What “cheesy” movies do you feel are actually very good? I would say feel free to use the term “cheesy” as loosely as you like even if it means bringing up beloved movies and pointing out how cheesy they real are (sort of like Army of Darkness). I’m interested in finding some of those lesser known gems.
I was really thinking of this because of mentioning the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies from the 90s. The first two movies in that set are just gold to me. But there are several movies that I don’t see brought up enough.
Case in point: Psycho-Goreman is one of the best movies I have seen. I don’t even know how I got recommended it. I love the effects, the story, the lore. Everything. The trailer doesn’t do it justice.
Another I finally watched recently was Turbo Kid which is a bit like road warrior meets goonies meets mighty morphin power rangers.
My first thought went to the '90s “Island Of Dr. Moreau.” It got slagged from the moment it was released especially for Brando’s bizarre performance. I would argue that Brando’s performance (as well as Val Kilmer’s) is what I would expect from a doctor monkeying with genetics on an isolated, remote island.
I would not expect him to be as normal as pumpkin pie.
I would argue that The Giant Claw is, for a 50’s BEM movie, well-acted and has a competent, coherent plot. The main reason it’s considered a “bad” movie is because of the dang bird, and yes, the special effects in the movie are, to put it bluntly, a bag of ****. But both leads in the film do an excellent job, and quite frankly the notion of a giant bird from an anti-matter universe is kinda terrifying. If they’d only managed to stick with the original idea of getting Ray Harryhausen to provide the effects…
I’ll stand with you on the Meg hill. I’ve seen it, and in fact just recently watched Meg 2, and they were both great fun. Cerebral mind-benders they are not, and that’s just fine. Sometimes I just need to see some outrageous shark punching.
I agree with The Meg. Meg 2 I’m iffy on; I think it veers a teeny bit too far into the fantastical with some of the monsters, but otherwise it’s decent.
Among MSTed movies, I actually have a fondness for Santa Claus. It’s hella weird, and the Meet The Stereotypes section has more issues than a subscription to a daily newspaper, but it’s a genuinely unique take on Santa, and it’s well-imagined, if daffier than the duck.
Rifftrax has done a good job of choosing movies for their live shows. My top picks are Night of the Living Dead,Carnival of Souls,House of Haunted Hill, and Mothra.
I also like the kid oriented ones that really layer on the cheese like, Jack the Giant Killer,Santa Claus,Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, and Krull.
Having watched it riff-free several times over the past few years, I can’t figure out whether The Corpse Vanishes is just a cheesy movie that I enjoy for its moments of uniqueness combined with my ability to enjoy movies from that era, or whether it’s a well made film hamstrung by its Poverty Row origins and comparisons to similar yet great films like 1934’s The Black Cat.
Im fond of the black and white The Thing. I don’t know if it’s considered bad or just completely overshadowed by better remakes, but there are elements that still hold up - mostly just the fetus-flowers, but man what a cool concept:
My Boyfriend’s Back (1993) is one of those cheesy movies that I really enjoyed and it’s got an amazing supporting crew of actors. The last two lines in this clip are the two that my friends and I quoted all the time back in the day.
