Horror Guys Guide to the Horror Films of Roger Corman (Horror Guys Guides)

Roger Corman began producing low-budget films in 1954 and soon started directing the following year. Since then, he’s produced over 500 films and directed 55. He’s best known for his ability to create a movie with a tiny budget, within a very short timeframe, with ridiculous limitations, and still turn in a completed, entertaining piece. He once shot an entire studio film in 2-1/2 days between other commitments. Although he directed many films in many genres spanning decades, he’s most associated with his horror movies of the 1950s and 60s.

This is not a Roger Corman biography. What the book does do is go through each and every one of Corman’s horror films, going through a complete synopsis, including spoilers and commentary. For each one, we’ll have a detailed plot summary and commentary about the film’s ability to hold the attention of a modern viewer. Some of these cinematic offerings hold up really well today—and some don’t.

Although Corman is best known for his horror work, only about half of his directorial credits were in the horror genre. I scoured his filmography, came up with 29 full-length films that truly count as horror, and then watched them all. In addition, we’ll look at seven other noteworthy Corman movies that aren’t horror, including his first producing credit, his first directing credit, his favorite non-horror project, and a few others. If you love Roger Corman’s macabre masterpieces, we’ll cover all of them here.

“The safest genre is the horror film. But the most unsafe - the most dangerous - is comedy. Because even if your horror film isn't very good, you'll get a few screams, and you're okay. With a comedy, if they don't laugh, you're dead.” – Roger Corman