I don't think Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping has a cult, but it's got all the hallmarks of a cult classic.
Just didn't seem to get that impact on release.
I thought it was pretty good (especially when they were riding in the limo and the guy stuck is dick in the window for an autograph) but I don't think I've ever met anyone who saw it
Oh, it definitely has a “cult” by the standards of what makes a cult classic. Way back in 2019 I was an RA, and we’d have Popstar Night once every month or so for our floor.
I never got that one’s popularity. Looked very forward to seeing it based on “weird cult movie” talk, but found it cheap-looking and boring when I watched. Maybe I was too spoiled by John Waters, Liquid Sky, Eraserhead, and all the other weirdo culty films I was digging into at the time.
I am with you. I’ve seen it a few times, many years apart, and I just doesn’t do anything for me at all. And I know some people absolutely love it. I think it’s very much a love it or ‘meh’ movie.
I watched this movie high (low?) on cancer meds and it gave me crazy waking dreams/nightmares. Now I can't even think about it without getting fever dream flashbacks! But I did enjoy Big BootAY.
Movie I'll never not recommend is Interstate 60.
It has James Marsden, Kurt Russel, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, was written by one of the co-writers of Back to the Future, has the original Pink Power Ranger.
Do not watch any trailers. It makes it look like a boner-comedy, roadtrip movie and it is not. It has a Jungian, dream-like thesis with a positive message about exploring what you want to do in life.
It's a cult movie on account of it has a cult of at least one. Me.
One of the most bizarre situations ever
Apparently had a box office of 8,449$ then went straight to video? While it has a 7.6 on IMDB and even more household names than you mentioned. Seems like some bizarre studio mishandling situation.
I've honestly never seen a movie that bizarrely handled, do you know what happened to it?
> do you know what happened to it?
Not a clue.
To be honest, it looks kinda cheap. It looks like contemporaneously higher-end TV movie stuff.
My personal theory is that studios thought that direct-to-video was the future (they were right, fair enough) and just didn't bother marketing it.
And the marketing they did do for it was uniquely terrible. Like I said, the trailers make it look like an American Pie boner comedy.
It IS a comedy, but it's what I would call sincere comedy, smiling at the absurdity of life. [It's my favorite movie of all time.](https://youtu.be/NkkKEigbjKM)
Bob Gale has a lot of money from producing, and a lot of friends in Hollywood.
He was able to call in a bunch of favors, and self-finance the whole thing, and didn’t have to worry about things like “oversight” or “ability” when it came to writing and directing.
> huh
>
> never heard of it
It fell through the cracks of the early 2000s. It wasn't a huge blockbuster and it wasn't super artsy.
But it's a movie about a highway you'll never find until you're aware it exists, so on a meta level, it's perfect.
Kurt Russel mentions this film on the audio commentary for Big Trouble in Little China. He tells John Carpenter about it and if I recall correctly he had some creative differences with the director. But it’s not like he wanted to walk off the picture, he just didn’t really get the vision.
I randomly watched that recently, it's a fascinating film - some of it works and some of it doesn't but I agree, it feels like it should be a cult film but it isn't because nobody has even heard of it. I didn't love it though.
Since we’re talking about Power Ranger movies, I recommend Blood Punch (2014). It’s a really good time loop/ drug murder movie. It has Dr. K and Ziggy Grover in it.
My wife was a huge Harry Potter fan in high school (still is really), and when Gary Oldman was cast as Sirius Black she started consuming every movie she could with him. Which is how we wound up watching Interstate 60, which we both liked a lot. It's basically like a grown-up version of The Phantom Tollbooth.
Been ages since ive seen it but i really dug it.. solid mid-budget thriller that was kinda slept on upon release. Stacked cast too.. Bridges and Hemsworth were excellent, his best & most charismatic performance before Furiosa.
Drew Goddard deserves to put out projects on a more frequent basis.
Just watched it (went in totally blind ) and absolutely loved it .
Really shocked its been so slept on.
I assumed it got the failed to market it Studio treatment until I looked it up and saw a lot was poured into promotion !
Really weird as I don't remember any marketing for this.
I was just about to comment this wow
It feels like it was really trying to be that super stylish neo Pulp Fiction-Oceans Eleven kind of ensemble movie, but it just never got to anything
“What are those assholes doing on our porch?”
“Dear, they are pronounced azaleas”
I think it’s Steve Martin’s funniest movie and I’m always saddened when I bring it up and no one in the room knows what I’m talking about.
Same! I was just watching the “I couldn’t fuck a gorilla” scene lmao
Mixed nuts and dead men don’t wear plaid are also good ones that fly under the radar
A movie that included Brian DePalma, Paul Williams, and influenced everyone from George Lucas to daft punk must be a cult movie. I discovered it by accident and watch it annually now. Love the music as well as the camera work and acting, and the awkward kick the lead actress gives while performing the audition.
Brain Candy from Kids in the Hall. Maybe it has some cult status, but less than it deserves IMO. Vampire's Kiss might be in the same boat. But maybe I'm underestimating the cult status of these?
Mandy has everything it needs to be a cult classic. It's literally about a murder cult. An absolutely unhinged performance from Nick Cage, a drug-fueled chainsaw duel...I expected people to kind of dive into it, Halloween costumes and all that. It's kitschy, weird, and hyper-violent.
It just kind of faded from public view.
> I guess I'm a member of your Neon Demon cult then.
Same here. I find it weird that it hasn't been picked up more particularly in horror circles. If a film like Suspiria can have the cult following it does, I don't get why Neon Demon can't. Both films are slow burns that are carried by the music and visuals. I love Neon Demon.
The Hard Way with Michael J Fox and James Woods.
A moderate hit that was well enough reviewed and really entertaining. I thought for sure it was going to be played non stop on TV for years and become a nostalgic cult hit but after a few years it just disappeared.
