The SyFy Channel, B-movies, TV movies, and obscure movies thread

[gillan1220]

Sept 8, 2020 14:30:21 GMT stevep said:

  I suspect the quality is generally appalling but some of them sound positively hilarious.

As expected from B-movie homages with a budget. Both Evolution and Eight Legged Freaks had Hollywood cast. We see a younger Scarlett Johansson having a phobia of spiders in ELF but eight years later, she would star as Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

Funny enough, Spiders starred a young Lana Parrilla who would later portray The Evil Queen on ABC's Once Upon A Time. Spiders was one of my first B-movies or creature feature, just second to Anaconda.

Sept 8, 2020 14:50:47 GMT lordroel said:

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America Is a movie that is about a virus that kills people, well we live in the movie Fatal Contact: Covid-19, but here Virginia is not under quarantine, still waiting upon a vaccine, no riots in the streets of New York but in other places and they have nothing to do with the virus we currently face.

I got to admit, both Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America and Contagion (2011) became Harsher in Hindsight with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Fatal Contact proved how fast the contagion could spread by just Patient One just casually drinking in an airport bar while in Contagion, a bat saliva from a fruit transmitted to a pig then finally a human.

[gillan1220]

Spiders (2000). This was my first B-movie I watched with my family when I was four years old. I did not know the title because I was still young. I even confused this with Eight Legged Freaks since both the female leads wore nearly the same attire. It would not only be until January 2014 when I accidentally stumbled upon this on YouTube, finally ending the search after 14 years.

For an obvious homage parody to 1950s creature features with conspicuous CGI, this movie featured great animatronics and props. Plus, we get to see a cute Lana Parilla in her early 20s before she became The Evil Queen.

This would be followed by Spiders II: Breeding Ground in 2002 and a spiritual successor called Spiders 3D.

Spiders (2000) Trailer



Spiders - Ofiicial Trailer with Lana Parrilla



Spiders - Good Bad Flicks

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}

External Links:

• Spiders on IMDB
• Spiders on Rotten Tomatoes
• Spiders on TV Tropes

[stevep]

Sept 8, 2020 15:43:57 GMT gillan1220 said:

Sept 8, 2020 14:30:21 GMT stevep said:

  I suspect the quality is generally appalling but some of them sound positively hilarious.

As expected from B-movie homages with a budget. Both Evolution and Eight Legged Freaks had Hollywood cast. We see a younger Scarlett Johansson having a phobia of spiders in ELF but eight years later, she would star as Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

Funny enough, Spiders starred a young Lana Parrilla who would later portray The Evil Queen on ABC's Once Upon A Time. Spiders was one of my first B-movies or creature feature, just second to Anaconda.

Sept 8, 2020 14:50:47 GMT lordroel said:

Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America Is a movie that is about a virus that kills people, well we live in the movie Fatal Contact: Covid-19, but here Virginia is not under quarantine, still waiting upon a vaccine, no riots in the streets of New York but in other places and they have nothing to do with the virus we currently face.

I got to admit, both Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America and Contagion (2011) became Harsher in Hindsight with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Fatal Contact proved how fast the contagion could spread by just Patient One just casually drinking in an airport bar while in Contagion, a bat saliva from a fruit transmitted to a pig then finally a human.

  I must admit when I skimmed through the film descriptions and read the ones for the 'Avengers' ones I noticed the basic idea of characters from fairy stories, especially Snow White, Red Ridding Hood etc I thought of Once Upon A Time, although couldn't remember the name.  Sounds like it might have been at least partly inspired by the film.

  Definitely very easy for a virus to spread in the modern world as its so inter-connected.  Especially if it can do so by contact or by spray from breathing or coughing.  Fortunately the current real life problem is relatively non-lethal compared to what you often get in films.  Still killed a hell of a lot of people but if it had had a 10% or greater kill rate things would have been far worse.

[gillan1220]

Curse of the Komodo (2004)

The Curse of the Komodo (Movie Trailer 2004)





CURSE OF THE KOMODO - Movie Review - Slammarang!



Now this is one of the Direct-to-TV/Direct-to-DVD I saw on Star Movies Southeast Asia (now Fox Movies since June 10, 2017) when I was 9 years old in 2005. It is directed by Jim Wynorski (aka Jay Andrews) who is notorious for his B-movies involving a lot of nudity, gore, and creature features. The film stars some of Wynorski's previous actors such as Melissa Braselle (aka Rocky de Marco) and Paul Logan.

