The Best Low Budget Movies Of All-Time
“What are the best Low-Budget Films Ever Made?” We looked at 205 of the top Low Priced films and ranked them so we could answer that very question!
The top 25 films, all appearing on 3 or more “Best Low Budget” movie lists, are ranked below by how many times they appear. The remaining 175+ movies, as well as the sources we used, are in alphabetical order on the bottom of the page.
Happy Scrolling!
Top 25 Best Low Budget Movies
25 .) Another Earth (2011)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Den Of Geek
- io9
On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
24 .) Bronson (2008)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Den Of Geek
- The Cinemaholic
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
23 .) Friday The 13th
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Space
- The Dissolve
Camp Crystal Lake has been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp’s new owner and seven young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a “death curse” by local residents. The curse proves true on Friday the 13th as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer.
22 .) Juno (2007)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- Primer Magazine
- The Culture Trip
A young girl named Juno gets herself pregnant and tries to stand on her own, but soon learns a few lessons about being grown up.
21 .) Kill List (2011)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- Horror Chill
- The Cinemaholic
Nearly a year after a botched job, a hitman takes a new assignment with the promise of a big payoff for three killings. What starts off as an easy task soon unravels, sending the killer into the heart of darkness.
20 .) Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- io9
- Stranger Views
Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking a companion for time travel.
19 .) Saw (2004)
Lists It Appears On:
- Den Of Geek
- Goliath
- Space
Obsessed with teaching his victims the value of life, a deranged, sadistic serial killer abducts the morally wayward. Once captured, they must face impossible choices in a horrific game of survival. The victims must fight to win their lives back, or die trying…
18 .) The Signal (2014)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- Forbes
- io9
Three college students on a road trip across the Southwest experience a detour – the tracking of a computer genius who has already hacked into MIT and exposed security faults. When the trio find themselves drawn to an eerily isolated area, suddenly everything goes dark. When one of the students regains consciousness, he finds himself in a waking nightmare.
17 .) Brick (2005)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Den Of Geek
- Rain Dance
- The Cinemaholic
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
16 .) Clerks (1994)
Lists It Appears On:
- Goliath
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- Top 10 Films
Convenience and video store clerks Dante and Randal are sharp-witted, potty-mouthed and bored out of their minds. So in between needling customers, the counter jockeys play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and deal with their love lives.
15 .) Following (1998)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Rain Dance
- The Cinemaholic
- Top 10 Films
A struggling, unemployed young writer takes to following strangers around the streets of London, ostensibly to find inspiration for his new novel.
14 .) Mad Max (1979)
Lists It Appears On:
- Goliath
- Rain Dance
- The Cinemaholic
- The Culture Trip
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
13 .) Moon (2009)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- Den Of Geek
- io9
- Stranger Views
With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. When he has an accident however, he wakens to find that he is not alone.
12 .) Night of the Living Dead
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Forbes
- Rain Dance
- The Dissolve
A group of people try to survive an attack of bloodthirsty zombies while trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Although not the first zombie film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the progenitor of the contemporary “zombie apocalypse” horror film, and it greatly influenced the modern pop-culture zombie archetype.
11 .) Pi (1998)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- Den Of Geek
- List Challenges
- Rain Dance
The debut film from Darren Aronofsky in which a mathematical genius Maximilian Cohen discovers a link in the connection between numbers and reality and thus believes he can predict the future.
10 .) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Forbes
- List Challenges
- Rain Dance
- The Dissolve
Henry likes to kill people, in different ways each time. Henry shares an apartment with Otis. When Otis’ sister comes to stay, we see both sides of Henry: “the guy next door” and the serial killer.
9 .) Monsters (2010)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- Den Of Geek
- Goliath
- Rain Dance
- Space
Six years ago NASA discovered the possibility of alien life within our solar system. A probe was launched to collect samples, but crashed upon re-entry over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear and half of Mexico was quarantined as an infected zone. Today, the American and Mexican military still struggle to contain “the creatures,” while a journalist agrees to escort a shaken tourist through the infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the U.S. border.
8 .) Once (2007)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Den Of Geek
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- The Culture Trip
A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.
7 .) Eraserhead (1977)
Lists It Appears On:
- List Challenges
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- The Cinemaholic
- The Dissolve
- Top 10 Films
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
6 .) Paranormal Activity (2007)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Den Of Geek
- Forbes
- Rain Dance
- Space
- Top 10 Films
After a young, middle class couple moves into a suburban ‘starter’ tract house, they become increasingly disturbed by a presence that may or may not be somehow demonic but is certainly most active in the middle of the night. Especially when they sleep. Or try to.
