After Shock (aka Quake) (1993) During the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, Roger Corman sent a crew to get through security and grab footage. Though the story of demented neighbor Steve Railsback terrorizing neighbor Erika Anderson was an afterthought, it's quite an effective little thriller.
Angels, Hard As They Come (1972) Though it features shots of bike riding interspersed with sex, drugs and bouts of violence, there's a surprising amount of talk and a debate on how bikers and hippies have been tainted. Jonathan Demme's credits are not a seal of quality.
The Arena (1973) Sharp tale of ancient Rome, with Pam Grier and Margaret Markov as female gladiators leading the rebellion and fighting a way to freedom. Persuasive production values, visceral action sequences and fluid widescreen visuals aided by an effective score.
Atlas (1961) Far more entertaining than the final film is the background behind Roger Corman's adventure in Greece to realize a sword and sandals epic. Budget gone, extras minimal, script thrown out. The miracle is an almost cohesive story in colorful locations.
Attack Of The 50 Foot Cheerleader (2011) An eclectic supporting cast could have provided more laughs, but the script barely rises above the juvenile and never delivers on its potential, apart from the expected gratuitous nudity. Only sporadic amusement survives.
Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957) Cheerfully brief and cheap (though $70,000 was an increased budget for Roger Corman at the time), as radiation contaminated crustaceans turn into giant killers with human voices. Unpretentious fun and action-packed, the title ensured success.
Avalanche (1978) Roger Corman comes late to the disaster genre but adds nothing fresh as a motley bunch gather for a Colorado ski resort opening, melodramas interrupted by the titular event. Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow are lost amid poor VFX, though end sequence build suspense.
The Barbarian Queen (1985) Luridly misogynistic or feminist empowerment, the argument of perspective is more interesting than the film itself. Lana Clarkson seeks revenge and to rescue her sister, a journey punctuated by bouts of violence but little humor or involvement.
Battle Beyond The Sun (1959) A Russian epic focusing on cooperation between the US and USSR in the space race is recalibrated to revise propaganda and splice in monsters. The new material from Francis Ford Coppola and Jack Hill collides with striking, original visual effects and design.
Battle Beyond The Stars (1980) Fondly remembered, fun production values and VFX, a rousing James Horner score and quirky characters counter the static direction. The John Sayles scripts opts for a Magnificent Seven riff, while obviously trading on Star Wars popularity.
Battle Of Blood Island (1960) After a clumsily shot (and tacked on) opening beach massacre, an involving if minor survival tale on a remote island during World War II as two US navy survivors fight nature and enemy. Joel Rapp directs a blunt Philip Roth short story with a surprise ending.
Battletruck (1982) Solidly, anonymously made, a standard dystopian conflict for oil forces Michael Beck from his solitary existence to battle snarling warlord James Wainwright and protect a peaceful community. Expressive use is made of the open New Zealand locations.
Big Bad Mama (1974) Though less a cohesive narrative than a series of contained action and dramatic sequences, the persuasive 1930s setting provides the bedrock for a funny, breezy, sexy tale as a determined Angie Dickinson and her daughters get deep into crime. The ending is surprisingly poignant.
Big Bad Mama II (1987) 13 years after her seeming death, Angie Dickinson returns to bank robberies and kidnapping with two new daughters in a weak retread, though this time with revenge in mind. Robert Culp provides welcome comedy, even if the whole is made with sledgehammer finesse.
The Big Bird Cage (1972) Follow-up to Doll House that replays most of the story beats, but allows for a looser style to accentuates the comedy, especially between Pam Grier and Sid Haig, and opens up more expansive visuals. Relentlessly unsubtle, cynically designed.
The Big Doll House (1971) Launching the dynamic Pam Grier and women in prison films of the 70s, Jack Hill directs a sadistic, propulsive tale, which revels in mistreating its female cast before empowering them with a violent escape. Torture, showers, food and mud fights dominate.
Black Oak Conspiracy (1977) A slow burn thriller as writer / star Jesse Vint's movie stuntman returns to his rural home town to uncover corruption by the sheriff and the powerful mining company. Nothing original, a solidly told story with an impressive final shoot out.
Bloodfist (1989) The original that inexplicably launched a thousand sequels, as Don "The Dragon" Wilson sets out to avenge his brother's death in Manila. A succession of fight sequences breaks up the functional narrative, with solid production values and attractive locations.
