The Ringer has just published a The 50 Best Cult Movies list. Maybe 20 years ago I thought I may have had an idea of what a "cult movie" was: cheaply made by mostly unknowns, not a box office hit but LOVED by every person who paid to go see it, and eventually warmed up to by more people after years of re-watching. Slap Shot is an almost perfect example of this. But today, I feel like I have no idea what makes a movie a "cult movie". I don't wanna be a snob here, but a movie like Empire Records doesn't feel like one to me - just because a movie kinda bombed and then later was on TBS nonstop for years doesn't make it a "cult favorite". Also, what about "B" movies - do they start out knowing their place in the cinematic world and stay that way, or do cult favorites start out as "B" movies that come to be taken more seriously as actual movies? But what the hell do I know?
Here's the ones from this list I've watched; I've put my Top 5 in red.
Kids
Harold and Maude (finally watched this a few moths ago, and I feel like an idiot for not having seen it before. Great flick, and has that "the budget was $100" feel to it)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (don't remember much about it, other than I watched it in the boudoir of a girl I was crazy about at the time. And no, the bedroom just happened to be where her tv was, so there was no sexual heroics from me that night)
Empire Records (again, this is a fun movie to watch with a fun young cast, but cult classic?)
Slap Shot (fits everything in the "Cult Movie Checklist" above. Do you know anybody who's ever watched this and didn't like it? No, you don't)
Clerks (great fit as a cult movie, some great dialog bits, probably inspired a zillion crappy filmmakers to try and make movies of their own in the 1990s)
Showgirls (terrible movie but Jessie Spano butt naked almost the entire time YES PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!!)
The Warriors
Reservoir Dogs
Rushmore (again - hard to see this as a "scappy little film that became a cult fave!" when it starred Bill Murray, but who knows how these thing happen. ome previous thoughts on Rushmore HERE)
Office Space
Heathers
Monty Python & the Holy Grail (this movie means so much to me it's hard to think of it as a "cult" favorite, but I'll take any chance to talk about it, anytime. You can do a search on Xmastime about it and sit back for a few hours and enjoy!)
Wet Hot American Summer
Dazed and Confused (who hasn't endlessly quoted this one? And it's another perfect example of checking off the "Is this a cult movie?" checklist)
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