5 .) Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Lists It Appears On:
- Bright Side
- Den Of Geek
- Goliath
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- The Cinemaholic
- The Culture Trip
A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
4 .) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Goliath
- List Challenges
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- Space
- The Dissolve
Five friends visiting their grandfather’s house in the country are hunted and terrorized by a chain-saw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
3 .) Halloween (1978)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Forbes
- Goliath
- List Challenges
- Rain Dance
- Space
- The Dissolve
- Top 10 Films
Fifteen 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.
2 .) Primer (2004)
Lists It Appears On:
- Alien Element
- Den Of Geek
- Goliath
- io9
- Rain Dance
- Stranger Views
- The Cinemaholic
- Top 10 Films
Friends and fledgling entrepreneurs invent a device in their garage which reduces the apparent mass of any object placed inside it, but they discover that it has some highly unexpected capabilities – ones that could enable them to do and to have seemingly anything they want. Taking advantage of this unique opportunity is the first challenge they face. Dealing with the consequences is the next.
1 .) The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Lists It Appears On:
- Cheat Sheet
- Den Of Geek
- Forbes
- Goliath
- Primer Magazine
- Rain Dance
- Space
- The Dissolve
- Top 10 Films
In October of 1994 three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland, while shooting a documentary. A year later their footage was found.
The 175+ Additional Best Low Budget Films
| # | Movies | Lists |
| 26 | 28 Days Later (2002) | io9 |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 27 | A Nightmare on Elm Street | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 28 | A Separation (2011) | Bright Side |
| – | – | The Cinemaholic |
| 29 | Attack The Block | Stranger Views |
| – | – | io9 |
| 30 | Buried (2010) | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 31 | Coherence (2013) | Stranger Views |
| – | – | Alien Element |
| 32 | Cube | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Stranger Views |
| 33 | Dawn Of The Dead | Rain Dance |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 34 | Dead Man’s Shoes (2004) | Goliath |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 35 | El Mariachi (1992) | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Primer Magazine |
| 36 | Evil Dead 2 | Forbes |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 37 | Fruitvale Station (2013) | Bright Side |
| – | – | The Cinemaholic |
| 38 | Insidious | io9 |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 39 | It Follows (2014) | The Dissolve |
| – | – | Horror Chill |
| 40 | Let The Right One In (2008) | io9 |
| – | – | Horror Chill |
| 41 | Little Miss Sunshine (2006) | The Culture Trip |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 42 | Lost In Translation (2003) | The Culture Trip |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 43 | May (2003) | The Dissolve |
| – | – | Horror Chill |
| 44 | Open Water (2004) | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 45 | Phantasm | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 46 | Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | Grunge |
| 47 | Pontypool (2008) | Alien Element |
| – | – | Horror Chill |
| 48 | Re-Animator | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 49 | Robot & Frank | Stranger Views |
| – | – | io9 |
| 50 | Rocky (1976) | Goliath |
| – | – | The Culture Trip |
| 51 | Shaun Of The Dead (2004) | io9 |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 52 | Sleepaway Camp | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | The Dissolve |
| 53 | Submarine (2010) | The Culture Trip |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 54 | Super-Size Me (2004) | Top 10 Films |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 55 | Swingers | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Top 10 Films |