The plot is your typical "military experiment gone wrong" cliche in B-movies. Then it adds a group of casino robbers that so happens to land in the island where the military was experimenting on these komodo dragons. Also involves a lot of plot holes, fan service, nudity, and an unexplained zombie side plot that still confuses viewers to this day. Despite the title, there is no supernatural curse. The film notably uses several stock footages from several films and documentaries, which is common for Wynorski's films.

Overall the film is enjoyable if you just wanna laugh at the bad acting, cheap special effects, and huge plot holes. To this day, I am still in enraged why they killed off the sexy blonde in the film.

It would be followed by Komodo vs. Cobra in 2005, which is basically a soft-reboot or spiritual successor of this film considering it used the same story, filmed at the same location, and three cast members return to portray different characters.

P.S. By 2014-16, I managed to follow both Paul Logan and Rocky de Marco on Instagram where they post throwback photos of their time on set. Rocky mentioned the reason why her character was killed in the film is because she could not stand a fellow actress who was sleeping with the director.

External Links:

• Curse of the Komodo on Wikipedia
• Curse of the Komodo on IMDB
• Curse of the Komodo on Rotten Tomatoes
• Curse of the Komodo on TV Tropes
• Paul Logan on Instagram
• Rocky De Marco on Instagram

[gillan1220]

Part 1 of my 9/11 19th anniversary post special

DC 9/11: Time of Crisis (2003)



This is two-hour long TV movie which reenacts how the George W. Bush administration responded to the attacks on that day and the days that followed suit. Just like United 93 which was released in 2006, this film delivered the sense of authenticity with the perspective from the cabinet members.

The film also stars George Takei as Norman Mineta, Secretary of Transportation under Bush.

I first saw this film in October 2019 when I was in Ilo-Ilo City during a microbiology convention while having a long break. I must say the film is great and is a masterpiece. The film received mixed reviews, some praising George W. Bush's steadfast leadership on that fateful day with some others like Michael Moore criticizing it as blatant propaganda that puts viewers to sympathize on Bush. Whatever one's political views are, I suggest you watch to see how the cabinet handled the crisis in the immediate days following the attacks.

DC 9/11: Time of Crisis would be followed by The Path to 9/11 Mini-Series.

External Links:

• DC 9/11: Time of Crisis on Wikipedia
• DC 9/11: Time of Crisis on IMDB
• TV Tropes page for this coming soon

[gillan1220]

Part 2 of my 9/11 19th anniversary post special

Flight 93 (2006)

Flight 93 - Trailer [2006]





Flight 93 vs United 93



Flight 93 is a TV-movie that chronicles the events of United Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. It was released on the A&E Network on January 30, 2006. The same year also saw the released of the big-screen production United 93 on that April. Hence Flight 93 and United 93 is considered to be dueling movies. A comparison (see above) has been made, with viewers stating that United 93 managed to capture the tension and realism considering it ran on real time while Flight 93 mainly focused on the families.

Regardless, both sides of the spectrum agree that whatever opinions they may hold in which film is better, it does not matter since it honors the lives of those lost on board especially when they fought back against the hijackers and prevented it from crashing into Washington, D.C.

See also:

• Flight 93: The Flight That Fought Back on IMDB, a docudrama that aired a year before Flight 93 and United 93.

External Links:

• Flight 93 on Wikipedia
• Flight 93 on IMDB

[gillan1220]

Part 3 of my 9/11 19th anniversary post special

The 9/11 Commission Report (2006)

The 9/11 Commission Report - Movie Trailer (2006)



Released by The Asylum, a company known for making B-movies and mockbusters during major releases, this was meant to be the mockbuster to World Trade Center. I have seen portions of this when I was kid, though I could not recall what channel it showed. All I can say is that this is better than Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 conspiracy theory documentary.

