Low-Budget Classics
Ranked by (inflation-adjusted) budget, cheapest first.
List activity
112 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
49 titles
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsCarlos GallardoConsuelo GómezJaime de HoyosA traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.$7k- About $15k in 2023 money
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.$10k- About $50k in 2023 money
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.$27k- About $55k in 2023 money
- DirectorJames Ward ByrkitStarsEmily BaldoniMaury SterlingNicholas BrendonStrange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.$50k- About $65k in 2023 money
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceNotorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".$10k- About $72k in 2023 money
(John Water and George Romero movies could just about fill out this list, on their own, so I only kept their cheapest respective movies, which also happen to be their best-known. Female Trouble, Desperate Living, Polyester, The Crazies and Dawn of the Dead got trimmed) - DirectorFrank HenenlotterStarsKevin VanHentenryckTerri Susan SmithBeverly BonnerA young man carrying a big basket that contains his extremely deformed, formerly conjoined twin brother seeks vengeance on the doctors who separated them against their will.$35k- About $106k in 2023 dollars
- DirectorDaniel MyrickEduardo SánchezStarsHeather DonahueMichael C. WilliamsJoshua LeonardThree film students vanish after traveling into a Maryland forest to film a documentary on the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.$60k- About $108k in 2023 money
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerDian BacharStephen BlackpoolThe sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh.$125k- About $262k in 2023 money
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsEugene TatuAlice Bag BandBlack FlagA look into the Los Angeles punk rock scene, that was largely ignored by the rock music press of the time.$100k- About $330k in 2023 money
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsMichael RookerTracy ArnoldTom TowlesArriving in Chicago, Henry moves in with ex-con acquaintance Otis and starts schooling him in the ways of the serial killer.$111k- About $350k in 2023 money
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsTerry PotterPete O'HerneCraig SmithThe population of a small town disappears and is replaced by aliens that chase human flesh for their intergalactic fast-food chain.$200k- About $530k in 2023 money
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSandra PeabodyLucy GranthamDavid HessTwo teenage girls heading to a rock concert for one's birthday try to score marijuana in the city, where they are kidnapped and brutalized by a gang of psychopathic convicts.$90k- About $650k in 2023 money
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsJoseph Gordon-LevittLukas HaasEmilie de RavinA teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.$475k- About $730k in 2023 money
- DirectorRichard C. SarafianStarsBarry NewmanCleavon LittleCharlotte RamplingDuring the 1970s, car-delivery driver Kowalski delivers hot rods in record time, but always runs into trouble.$150k- About $850k in 2023 money
- DirectorMartin DavidsonStephen VeronaStarsSylvester StalloneHenry WinklerPerry KingTwo members of a social club in 1950s Brooklyn have more interest in romance than in rumbles.$160k- About $976k in 2023 money
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.$525k- About $980k in 2023 money
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.$114k- About $985k in 2023 money
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsMary WoronovPaul BartelRobert BeltranA relatively boring Los Angeles couple discovers a bizarre, if not murderous, way to get funding for opening a restaurant.$350k- About $1.01mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTommy WirkolaStarsJeppe Beck LaursenCharlotte FrognerJenny SkavlanA ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.$800k- About $1.1mil in 2023 money
- DirectorWes CravenStarsSusan LanierRobert HoustonJohn SteadmanOn the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.$230k- About $1.1mil in 2023 money
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonJoanne SamuelHugh Keays-ByrneIn a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.$300k- About $1.2mil in 2023 money
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEllen SandweissRichard DeManincorFive friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.$350k- About $1.2mil in 2023 money
- DirectorRob SavageStarsHaley BishopJemma MooreEmma Louise WebbSix friends hire a medium to hold a seance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong.$1.04mil- About $1.2mil in 2023 money
- DirectorMichael HerzLloyd KaufmanStarsAndree MarandaMitch CohenJennifer BabtistTromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.$475- About $1.4mil in 2023 money
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsDonald PleasenceJamie Lee CurtisTony MoranFifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.$325k- About $1.5mil in 2023 money