Bloody Mama (1970) Shelley Winters blasts her way through a blunt narrative of cruelty and violence, leading a terrific cast on a murderous, bank-robbing, kidnapping spree in the 1920s. Roger Corman supplies commanding visuals amid wry commentary and brutality.
Brain Dead (1989) Darkly amusing, confusingly plotted, bracingly styled tale of Bill Pullman exploring Bud Cort's paranoid mind on behalf of corporate money man Bill Paxton. Often feeling as schizophrenic as the subject matter, the performances maintain interest.
A Bucket Of Blood (1959) Equal part jet black horror comedy and skewering of 50s Beatnik artistic pretension, sculptor Dick Miller finds that accidentally killing a cat leads to success. Humans are naturally next. Low budget doesn't cramp the energy and sly humor.
Caged Heat (1974) With its wild mix of the bracingly surreal, bluntly violent and surprisingly comic, a defiantly constructed women in prison movie, yet made with cinematic flair both visually and aurally. Jonathan Demme's directorial debut is gratuitous and good fun.
Cocaine Wars (1985) Suitably arrogant John Schneider is an undercover DEA agent whose operation is complicated by former girlfriend Kathryn Witt reporting on the targeted druglord. Killings, kidnappings and torture lead to all out mayhem. Undemanding nonsense.
Cockfighter (1974) Rugged, textured portrait of Warren Oates' cockfighter who vows silence until he becomes champion. The rural background and bloody sport is captured with atmospheric detail, and performances are persuasive, even if the subject matter is unappealing.
Crazy Mama (1975) Jonathan Demme's endearing, confused, road trip comedy actioner, features an acute sense of music and cynical social view to contrast with the tacky visuals of 50s America. Humor over violence as a determined Cloris Leachman turns criminal to buy back the family farm.
Creature From the Haunted Sea (1961) Made on a whim in Puerto Rico, a black comedy / monster movie, with languid narrative spinning the tale of duplicitous villains trying to outdo each other and the risible creature that kills them all. The fun with which it was made is evident.
Crime Zone (1988) Intermittently entertaining, a dystopian scifi noir with its characters and narrative lost in the shadows of an oppressive police state. Sherilyn Finn makes for a gutsy heroine, physically and mentally determined, and the ending is suitably twisted.
The Cry Baby Killer (1958) Minor thriller, essentially a chamber piece, chiefly remembered as Jack Nicholson's film debut. There's intensity to his portrayal of a man spinning out of control and taking people hostage, but little narrative interest. Cramped sets and wordy moralizing don't help.
A Cry In The Wild (1990) After a plane crash lands in the Canadian Rockies, a teen must find a way to survive bears. Attractively shot with a low-key sense of realism, it lacks real character development and danger, though success as family entertainment meant three spin-offs.
Dead Space (1991) Efficient, uninspired retread of Forbidden World, as Marc Singer travels to a space station where a young Bryan Cranston and fellow scientists have released a virus that soon mutates into an all-consuming monster. Elements of humour aid the cinematic stew.
Death Race 2000 (1975) Jet black satire that glories in its cynicism and violence as racers need to be not just the fastest but rack up points for mowing down vulnerable bystanders. Culturally influential, sporadic ideas and scenes are still potent, even if the flat visuals drain momentum.
Deathsport (1978) Death Race 2000 follow up, creative differences led to the director pulling a gun on set and David Carradine retaliating with a Samurai sword. Drama lacking in the final film is compensated by a load of explosions and gratuitous nudity and speeding motorbikes.
Deathstalker (1983) Directed with crisp efficiency, the first of the Sword & Sorcery series Corman co-produced in Argentina sees the titular character sent on a quest that would inspire three sequels. Full of gratuitous nudity and violence, it made a surprising fan-favourite out of Lana Clarkson.
Deathstalker II (1987) Despite its title, any relationship with the original is jettisoned in favor of juvenile humor and painful one-liners as our hero must save the princess and kingdom from an evil wizard. Clumsy visuals, cheap production, not funny in the right way.
Demon of Paradise (1986) Born of the necessity to fulfil the New World distribution pipeline, a retread of the earlier Up From The Depths as a mythical monster in a colorful rubber suit is awakened by human stupidity. Our sympathy remains with him. Both films are equally lacking.
The Destroyers (1985) The Philippines is a shaky North California stand-in as traumatized Vietnam vet Rick Hill rounds up his soldier buddies to take revenge on a marijuana growing gang. Competently made with nice locations and lots of explosions. Katt Shea provides colorfully off-kilter support.