[gillan1220]

Komodo vs. Cobra (2005)

Trailer:



Full movie:





This is the spiritual successor or soft reboot of Curse of the Komodo (2004) directed by Jim Wynorski. It utilizes the same plot of a military experiment designed to end world hunger by genetically-modifying crops to be bigger to give more calorie content dubbed as Project Carnivore. However, the higher ups of the Department of Defense wanted the same experiment to be used on cobras and komodos as part of the U.S. military's zoological warfare program. Of course, as per B-movie plot, the experiment goes wrong and the animals go on the wild, devouring scientists and military personnel alike. Then we get the animal rights activists about to illegally enter the island to protest about the cruelty of using animals as living weapons.

The film stars a young Michelle Borth before she potrayed Lt. Katherine Rollins in Hawaii Five-O (2010). Paul Logan, Ted Monte, and Glory-Anne Gilbert reappear in this movie portraying as different characters. As per Jim Wynorski's works, the film utilizes stock footage and conspicuous CGI.

I saw this back then in July 2007 when I was still Grade 5 at 11 years old in the Star Movies Southeast Asia channel. Apparently, this movie often reruns in TV5 from 2015-17 where the dialogue is dubbed in Filipino/Tagalog.

External Links:

• Komodo vs. Cobra on Wikipedia
• Komodo vs. Cobra on IMDB
• Komodo vs. Cobra on Rotten Tomatoes
• Komodo vs. Cobra on TV Tropes

[lordroel]

Nice gillan1220.

[gillan1220]

Sept 13, 2020 15:36:12 GMT lordroel said:

Nice gillan1220 .

Feel free to post any B-movie, TV movie, Direct-to-DVD, or obscure film. I'm curious of what you think of these films.

[gillan1220]

The Carnosaur film series, directed by Roger Corman aka the master of B-movies. The Carnoaur film series are meant to be mockbusters almost every time Universal would release a Jurassic Park film. These films are known for its bad special effects (surprisingly not CGI), reusing of stock footages, wrong military equipment, no scientific research, and obvious backdrops.

Films of the series include the following:

• Carnosaur (1993) - an obvious mockbuster to Jurassic Park
• Carnosaur 2 (1995)
• Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (1996)
• Raptor (2001) - mockbuster to Jurassic Park III, directed by Jim Wynorski. This is one has been criticized by fans as 75% of the movie utilizes stock footage from Carnosaur 3: Primal Species!
• The Eden Formula (2006)

CARNOSAUR (1993) Official Trailer

Carnosaur II Trailer



CARNOSAUR III: PRIMAL SPECIES (1996) Official Trailer



RAPTOR (2001) Official Red Band Trailer



The Eden Formula



I do remember sometime in the summer of 2002 when a video-rental store opened near our house, my dad and I went to to look for DVD's to watch over the weekend. I wanted to rent out Eight Legged Freaks, Spiders, and Arachnophobia but unfortunately it was rented by another customer so we just rented the Carnosaur film series. We watched it over the weekend and noted how bad it was that we kept on laughing so hard. My conclusion is that this is what happened when one combines Jurassic Park with the Alien franchise. This makes me wonder if Capcom got inspired from Carnosaur for their survival horror game franchise known as Dino Crisis (Basically described as Resident Evil with dinosaurs or Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park).

For those who want to watch these films, all of it is available on YouTube.

[lordroel]

Sept 14, 2020 7:12:49 GMT gillan1220 said:

The Carnosaur film series, directed by Roger Corman aka the master of B-movies. The Carnoaur film series are meant to be mockbusters almost every time Universal would release a Jurassic Park film. These films are known for its bad special effects (surprisingly not CGI), reusing of stock footages, wrong military equipment, no scientific research, and obvious backdrops.

Films of the series include the following:

• Carnosaur (1993) - an obvious mockbuster to Jurassic Park
• Carnosaur 2 (1995)
• Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (1996)
• Raptor (2001) - mockbuster to Jurassic Park III, directed by Jim Wynorski. This is one has been criticized by fans as 75% of the movie utilizes stock footage from Carnosaur 3: Primal Species!
• The Eden Formula (2006)

CARNOSAUR (1993) Official Trailer

Carnosaur II Trailer



CARNOSAUR III: PRIMAL SPECIES (1996) Official Trailer



RAPTOR (2001) Official Red Band Trailer



The Eden Formula



I do remember sometime in the summer of 2002 when a video-rental store opened near our house, my dad and I went to to look for DVD's to watch over the weekend. I wanted to rent out Eight Legged Freaks, Spiders, and Arachnophobia but unfortunately it was rented by another customer so we just rented the Carnosaur film series. We watched it over the weekend and noted how bad it was that we kept on laughing so hard. My conclusion is that this is what happened when one combines Jurassic Park with the Alien franchise. This makes me wonder if Capcom got inspired from Carnosaur for their survival horror game franchise known as Dino Crisis (Basically described as Resident Evil with dinosaurs or Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park).

