Cheaply Made Brilliant Films

 It should be easy to make a great film with a hundred million dollars.  Granted, many moviemakers have proven it's easy to make a terrible film with that kind of investment, but that's neither here nor there.  Isn't it time we showed respect for brilliant films made on a shoestring?

For example, the original Little Shop of Horrors.  No musical numbers, but a wonderfully funny script, a three-day shoot, and you even get a young Jack Nicholson!  To hell with the musical remake.  THIS is the real thing!


A lot less funny, but terrifying and believably real is a 1968 film that slid under most people's radar:  Targets.  Made on a small budget, and starring Boris Karloff basically playing himself as "Byron Orlock."  They had him for two days that he owed the producer from an earlier film.  It's his final film role and one of his best.   It's dark.  Funny?  No.  But it's a film that shows the art of film-making in a fashion few movies do.

And it's got Jack Nicholson again!  Sort of.



So now it's your turn.  Tell us your favorite low-budget films.  If they're a mess, that's even better!


AlextheKay likes 'em obscure, cheap and surprising


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