Dillinger And Capone (1995) Alternative history sees Dillinger survive the cinema shootout and forced out of hiding by Capone to perform a final heist. Martin Sheen and F Murray Abraham are solidly cast and the story elegantly mounted yet lacks energy and empathy.
Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010) Self-consciously ironic in recognizing the absurdity, an often stilted blend of comedy and thrills as bio-engineered creatures break out, munch on humans and fight each other. Stock characters are marooned in a tired story that needed to embrace the lunacy.
Dinosaur Island (1994) US soldiers crash land on an island inhabited solely by women and prehistoric beasts. Apparently made as an experiment to test the viability of a new dinosaur effect, there is little to enjoy amid the risible visuals and abundant nudity. Lacking in budget and imagination.
Dinoshark (2009) A return to 1950s basics for Roger Corman, with sketchy VFX replacing homemade costumes as climate change causes a prehistoric fish to thaw out of ice and head to Mexico for human meals. Undernourished script and flat pacing doesn't help the actors.
The Dirt Bike Kid (1985) An amiable, swiftly told riff on Jack And The Beanstalk has Peter Billingsley waste grocery money on an old motorbike not knowing its magical properties will transform his life and his community. Broad laughs, silly fantasy, generally engaging.
Eat My Dust (1976) Flimsiest of setups sees Ron Howard impress his girlfriend by driving fast and evading inept police. Cue a fast-moving series of crashes and some laboured comedy. Not without a certain anarchic charm, a disposable hit aptly summed up by the title.
Equalizer 2000 (1987) Another Filipino-shot actioner in the wake of Mad Max, the loose story strands center on the titular weapon whose power can decide the future of a barren, dystopian Alaska. Characterization and dialog are kept to a minimum. Mean looks and action relentless.
Eye Of The Eagle (1988) Standard, anonymous action as a U.S. army officer and Cec Verrell's photo-journalist track down an army unit gone rogue in Vietnam. The listless narrative never coalesces and characters are sketches, amid the relentless barrage of bullets and explosions.
Eye Of The Eagle II: Inside the Enemy (1989) A sequel in name only, more of a love story / thriller, as Todd Field's soldier tries to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend. Director Carl Franklin is more interested in character and emotion, with action subdued. An interesting diversion.
The Final Comedown (1972) A stark, primal howl of protest over social prejudice and racism collides head on with base, violent action set pieces. Police brutality and white oppression conspire to provoke Billy Dee Williams into revolution, told with art and artifice.
Fire Over Afghanistan (2003) Shot in Bulgaria with a story Roger Corman originally conceived with Robert Towne, budget and narrative stretched to breaking point as haunted Blackhawk pilot and gutsy journalist crash and fight for survival. Visually and emotionally flat.
Forbidden World (1982) Amusingly recycling sets and VFX from previous Corman productions, a lab created creature runs riot on a distant space station with abundant gore and nudity. A jumble of borrowed ideas, there's a strange purity to the excess that ensures its cult status.
Future Kick (1991) Don Wilson is a kickboxing cyborg hired by Meg Foster to protect her from killers dealing in black market body parts. An over-cooked stew of scifi concepts and film noir sleaze which lacks imagination and energy and supplies a cheat of a VR twist ending.
Galaxy Of Terror (1981) A dark, relentless space horror that combines Freudian fear of the unconscious desire with basic gross out effects. James Cameron's evocative design dominates, elevating a narrative that kills its explorers with vicious, numbing regularity.
The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976) Claudia Jennings and Jocelyn Jones provide spirited performances as a crime duo robbing banks to achieve security and freedom. Though it takes an odd sex-com diversion mid way, the action is swift and the narrative ensures a rousing payoff.
High School Big Shot (1959) After a student loses his potential college scholarship and is bewitched by an unprincipled femme fatale, he turns to robbery. Naturally everyone double-crosses each other in this bleak, undernourished tale. Only a few moments grip.
Hollywood Boulevard (1976) Famously originating from a bet to make the cheapest film, previous Roger Corman productions are intercut with the story of an aspiring LA actress. Both glorifying and satirizing low budget exploitation, a crude, energetic, hit and miss comedy.
The Hot Box (1972) Equal parts bluntly effective action drama alternates with awkward production and performances as four nurses are kidnapped by freedom fighters and end up fighting for the revolution. Explosions and the final river battle divert interest.
