Zmovies (or grade-Zmovies) are low-budget films with production qualities lower than Bmovies. History and terminology The term "Zmovie" arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopted to characterize low-budget motion pictures with quality standards well below those of most Bmovies and even so-called Cmovies. While Bmovies may have mediocre scripts and actors who are relatively unknown, modestly skilled, or past their prime, they are for the most part competently lit, shot and edited. Zmovies, by contrast, would be considered by most watchers and critics to be complete objective failures. Sometimes Zmovies are so incompetent they gain cult status due to the hilarity of their shortcomings. The economizing shortcuts of films identified as Cmovies tend to be evident throughout; nonetheless, films to which the C label is applied are generally the products of relatively stable entities within the commercial film industry and thus still adhere to certain production norms. In contrast, most films referred to as Zmovies are made for very little money on the fringes of the organized film industry or entirely outside it. As a result, scripts are often poorly written, continuity errors tend to arise during shooting, and nonprofessional actors are frequently cast. Many Zmovies are also poorly lit and edited. The micro-budget "quickies" of 1930s fly-by-night Poverty Row production houses may be thought of as Zmovies avant la lettre. Later Zmovies may not evidence the same degree of technical incompetence; in addition to bargain-basement scripts and acting, they are often characterized by violent, gory and/or sexual content and a minimum of artistic interest, readily falling into the category of exploitation or "grindhouse" films. Additionally, with the popularity of Internet media platforms such as YouTube, low-budget films are having a resurgence due to the easy access low-budget filmmakers have to publish their films. In 2014 Raindance Film Festival published an article identifying social media as a primary venue for low-budget filmmakers. While the abilities of some of these filmmakers has varied, the average quality of many of these films remains on the z-grade. Examples Director Ed Wood is often described as the quintessential maker of Zmovies. Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) is often labeled the worst film ever made. It features an incoherent plot, bizarre dialogue, inept acting, intrusive narration, the cheapest conceivable special effects and cardboard sets that the actors occasionally bump into and knock over. Stock