20 classic cult films with the most passionate fans

These films may have bombed at the box office, but they finally inspired a rabid follow-up.


It can be difficult to define exactly what a classic cult film is. To keep it basic: consider them as the anti- Barbenheimer . These are the films that doesn't set up records At the box office Or make a shower of rewards. If everyone - even people who are not normally super attentive to what is happening in multiplex - talks about a film, then it's not a cult film.

Instead, cult films are films than a much smaller group of fans Really love. Often, cult classics reach this status over time. A film - especially a smaller independent film, but sometimes a quirk of a big studio - perhaps initially ignored when it opens in theaters, but as the years progress, a constant net of People will recognize its unique greatness, often to the point of looking there are again and again, going to thematic projections or collecting memories.

It would be impossible to list each cult film, because there is a good chance that almost each film has a kind of niche fandom, even if it is tiny. Instead, here is a sample of the 20 cult films with the most passionate fans. Above all, this is not a list of the best cult films. Some cult films are loved because They are so bad that they are good, as you will see when reading the rest ...

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1
Plan 9 of space (1959)

Still from Plan 9 From Outer Space
Valiant images

Most films become cult classics because a niche audience makes how good a neglected film is. Others, like Plan 9 of space , are celebrated because they are bad. Like, really bad. Ed Wood's Serious but deeply and inexpensive science fiction horror is largely considered one of the worst films ever made, and for that, people love it. On X-Files , Special agent Fox Mulder said it was his favorite film and watched it 42 times. Count it among Plan 9 Follow cult.

2
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Still from Rocky Horror Picture Show
20th Century Fox

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is maybe THE Cult movie. The strange horror comedy and kitsch has found an audience that loves it - and likes to cry. Rocky horror The follow -up of worship is so strong that the projections of midnight rowdy, full of costumed moviegoers ready to make fun and to shout in a participative manner, continue to date. It's the The longest theatrical release in the history of cinema.

3
The Warriors (1979)

Still from The Warriors
Paramount pictures

The Warriors , which follows a street gang while they are trying to switch from one end to one from one dystopian city to the other with all the other colorful gangs in the city trying to kill them, OK at the box office When it was released in 1979. However, criticisms at the time were not particularly taken with this, but the subsequent public - and the following generations of criticism - I came to appreciate it as a masterpiece in paste.

4
Hint (1985)

Martin Mull, Eileen Brennan, Lesley Ann Warren, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn, and Michael McKean in Clue
Paramount pictures

One might think that cinema lovers who tend to canonize cult films would make fun of a cinematographic adaptation of a well -known IP - in particular a board game. This is not the case with the 1985s Hint , because this vision of the mystery game of classical murder is a legitimately formidable comedy in a discreet and particularly charming way. Tim Curry ,, Christopher Lloyd , And Madeline Kahn Help constitute the colorful distribution of characters assembled in a mansion where people continue to die.

Hint Flopped at the exit, but he started to become a classic cult at the end of VHS, in part because viewers could see the three ends. In theaters, the public was surprised at random with only one of the three ends - a gadget that sounded well in theory, but in practice, meant that theater lovers lacked two -thirds of the botters.

5
Labyrinth (1986)

David Bowie in Labyrinth
Tri-Star images

Jim Henson The end of the final director underperform with criticism and box office when he released in theaters in 1986, but, like many cult films, he developed a suite when he was released in personal video. The film, which features a teenager Jennifer Connelly As a human girl and pop star David Bowie As a goblin king who is both threatening and extremely attractive, is exactly the kind of film in which many fantasy fans could get lost - and indeed. A fairly suitable title, huh?

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6
Big problem in little China (1986)

Still from Big Trouble in Little China
20th Century Fox

You can make a credible case that almost all movies John Carpenter's Filmography is a classic cult. He essentially invented the kind of slasher horror with Halloween Then released a film after a film that underperformed the box office only for fans (and possibly criticism) to recognize it as another carpenter's masterpiece.

Example? The thing was a monumental bomb at the box office; It has since been widely recognized as One of the greatest films ever made . The thing The reputation has improved too much to make it really considered a cult film, but Big problem in little China , who also plays Kurt Russell , certainly account. A gender-comedy-comedy-fantasy on evil wizards, street gangs and a hero's hulk, heroes, Great difficulty Financially failure and left the carpenter disappointed by the cinema in the studio, but the home video audience could not have enough.

7
UHF (1989)

Still from UHF
Orion Pictures

UHF stars "Weird al" yankovic As a goalless goofball that is in charge of a faulty local television channel and then manages to save it with really ready to use programming. It is an exceptionally original film that the public did not know what to do, but when it was released on VHS, it found its audience, and these VHS versions were precious items for years when UHF was exhausted until 'He finally got his due with his due with Swanky DVD and Blu-ray sormes, including a new 35th anniversary edition .

8
Akira (1988)

Still from Akira
Toho

The Anime 1988 Akira is widely considered one of the greatest animated films of all time. Its meaning and quality are so established that it is no longer really a cult film, but when it was released in America for the first time, sales of solid home videos and a strong word of mouth have created a cult that has Played a huge role in the meeting of popular anime in the United States.

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9
Clerk (1994)

Still from Clerks
Miramax movies

The inheritance of Kevin Smith The beginnings of director show how much a cult film can go and how important it can be. Pulled for only $ 27,527 ,, Clerk , who follows some Slacker retail employees during a working day, was a really independent film. And yet, when the public found it, they really found it. Clerk launched Smith's film career and launched an entire cinematic universe. Fans he can count among his worship include the Congress Library, the Cannes and Innumerable Stoners Festival.

