Favorite "B-List" Directors

[Mobe1969]

Just wondering if anyone else here has favorite directors the follow that consistently put out works you like, but aren't well acclaimed? I have a few that I watch and would buy anything they do blind. Like I keep checking IMDb to see what they are working on and add it to my list.

John Stockwell. I loved Into the Blue. I loved a movie where I understood why they didn't go to the police for once. And since then he has such an eclectic bunch of films I've really liked. Cat Run was a hoot. Seal Team Six was great. Turistas - fantastic. Kid Cannibas, In the Blood, etc. Loved them.

Scott Derrickson. I like horror, but mainly I am entertained by it, not scared. Scott Derrickson has consistently put out movie after movie that gets under my skin. And I don't get the dislike of Deliver Us From Evil. It still gives me nightmares thinking of it. That said, now he has Dr Strange, maybe he has hit the A list. If so, you deserve it. Dr Strange isn't a Marvel character I care much for but once I saw Derrickson attached I was all in.

Shane Black. It is an utter crime he isn't attached to more films. It is like after the brilliant Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which IMHO helped resurrect RDJs career), it has been nothing until Iron Man 3, which seemed more like a pity break from friends looking out for him.

I've got others, but this is a start.

[Impossible]

Richard Kelly. All 3 of his films are studio hobbled masterpieces.

[Buscemi]

I'd probably have to go with late-era J. Lee Thompson. Sure, he did some classy A-pictures (Tiger Bay, The Guns of Navarone, Cape Fear, What a Way to Go!) but he did some fun B-movies as well (Happy Birthday to Me, 10 to Midnight, The Evil That Men Do). There are some mediocre (Messenger of Death, Murphy's Law) or downright awful (John Goldfarb Please Come Home!) titles in there but there's much to like in his filmography.

In recent years, I've found Neil Marshall a rather underappreciated director. Too bad he's more or less been stuck in TV land since 2010 (though he was interviewed for one of the Star Wars movies). Robert Rodriguez also deserves a better reputation than he gets.

[Mobe1969]

Ah yes Neil Marshall. Most definitely I'd buy anything he released. The Descent. Doomsday is utterly brilliant. And I loved Centurion. Dog Soldiers was a great debut.

And another one of mine David Gordon Green. I am ashamed I missed him in my initial post as he was the one I was thinking about when I started the thread (I'd listened to a Danny McBride interview). He makes such exceptional films and tv in drama and comedy. I unashamedly love Your Highness. I will buy sight unseen anything he does, tv or movie, drama or comedy.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Impossible

Richard Kelly. All 3 of his films are studio hobbled masterpieces.

I haven't seen The Box, but loved Donnie Darko and Southland Tales.

Sometimes I wonder with directors like Richard Kelly and Shane Black if their inactivity is out of personal choice rather the stupidity of the system. It boggles my mind that directors that can put out movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Donnie Darko look basically unemployed. I literally feel such that such talented people like this exist but are possibly struggling.

[Impossible]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

I haven't seen The Box, but loved Donnie Darko and Southland Tales.

Sometimes I wonder with directors like Richard Kelly and Shane Black if their inactivity is out of personal choice rather the stupidity of the system. It boggles my mind that directors that can put out movies like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Donnie Darko look basically unemployed. I literally feel such that such talented people like this exist but are possibly struggling.

Black is a writer first and foremost, I don't think he enjoys directing that much.

Kelly on the other hand is definitely a director and an excellent one at that, but struggles with editing when it come to having to condense his 'vision' for the cineplex masses.

The Sundance cut of Darko was far superior to either released version. The Cannes cut of Southland is by far the better cut and The Box also has 40 minutes whacked out of the middle of it rendering it very WTFish.

I get the feeling that he hasn't got the confidence to keep taking the knocks he has suffered considering all of his films have flopped financially (though Darko made it big on dvd) and has all but given up. It's a shame though as he is extremely talented as both a writer and director.

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

Adam Wingard and Drew Goddard. Both have made some of my all time favorite horror movies. They both made movies that felt fresh in a genre that has seen it all. Whatever they do next has my attention.

[evoxturbo]

John Stockwell directed Blue Crush, Into the Blue, Turistas, and Middle of Nowhere. Also starred in Christine as the main character. He knows how to film water beautifully.

[levcore]

Renny Harlin

[Just Jimmy]

Hal Hartley

[The Debts]

Does James Mangold count? He's not a very well known name but he's really consistent when it comes to quality and can be pretty diverse when it comes to the movies he makes.

[willo007]

Anthony Hickox (Waxwork, Waxwork II, Sundown, Hellraiser III, Warlock The Armageddon, Full Eclipse, Jill The Ripper)

Deran Sarifian (Gunmen, Terminal Velocity)

Tibor Takacs (The Gate, I, Madman, Sanctuary)

Albert Pyun (Serpent And The Rainbow, Down Twisted, Cyborg, Nemessis, Knights)

Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Beastmaster, Buba Ho-Tep)

Sheldon Lettich (Lionheart, Double Impact, Only The Strong)

Isaac Florentine (Bridge Of Dragons, Cold Harvest, Special Forces, Undisputed 2, The Shephard, Ninja, Undisputed 3, Ninja II)

Graham Baker (Damien-Omen 2, Alien Nation, Beowulf)

Russell Mulcahy (Highlander, Ricochet, The Shadow)

Robert Harmon (The Hitcher, Nowhere To Run, Highwaymen)

Craig R Baxley (Action Jackson, I Come In Peace, Stone Cold, Sniper 2)

Stephen Hopkins (Nightmare on Elm Street 5, Predator 2, Judgment Night, Blown Away, Under Suspicion)

Simon West (Con-Air, Tomb Raider, The Mechanic, The Expendables 2, Wild Card)

Chuck Russell (Nightmare on Elm Street 3, The Blob, The Mask, Eraser)

Jack Sholder (Alone In The Dark, Nightmare On Elm Street 2, The Hidden, Renegades, 12:01, Wishmaster 2)

Stephen Norrington (Death Machine, Blade, League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen)

William Lustig (Maniac, Maniac cop, Relentless)

James Glickenhous (The Exterminator, The Protector, Shakedown, McBain)

William Malone (Creature, House On Haunted Hill, Feardotcom, Parasomnia)

[P-Rock]

Don Coscarelli
Takashi Miike
Paul W.S. Anderson
Brad Anderson
John Carpenter
Christophe Gans
Peter Hyams
Ryuhei Kitamura
Christopher Smith
Spierig Brothers

[Pounder]

Do Renny Harlin and Simon West count?

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Pounder

Do Renny Harlin and Simon West count?

They've both already been mentioned so I guess so!

[jabbercash]

Antwon Fuqua only has one critically acclaimed film (Training Day, and even then it only has a 72% on RT), but I think he's made some really good stuff like Brooklyn's Finest and Southpaw.

[levcore]

And Olympus Has Fallen

[Pizzamorg]

Does Guy Ritchie count?

[DanTheMan]

Originally Posted by Pizzamorg

Does Guy Ritchie count?

Ritchie immediately came to mind, but wasn't sure if he qualifies.

[P-Rock]

I don't think Ritchie is a b-list director anymore, after Sherlock Holmes and Man From UNCLE.