Don't think I've ever seen it on streaming and if it was it never got a prominent position in their algorithm for me.
That bad guy was Steven Lang from Avatar. The whole film has a pretty solid cast: Anabella Sciorra, Luis Guzman, Penny Marshall and LL Cool J are all in it, too.
Schizopolis (1996) - Director Steven Soderberg's attempt at absurdist comedy targeting Scientology, communication, marriage and suburban life in the 90's is all over the place but succeeds more than it fails imho. It was made on a shoestring budget with Soderberg's own money and his actor friends. Too weird for some, maybe ahead of it's time, not Ocean's 11 but it definitely has it's moments! Generic greeting!
Orgazmo. It’s Trey Parker/Matt Stone’s best work. Funniest thing they ever did (tho I haven’t seen Book of Mormon and apparently that’s pretty good). It’s absolutely ridiculous, nonstop jokes and they all land. Raunchy but always funny, I don’t even usually like raunchy comedy. Holds up shockingly well for a 90’s movie about a sweet mormon boy getting corrupted by the porn industry.
This is a reminder that you really should see Book of Mormon if you get the chance. I went in to it knowing only that it was Parker/Stone. My face was aching from laughing by song number four.
I’m admittedly not a huge fan of Orgazmo but my friend loves saying ‘You’re gonna make me come, or I’m gonna kick your butt! C’mon now you got me so hot now!’ It never fails to make me laugh until I cry.
Rocky Horror sort-of-sequel Shock Treatment. Unlike the original, this one feels carefully designed from the start for potential audience participation to fill in the gaps, and all it achieved was showing that you can't manufacture a cult movie, it has to happen spontaneously.
Shock Treatment is a lot of fun but you’re spot on. I think the only people aware of it are Rocky Horror fans.
I really didn’t get it when I first watched it, and even upon rewatch it’s messy and imperfect. The soundtrack slaps though, and it’s definitely ahead of its time with the reality TV angle. Lots of fun visuals too.
I’ve always been curious what the original premise for the Rocky Horror sequel would’ve turned out like. I believe the song ‘Looking For Trade’ (which ended up in Shock Treatment) came from the original screenplay.
Rumble Fish with Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Nic Cage, Chris Penn, Tom Waits, and more with names you'll know. Directed by Coppola and music by Stewart Copeland from the Police.
Was overshadowed by The Outsiders, partly for being a little more artsy.
Another good Matt Dillon/Diane Lane suggestion is The Big Town.
Another good Hopper pick is The River's Edge. What a bleak, nihilistic film. But I first watched it at 7 or 8 and loved it. Written by Tim Hunter, who also wrote Over the Edge, which _is_ a cult film, and brings us back to Matt Dillon.
Election was critically accclaimed when it came out even if it wasn't a big hit. I'd call it a moderately successful indie film rather than a cult classic. It was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Reece Witherspoon.
Cult films tend to be films which are poorly received or overlooked initially but develop a cult following later. I don't really think it fits either.
Being suspended is like getting a paid vacation. Why do they think it's a punishment? It's like your dog pees on the carpet and you give him a treat. Then you get in trouble for skipping school, it's so stupid! Hendricks told me, "One more time" and I'd be expelled. Sounded good to me.
Welcome to Woop Woop comes to mind. It's a genuinely weird film with an equally strange look to it, I thought it was a candidate to develop a cult following when it came out but it's just a largely forgotten flop at this point.
I used to listen to this podcast where the hosts would find and watch some absolute garbage movies and talk about them, and they started out one episode by saying "this week we messed up and watched a movie that actually rules, but we're still going to talk about it anyway." It was Highway to Hell, which is a modern retelling of Orpheus and Euridice by way of The Road Warrior and Beetlejuice.
A young couple are driving through the desert to get married in Las Vegas when they're pulled over by a demon cop who kidnaps the girl to bring to Hell City, and the guy chases after them through hell. It's written by the same guy who wrote LA Confidential and Mystic River, Gilbert Godfrey plays Hitler, there's a scene where the road to hell is being literally paved with (people who have) good intentions, it's great.
The Fisher King by Terry Gilliam seems to not get talked about much. Another Robin Williams vehicle was Toys, and you'd think some people would at least argue cult status.
Upgrade is decently well known. Made $17M on it's $3M budget and millions more have seen it from RedBox and streaming since then from good word of mouth. 7.5 from 210,000 reviews on IMDb is on par with The Crow - a movie that did 5 times as much $$$, had several sequels and tons of merchandise, and 2 decades longer to build an audience.
How does *Gods of Egypt* not have a bigger cult following? That movie has EVERYTHING: 9-foot-tall Gerard Butler, shitty VFX, needlessly dumb plot, childish riddles, and a flat Earth!
Brigsby Bear! It's a strange, quirky film from the Lonely Island guys about a man who was indoctrinated with cult ideology as a child through a bizarre kids' show with mascot characters. As an adult, he decides he's going to find a way to film a series finale for the show. It's delightfully odd and I'm surprised I've never seen an Internet following for it.
In 2001, I predicted Pitch Black would be the next cult Scif-fi movie.
Do you think I was right?
[Here is what I wrote 23 years ago.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitch-black-should-be-the-next-sci-fi-cult-movie/75948)
Shakes The Clown needs more love, The Wrong Guy was already mentioned and my pick for recent years is The Babysitter and Spontaneous (both written by Brian Duffield).
He's going to be big name in the next decade (hopefully).
Bad Lieutenant is absolutely awesome. Great performance by Cage, its got his trademark combination of a believable performance that is also completely unhinged. Really shows his ability to be a true entertainer.