Hour Of The Assassin (1987) Some impressively handled action and suspense sequences contrast with awkwardly handled exposition as Erik Estrada's assassin is tricked into shooting a Peruvian president while Robert Vaughan's CIA op races to stop him. Unconvincing.
Humanoids From The Deep (1980) An effective blend of primal monster horror and social comment, genetically altered salmon transform into monsters determined to rape women and cause bloody mayhem. Though glimpses of humor are rare it features progressively gory shock endings.
I Never Promised You A Rose Garden (1977) A sensitive, wrenching Kathleen Quinlan is the teenager forever escaping to fantasy even while she is committed to a mental institution. The gritty style effectively approaches difficult subject matter and is emotionally resonant.
The Intruder (1962) Blistering, cautionary tale of fiery William Shatner's invasive racist arriving in a southern town to incite hatred and violence against the proposals of school integration. Unrelenting and single-minded, Corman's visual and dramatic control is compelling.
Jackson County Jail (1978) Escaping an unhappy marriage, a hopeful Yvette Mimieux finds herself abused by backroads America and on the run with cynical criminal Tommy Lee Jones. A tight script performed and directed with gritty verve, as well as a grim social critique.
The Lady In Red (1979) A smart John Sayles script, Lewis Teague's fluid direction and Pamela Sue Martin's gutsy farm girl turned Dillinger moll power through a gritty, violent narrative as strong on drama as social commentary. A low budget gem that delivers a persuasive feminist strength.
The Last Resort (1986) Downtrodden salesman Charles Grodin escapes urban winter for a family vacation, only to find Club Sand is a swingers camp located in the midst of a revolution. Impressive collection of LA comics are stuck without a script and flail for the few jokes.
The Last Woman On Earth (1960) Robert Towne writes and co-stars in a tale with a sci-fi setup leaving a woman caught between husband and lover when everyone else drops dead. Literate and probing, Roger Corman's dry, bare-bones direction periodically comes to life.
Little Shop Of Horrors (1960) Classic black comedy famously shot in 2 days, an inventive blend of the absurd and the macabre. Jonathan Haze is the 'little guy' who nurtures a flesh-eating plant. Jack Nicholson is a memorable masochist. A barrage of verbal and visual jokes.
Love Letters (1983) Intense study of love and desire, as Jamie Lee Curtis confronts her past and questions her future when she reads her deceased mother's words on an affair even as she embarks on a heated romance with a married man. Shaped with artful compassion.
The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (1962) The 1953 Russian adventure spectacle Sadko has a sailor searching for the bird of happiness. Roger Corman and Francis Ford Coppola's Americanized edit and dub calls him Sinbad. Production values and visuals win out, logic less so.
Naked Angels (1969) The basic revenge narrative is the excuse for various scenes of debauchery in Las Vegas and surrounding desert. Utilizing film school students, the gritty feel is often contrasted with arty concepts and visual abstraction. A roughly hewn mess of a curiosity.
Nam Angels (1988) Born out of a wild concept that sends Hell Angels and their bikes to Vietnam, the resulting story and characters don't deliver on the insanity. The Philippine army are on hand to blow everything up and there's plenty of scenery chewing and macho posturing.
Nashville Girl (1976) Beneath the surface of Monica Gayle's young country singer trying to make it in Nashville, there's authenticity in the music studios and an impressive soundtrack. Unfortunately, continual sexual abuse of our protagonist is not redeemed by her final cry of independence.
The Nest (1988) Undemanding creature horror with a keen sense of structure, mixing equal amount humor and shocks, as a coastal community deals with gene spliced, flesh eating roaches. An amiable cast deals admirably with hundreds of creepy insects and bloody, body transformations.
Night Call Nurses (1972) / Young Nurses (1973) With the template now set, the few narrative strands become less about social issues and more concerned with the visceral. Increasingly outlandish and dispiriting, a strange series of films never to be rebooted.
Night Of The Cobra Woman (1972) A nurse is bitten by a snake and must consume men's blood over the years to maintain her youth. Unfortunately, the film making is as rough and incoherent as the plot, with strange, jagged edits and empty sound mix. Actors look lost. Made in Slitherama.
Nightfall (1988) Ambitious, visually inventive, unsuccessful attempt to adapt an early Asimov short story that pits religion vs science in a future world awaiting the madness of night. Some effectively visceral sequences collide with humourless debates on reason and faith.
Piranha (1978) The winning combination of Joe Dante and John Sayles provides a devious energy and knowing wit as genetically altered piranha munch their way downriver. Supporting cast delivers the laughs and the water set pieces provide vicious, bloody thrills.
