a friend in California. He politely…

Race for Life (1954)

Taking advantage of arrangements favoured by the UK’s Eady levy (a state film subsidy established after the war) in 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent…

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

Shortly after Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) discovers a strange plant in her San Francisco-area yard that she cannot identify, her boyfriend begins acting strangely–he looks the same, but Elizabeth swears he’s a different person. Before long, more and more people…

The Get-Man (1974)

I was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and overall flow of this enjoyable blaxploitation flick by William Girdler. For the sake of argument, I would compare it to Marks’ Detroit 9000 – though, lacking in budget (well…) and complexity, it…

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

I finally caught up with Jack Arnold’s most highly-regarded piece of science fiction, and I have to say that I agree it’s his most accomplished work. True, the plot isn’t terribly original (how about THE DEVIL-DOLL [1936], which I watched…

Tarantula (1955)

As someone who’ll kill a common house spider on sight, and as a resident of one of the the cooler regions of the United States, I try to watch the fifties sci-fi movie Tarantula whenever it’s on. Maybe I do…

B Movie News

Them! (1954)

THEM! is possibly the finest science-fiction movie of the 1950s along with Don Siegel’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956). It’s interesting that THEM! came from one of the major studios because one of the reasons why it is so…

Tentacles (1977)

When people start disappearing in a small seaside resort town, Ned Turner (John Huston), a newspaper reporter, becomes suspicious that is has something to do with an underwater construction project being conducted by Trojan, a company run by Mr. Whitehead…

City on Fire (1979)

Not the lemon it’s often branded, “City on Fire” is an entertaining Canadian disaster movie with a capable cast, some good sets and special effects, and better than average dialogue. Two separate fires converge to create an inferno of biblical…

Shalako (1968)

Given its director (Edward Dmytryk) and its cast (Sean Connery and Brigitte Bardot) it is rather odd that ‘Shalako” (1969) is such an obscure film and that so many of the comments/reviews are totally negative. “Spaghetti” westerns (filmed in Italy…

B Movie News

Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast (2011)

A prehistoric shark of local legend begins eating the locals in a quiet wintry small town. Mike Evans (essayed with hammy brio by writer/director Sam Qualinana), the sole survivor of a past snow shark attack, leads an angry and armed…

Rise of the Dinosaurs (2013)

When their mission to capture a renegade general and a kidnapped scientist goes awry, a team of soldiers learn they’ve stumbled onto an ancient valley filled with live dinosaurs and must try to get away before they all fall victim…

Sand Sharks (2011)

Like others pointed out before me, complaining about goofy CGI or story lines in a movie called ” Sand Sharks” is useless. The basic fact that these kind of movies have these treats for us makes them fun to watch…