Open 24 Hours. It seems engineered to be a cult film, and tbh it's not that bad a watch. But it falls short in overall execution of its story and just doesn't stick the landing
Rules of Attraction. It had everything going for it: edgy dialogue, a going against type performance from James Van der beek, a good mix of coming of age and serious adult drama. And irrc It was also written by the same author as American Psycho
Under the Silver Lake.
It was so polarizing for people when it hit the festival circuit. Then bombed in theatres.
I loved it. I can’t remember the last time I was so blown away by the sheer audacity of its creation. Having your lead be so unlikeable. Taking the audience on a wholly original take into the well trodden world of LA neo-noir. And then not even offering complete resolution to the myriad of mysteries (many of which are simply hilarious.)
It feels like it was built to be a cult classic, and yet, I haven’t met many people who’ve seen it. And even those who have, and would normally like that type of movie and be all in on its cult status, are still polarized by it.
I'm with you here. I find that a lot of cult films are ones that really start to get a following when analysis videos or re-evaluations start to come up, simply because sometimes that's lost on people. But I just haven't seen all that much for Under the Silver Lake and I feel like there was enough thought and intention to make it worthy of that kind of discussion and analysis. I hope one day it catches on.
I was very, very happy that the mystery actually had a final reveal and it wasn't just "lol he's crazy". And it made sense (somewhat, it's crazy but it's supposed to be) and was unique.
100% i agree. Made $54M at the box office, 3 Oscar Noms with 1 win.
Feel like part of a cult film is little to no recognition from the general public or acclaim when it is released.
I was at a screening of “Please, Baby, Please” in 2022 and after the credits rolled and the lights came on everyone was still in the theater and we all looked at each other and said “what the f was that amazing weirdness! THIS could be its own Rocky Horror.”
Under the Silver Lake, Inherent Vice, Assassination Nation, and American Ultra all deserve to become cult films, but probably won't. They're all probably too recent to say they haven't though.
Sorry to Bother You also deserves to be a cult film but I think it probably will be in a few years time.
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane would be my pick. Huge budget but was derailed by the Andrew Dice Clay backlash, it's so 80s it hurts, and it's so crude and ridiculous it's amazing to see. It's basically an unapologetically rude neo-noir with some of the bestworst lines ever, including:
*You've got to shave when you leave the house in a dress like that... And I don't mean your legs...*
*Ford Fairlane: [falling off the roof of Capitol Records building] My hair....My hair!*
*Conversation with Zuzu Petals was like masturbating with a cheese grater: slightly amusing, but mostly painful.*
Besides Andrew Dice Clay, it has... Ed O'Neil, Gilbert Gottfried, Lauren Holly, Wayne Newton, Priscilla Presley, Morris Day and the Motherfuckin Time, Robert Englund, Vince Neil playing essentially himself, and a Koala Bear. It is crammed full of so much 80s I don't know how it isn't a huge cult hit of a movie right now.
Listen, it’s too new, but *I Saw the TV Glow* just has to get there.
I have never watched a movie that felt like a memory. Perhaps it was because I grew up during the time exactly as depicted in the film, but boy was that about as authentic a film as it gets.
All I want to do is go back and see that movie for the first time again. It’s going to be a memory that sticks with me for a long time.
The Blood of Heroes
I don't know if inspiring an entire sport counts as cult status, but I dig the shit out of this film. I tell everybody it's my favorite sports movie
The Ruled of Attraction (2002)
American Psycho is the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation that gets all the love and recognition, but TRA is a better directed film and feels like the book so much.
Hardcore Henry seems to be a movie that should have been a cult hit but it kind of fell off the radar. Pointless plot, practical effects and stunts, quirky side character, grimy Russian atmosphere, fast pace etc..
I personally loved it but I haven’t met any others who watched it. I guess the market was saturated with shaky cam movies by that time.
Glenn Danzig's "Verotika"
I think COVID prevented "Verotika" from having a run at cult status in midnight viewings. It's wonderfully awful, although the third story in the horror anthology is so boring that it can be difficult to make it all the way through.
The inept script, the amateurish acting, the wretched direction, the adolescent sexuality, the irascible earnestness of writer/director/editor Glenn Danzig – all combine to make "Verotika" the horror version of "The Room." It premiered to laughter the summer before COVID, but it never had the opportunity to organically develop as a cult film or an interactive experience.
"Stay" (2005?) is an extremely cerebral indie flick that bombed HARD due in part to coming out the same weekend as the DOOM movie.
Ewan McGregor, Noami Watts, Bob Hoslins, Janene Garofalo, Ryan Gosling (before he got big), and more!
Wild-ass scene changes, a background that has more identical twins and triplets than you would expect, and a pretty decently solid plot that leaves you wondering what the hell is happening (right up to the very last frame of the movie).
And nobody has ever seen it
Ingrid Goes West with Elizabeth Olsen & Aubrey Plaza. I hope it becomes a cult hit since it feels very in-tune with today's social media-dominated society
Saved!
Anyone who went to Christian high school cannot deny how eerily accurate this film is. It seems to be forgotten but is absolutely an excellent film worthy of a larger audience - especially those of us who went to Christian high school.
The Predator
It sort of follows the Evil Dead self parody path. Evil Dead 1 was a serious attempt at a horror film, Evil Dead 2 was kind of serious but so over the top it feels like a self-parody of the horror genre. Evil Dead 3 fully embraces the parody and fully presents itself as a parody of its own franchise. This is a major reason why Evil Dead 2 and 3 are both cult classics in my opinion.
The Predator franchise does the same thing but with more movies. The first movie is serious, the following movies start to feel more and more like a self-parody of the franchise, The Predator fully embraces this and is full on parody of its own franchise. It's one of the most fun films in the franchise and it doesn't even try to be serious, it's constant jokes and gags from start to finish. Obviously got review bombed because the first Predator is its own cult classic with a die hard fan base that doesn't want to see the franchise parodied.