| 56 | Take Shelter (2011) | The Culture Trip |
| – | – | Den Of Geek |
| 57 | Teeth (2008) | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | Horror Chill |
| 58 | The Evil Dead | Rain Dance |
| – | – | Cheat Sheet |
| 59 | The Last House on the Left (1972) | Cheat Sheet |
| – | – | List Challenges |
| 60 | The Man From Earth (2007) | Alien Element |
| – | – | The Cinemaholic |
| 61 | Turbo Kid (2015) | Stranger Views |
| – | – | Alien Element |
| 62 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | Bright Side |
| – | – | Rain Dance |
| 63 | [REC] | Forbes |
| 64 | 24 Hour Party People (2002) | Den Of Geek |
| 65 | A Dark Song (2016) | Horror Chill |
| 66 | A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) | Horror Chill |
| 67 | A Wednesday (2008) | Book My Show |
| 68 | Aguirre: Wrath of God | Rain Dance |
| 69 | American Psycho (2000) | Den Of Geek |
| 70 | Animal Kingdom (2010) | Den Of Geek |
| 71 | Bad Taste New Zealand | Rain Dance |
| 72 | Badlands (1973) | The Cinemaholic |
| 73 | Be My Cat: A Film for Anne | Cheat Sheet |
| 74 | Beginners (2011) | Den Of Geek |
| 75 | Being John Malkovich | io9 |
| 76 | Berlin Syndrome (2017) | Horror Chill |
| 77 | Best In Show (2000) | Den Of Geek |
| 78 | Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010) | The Cinemaholic |
| 79 | Beyond the Door | Cheat Sheet |
| 80 | Black Christmas (1974) | List Challenges |
| 81 | Blood Freak (1972) | Grunge |
| 82 | Blue Ruin (2013) | The Cinemaholic |
| 83 | Bowling For Columbine (2002) | Den Of Geek |
| 84 | Braindead | Cheat Sheet |
| 85 | Bubba Ho-Tep | io9 |
| 86 | Buffalo 66 (1998) | Den Of Geek |
| 87 | Cannibal Holocaust (1980) | List Challenges |
| 88 | Carnival Of Souls | The Dissolve |
| 89 | Catfish (2010) | Den Of Geek |
| 90 | Cemetery Man | io9 |
| 91 | Chronicle | io9 |
| 92 | Contamination (1980) | Grunge |
| 93 | Control (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 94 | Creating Rem Lezar (1989) | Grunge |
| 95 | Creep (2014) | The Cinemaholic |
| 96 | Dark Star (1974) | Alien Element |
| 97 | Dead Snow | Cheat Sheet |
| 98 | Deep Throat (1972) | Primer Magazine |
| 99 | Dogma (1999) | Den Of Geek |
| 100 | Donnie Darko (2001) | Den Of Geek |
| 101 | Eagle Vs Shark (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 102 | Easy Rider (1969) | The Cinemaholic |
| 103 | Escape from Hell (2000) | Grunge |
| 104 | Evil Dead (1981) | The Cinemaholic |
| 105 | Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) | Book My Show |
| 106 | Ganja & Hess | The Dissolve |
| 107 | Garden State (2004) | Den Of Geek |
| 108 | Ghost World (2001) | Den Of Geek |
| 109 | Green Room (2015) | Horror Chill |
| 110 | Grizzly Man (2005) | Den Of Geek |
| 111 | Half Nelson | Bright Side |
| 112 | High Tension | Cheat Sheet |
| 113 | Hollywood Shuffle | Top 10 Films |
| 114 | Horrors of Spider Island (1960) | Grunge |
| 115 | Hounds of Love (2016) | Horror Chill |
| 116 | Hunger (2008) | Den Of Geek |
| 117 | Hush | Cheat Sheet |
| 118 | I Killed My Mother (2009) | The Cinemaholic |
| 119 | I Spit On Your Grave | Cheat Sheet |
| 120 | In the Company of Men | Bright Side |
| 121 | Ink (2009) | Alien Element |
| 122 | John Dies at the End | Stranger Views |
| 123 | Kahaani (2012) | Book My Show |
| 124 | Kidulthood (2006) | Den Of Geek |
| 125 | Killer Klowns from Outer Space | Cheat Sheet |
| 126 | Krisha (2015) | The Cinemaholic |
| 127 | Living in Oblivion | Rain Dance |
| 128 | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | Goliath |
| 129 | Lord of the Flies | Rain Dance |
| 130 | Manos the Hands of Fate (1966) | Grunge |
| 131 | Martin | The Dissolve |
| 132 | Mean Streets (1973) | The Cinemaholic |
| 133 | Memento (2000) | Den Of Geek |
| 134 | Message From Space (1978) | Grunge |
| 135 | Mid-August Lunch | Bright Side |
| 136 | My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown | Bright Side |
| 137 | Nadja | The Dissolve |
| 138 | Near Dark | The Dissolve |
| 139 | Peeping Tom (1960) | List Challenges |
| 140 | Piranha II (1981) | Grunge |
| 141 | Pitch Black | io9 |
| 142 | Prevenge (2013) | Horror Chill |
