The Top 10 Essential B-Movies #2: Escape from New York, Death Wish 3, More
Posted by Chad Webb on 07.17.2006
The number 2 picks, and some thoughts on current B-Movies.
The B-Movie Tidbit
2006 has already seen one B-movie in Slither starring Nathan Fillon and Eizabeth Banks. While it was released in theaters everywhere, it stayed very true to B-movie roots. I was close putting it on my top ten list, but I felt it was just a bit too new. Later this month, Samuel L. Jackson will be starring in the film Snakes on a Plane which is quite obviously a film that sounds and even looks (by the trailer) like B-movie. I, for one, am looking forward to it. It seems like it will be a lot of fun.
2. They Live
Starring: Roddy Piper, Meg Foster, and Keith David
Directed By: John Carpenter
1988
Matthew Craggs They Live, the Rowdy Roddy Piper vehicle, hits on all the right notes. On one level it is a scathing commentary on the distribution of wealth in the United States. On another level it is as hilarious as you would expect a film starring Piper would be. Everyone remembers the never ending fight scene where Piper wants his sidekick to try on the sunglasses that will open his eyes to the horrible alien conspiracy. On yet another level it is entirely campy, and on another, it is entirely quotable. What line of dialogue embodies B movies more than "It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all out of bubble gum?" On top of these qualities, the story is intriguing and the performances are just self aware enough.
2. Death Wish 3
Starring: Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, and Ed Lauter
Directed By: Michael Winner
1985
Bryan Kristopowitz
Big Chuck Bronson is back in New York City, this time running around the projects with a .30 caliber Browning machine gun and a .454 Wildy magnum, blowing away freak bag gang members lead by the guy that stole the NATO missiles for SPECTRE in the unofficial Bond flick "Never Say Never Again," Gavin O'Herlihy. Chuck is mad because the thugs killed his old Korean War pal Charley and the police arrested him for it. Ed Lauter, in yet another great authoritarian scumbag role as the police captain Shriker, recognizes that Chuck's Paul Kersey is the old Vigilante, the street avenger from 1974 (the first "Death Wish" movie) and 1981 ("Death Wish 2") out in Los Angeles. As we remember from the first flick, Kersey was told that as long as he didn't return to New York the police would let him go and not charge him for several counts of murder. Shriker uses this fact to his advantage, offering Kersey a chance to stay out of jail as long as he hangs around the crime ridden projects and does what he does best. Kill bad guys. This is the best of the four sequels, easily the most entertaining. Great, over the top action, some great one liners, and some absolutely hysterical bad stuntmen (watch the man on fire gag at the end). The movie also dutifully keeps the righteous yet eternally sad tone of the other flicks, that no matter how many awful bad guys Paul Kersey destroys, damn near everyone close to him is going to suffer anyway (think about how the movie begins and ends. Kersey comes to town alone, and he leaves alone). And, oh yeah, don't forget Martin Balsam playing the same Jewish guy he played in "The Delta Force." The music is pretty dang cool, too.
2. Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, and Dan Hicks
Directed By: Sam Raimi
1987
Ben Moser
Sam Raimi is brilliant. This movie is proof. Essentially a remake more than a sequel, Evil Dead 2 tries to provide many of the same amazing frights of the original, but does it with a wickedly dark sense of humor. The result is a comedy-horror hybrid that's so great and so legendary that even you have seen this before. Yes, you. You've seen it. You love it. Right now, you're probably a little angry that I don't have this at #1 on my list, aren't you? I digress. Bruce Campbell, essentially the star of a one-man show for half of this movie, is absolutely perfect in his transformation from Evil Dead's wussy Ashley to the self-assured hero of Evil Dead 2, Ash. For maximum Raimi-themed fun, watch this movie and then immediately watch the scene in Spider-Man 2 where Doctor Octopus wakes up in the hospital.
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street / Friday the 13th
Starring: Robert Englund, Johnny Depp, and John Saxon
Written/Directed By: Wes Craven
1984
Starring: Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, and Kevin Bacon
Directed By: Sean S. Cunningham
1980
Ryan Latimer
Some may be offended by the inclusion of the top two horror classics in a 'B' Movies list, but it isn't meant to be an insult. The original "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street" may not in fact be A list fares (admit it), but that doesn't change the fact that they went on to become something far greater in the grand scheme of things, grossing hundreds of millions of dollars in the US alone with an over two decades-long run, not to mention cementing themselves as apart of pop culture with its star characters. If being a B movie can potentially mean this, the label may not be so bad afterall.
2. The Evil Dead
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, and Richard Demanicor
Directed By: Sam Raimi
1981
Leonard Hayhurst
The second film has grown in reputation to surpass the first and Army of Darkness has a tremendous cult following. However, this first film spoke to the untapped potential of director Sam Raimi and set Bruce Campbell on his course of being the king of B-movie actors. Everything is amateurish and that's part of the charm. You're surprised the film is as good as it is, not to say that it's very good at all. It inspired a slew of imitators and was the catalyst of the huge B-movie boom in horror throughout the eighties.
2. Escape From New York
Starring: Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine, and Isaac Hayes
Directed By: John Carpenter
1981
Chad Webb
It was a hard decision on whether or not to place Escape from New York or Escape from L.A> on this list, but I chose the first because it was the first. I probably watch L.A. a bit more, but I enjoy both films equally. Kurt Russell is unbelievable as Snake Plissken. He has that awesome tattoo on his stomach, a bad attitude, and a sarcastic sense of humor that transform him into one mean dude. In 1998, Manhattan is a maximum security prison where the worst criminals are kept. After the President's plane crashes inside the city, he is held hostage. Snake Plissken is the criminal who is offered his freedom if he rescues the president. The cast of characters here are quite quirky and unusual. We have Isaac Hayes as the evil Duke of New York, Donald Pleasance as the President, and Ernest Borgnine as Cabbie. However these weird assortments are what cause this to stand out. The direction and script by John Carpenter makes this hypnotizing. The streets are dark and mysterious, the action is precise and fulfilling, and the plot is unpredictable and exhilarating. It was neat watching someone's bizarre vision of what the "future" could hold. Certain cities cut off as prisons, or overwhelmed by gangs. It was just so absorbing. I am glad that Escape from Earth was cancelled, but that does not eliminate my curiosity of what it would have looked like. These two films are definitely not for all movie lovers, but they are worth a shot without a doubt.
Honorable Mention
Escape From L.A.
Starring: Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, and A.J. Langer
Directed By: John Carpenter
1996
The number 2 picks look to be packed with Sam Raimi and John Carpenter, and for good reason I might add. Only 1 to go!
