There are some amazing movies listed by previous CFN posters. I'm particularly partial to Hot Fuzz, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Attack to Block, Black Dynamite, and Ogazmo (which wasn't mentioned directly, but Baseketball was).

Some of my cult favorites that weren't mentioned in previous posts are Deathrace 2000, Freaks, The Apple and The Room.

I'm sure that this will make me sound old, but I think that the internet age has spoiled certain aspects of the cult movie phenomenon. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE how easy it is to go online and find suggestions for movies that aren't mainstream and that might pique my fancy. And the ease of streaming such films is a boon to my inherent laziness. BUT...

I think back to my days in high school (early 90s). I remember one of my friends bringing over an unmarked VHS tape, and telling me that his older brother had gotten this from a friend, and that it was going to blow our minds (no, it wasn't porn). We got a few other friends to come to my house and that was the first time we saw Freaks. Holy shit... that a movie so... wrong, and yet so funny, and heartbreaking, and just plain fucked up, and made so long ago that we were shocked it even existed! Damned straight, it blew our minds! And we kept that tape, and watched it a few times over the next year or so, ("One of us! One of us!" was quoted regularly, to the looks of incomprehension of the uninitiated) and then we passed it along to a younger sibling. It was like a rite of passage. Other movies - like Deathrace 2000 ("you're nothing but a big baked potato") - came to us the same way, and got passed on similarly.

I think that sense of secrecy, and surprise, and ultimately camraderie in the cult, has been lost a bit by the ease in which one can find out and particpate in the enjoyment of such films. It's not bad, but it does tarnish the 'specialness' of it all.

I know Neil touched on this a bit in his section on cult movies in the book (which I am loving, by the way). I just wanted to add my agreement and experience on this topic.

OVER THE EDGE 1979, Matt Dillon's first movie.




HBO must have shown this movie a million times in the early 80s, and my friends and I would watch it over and over again.

Some of my favorite cult films are:

RUN LOLA RUN- if you have not seen, please do right away!!

BOONDOCK SAINTS- the original not the "All Saints Day, part 2" crap

EMIPRE RECORDS- loved this as a preteen so it has a special place in my heart

DAZED AND CONFUSED- same as above

MALLRATS- just liked it a lot

Chris Bishop wrote:
I love that movie! "Any kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid."

Best Matt Dillon movie EVER.

Some of my Favorite Cult Films include:

HAROLD & MAUDE
[img size=150x450]ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WTgq1%2...JL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/img]
RAISING ARIZONA
[img size=150x450]www.joshuadysart.com/journal/archives/raising%20arizona.jpg[/img]
RUN LOLA RUN
[img size=150x450]www.luredesigninc.com/images/store/runlolarun.jpg[/img]
LABYRINTH
[img size=150x450]www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/Labyrint...abyrinth-Old-VHS.jpg[/img]
KIDS
[img size=150x450]www.horrorphile.net/images/kids-movie-poster1.jpg[/img]
BOONDOCK SAINTS
[img size=150x450]www.spencersonline.com/images/spencers/p...91.interactive.a.jpg[/img]
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
[img size=150x450]2.bp.blogspot.com/_XdP6Lp2ceqY/TDURDJNeQ...813_1c38c36ee3_o.jpg[/img]
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
[img size=150x450]inkspillsinc.files.wordpress.com/2012/04...-in-london-small.jpg[/img]

These fine films were all spread by positive word of mouth and were largely ignored at the box office.

Those are two characteristics of Cult Films, as well as being watched repeatedly for several years and people gathering to view them in large groups at midnight showings, re-releases, etc.

Love the Comedy Film Nerds podcast!

You can read my movie reviews on my
Film Nation blog, or Movie Grades tumblr

I actually really like Showgirls....UNIRONICALLY. I really think it's a pretty damn good film. If it's read as a soapy, melodramatic, over-the-top satire, it's actually pretty brilliant. Believe it or not, there are critics and cinephiles who feel the same way too.