| 143 | Raw (2016) | Horror Chill |
| 144 | Resolution (2013) | Horror Chill |
| 145 | Robocop | io9 |
| 146 | Senna (2011) | Den Of Geek |
| 147 | Session 9 | The Dissolve |
| 148 | Shotgun Stories (2007) | The Cinemaholic |
| 149 | Sinister | Forbes |
| 150 | Sisters | The Dissolve |
| 151 | Slacker | Rain Dance |
| 152 | Sleep Dealer | io9 |
| 153 | Snatch (2000) | Den Of Geek |
| 154 | Son Of Rambow (2007) | Den Of Geek |
| 155 | Spider Baby | The Dissolve |
| 156 | Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) | Grunge |
| 157 | Synchronicity (2015) | Alien Element |
| 158 | Tanu Weds Manu(2011) | Book My Show |
| 159 | Terrifier (2018) | Horror Chill |
| 160 | Terror Toons (2002) | Grunge |
| 161 | The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) | Primer Magazine |
| 162 | The Battery (2012) | The Cinemaholic |
| 163 | The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) | Grunge |
| 164 | The Blackcoat’s Daughter (2015) | Horror Chill |
| 165 | The Breakfast Club | Bright Side |
| 166 | The Cabin In The Woods | The Dissolve |
| 167 | The Castle (1997) | Den Of Geek |
| 168 | The Crazies | io9 |
| 169 | The Descent (2005) | Den Of Geek |
| 170 | The Devil’s Rejects | The Dissolve |
| 171 | The Europa Report | Stranger Views |
| 172 | The Full Monty (1997) | The Culture Trip |
| 173 | The Girl With All the Gifts (2016) | Horror Chill |
| 174 | The Guard (2011) | Den Of Geek |
| 175 | The Hills Have Eyes (1977) | List Challenges |
| 176 | The Horror of Party Beach (1964) | Grunge |
| 177 | The Host | io9 |
| 178 | The House Of The Devil | The Dissolve |
| 179 | The Howling | The Dissolve |
| 180 | The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) | Den Of Geek |
| 181 | The Killer Shrews (1959) | Grunge |
| 182 | The Last Exorcism | Forbes |
| 183 | The Lift (1983) | Grunge |
| 184 | The Lunchbox (2013) | Book My Show |
| 185 | The Masque Of The Red Death | The Dissolve |
| 186 | The Science Of Sleep (2006) | Den Of Geek |
| 187 | The Stepfather | The Dissolve |
| 188 | The Terminator | io9 |
| 189 | The Town That Dreaded Sundown | Cheat Sheet |
| 190 | The Toxic Avenger | Cheat Sheet |
| 191 | The Void (2013) | Horror Chill |
| 192 | The Witch (2015) | Horror Chill |
| 193 | Things (1989) | Grunge |
| 194 | Thunder Ninja Kids in the Golden Adventure (1992) | Grunge |
| 195 | THX 1138 (1971) | Alien Element |
| 196 | Time Lapse (2014) | Alien Element |
| 197 | Timecrimes | io9 |
| 198 | Trollhunter | io9 |
| 199 | Tyrannosaur (2011) | The Cinemaholic |
| 200 | Upstream Color (2013) | The Cinemaholic |
| 201 | Veronica (2017) | Horror Chill |
| 202 | Wendy and Lucy | Bright Side |
| 203 | Wristcutters : A Love Story (2006) | The Cinemaholic |
| 204 | Xtro | io9 |
| 205 | Zerophilia | io9 |
19 Best Low-Budget Film Sources/Lists
| Source | Article |
| Alien Element | 10 Notable High Concept / Low Budget Sci Fi Films |
| Book My Show | Top Low Budget Movies That Made Big In Bollywood – Entertainment |
| Bright Side | 15 Low-Budget Yet Brilliant Movies That Became Box Office Hits |
| Cheat Sheet | Low-Budget Horror Movies That Kick Ass |
| Den Of Geek | Top 50 Modern Day Low Budget Movies |
| Forbes | The Top Ten Best Low-Budget Horror Movies Of All Time |
| Goliath | The 12 Best Movies Made With Extremely Low Budgets |
| Grunge | The most hilarious low-budget films ever |
| Horror Chill | The 20 Best Low-budget Indie Horror Movies of all time |
| io9 | Low Budget Films That Are More Thrilling Than Most Big Summer |
| List Challenges | The 10 Best Low-Budget Horror Movies of All Time – How many have |
| Primer Magazine | A Selection of the Best Low Budget Movies of All Time |
| Rain Dance | 25 Low Budget Films That Launched Careers of Filmmakers |
| Space | 7 Very Scary Movies That Were Shot On A Shoestring Budget |
| Stranger Views | Best Low Budget Science Fiction Movies |
| The Cinemaholic | Best Low Budget Movies of All Time |
| The Culture Trip | The 10 Greatest Low-Budget Movies Of All Time |
| The Dissolve | The 30 Best American Independent Horror Films |
| Top 10 Films | Top 10 Low Budget Films of All Time – Top 10 Films |