For those who want to watch these films, all of it is available on YouTube.

I wonder how they can make money from these movies who are so bad that renting them is in some case lost of time what a person could have spend on something useful.

[gillan1220]

Sept 14, 2020 7:21:58 GMT lordroel said:

Sept 14, 2020 7:12:49 GMT gillan1220 said:

The Carnosaur film series, directed by Roger Corman aka the master of B-movies. The Carnoaur film series are meant to be mockbusters almost every time Universal would release a Jurassic Park film. These films are known for its bad special effects (surprisingly not CGI), reusing of stock footages, wrong military equipment, no scientific research, and obvious backdrops.

Films of the series include the following:

• Carnosaur (1993) - an obvious mockbuster to Jurassic Park
• Carnosaur 2 (1995)
• Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (1996)
• Raptor (2001) - mockbuster to Jurassic Park III, directed by Jim Wynorski. This is one has been criticized by fans as 75% of the movie utilizes stock footage from Carnosaur 3: Primal Species!
• The Eden Formula (2006)

CARNOSAUR (1993) Official Trailer

Carnosaur II Trailer



CARNOSAUR III: PRIMAL SPECIES (1996) Official Trailer



RAPTOR (2001) Official Red Band Trailer



The Eden Formula



I do remember sometime in the summer of 2002 when a video-rental store opened near our house, my dad and I went to to look for DVD's to watch over the weekend. I wanted to rent out Eight Legged Freaks, Spiders, and Arachnophobia but unfortunately it was rented by another customer so we just rented the Carnosaur film series. We watched it over the weekend and noted how bad it was that we kept on laughing so hard. My conclusion is that this is what happened when one combines Jurassic Park with the Alien franchise. This makes me wonder if Capcom got inspired from Carnosaur for their survival horror game franchise known as Dino Crisis (Basically described as Resident Evil with dinosaurs or Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park).

For those who want to watch these films, all of it is available on YouTube.

I wonder how they can make money from these movies who are so bad that renting them is in some case lost of time what a person could have spend on something useful.

I have a feeling Corman makes these movies for the fun of it rather than to earn it. Despite the "horror" label, the bad acting and special effects make it into a comedy instead. in the If I did read that the first Carnosaur was released into cinemas a month before Jurassic Park so no doubt countless viewers were duped but the rest were either direct-to-DVD or direct-to-TV. According to Wikipedia, the first Carnosaur had a buddget of $850,000 and earned $1.8 million at the box office.

[gillan1220]

Dinocroc (2004)

Dinocroc Trailer



Full movie:



Another one directed by Kevin O' Neill and produced by Roger Corman. I saw this with my parents from a beach resort's TV back then in the Summer of 2004 or 2005. It traumatized me as a kid because the titular monster actually eats a kid and decapitates him! So much for Infant Immortality. It is the typical B-movie which good to laugh at. 

The Dinocroc would eventually return in Dinocroc vs Supergator (2010). Also, the kid in the film, Jake Thomas, would later star in Disney's comedy sitcom Cory in the House by 2007-2008.

External Links:

• Dinocroc on Wikipedia
• Dinocroc on IMDB

[lordroel]

Sept 17, 2020 3:04:50 GMT gillan1220 said:

Dinocroc (2004)

Dinocroc Trailer



Full movie:



Another one directed by Kevin O' Neill and produced by Roger Corman. I saw this with my parents from a beach resort's TV back then in the Summer of 2004 or 2005. It traumatized me as a kid because the titular monster actually eats a kid and decapitates him! So much for Infant Immortality. It is the typical B-movie which good to laugh at. 

The Dinocroc would eventually return in Dinocroc vs Supergator (2010). Also, the kid in the film, Jake Thomas, would later star in Disney's comedy sitcom Cory in the House by 2007-2008.

External Links:

• Dinocroc on Wikipedia
• Dinocroc on IMDB

SyFy Channel does make goon bars for it movies, you have have to give them credit for that.