# Cult Movies You Love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 30, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378 "2010-03-30T20:00:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/41 "2010-03-31T04:25:28Z")
Most films by Jim Jarmusch. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/42 "2010-03-31T04:27:06Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I suspect I’m one of a very few who enjoys simply watching and listening to Rocky Horror Picture Show. I can’t help it. At home, I stop short of the confetti and the water pistols, but I dance the Time Warp in the living room and hold up a lighter to “There’s a Light over at the Frankenstein Place.” ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/43 "2010-03-31T04:28:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Most films by Jim Jarmusch. Oh yeah!! Forgot Mystery Train–and what’s the other one–Coffee & Cigarettes–can’t remember!:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/44 "2010-03-31T04:39:13Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > Oh yeah!! Forgot Mystery Train–and what’s the other one–Coffee & Cigarettes–can’t remember!:smack: And: \*\*Stranger Than Paradise Down by Law Mystery Train Night on Earth Dead Man Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai \*\* _Permanent Vacation_ was a little dull, I thought. I have _Broken Flowers_, but I haven’t got round to watching it yet. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/45 "2010-03-31T04:40:53Z")
Welcome to the Dollhouse Happiness Ghost World Donnie Darko Office Space Howard the Duck Spaceballs A Clockwork Orange ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/46 "2010-03-31T04:56:21Z")
Jesus Christ: Vampire Hunter ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/47 "2010-03-31T04:59:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > And: > > I have _Broken Flowers_, but I haven’t got round to watching it yet. I Did like Broken Flowers, too! ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/48 "2010-03-31T05:40:38Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Caddyshack and Stripes are cult movies? Big hits that weren’t exactly quirky? No. Funny movies, but not cult. Heathers Adventures of Baron von Munchausen Ereaserhead Donnie Darko ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/49 "2010-03-31T10:45:17Z")
Off the top of my head… **Shadow of the Vampire Goodbye Lenin Burnt by the Sun Ghost World Thank you for Smoking** ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/50 "2010-03-31T10:58:26Z")
The question has been avoided, but let’s ask it: what’s a cult movie? I would have thought it would be a movie that did little or no box office, got little or no critical attention, but which subsequently exhibit unexpected signs of ongoing and significant life. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/51 "2010-03-31T11:49:26Z")
Let’s not get cult movies mixed up with mere Indie movies. I think for a movie to become a cult movie, it needs to have built up a significant fandom after it’s original box office release. Just being an offbeat movie isn’t enough. You need to be an offbeat movie that is appreciated above and beyond it’s pure entertainment value, and has a significant number of people who watch it ritually. Not mentioned (as far as I can see.) Showgirls Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Holy Mountain Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/52 "2010-03-31T13:42:14Z")
I have three “Cult Movies” books by Danny Peary, who, as someone once said, must have spent half his adult life in a darkened movie theater. He explains cult movies, lists several in each book and writes thoughtful, in-depth articles about each one. ‘King Kong’ (original) is particularly interesting. There are many cult movies mentioned and I don’t have the books in front of me, I’ll come back later and list my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/53 "2010-03-31T14:20:46Z")
OK. Here are just a few cult movies listed and discussed: Blade Runner Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Five Million Years to Earth Liquid Sky Night of the Hunter The Quiet Man The Road Warrior Seconds A Star is Born Thief of Bagdad Touch of Evil Basket Case Morgan! Nightmare Alley A Boy and His Dog Picnic At Hanging Rock White Heat The Wicker Man (original) Man Who Fell To Earth All About Eve Beauty and the Beast (original French, 1946) The Brood Eraserhead Forbidden Planet I Walked With a Zombie Kiss Me, Deadly Laura Peeping TomPretty Poison The Red Shoes The Scarlet Empress Sunset Boulevard Tarzan and His Mate Trash Dance Girl, Dance ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/54 "2010-03-31T14:54:02Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > The question has been avoided, but let’s ask it: what’s a cult movie? I would have thought it would be a movie that did little or no box office, got little or no critical attention, but which subsequently **exhibit unexpected signs of ongoing and significant life**. OK - taking the bolded bit as my definition of cult movie and also adding a movie which people watch ritually and/ or know the script backwards and forwards and quote from it regularly then for me the top cult movie has to be _This is Spinal Tap_ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/55 "2010-03-31T15:01:44Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Man Who Fell To Earth Which reminds me of **The Last Days Of Man On Earth** (aka: _The Final Programme_). I saw the two films in a double-feature at a revival theatre. I have both of them. (At least, I know I have _The Man Who Fell To Earth_. I think I have _The Last Days Of Man On Earth_.) ---
**Author:** ![arachnologus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dc4da7/32.png) [@arachnologus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arachnologus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/56 "2010-04-01T05:43:25Z")
In the horror genre how about Vincent Price’s 2 greatest performances: The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) These incredibly subtle black comedies certainly have all the ingredients for cult films, whether they have any actual cult surrounding them or not. Someone mentioned “Kiss Me Deadly” which I heartily second. Wonder why the companion film “The Long Wait” is so obscure, practically nobody but me has ever heard of it - produced around the same time, also by Mickey Spillane, also based on one of his own stories, this one starring Anthony Quinn. I would also strongly second Dr. Strangelove! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/57 "2010-04-01T06:02:00Z")
I’m hesitant to post any, because I don’t know if they qualify for “cult” status or not, but some of my favourite non-critical darlings are _Bull Durham_ and _Raising Arizona_. I recently watched _Ghost Rider_ with Nicolas Cage, and I quite enjoyed it. I re-watched _Constantine_ with Keanu Reeves last week, and I quite enjoyed that, too. I also enjoyed _Clerks_ and _Dogma._ I wish we had a cult classic movie theatre. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/58 "2010-04-01T06:14:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I recently watched _Ghost Rider_ with Nicolas Cage, and I quite enjoyed it. I re-watched _Constantine_ with Keanu Reeves last week, and I quite enjoyed that, too. There’s a difference between a “Cult” movie (one with a limited but appreciative following) and a “Crap” movie, and although the two distinctions often overlap, I’m not really sure they do in the two quoted examples. (Or, to put it another way, everyone has different tastes but personally I think Ghost Rider and Constantine were the bad kind of crap films and definitely not worthy of “Cult” status). ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/59 "2010-04-01T13:05:15Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Do you mean [The Boondock Saints](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/)? Yes, Sorry I got the name wrong. One of my fav cult movies ever. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378/60 "2010-04-01T13:11:48Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Nevertheless, _Pulp Fiction_ does have a following. I liked “Pulp Fiction” because it took me years to understand it. Same way with Shawshank Redemption. It is full of small details that you slowly get the more you watch it. Tarantino is a genius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cult-movies-you-love/534378.md?page=4)