The Gatling Gun (1971; Robert Gordon)

Genre fans tend to dislike this low-budget western, but I have an irrational fondness for it... probably because it was purchased for the princely sum of one dollar. Early in the DVD revolution, when players and movies had become more wallet friendly for the average consumer, there also came the glut of "dollar DVDs", usually featuring public domain movies, cartoons or vintage TV shows. They often came in no-frills packaging, usually nothing more than a thin cardboard sleeve that was glued shut on one side, and one had to carefully pry them open so not to scratch the disk inside. And of course, the movies were in bare bones presentations: zero effort put into remastering, no extras, and sometimes they didn't even bother with chapter stops! Well? What did you expect for a buck? Criterion?

Fiend (1980; Don Dohler)

Don Dohler's Amazing Cinema magazine,
which often plugged his own films.

Before Don Dohler had ever picked up a movie camera and directed his own feature-length micro-budgeted science fiction-horror films, he was already a "do-it-yourself" legend. He had published underground comics in the 1960s, and in the 1970s he released his influential magazine, Cinemagic, which was a primer for aspiring filmmakers to create their own special effects.  His first feature, The Alien Factor (1978), shot for a paltry $6000, proved he was a trailblazer for another medium. This film with such a small budget had the good fortune in being sold to cable. Those who saw it were inspired, alerted to the possibility that "Hey, I can do this too".

Ghosts That Still Walk (James T. Flocker; 1977)

In the days when movies still aired late at night instead of infomercials, this unassuming film made an impression upon UHF-surfing night owls, if for at least one image.  After six decades of fantasy cinema featuring humans besieged by numerous ghouls and goblins, Ghosts That Still Walk offers the intriguing premise of an elderly RV-ing couple being pursued by boulders! This sequence is surely reason enough to warrant a watch. However, as in the case of most films released by Gold Key Entertainment, this movie is better to have seen than to sit through.

The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964; Del Tenney)

One of the greatest double-bills in history, two independently produced horror films by Connecticut-based auteur Del Tenney, The Horror of Party Beach and The Curse of the Living Corpse were picked up as a double bill for distribution by Twentieth Century Fox for a successful run in drive-ins. Both films are well-produced despite their meager budgets, and nicely shot by Richard Hilliard: each fine examples of regional filmmaking.