Piranha (1995) A straight remake that strips away the comic touches and delivers dry horror. The leads are personable, but there's a lack of invention and distinctive voice which dampens the pacing and leaves the narrative as an efficient retread of a superior original.
The Pit And The Pendulum (1961) With a literate script, opulent sets and heady widescreen photography, Corman's gothic Poe is a gloriously unhinged tale of guilt, expertly directed and featuring a towering Vincent Price as well as the horrific titular torture device.
Pit Stop (1969) With gleaming B&W visuals and gritty sense of place, a snarling tale of dueling stock car racers featuring the crash-laden drama of figure 8 racing. Overcoming the rough edges, the pacing is swift, the script tight and the performances persuasive. Tough and entertaining.
Raiders Of The Sun (1992) Reaching the end of the post-apocalyptical cycle, a film that reuses not just previous storylines and characters, but entire chunks of older footage. The action is certainly relentless and the scale often impressive, though predictable and dry.
Rock 'N' Roll High School (1978) Fondly remembered school rebellion musical that combines a riotous, gag-stuffed visual style with a non-stop parade of songs and iconic sequences. Cannily subversive, PJ Soles gets to bring in the Ramones and blow up her school.
Saint Jack (1979) As the eponymous central character, Ben Gazzara's laconic, empathetic American brothel owner encapsulates this loosely structured, compassionate look at lost dreams and confronting morals in 70s Singapore. Finely textured, well cast, thoughtful and rough.
Saturday The 14th (1981) A gentler parody of monster and horror movies than expected as Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss inherit a house that brings evil off the page of an ancient book. The humor tends to the juvenile and the pacing is flat, but individual scenes charm.
Screamers (1981) Italian film Island Of The Fishmen already fused adventure, fantasy and monster horror in a stylish, overripe package. An added gory prolog and edit only accentuates the loopy narrative to become Screamers. An exploding volcano and Atlantis treasure tops it off.
Shakedown (2002) A deadly virus, bank robbers, a religious fanatic determined to end the world and the FBI face-off in a bizarre combination of plot lines. Then a devastating earthquake hits. Though not quite living up to the wild setup, enough action to maintain interest.
Silk (1986) There's an interesting character buried in the narrative shakiness and dreary film-making, a female variant on Dirty Harry, portrayed with fierce intensity by Cec Verrell. The story is throwaway but provides actions and explosions. An inferior Silk 2 (1989) recast and added nudity.
The Sisterhood (1988) Dystopian action that infuses its desolate landscapes and explosive fights with an intriguing setup as the primal, ruling male society is threatened by women with intuitive, natural powers. Thematically confused, yet the potential resonates.
The Slumber Party Massacre (1982) A more considered and constructed piece than its attention grabbing title or poster suggests, both reveling in and undermining its genre conventions. A generous view of its female protagonists sits alongside some dark, ironic humor.
Sorceress (1982) Despite its commercial success, an awkward spin on the Conan genre with twin sisters the only hope to overthrow an evil wizard. Disappointingly bland direction from Jack Hill with individual scenes colliding with each other rather than creating a cohesive story.
The Spy Within (1995) Theresa Russell and Scott Glen make for an intriguing ex-spy and a bomb expert generating some sexual sparks before finding themselves on the run from shady government operatives. The action is solid, the tragic, emotional character detail less convincing.
Starcrash (1978) John Barry provides a typically lush score to a Star Wars knock off almost mesmeric in its ineptitude. Barely comprehensible narrative propels Catherine Bach across the stars to encounter various badly dubbed characters and blow everything up.
Sting Of The Black Scorpion (2002) After two cable movies had unexpected success, a TV series detailed the further adventures of police officer turned vigilante Black Scorpion. A feature length compilation provides a breezy intro that is standard comic book without real imagination.
Stripped To Kill (1987) Gutsy cop Kay Lenz goes undercover as a stripper to find a killer. A generous approach to the female characters and easy backstage companionship stand out from typical slasher beats, while the stripping promotes invention and athleticism, not lechery.
Stripped To Kill 2 (1989) Director Katt Shea takes the original and amps the content, creating a fever-dream of a plot, visuals suffused with thick colors and elaborate strip sequences that strive for art and athleticism. Once more there's an authentic sense of female togetherness amid the bloody mayhem.
The Student Nurses (1971) At first glance a superficial romantic drama told with a rough feel and periodic nudity, events also touch on 70s social issues, both personal and political, including abortion rights. Unconvincing characters and narrative either provocative or amateurish.