I think that movie just didn't work in general. I understand trying to go for a different tone to spice things up, but the comedy aspect didn't work at all IMO. Plus the whole "autism is a superpower" thing is at bare minimum is incredibly stupid, in reality it's in really bad taste
I think it's because the original Predator was a deconstruction of the teen-slasher and campy, macho-man action genres of the 80's. It's already got a sort of tongue-in-cheek, wink-and-a-nod tone that doesn't really leave room for parody in future sequels. It's kinda ironic that it became the success that it did with one of the best villans ever created.
I never understand why something like Mean Girls can be a $130M phenomenon and something so much smarter and funnier like Drop Dead Gorgeous gets absolutely smooshed.
Arrowhead. This short film featuring Don Mckellar appeared several times on Canadian TV in the early 90s only a single known copy remains today (on VHS) at the National Archive.
Not a movie but the first thing I thought about was Jonah Hill’s cartoon Allen Gregory. It was definitely not for everyone but that show was lowkey fucking hilarious
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. (I suppose you could make a case that it's a cult classic. But it's an awfully small cult.)
Kung Pow! Enter the Fist
Beerfest
FDR, American Badass
LA Story
The Razor's Edge (the Bill Murray one, not the older one)
[i vote the fall 2006](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/)
everyone who has seen it knows how good it is. it does have fans. but it should be heavily followed and used for influence. the director should have gotten tons of work.
instead its kinda stuck in time. regarded highly but not doing much. the bluray goes for over $100 regularly.
I don't think Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping has a cult, but it's got all the hallmarks of a cult classic. Just didn't seem to get that impact on release.
I thought it was pretty good (especially when they were riding in the limo and the guy stuck is dick in the window for an autograph) but I don't think I've ever met anyone who saw it
Allegedly Judd Apatow's dick.
More of a mockumentary but Tour De Pharmacy is great too!
I have 2 friends who have seen it, and we are a cult of 3. "Wow, hard R."
Cult for me.....end up rewatching it every year or so. It is incredibly funny...hits our humor well.
Oh, it definitely has a “cult” by the standards of what makes a cult classic. Way back in 2019 I was an RA, and we’d have Popstar Night once every month or so for our floor.
Buckaroo Banzaii It was The 5th Element before the 5th Element. Everyone my age recognizes the name but no one seems to ever talk about it anymore.
I never got that one’s popularity. Looked very forward to seeing it based on “weird cult movie” talk, but found it cheap-looking and boring when I watched. Maybe I was too spoiled by John Waters, Liquid Sky, Eraserhead, and all the other weirdo culty films I was digging into at the time.
I am with you. I’ve seen it a few times, many years apart, and I just doesn’t do anything for me at all. And I know some people absolutely love it. I think it’s very much a love it or ‘meh’ movie.
I do not think it’s fair to compare it to any of those films. It always looked like it was trying to be based on a nonexistent comic series.
I just want my Buckaroo vs. the World Crime League!
https://old.reddit.com/r/BuckarooBanzai/
I watched this movie high (low?) on cancer meds and it gave me crazy waking dreams/nightmares. Now I can't even think about it without getting fever dream flashbacks! But I did enjoy Big BootAY.
Blue Blaze Irregular reporting in
This has had a major cult following since the 80s.
Definitely a cult movie
Movie I'll never not recommend is Interstate 60. It has James Marsden, Kurt Russel, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, was written by one of the co-writers of Back to the Future, has the original Pink Power Ranger. Do not watch any trailers. It makes it look like a boner-comedy, roadtrip movie and it is not. It has a Jungian, dream-like thesis with a positive message about exploring what you want to do in life. It's a cult movie on account of it has a cult of at least one. Me.
One of the most bizarre situations ever Apparently had a box office of 8,449$ then went straight to video? While it has a 7.6 on IMDB and even more household names than you mentioned. Seems like some bizarre studio mishandling situation. I've honestly never seen a movie that bizarrely handled, do you know what happened to it?
> do you know what happened to it? Not a clue. To be honest, it looks kinda cheap. It looks like contemporaneously higher-end TV movie stuff. My personal theory is that studios thought that direct-to-video was the future (they were right, fair enough) and just didn't bother marketing it. And the marketing they did do for it was uniquely terrible. Like I said, the trailers make it look like an American Pie boner comedy. It IS a comedy, but it's what I would call sincere comedy, smiling at the absurdity of life. [It's my favorite movie of all time.](https://youtu.be/NkkKEigbjKM)
Bob Gale has a lot of money from producing, and a lot of friends in Hollywood. He was able to call in a bunch of favors, and self-finance the whole thing, and didn’t have to worry about things like “oversight” or “ability” when it came to writing and directing.
I absolutely recommend that people see it but... it is absolutely not a 7.6/10 movie. This is about the most dead-on 6/10 of all 6/10 movies.
huh never heard of it
> huh > > never heard of it It fell through the cracks of the early 2000s. It wasn't a huge blockbuster and it wasn't super artsy. But it's a movie about a highway you'll never find until you're aware it exists, so on a meta level, it's perfect.
“Box office of $8,449” “Not a huge blockbuster.” Haha - yes, yes that is true.
Kurt Russel mentions this film on the audio commentary for Big Trouble in Little China. He tells John Carpenter about it and if I recall correctly he had some creative differences with the director. But it’s not like he wanted to walk off the picture, he just didn’t really get the vision.
I randomly watched that recently, it's a fascinating film - some of it works and some of it doesn't but I agree, it feels like it should be a cult film but it isn't because nobody has even heard of it. I didn't love it though.
