Piccadilly

I saw one called Virgin Witch or something like that. It starred a young Yvette (from Allo Allo) and her sister and it was pretty dire.

hammerhouseofhorror

Oh I have to disagree. I love the Phibes films.

dogstar

Yep I love the Phibes films too. Probably just about anything directed by Norman J Warren would qualify for inclusion in any 'worst' list ( Prey was especially awful, even by his standards ). I would also like to introduce an international category - 'bad films with great titles' for which I would nominate 'Werewolves on Wheels' - bikers get transformed by Satanism into Hells Angel werewolves. Nowhere near as good as it sounds - complete shite in fact - but what a title!

Deanodrome

I loved 'Inseminoid' when I first saw it years ago. I reckon the worst horror film I've seen is 'Psychomania' (1971), but then again, I have on tape and still always watch it when it comes on BBC1. So bad, it's good I suppose.

dogstar

Isn't Psychomania another 'bikers revived from the dead by satanic means' movie? Would make excellent double bill with Werewolves on Wheels!

Deanodrome

While I'm here, I'd just like to add my support of the 'Dr.Phibes' films.
Classics !!!!

Deanodrome

Yep, the bikers had to kill themselves, to then become The Living Dead'.

I haven't seen 'Werewolves on Wheels', but it sounds wonderful !!!!

Foster twelvetrees

CREEP - unadulterated crap from start to finish. Fails to use the underground setting to create fear and tension and presents an unsympathetic female lead. Truly the nadir of British Horror.

Santonix

My vote goes to Creep as well. One of the worst horror films ever.

Carmel

No i can top that bought Reeker for £5 in my local supermarket sorry i wasted the fiver what a lot of rubbish, it will be going to my local charity shop.

Windthrop

Agree with you on 'Bees' but on Amicus I think some of the stories were quite strong - trouble was each movie would manage about two good stories and the rest were just fillers.

I think 'Crucible of Terror' and Vernon Sewell's 'The Curse of the Crimson Altar' are absolute stinkers.

TheLatePeterCook2

I Don't Want To Be Born has to be the worst one I've seen. Full of dwarves, oddly-accented Nuns and Joan Collins.

dogstar

Thelatepetercook has rather neatly summed up the problem/paradox with bad films - the sentence ' full of dwarves, oddly-accented nuns and Joan Collins' immediately makes me think 'wow I must see it!' even though it is sure to be appalling. The superficial appeal of kitsch and over-the-top sensationalism is extremely strong but seldom rewards our initial enthusiasm, at least in my experience. Occasionally a film can pull it off - Theatre of Blood and the Phibes Movies were deliberately camp and over-the-top but succeeded by being intelligent and well-made ( others I know disagree about the Phibes films ). Excess can sometimes work too - I have always been fond of Zombie Flesh Eaters, admittedly a film which was never likely to engage the attentions of the Oscar panel but which has a certain gusto and humour ( whether intentional or not I can never quite decide ). I see to remember making a mental note to see it after reading about one scene where a shark and a zombie fight under water and try to eat each other. So when does a 'bad' film become 'so bad its good?' . And indeed can the reverse apply? Actually I've only been up half an hour so I'm not sure my brain is up to the last bit. Answers on a postcard please :-)

D Cairns

Any film as demented as PSYCHOMANIA is going to be pretty watchable, so I'm not sure it can qualify as that bad. VIRGIN WITCH is incredibly dull, despite attractive locations and a decent cast, so I'd unhesitatingly put it somewhere in my bottom ten. With CREEP it's sort of amazing that the script went through a development process -- there's no explanation for the monster, really, and some of the early action, before the "horror" starts, is so unlikely I thought it must be a dream sequence. But the action unfolded with enough suspense that it kept me watching, I only felt cheated afterwards.
THE MUTATIONS is really bad, offensive as well as generally crappy. Again, good cast and photography so there's no excuse.

ChristineCB

Dog, good points. I loved seeing THE DEADLY BEES - it's heavily costumed, garishly lit, obviously indoor soundstages for many of the outdoor scenes. Poor music imitating that year's popular stuff.

But good? No. Not one bit. I think these Amicus Hammer films set goals to achieve and aimed for them, and "good films" may never have occurred to them.

You hit it right - most of these fail to meet our enthusiasm, and then I have to wonder what WERE they aiming for? Once I adjust my sights low enough, then I can enjoy them. I may not be able to sit thru them a second time-!