Suburbia (1983) A group of young, desperate delinquents live on the fringes of society, creating their own family, but find tragedy when they face the cruel contempt of the suburbs. An observant, unflinching view, ragged in technique and narrative, ugly and tender with equal conviction.
T-Bird Gang (1959) & High School Caesar (1960) Social curousities rather than fully-fleshed narratives, crime dramas translated to youth movies with a conspicuous lack of talent. The music soundtracks at least maintain some energy, but there is little to persuade or interest.
The Terror (1963) What started as two day shoot using sets from The Raven became a piecemeal production directed by Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola, Monte Hellman, Jack Hill and even star Jack Nicholson. Boris Karloff features in a fascinating mess.
The Terror Within (1989) Post-apocalyptical monster movie with scientists hiding below ground from mutants seeking to kill the men and impregnate the women. A theme of abortion rights emerges while a rubber-suited creature creates havoc amid grim, gory set pieces.
The Terror Within II (1990) Explaining the chemical warfare background substitutes for cohesive narrative as events follow on directly from the original. Star Andrew Stevens this time also directs, with added monster threats and more smoke. Surprisingly lyrical title music.
TNT Jackson (1974) Though never exactly dull, a murkily made slice of blaxploitation and female empowerment that never really involves or amuses. Remembered for a topless fight, Jeannie Bell embodies the 70s groove and of course won the first (and only) Ebony Fist award.
Ultraviolet (1992) Inspired by a vacation in Death Valley, Roger Corman conceived the idea of a couple terrorized by a maniac. Unfortunately, narrative thrills are stretched to breaking point, even as filmmaking smartly creates claustrophobia in open landscapes.
The Unborn (1991) Though it plays on themes of pregnancy fear and psychological isolation, the central selling point is a mutant baby running violently amok. A compelling Brooke Adams is the emotional anchor, as eerie visuals unsettle and body horror is increasingly gruesome.
A Very Unlucky Leprechaun (1998) Background and production testimonies behind Roger Corman's Galway studio are far more interesting than this awkward, fitful entertainment. Even the narrative is confused, despite Warwick Davies' efforts and the sunny locations.
Von Richtfothen And Brown (1971) Handsomely mounted World War I tale of rival pilots, the German Red Baron and his eventual Canadian nemesis. The dogfights are excitingly realized and Roger Corman directs with style, as well as providing a piercing anti-war intelligence.
War Of The Satellites (1958) Inspired by headlines of the first Russian satellite, Roger Corman raised $50,000 and had the film in cinemas 60 days later. A minor effort, noticeable for Corman regular Dick Miller as action hero and winning over Susan Cabot.
The Warrior And The Sorceress (1984) An unapologetic reworking of Yojimbo via A Fistful Of Dollars, John Carradine is the taciturn stranger pitting factions against each other on an alien planet. Having a spirited Maria Socas almost continuously naked verges on parody.
Wasp Woman (1959) Fun tale of office politics and body horror, as Susan Cabot's cosmetic company boss banks on an age reversing chemical, before transforming into the eponymous killer. Production and narrative is formula yet breezy, ideas and themes undeveloped.
Watchers II (1990) A more faithful adaptation of the original source novel rather than a sequel, scientists create a super-intelligent Golden Retriever and an assassin monster, with Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins caught in the mayhem. Somehow resulted in two sequels. Humor helps.
Wheels Of Fire (1985) Exhausting succession of action sequences that totally jettisons any pretense at narrative cohesion. In a post-apocalyptical world, various factions fight for freedom or dominance. Cue the explosions. Christopher Young's score is propulsive.
Wild Angels (1966) Ushering in the era of the outlaw biker films, a primal, unrepentant howl of anti-authoritarism, made with Roger Corman's customary filmic intelligence, even as the collage of brutality and nihilism overwhelms. Finely cast, a visceral blow that has lost little of its clout.
Wizards Of The Lost Kingdom (1985) A nonsensical prologue rehashes footage from previous productions, while the tale itself is a more family friendly fantasy that sees a young boy with magical powers as the only hope to beat an evil wizard. Somehow it provoked a sequel.
Women In Cages (1971) Defiantly sadistic, with an unremittingly cruel and cynical ending, Pam Grier is the vicious lesbian warden gleefully seducing and torturing her prisoners. The grim style and lack of humor prevent the material rising above the bleakly functional.