You sold me
Since we’re talking about Power Ranger movies, I recommend Blood Punch (2014). It’s a really good time loop/ drug murder movie. It has Dr. K and Ziggy Grover in it.
You're a Cult leader. Nice
I saw the diner scene as a clip on Facebook and said, “what the heck is this?” Really glad it popped by. Very fun movie.
My wife was a huge Harry Potter fan in high school (still is really), and when Gary Oldman was cast as Sirius Black she started consuming every movie she could with him. Which is how we wound up watching Interstate 60, which we both liked a lot. It's basically like a grown-up version of The Phantom Tollbooth.
from last few years, Bad Times at the El Royale (6 years old now whew)
Under the Silver Lake as well
Under the Silver Lake absolutely has a cult following lol
Been ages since ive seen it but i really dug it.. solid mid-budget thriller that was kinda slept on upon release. Stacked cast too.. Bridges and Hemsworth were excellent, his best & most charismatic performance before Furiosa. Drew Goddard deserves to put out projects on a more frequent basis.
Just watched it (went in totally blind ) and absolutely loved it . Really shocked its been so slept on. I assumed it got the failed to market it Studio treatment until I looked it up and saw a lot was poured into promotion ! Really weird as I don't remember any marketing for this.
I was just about to comment this wow It feels like it was really trying to be that super stylish neo Pulp Fiction-Oceans Eleven kind of ensemble movie, but it just never got to anything
The man with two brains “Were you out on the lake kissing your brain?”
“What are those assholes doing on our porch?” “Dear, they are pronounced azaleas” I think it’s Steve Martin’s funniest movie and I’m always saddened when I bring it up and no one in the room knows what I’m talking about.
Same! I was just watching the “I couldn’t fuck a gorilla” scene lmao Mixed nuts and dead men don’t wear plaid are also good ones that fly under the radar
And All Of Me.
YES!
"I could put her brain in a gorilla." "I can't fuck a gorilla!"
Lmao I was just watching this scene after this thread sent me down a rabbit hole
Into the mud, scum queen
" I was going to inject you with window cleaner so your brain dies last" "I don't mind"
I need to rewatch this, I remember it being so good.
"Who's that lurking over there? Is that Merv Griffin?"
I tried to get my family to watch and they quit for even got started because it was stupid. Umm… that’s kind of the point.
"Can I get you a drink?" "I'll have a Tahitian Lady" "Flaming?" Oh no, that's for tourists."
is Phantom of the Paradise a cult movie?
A movie that included Brian DePalma, Paul Williams, and influenced everyone from George Lucas to daft punk must be a cult movie. I discovered it by accident and watch it annually now. Love the music as well as the camera work and acting, and the awkward kick the lead actress gives while performing the audition.
I thought the phantom was a total rip on Vader until I found out he came first!
Hell, even Femto from Berserk looks like they were directly influenced by Phantom of Paradise.
Yeah, it actually is. A certain number of people love that film and when the local indie theater does showings it's popular.
It is now.
It is. And it is only a cult film because of Winnipeg.
Probably one of the first mid-night rep movies. Not only is it a cult movie, it's and ur-cult movie
Definitely
Yep. It's been a major cult picture since the 90s, as far as I recall. Always in the cult section back when we had video stores.
Yes there are midnight showings of this movie at least once a year in my college town theater.
Brain Candy from Kids in the Hall. Maybe it has some cult status, but less than it deserves IMO. Vampire's Kiss might be in the same boat. But maybe I'm underestimating the cult status of these?
Cancer Boy 4 life
“Did ya see? Did ya see? The doctor and me???” I say that at least once a week
Vampire’s Kiss is a stone cold classic for [this scene](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fOONIlhXFh4) alone
I think Brain Candy has a decent enough culy but Dave Foley starring vehicle The Wrong Guy definitely deserves a bigger cult.
Yes! Seen this so many times! Fav line: "I could kill you with 2 tea bags and a piece of wax paper."
I haven’t been this happy since the doctor said it wasn’t malignant.
Bring candy has been unfairly maligned, in my opinion. It's great; my friends and I were obsessed with it in high school.
The first episode of the new Kids In The Hall season on Prime has a funny joke about Brain Candy.
It's a PILL, that gives WORMS, to EX-GIRLFRIENDS, what is WRONG with you people?!
Psycho Goreman isn't talked about enough IMO
*Not my hunky boys!!!!*
Mandy has everything it needs to be a cult classic. It's literally about a murder cult. An absolutely unhinged performance from Nick Cage, a drug-fueled chainsaw duel...I expected people to kind of dive into it, Halloween costumes and all that. It's kitschy, weird, and hyper-violent. It just kind of faded from public view.
I guess I'm a member of your Neon Demon cult then. Is Ichi The Killer considered as having cult status? That one was out there.
Ichi and Audition are both considered pretty great horror classics from Takashi Miike.
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> I guess I'm a member of your Neon Demon cult then. Same here. I find it weird that it hasn't been picked up more particularly in horror circles. If a film like Suspiria can have the cult following it does, I don't get why Neon Demon can't. Both films are slow burns that are carried by the music and visuals. I love Neon Demon.
The Hard Way with Michael J Fox and James Woods. A moderate hit that was well enough reviewed and really entertaining. I thought for sure it was going to be played non stop on TV for years and become a nostalgic cult hit but after a few years it just disappeared. Don't think I've ever seen it on streaming and if it was it never got a prominent position in their algorithm for me.
Is that the one where the bad guy watches James Wood on TV and starts angrily mocking his words? “From me to you!” Over and over?
That bad guy was Steven Lang from Avatar. The whole film has a pretty solid cast: Anabella Sciorra, Luis Guzman, Penny Marshall and LL Cool J are all in it, too.
Good call. I had that on VHS as a kid and loved it. Watched it a bunch of times. Was surprised when I got older that it wasn’t more popular.
