Alien 3000 aka Unseen Evil 2 aka cheap monster movie.

If the title didn't give it away, the poster looks like an Alien knockoff and I love those. Honestly though, I admire anyone who tries to make a monster movie for no money because it is really difficult and I just have a soft spot for these films. They probably had a little sliver of a budget but not much I imagine. Actually I'd love to know the real budget and watch BTS on this (sorry I'm going to say that about every movie) because they probably had a lot more than I did but still. I just enjoy watching these. It's so tough to make a film and especially when you have no resources. I love IMDb's trivia for this movie: "Director Jeff Leroy said one day Lorenzo Lamas hid behind a rock when his ex-wife Playboy model Shauna Sand made a surprise appearance on location and demanded his salary." What was his salary I wonder? And this gem: "The director said on one occasion shortly after its release, he invited some friends over to watch the finished product. They fell asleep minutes into the film and so he snuck over to the DVD player and tossed Alien 3000 in the garbage." Holy shit I just realized this director made Werewolf in a Womens Prison, which I absolutely love (I own 2 DVDs of it... a US and a German one). That is awesome. Well, damn now I really want to buy the DVD. Yes, I'm insane but hey it has an exclusive creature interview. I love that shit. Bring on the suit actors. I wish it had a 10 hour making of. Alright, I'll stop ranting like a madman. Thank you Tubi. And thank you Jeff Leroy.

The Last Broadcast (1998) reels you in.

You can obviously see how this is a predecessor to The Blair Witch Project, which really makes it very interesting to watch. There are a number of things the two films have in common like investigating a local legend (in this case, the Jersey Devil), the fake documentary approach, the question of supernatural or not, the use of mystery, making your no budget work for you rather than against you, etc. Heck, they both even have two directors. The Blair Witch Project feels more polished and convincing to me (the way they use 16mm film and a Hi8 camcorder helps I think) but I also like this film. It's true the ending doesn't quite deliver (I was surprised though) and sometimes it feels repetitive or stretched out; however, I still really enjoyed this film. The acting feels more real in The Blair Witch Project and their ending is better but both films have merit.