- DirectorGareth EvansStarsIko UwaisAnanda GeorgeRay SahetapyA S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.$1.1mil- About $1.5mil in 2023 money
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsNathan PhillipsCassandra MagrathKestie MorassiThree backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.$1mil- About $1.5mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.$850k- About $1.6mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.$300k- About $1.8mil in 2023 money
- DirectorJames WanStarsCary ElwesLeigh WhannellDanny GloverTwo strangers awaken in a room with no recollection of how they got there, and soon discover they're pawns in a deadly game perpetrated by a notorious serial killer.$1.2mil- About $1.9mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsGerard KennedyMichael PrestonPeter HehirIn the tradition of Sunday Too Far Away (1975), this independent film is based on the classic Australian play by John Power. Pic tells the story of a group of miners living in a camp in outback Australia. They swear, brawl, gamble, and drink heavily. Central to the story is the conflict between Tarzan, the authoritarian group leader and cocky loud-mouth wisecracking Pansy. This results in a bare-knuckle punch-up for the movie's denouement. Exteriors filmed in Andamooka, South Australia.$460k- About $1.9mil in 2023 money
- DirectorThom EberhardtStarsCatherine Mary StewartKelli MaroneyRobert BeltranA comet wipes out most of life on Earth, leaving two Valley Girls fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.$700k- About $2mil in 2023 money
- DirectorSean S. CunninghamStarsBetsy PalmerAdrienne KingJeannine TaylorA group of teenage camp counselors attempt to re-open an abandoned summer camp with a tragic past, but they are stalked by a mysterious, relentless killer.$550k- About $2.025mil in 2023 money
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsHarvey KeitelBrian McElroyFrank AcciaritoWhile investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness and redemption.$1mil- About $2.1mil in 2023 money
- DirectorHarmony KorineStarsNick SuttonJacob SewellLara ToshLonely residents of a tornado-stricken Ohio town wander the deserted landscape trying to fulfill their boring, nihilistic lives.$1.3mil- About $2.44mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsMichael PalinHarry H. CorbettJohn Le MesurierA young peasant with no interest in adventure or fortune is mistaken for the kingdom's only hope when a horrible monster threatens the countryside.$500k- About $2.48mil in 2023 money
- DirectorIlya NaishullerStarsSharlto CopleyTim RothHaley BennettHenry is resurrected from death with no memory, and he must save his wife from a telekinetic warlord with a plan to bio-engineer soldiers.$2mil- About $2.5mil in 2023 money
- DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.$2mil- About $2.54mil in 2023 money
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.$1.2mil- About $2.6mil in 2023 money
- DirectorKathryn BigelowMonty MontgomeryStarsWillem DafoeJ. Don FergusonRobert GordonTrouble ensues when a motorcycle gang stops in a small southern town while heading to the races at Daytona.$800k- About $2.65mil in 2023 money
- DirectorVincent GalloStarsVincent GalloChristina RicciBen GazzaraAfter being released from prison, Billy is set to visit his parents with his wife, whom he does not actually have. This provokes Billy to act out, as he kidnaps a girl and forces her to act as his wife for the visit.$1.5mil- About $2.8mil in 2023 money
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJames SpaderAndie MacDowellPeter GallagherA sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.$1.2mil- About $2.9mil in 2023 money
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsMartin SheenSissy SpacekWarren OatesAn impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.$450- About $3mil in 2023 money
- DirectorMeir ZarchiStarsCamille KeatonEron TaborRichard PaceAn aspiring writer is repeatedly assaulted, humiliated, and left for dead by four men she systematically hunts down to seek revenge.$650k- About $3mil in 2023 money
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsChris PedersenBill CoyneJennifer ClayWhen household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society.$1mil- About $3mil in 2023 money
- DirectorLarry CohenStarsJohn P. RyanSharon FarrellAndrew DugganThe Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever it is scared. And it is easily scared.$500k- About $3.1mil in 2023 money
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDennis WeaverJacqueline ScottEddie FirestoneA business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.$450k- About $3.3mil in 2023 money
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsSean PertweeKevin McKiddEmma CleasbyA routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.$2mil- About $3.3mil in 2023 money
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroHarvey KeitelDavid ProvalIn New York City's Little Italy, a devoutly Catholic mobster must reconcile his desire for power, his feelings for his epileptic lover, and his devotion to his troublesome friend.$500k- About $3.4mil in 2023 money