Cult movies are more than just movies. They are experiences that unite passionate fan communities who revel in their uniqueness. Unlike widely popular blockbusters, these films typically start with very little recognition and eventually become legends due to the buzz around them. Some of them confront the existing norms, while others gain fanbases that become the new subcultures around them. Let me take you through some cult films that have amazed and inspired people everywhere.
Repo Man 1984
Alex Cox’s Repo Man is a satirical science fiction movie influenced by punk, which not only amusingly but also nostalgically depicts the 1980s youth revolt. Young Emilio Estevez, a punk, after becoming a car repossessor, is the protagonist of the story, where aliens and government conspiracies are involved. Its outrageous comedy and the protagonist’s defiant attitude helped the film to gain an underground cult fan base.
Velvet Buzzsaw 2019
Velvet Buzzsaw, which was a box office flop, is a dark and satirical take on the art world. It is a story of the characters played by Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo, directed by Dan Gilroy, where art becomes the one to kill. It is a social commentary through the medium of a horror story, which talks about the sins of greed and lack of originality. It is praised by a small and devoted fanbase of surreal horror who liked the mix of the movie’s ridiculousness and their style.
The Warriors 1979
Walter Hill’s The Warriors is a harsh and realistic depiction of gang life in New York. Six hours in the dark! Led away by a night of chaos after being falsely accused of murder, the band of The Warriors tries to survive in this story. The film’s thick atmosphere and catchy phrases were the pivots that made it a cult favourite. Besides inspiring fashion styles and video games, the movie continued to be the basis of themed events even years after its premiere.
Eraserhead 1977
David Lynch’s initial characteristic is often referred to as one of the strangest and most terrifying movies in the world. In an intensely frightening manner, the movie merges bizarre visuals with weird noise from the most terror-inducing sound design. The plot revolves around a man whose life is going through fatherhood in an industrial wasteland. This confusing film was able to attract a fanbase of people who appreciated the film for being revolutionary and having a disturbing kind of beauty. Lynch’s film has turned into a milestone in the realm of non-mainstream cinema and is now linked to the phenomenon of midnight screenings in various locations worldwide.
The Fall 2006
Tarsem Singh’s direction, The Fall, is definitely one of the most visually appealing movies in the history of cinema. With filming done across a total of more than twenty countries, the movie is a blend of fantasy and real human feelings. The plot is about a stuntman and a little girl who invent stories together in order to flee from the harsh reality that they have to face. The film’s beauty and its emotional side were not taken into consideration at the time of its release, but later on, the loyal fanbase recognized it as a work of art in the world of cinema.
They Live 1988
John Carpenter’s They Live is a satirical sci-fi movie that focuses on themes of consumerism and control. A story starts to go wild when a vagrant finds a pair of glasses that show the aliens’ hidden messages in a world dominated by them. As a critique of capitalism and the mass media, the movie is still more relevant today than it was in the past. This movie has a very lengthy fight sequence and the classic line, “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass,” that helped it to gain its cult status.
Brazil 1985
Brazil is a movie about a dystopian future. This movie is directed by Terry Gilliam. This movie shows a dark and funny, at the same time, realistic satire of bureaucracy and authoritarianism. Through a ridiculous narrative style, this movie tells a story of a world where paperwork and control have spiralled out of control. This movie, at the beginning, met with resistance due to the difficulties faced during the making of the film and the director’s choice of ending. But slowly it gained a cult following because of its brilliance and as a critique of the modernization systems.
Only Lovers Left Alive 2013
Jim Jarmusch’s vampire movie is a world apart from other similar movies. The story of two immortal lovers who happen to be scientists and philosophers but ultimately suffer from loneliness and the general decay of society is starred by Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston. Among the arthouse cinema crowd, the movie became a hit because of its slow development, poetic images, and music-filled atmosphere. It repositioned vampire films as something tragic and philosophical.
The Holy Mountain 1973
The Holy Mountain of Alejandro Jodorowsky is arguably the most eye-catching and spirit-challenging among the director’s numerous works. It is loaded with symbolic imagery, religious metaphors, and surreal scenes. The movie is more a plunge into the vices of human greed and the process of spiritual awakening than a conventional narrative. Because of its boldness and mystery, it has managed to maintain a devoted cult following of people who are into the experimental genre.
Paprika 2006
Satoshi Kon’s Japanese animated film is an exploration of dreams and the subconscious mind. The story is about a psychologist who is given the ability to enter a patient’s dream via a device. The movie is visually perfect, and the themes presented in it became the source of inspiration for the Hollywood movie Inception. Although it has not been successful commercially, it is considered a cult classic in the animation industry.
The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976
The plot of this film is strange in a good way. It is a story about an extraterrestrial who landed on Earth to get water for his dying planet, and the alien is played by David Bowie. This is a film by Nicolas Roeg. Bowie’s performance was the reason behind the film becoming a deeply disturbing yet wonderfully lyrical journey through the themes of celebrity, loneliness, and human avarice. People found its confusing narrative and absence of emotional engagement very intriguing, and it consequently became a reference point for artistically ambitious sci-fi.