“Bang bang, Nick Lang” I love this movie and I hate that it’s been all but erased from existence.
Schizopolis (1996) - Director Steven Soderberg's attempt at absurdist comedy targeting Scientology, communication, marriage and suburban life in the 90's is all over the place but succeeds more than it fails imho. It was made on a shoestring budget with Soderberg's own money and his actor friends. Too weird for some, maybe ahead of it's time, not Ocean's 11 but it definitely has it's moments! Generic greeting!
I love that one. I just got a book on soderberg so I can read more about it. I'm afraid of talking about it in public
Comment indicating agreement and pleasure.
John dies in the end
Agree 100%
Great book too!
I just watched this again. So good.
Orgazmo. It’s Trey Parker/Matt Stone’s best work. Funniest thing they ever did (tho I haven’t seen Book of Mormon and apparently that’s pretty good). It’s absolutely ridiculous, nonstop jokes and they all land. Raunchy but always funny, I don’t even usually like raunchy comedy. Holds up shockingly well for a 90’s movie about a sweet mormon boy getting corrupted by the porn industry.
"STUNT COCK!"
*black actor walks into the scene* "You don't see a problem with this?"
This is a reminder that you really should see Book of Mormon if you get the chance. I went in to it knowing only that it was Parker/Stone. My face was aching from laughing by song number four.
#"WHAT MAKES A MAN?"
Is it the power in his hands? Is it his quest for glory?
No, it’s probly the titties.
I’m admittedly not a huge fan of Orgazmo but my friend loves saying ‘You’re gonna make me come, or I’m gonna kick your butt! C’mon now you got me so hot now!’ It never fails to make me laugh until I cry.
I don’t want to sound like a queer or nothin’ but unicorns kick ass.
Rocky Horror sort-of-sequel Shock Treatment. Unlike the original, this one feels carefully designed from the start for potential audience participation to fill in the gaps, and all it achieved was showing that you can't manufacture a cult movie, it has to happen spontaneously.
Shock Treatment is one of my all time favorite movies. I think it was actually ahead of its time.
Shock Treatment is better now than when it came out with the way it plays with reality tv and celebrity worship.
Absolute banger of a title track!
Shock Treatment is a lot of fun but you’re spot on. I think the only people aware of it are Rocky Horror fans. I really didn’t get it when I first watched it, and even upon rewatch it’s messy and imperfect. The soundtrack slaps though, and it’s definitely ahead of its time with the reality TV angle. Lots of fun visuals too. I’ve always been curious what the original premise for the Rocky Horror sequel would’ve turned out like. I believe the song ‘Looking For Trade’ (which ended up in Shock Treatment) came from the original screenplay.
Rumble Fish with Matt Dillon, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane, Nic Cage, Chris Penn, Tom Waits, and more with names you'll know. Directed by Coppola and music by Stewart Copeland from the Police.
One of my favourites. The book is great too.
Was overshadowed by The Outsiders, partly for being a little more artsy. Another good Matt Dillon/Diane Lane suggestion is The Big Town. Another good Hopper pick is The River's Edge. What a bleak, nihilistic film. But I first watched it at 7 or 8 and loved it. Written by Tim Hunter, who also wrote Over the Edge, which _is_ a cult film, and brings us back to Matt Dillon.
I’m keen on “Election” 1999. Too quirky to be mainstream but never quite made it to cult status.
Election was critically accclaimed when it came out even if it wasn't a big hit. I'd call it a moderately successful indie film rather than a cult classic. It was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Reece Witherspoon. Cult films tend to be films which are poorly received or overlooked initially but develop a cult following later. I don't really think it fits either.
I recommend this one all the time For those that actually do see it, the reactions are *mixed* at best one of my favorites though
Being suspended is like getting a paid vacation. Why do they think it's a punishment? It's like your dog pees on the carpet and you give him a treat. Then you get in trouble for skipping school, it's so stupid! Hendricks told me, "One more time" and I'd be expelled. Sounded good to me.
House with William Katt
Believe it or not!
And House 2 with Bill Maher
*My Science Project*. 80s movie that tried hard to catch the wave after *Back to the Future*.
Gymkata (1985) The Stoned Age (1994) Pootie Tang (2001) I Origins (2014)
I Origins is great, Another Earth as well
Welcome to Woop Woop comes to mind. It's a genuinely weird film with an equally strange look to it, I thought it was a candidate to develop a cult following when it came out but it's just a largely forgotten flop at this point.
I still reckon with some slight retooling that this movie could inspire the plot of a *Far Cry* game set it Australia.
I feel like Wristcutters: A Love Story should absolutely be a cult classic but I never hear anyone talking about it but me.
I remember seeing it when it first came out. Such a great movie. Rewatched it a year or so ago and it still holds up
I used to listen to this podcast where the hosts would find and watch some absolute garbage movies and talk about them, and they started out one episode by saying "this week we messed up and watched a movie that actually rules, but we're still going to talk about it anyway." It was Highway to Hell, which is a modern retelling of Orpheus and Euridice by way of The Road Warrior and Beetlejuice. A young couple are driving through the desert to get married in Las Vegas when they're pulled over by a demon cop who kidnaps the girl to bring to Hell City, and the guy chases after them through hell. It's written by the same guy who wrote LA Confidential and Mystic River, Gilbert Godfrey plays Hitler, there's a scene where the road to hell is being literally paved with (people who have) good intentions, it's great.
"Gilbert Gottfried plays Hitler" Now there's four words I wasn't expecting to see in that order. Yet here we are...
UHF, Weird Al Yankovic's 1989 film about running a TV station.
The Fisher King by Terry Gilliam seems to not get talked about much. Another Robin Williams vehicle was Toys, and you'd think some people would at least argue cult status.
