A B-Movie is a low-budget genre film that was very common in the Golden Age Of Hollywood when they, in a double feature, would follow the A-Movie, which featured A-list stars and a much higher budget. Typically, B-Movies tend to be Sci-Fi and horror films, hoping to make money on a popular genre but made for as little money as possible in order to maximize profit.
The 1990s were a great time for Sci-Fi movies with huge films such as Jurassic Park and Independence Day being released. However, for every great 90s sci-fi movie, there was an underrated lesser-known film that may have had big ideas, a dedicated filmmaker, but didn't quite have the budget, or were just so bad that they were good.
The Night Flier (1997)
Made for $ 1 million, The Night Flier adapts a short story by horror master Stephen King and concerns reporters investigating murders taking place on airfields. The reporters eventually realize the murders are being committed by a vampire posing as an airline pilot.
Released first on HBO then theatrically where it bombed, The Night Flier was initially considered a weak adaptation of King's story. However, despite mostly wooden acting, fans have enjoyed Miguel Ferrer's performance as well as for creating a creepy mood, atmosphere, and decent special effects for such a small budget project like this.
Space Truckers (1996)
Director Stuart Gordon has created some renowned cult classics like Re-Animator and From Beyond, and Space Truckers deserves that same distinction. Dennis Hopper plays a space trucker who agrees to transport a shipment to Earth. Unfortunately, the cargo turns out to be killer robots that begin to attack the crew.
Co-starring Stephen Dorff, Space Truckers premiered on HBO after it couldn't acquire a theatrical distributor, where it received poor reviews. However, fans and audiences appreciated its silly cheesiness when it comes to the dialogue and the special effects, which seem to be on purpose. The creators clearly had fun making it, which might help the audiences have fun too, despite its obvious shortcomings.
Circuitry Man (1990)
Based on a short film the director made in film school, Circuitry Man takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where pollution has driven humans underground and a woman tries to smuggle pleasure-giving computer chips to New York while being pursued by a cyborg named Plughead (Vernon Wells).
Circuitry Man overcomes its low-budget with an ambitious premise and a distinctive look that's severely lacking in the low-budget Sci-Fi movies of today. Also, 80s action movie stable Vernon Wells gives an over-the-top performance that elevates the material.
Abraxas, Guardian Of The Universe (1991)
Released theatrically only in Canada, Abraxas stars former Wrestler/Governor Jesse Ventura as an intergalactic police officer who travels to Earth in order to track down his partner who has come to impregnate a woman.
As a B-movie, Abraxas falls into the so-bad-its-good category because, while the dialogue and scenes can be awkward, the special effects work done on such a modest budget is admirable and Jesse Ventura, as proven in such films as Predator, has a great movie star presence and is a very watchable actor.
The Rift
The Rift joins a swath of underwater monster movies that dominated the late 1980s like The Abyss, Leviathan, and DeepStar Six. Unfortunately, in terms of budget, The Rift was made for a fraction of what those films cost.
In the film, a submarine attempts to track down another missing submarine, and in doing so, find seaweed that is producing mutant creatures. What The Rift lacks in special effects, it makes up for in action, and any movie where always-entertaining R. Lee Ermey is the lead can't be all bad.
Carnosaur (1993)
Produced by B-movie master Roger Corman, Carnosaur was produced to cash in on sure-to-be-a- hit Jurassic Park's marketing campaign and even features Laura Dern's mother Diane Ladd as the lead. In the film, a scientist plans to wipe out humanity with a virus and replace them with dinosaurs. Compared to Jurassic Park's $63 million budget, Carnosaur was made for only $850,000 and used puppets and animatronics that were considered laughably bad compared to the former.
Released briefly theatrically but mainly found on video store shelves, Carnosaur fans have looked past its shortcomings and have praised it for having a clever script despite its poor production value. Nowadays, movies with similar premises to big blockbusters usually pop up to coincide with the latter's release, which have come to be known as "mockbusters."
Spaced Invaders (1990)
For a B-movie, Spaced Invaders has a very inspired and clever premise. The film is based on the panic caused by Orson Welles' 1938 War Of The Worlds broadcast that made New Jersey citizens believe they were actually under attack by Martians.
Taking place in present-day 1990, the infamous radio play is rebroadcast, which real Martians mistake for a distress signal, so they come to Earth thinking their fellow Martians are waging war. What follows on Earth are silly shenanigans between the aliens (including one doing a Jack Nicholson impression) and the humans. Released to poor reviews, Spaced Invaders recouped its meager $3 million budget and has grown a cult following because of the many adults who grew up with it.
Nemesis (1992)
In the 1980s and 90s, director Albert Pyun made a lot of low-budget sci-fi movies that went straight to video, including the original Captain America movie. In order to even make Nemesis, Puyn had to agree to cast a french kickboxer named Oliver Gruner as the lead.
In Nemesis, a cyborg bounty hunter tries to stop a plan to replace world leaders with robots. Over the years fans have enjoyed its ideas, cyberpunk visual aesthetic, and decent special effects for such a low-budget movie.
Class Of 1999 (1990)
Class Of 1999 is a quasi-sequel to director Mark L. Lester's Class of 1984, which was about school gangs. The follow-up takes place in the not-so-distant future of 1999 where school gangs are rampant so robot teachers are brought in to get things under control. However, like in Westworld, this backfires and the school becomes a battle zone between robot teachers and students.
Over the years, Class Of 1999 has gained a cult following for its clever special effects and action scenes, which include a bus driving into a school and the destruction of an abandoned neighborhood the production found. Starring Malcolm McDowell, Stacey Keach, and Pam Grier, Class Of 1999 is a low-budget Sci-Fi film with big, fun ideas.
Hardware (1999)
Made for $1.5 million, Hardware takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a scavenger (Dylan McDermott) buys a robot head for his girlfriend for Christmas so she can use it in one of her sculptures, however, the head comes alive and attempts to rebuild itself.
Unlike most low-budget B-movies where audiences can sense the film's lack of funds, Hardware looks like it was made for much for more than $1.5 million. Director Richard Stanley depicts a beautifully dark and dirty dystopian world with depth and symbolism. After his ill-fated attempt at directing the Island Of Dr. Moreau remake, he returned to film in 2019 after a twenty-year absence with Color Out Of Space starring Nicholas Cage. However, Hardware is fondly remembered and has become a cult classic.