Sums up my feelings nicely. I really appreciate your post!

I recall Tupac getting fired from Menace II Society because he felt his character was too unrealistic and wanted more backstory. According to stories from the other actors on the project, he spazzed out on the directors during a rehearsal and was fired. He later ran down on the directors, the Hughes Brothers, at a video shoot and a brawl broke out.

For A Few Dollars More.

Uwe Boll?

Nice!

Quentin Tarantino, but not necessarily for his movies (which I love), but the films and filmmakers he exposed me to who would go on to be some of my true favorites(Fulci, Bava, Godard, Fellini, Lenzi, Argento, Trenchard-Smith, etc.)

Since we're gatekeeping here, anyone who immediately names Snyder, Wright, Nolan, and Tarantino as their lineup of favorite directors isn't certified to have an opinion on anything related to movies.

Reservoir Dogs because I never wanna get tired of watching it

I'd rather watch a Marvel movie instead. I hate Marvel movies.

Nearly every joke in Black Dynamite is a plot device since each actor is playing both a fictional actor and a role (Michael Jai White as Ferrante Jones starring as Black Dynamite).

I say once a spoiler has become part of pop-culture. Like the big secret of The Crying Game which no one could shut up about back then, despite critics appeals to discretion. A better example is the "I am your father" quote from The Empire Strikes Back which has become so embedded in pop-culture to the point where people who haven't seen the film will know what you're talking about.

Giallos are the answer!

I'd start with Argento's Deep Red then the genre essentials:

Tenebrae

Opera

Don't Torture a Duckling

Murder Rock

Night School

The Psychic

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

Blood and Black Lace

A Bay of Blood

Four Flies on Grey Velvet

What Have You Done to Solange?

Eyeball

Torso

The Girl Who Knew Too Much

I'd also suggest DePalma's Dressed to Kill, Blow-Out, and Body Double.

Check out Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron. Its another German-focused WWII flick.

Depends on what "dumb" decisions you're pointing out. Character choosing to explore darkened area for noise-on purpose for the sake of building tension and/or possibly killing off a character. We have no way to know what is in every writer's head.

The thing people forget, especially post-Scream, is that these characters aren't the audience-they aren't aware they're in a horror film, and in most cases, aren't aware that they are in any considerable danger.

As far as whether these "dumb decisions" some viewers choose to fixate on are on purpose or not, alot of times it just comes down to nothing more than creating tension in the most economical way. Also, the audience reacting to characters doing "dumb" things is part of the experience-you're supposed to cringe in fear at the character walking down a dark corridor after hearing a strange noise as you know whats likely coming. The way you reacted is the way you're expected to react--("OMG, I wouldn't do that....you're gonna die...oh shit!")

Hard Boiled

Kairo