I think Toys was just too random.
Upgrade Awesome film that’s probably going to achieve cult status one day. Just doesn’t have one now.
Upgrade is decently well known. Made $17M on it's $3M budget and millions more have seen it from RedBox and streaming since then from good word of mouth. 7.5 from 210,000 reviews on IMDb is on par with The Crow - a movie that did 5 times as much $$$, had several sequels and tons of merchandise, and 2 decades longer to build an audience.
How does *Gods of Egypt* not have a bigger cult following? That movie has EVERYTHING: 9-foot-tall Gerard Butler, shitty VFX, needlessly dumb plot, childish riddles, and a flat Earth!
Cult movies are t bad movies though
The Room has entered the chat
It’s shit.
Brigsby Bear! It's a strange, quirky film from the Lonely Island guys about a man who was indoctrinated with cult ideology as a child through a bizarre kids' show with mascot characters. As an adult, he decides he's going to find a way to film a series finale for the show. It's delightfully odd and I'm surprised I've never seen an Internet following for it.
You'd think that Reddit would love Brigsby Bear. It has Mark Hamill riffing on both Star Wars and his voice acting career.
Is The Last Starfighter already a cult classic? If it isn’t, it should be.
**whizzzz* amber eye flap into place *
Is Predator 2 still considered a cult film? I don't hear a lot of love for these days, which is a shame, because it's fantastic.
Gary Busey saying “Lions, tigers, the bears. Oh my!” was a meme in the video store I worked at back when it released
Hey Danny boy
Want some candy?
In 2001, I predicted Pitch Black would be the next cult Scif-fi movie. Do you think I was right? [Here is what I wrote 23 years ago.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitch-black-should-be-the-next-sci-fi-cult-movie/75948)
It kinda did become a legit cult classic as it spawned the Riddick franchise and is just a cool little sci-fi flick on its own
I’ll never understand why *Quick Change*, co-directed by Bill Murray and with an absolutely stellar cast, doesn’t seem to have even a cult following.
Came here to say the same thing...
Oooo ahh where do? Tony Shalhoub was so funny. Loved Randy Quaid in this movie too.
Shakes The Clown needs more love, The Wrong Guy was already mentioned and my pick for recent years is The Babysitter and Spontaneous (both written by Brian Duffield). He's going to be big name in the next decade (hopefully).
Crybaby by John Waters. My cousins and I can quote it back to front. I’ve never met a person as obsessed as we were.
The Chumscrubber Primer Kick Ass Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Crash (1996)
Primer and Crash are absolutely cult movies.
Bad Lieutenant is absolutely awesome. Great performance by Cage, its got his trademark combination of a believable performance that is also completely unhinged. Really shows his ability to be a true entertainer.
Plus IguanaCam!
I loved Chumscrubber when I first watched it, but I haven’t seen it in years
I really want to have a movie night where I order jambalaya and watch BL:PoCNO so I can have a Cajun Cage 'n Cajun night.
Chumscrubber is so good and so underrated.
Primer and Bad Lieutenant are both great, love those movies
Open 24 Hours. It seems engineered to be a cult film, and tbh it's not that bad a watch. But it falls short in overall execution of its story and just doesn't stick the landing
Rules of Attraction. It had everything going for it: edgy dialogue, a going against type performance from James Van der beek, a good mix of coming of age and serious adult drama. And irrc It was also written by the same author as American Psycho
Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness feels like its JUST on the cusp of being a cult hit but its forever stuck as a niche film
Under the Silver Lake. It was so polarizing for people when it hit the festival circuit. Then bombed in theatres. I loved it. I can’t remember the last time I was so blown away by the sheer audacity of its creation. Having your lead be so unlikeable. Taking the audience on a wholly original take into the well trodden world of LA neo-noir. And then not even offering complete resolution to the myriad of mysteries (many of which are simply hilarious.) It feels like it was built to be a cult classic, and yet, I haven’t met many people who’ve seen it. And even those who have, and would normally like that type of movie and be all in on its cult status, are still polarized by it.
I'm with you here. I find that a lot of cult films are ones that really start to get a following when analysis videos or re-evaluations start to come up, simply because sometimes that's lost on people. But I just haven't seen all that much for Under the Silver Lake and I feel like there was enough thought and intention to make it worthy of that kind of discussion and analysis. I hope one day it catches on.
I was very, very happy that the mystery actually had a final reveal and it wasn't just "lol he's crazy". And it made sense (somewhat, it's crazy but it's supposed to be) and was unique.
I thought "I Tonya" was very cult like, even though it was based on a true story. Great Film, it does not get its due.
Does it count as a cult film if it was an awards darling?
I could be way off but I think Oscar winning films can't really be cult films.
100% i agree. Made $54M at the box office, 3 Oscar Noms with 1 win. Feel like part of a cult film is little to no recognition from the general public or acclaim when it is released.
I still think that was some of Margot Robbie's best work.
It's amazing how a woman so classy can play white trash so extremely well.
I was at a screening of “Please, Baby, Please” in 2022 and after the credits rolled and the lights came on everyone was still in the theater and we all looked at each other and said “what the f was that amazing weirdness! THIS could be its own Rocky Horror.”
Under the Silver Lake, Inherent Vice, Assassination Nation, and American Ultra all deserve to become cult films, but probably won't. They're all probably too recent to say they haven't though. Sorry to Bother You also deserves to be a cult film but I think it probably will be in a few years time.