10
Showgirls (1995)

Still from Showgirls
MGM / UA Distribution Co.

Paul Verhoeven NC-17 Film on an Aspiring Showgirl of Las Vegas ( Elizabeth Berkley ) Bomb at the exit and is frequently presented in conversation as one of the worst films ever made. However, a new wave of criticism has argued convincing arguments that Showgirls East In fact an excellent job whose satire on sex and consumerism has completely exceeded the heads of the public. The film also had a huge video success at home, and although part of these sales was due to the voyeuristic curiosity concerning the many scenes of graphic (and clumsy) sex, this has helped create space for a reassessment .

11
Event horizon (1997)

Still from Event Horizon
Paramount pictures

Paul W. S. Anderson's 1997 science fiction horror Event horizon Bombed after being released, because the public initially did not appreciate the haunted spacecraft film. (That the film met A multitude of problems during production And its exit was precipitated did not help things.) However, after being released on DVD, horror fans began to appreciate Event horizon For what it is: a rare example of science fiction horror actually works, as outside Extraterrestrial , there are not too many examples of genres mixing with great success.

12
Office space (1999)

Still from Office Space
20th Century Fox

Mike Judge 1999 Evisceration of the Mundanity of Life from 9 to 5 disappointed when it came out in theaters. However, it turns out that many people work in offices, and they have been attracted to Office space Relatable sardonic humor. Comedy has become a cult phenomenon that TGI Fridays, the restaurant chain that inspired Jennifer Anniston "Flair pieces" of the character, " No longer needed their servers Have so many accessories.

13
Galaxy Quest (1999)

Still from Galaxy Quest
DreamWorks Pictures

A loving but in -depth parody of Star Trek , 1999 Galaxy Quest Only grew up in esteem over time. This is due to the fact that the film may have been a little ahead of its time. While trekkies largely appreciated the ribs of good humor of the film, this kind of fandom has become more widespread, and it is therefore easy for fans of all kinds of seeing themselves in Galaxy Quest - And in doing so, become fans of Galaxy Quest Himself.

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14
Super Troopers (2002)

Still from Super Troopers
Fox Searchlight Pictures

The comedy group broke the film in small groups of Lizard on a bunch of state soldiers of Vermont inept is cheap, rude and hilarious. He made $ 18 million at the American box office In 2001 - Not bad, but barely a blockbuster. Since then, he has made more than $ 70 million in home video sales. How do you like snazzberries?

15
Hedwig and the angry thumb (2001)

Still from Hedwig and the Angry Inch
New cinema

A little after Hedwig and the angry thumb Theatrical release (which was silent because the film opened the day after September 11), there was speculation that it could be the next Rocky horror image show . And, indeed, the film punk-rock queer on a trans "East Berlin musician now living in Kansas, has become a beloved touchstone for a new generation of LGBTQ +moviegoers. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

16
Donnie Darko (2001)

Jake Gyllenhaal in Donnie Darko
Pandora Cinema / Newmarket Films

Donnie Darko is a deeply bizarre film. In 2001, when he released in theaters, the public did not understand it, and they did not want, especially after September 11. The film was a flop, but a word of mouth strongly on Jake Gyllenhaal Dalliance with a giant and scary rabbit kept the film alive, just like the midnight projections - a theater played Donnie Darko at midnight For 28 consecutive months . It has since become a founding film on American discomfort.

17
Summer Warm American (2001)

Still from Wet Hot American Summer
Eureka images

Yet another 2001 film (a big year for cult classics!), Wet American summer is a shaggy comedy on summer camp advisers on the last day of the camp and has a casting full of people who would become large stars. Paul Rudd ! Amy Poehler ! Bradley Cooper ! Elizabeth banks ! The list continues.

But, just as it took them a few years to become super famous, it was necessary Summer Warm American A little to become a cult favorite after its opening to negative criticism. The Fandom ended up being strong enough for Netflix to prequel and a series in a row more than a decade later - and they managed to bring almost all these stars now breathtaking.

18
Bedroom (2003)

Still from The Room
Chloé Productions / TPW Films

Tommy Wiseau The singular film, which he wrote, produced, produced and played, is a confusing film, featuring a strange story, a confusing game and creative choices that could be very charitably called "unconventional". It's terrible, but the public decided to look at this train wreck until, like a cinematic cinematographic image, it becomes a deep work of something that looks like art. It is perhaps the film So-Bad-it-Bad-it, and fans have grown up to love its many, many, many strange idiosyncrasies. The disaster artist , a cinematic adaptation of the book on the production of the film, is also worth checking. There is really nothing else like Bedroom .

19
The wicker man

nicolas cage in the wicker man
Photos of Warner Bros.

The original 1973 The wicker man is a piece of acclaimed and famous folk horror. It is a real classic, not a classic cult. The 2006 remake with Nicolas Cag E, however, is absolutely qualified. The film, which presents Cage, shouting: "Not the bees! They are in my eyes! Aaaaahhh!" And several other just as infamous scenes are confusing, and for this reason, it has become a semi-ironic classic.

20
Jennifer's body (2009)

Still from Jennifer's Body
20th Century Fox

Despite being written by Juno scribe Diablo Cody ,, Jennifer's body Did not land with criticisms or audiences when it was released in 2009, perhaps because advertising was an erotic horror film with an accent on Megan Fox And Amanda Seyfried To kiss. Retrospectively, however, he came to be appreciated for what he has always been: a strong feminist satire, whose forces are easier to see in the post-metoo environment. (And, not for nothing, it is also a fairly great withdrawal of the war against terrorism, something for which America was not much mood at the time.)


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