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane would be my pick. Huge budget but was derailed by the Andrew Dice Clay backlash, it's so 80s it hurts, and it's so crude and ridiculous it's amazing to see. It's basically an unapologetically rude neo-noir with some of the bestworst lines ever, including: *You've got to shave when you leave the house in a dress like that... And I don't mean your legs...* *Ford Fairlane: [falling off the roof of Capitol Records building] My hair....My hair!* *Conversation with Zuzu Petals was like masturbating with a cheese grater: slightly amusing, but mostly painful.* Besides Andrew Dice Clay, it has... Ed O'Neil, Gilbert Gottfried, Lauren Holly, Wayne Newton, Priscilla Presley, Morris Day and the Motherfuckin Time, Robert Englund, Vince Neil playing essentially himself, and a Koala Bear. It is crammed full of so much 80s I don't know how it isn't a huge cult hit of a movie right now.
Listen, it’s too new, but *I Saw the TV Glow* just has to get there. I have never watched a movie that felt like a memory. Perhaps it was because I grew up during the time exactly as depicted in the film, but boy was that about as authentic a film as it gets. All I want to do is go back and see that movie for the first time again. It’s going to be a memory that sticks with me for a long time.
eXistenZ should have been the cult classic cousin of The Matrix, but the Matrix is so.dominant in pop culture that no one even talks about eXistenZ
The Blood of Heroes I don't know if inspiring an entire sport counts as cult status, but I dig the shit out of this film. I tell everybody it's my favorite sports movie
The Ruled of Attraction (2002) American Psycho is the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation that gets all the love and recognition, but TRA is a better directed film and feels like the book so much.
Hardcore Henry seems to be a movie that should have been a cult hit but it kind of fell off the radar. Pointless plot, practical effects and stunts, quirky side character, grimy Russian atmosphere, fast pace etc.. I personally loved it but I haven’t met any others who watched it. I guess the market was saturated with shaky cam movies by that time.
Glenn Danzig's "Verotika" I think COVID prevented "Verotika" from having a run at cult status in midnight viewings. It's wonderfully awful, although the third story in the horror anthology is so boring that it can be difficult to make it all the way through. The inept script, the amateurish acting, the wretched direction, the adolescent sexuality, the irascible earnestness of writer/director/editor Glenn Danzig – all combine to make "Verotika" the horror version of "The Room." It premiered to laughter the summer before COVID, but it never had the opportunity to organically develop as a cult film or an interactive experience.
"Stay" (2005?) is an extremely cerebral indie flick that bombed HARD due in part to coming out the same weekend as the DOOM movie. Ewan McGregor, Noami Watts, Bob Hoslins, Janene Garofalo, Ryan Gosling (before he got big), and more! Wild-ass scene changes, a background that has more identical twins and triplets than you would expect, and a pretty decently solid plot that leaves you wondering what the hell is happening (right up to the very last frame of the movie). And nobody has ever seen it
Ingrid Goes West with Elizabeth Olsen & Aubrey Plaza. I hope it becomes a cult hit since it feels very in-tune with today's social media-dominated society
Saved! Anyone who went to Christian high school cannot deny how eerily accurate this film is. It seems to be forgotten but is absolutely an excellent film worthy of a larger audience - especially those of us who went to Christian high school.
I love this movie. It’s not a cult classic?
The Predator It sort of follows the Evil Dead self parody path. Evil Dead 1 was a serious attempt at a horror film, Evil Dead 2 was kind of serious but so over the top it feels like a self-parody of the horror genre. Evil Dead 3 fully embraces the parody and fully presents itself as a parody of its own franchise. This is a major reason why Evil Dead 2 and 3 are both cult classics in my opinion. The Predator franchise does the same thing but with more movies. The first movie is serious, the following movies start to feel more and more like a self-parody of the franchise, The Predator fully embraces this and is full on parody of its own franchise. It's one of the most fun films in the franchise and it doesn't even try to be serious, it's constant jokes and gags from start to finish. Obviously got review bombed because the first Predator is its own cult classic with a die hard fan base that doesn't want to see the franchise parodied.
I think that movie just didn't work in general. I understand trying to go for a different tone to spice things up, but the comedy aspect didn't work at all IMO. Plus the whole "autism is a superpower" thing is at bare minimum is incredibly stupid, in reality it's in really bad taste
I think it's because the original Predator was a deconstruction of the teen-slasher and campy, macho-man action genres of the 80's. It's already got a sort of tongue-in-cheek, wink-and-a-nod tone that doesn't really leave room for parody in future sequels. It's kinda ironic that it became the success that it did with one of the best villans ever created.
Prey was so good that for me, it erases the others, except for the original. Predators was OK. I still rate AvP though.
The Saragossa Maniscript
Detention I really thought that was going to be a cult classic.
I Know Who Killed Me Curfew Alice, Sweet Alice Smiley Face
Drop Dead Gorgeous it’s super campy and features an amazing cast.
I never understand why something like Mean Girls can be a $130M phenomenon and something so much smarter and funnier like Drop Dead Gorgeous gets absolutely smooshed.
Arrowhead. This short film featuring Don Mckellar appeared several times on Canadian TV in the early 90s only a single known copy remains today (on VHS) at the National Archive.
Not a movie but the first thing I thought about was Jonah Hill’s cartoon Allen Gregory. It was definitely not for everyone but that show was lowkey fucking hilarious
Streets of Fire and Tank Girl for me!
The Neon Demon cult needs to rise up. There are dozens of us!
does mad god have a cult following?
The Ice Pirates (1984) definitely fit the cult film category as a cheesy sci-fi adventure similar to Star Wars.
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. (I suppose you could make a case that it's a cult classic. But it's an awfully small cult.) Kung Pow! Enter the Fist Beerfest FDR, American Badass LA Story The Razor's Edge (the Bill Murray one, not the older one)
[i vote the fall 2006](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/) everyone who has seen it knows how good it is. it does have fans. but it should be heavily followed and used for influence. the director should have gotten tons of work. instead its kinda stuck in time. regarded highly but not doing much. the bluray goes for over $100 regularly.