Movies that should have been cult classics

Psycho Beach Party

Sacrament. Works on two levels for the OP's question.

Love Psycho Beach Party and Charles Busch. I have Clockwatchers on DVD.

Party Girl mostly but really any '90s indie films starring Parker Posey.

House of Yes is another Parker Posey that should have been a cult classic.

Todd Solondz's 1998 movie Happiness is another one. There's no way House of Yes or Happiness would be made today.

House (1977)

Clockwatchers IS a cult classic.

Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive. It’s so cheesy and epitomizes the 80s. I have to stop and watch every time I see it’s on, Yeardley Smith in particular goes full camp.

Sorority Row (2009). Jessica was such a scream. Regina George beamed into a slasher flick.

They even have a token fatty

Prodigy with Taylor Schilling. Unintentionally hilarious.

My Boyfriend's Back (1993)

Another one with Posey from that era is The Daytrippers (also feat. Hope Davis, Liev Schreiber, Anne Meara, Stanley Tucci). I loved those 90s indies.

And The Opposite of Sex, but that perhaps IS a cult classic in some circles.

Joshua (2007) with Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga. It's got some campy moments but it's also a surprisingly sharp and thought provoking spin on the old bad seed film genre. I'm surprised that it doesn't get more love among horror fans.

R13 Two great examples. The Daytrippers should be re-released; maybe it was unacceptable at the time?

The Opposite of Sex was the first time I saw Martin Donovan - beautiful!

The Cell -- try watching that baby stoned.

Cats

Let me rave about my favorite obscurity, "Private Property" (1960).

Corey Smith and a baby Warren Oates are two sexually ambiguous jail escapees (Corey taunts Warren about "finding a sugar daddy") who stumble on an abandoned house next to the home of an oversexed, underfucked housewife (the actress is named "Kate Manx") that they call "the twitch."

Psychosexual drama ensues as they plan to rape the twitch next door — in one scene where she's sunbathing, Corey notes that the suit barely covers up her "fandango." Corey wants her bad, while Warren wants to fuck her to prove he's a "real man" (and fails).

A really ahead-of-its-time thriller with an openly gay hustler and some nasty hardboiled dialogue.

Black Swan

Nowhere

Pin

Opposite of Sex for sure, & Lisa Kudrow deserved a Supporting nom at the very least.

The movie holds such a special place in my heart; I came home from a college study group on Halloween, which was a Saturday & also the day we set the clocks back. I had the house to myself, turned the lights off outside & totally enjoyed the movie, binged popcorn & some of the Halloween candy I wasn’t distributing, then went on AOL IM & talked with tons of people, & met one in person two days later who “deflowered” me. The movie made me so giddy, & went straight from that to my amazing night of AOL chat.

I thought Ivan Sergei was so hot in this, it really fell in love with Martin Donovan’s character & wished I could be as stoic, forgiving, & calm as he was.

The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) Kim Novak, Peter Finch

The Big Cube (1969) Lana Turner, George Chakiris

Doctors' Wives (1971) Dyan Cannon, Janice Rule, Cara Wiliams, Rachel Roberts, Gene Hackman, Carroll O'Connor

The Baby (1972) Ruth Roman, Anjanette Comer

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) Heather Matarazzo

Robert Rossen's Lilith (1964) Warren Beatty, Jean Seberg

Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970) from the director of Harold and Maude

Allan Arkin's NYC set Little Murders (1971) with Marcia Rodd and Elliott Gould

Go (1999) Sarah Polley, Jay Mohr and Scott Wolf

Rules of Attraction (2002) James Van Der Beek as Sean Bateman, Ian Somerhalder and Faye Dunaway

Pedro Almodovar's The Skin I Live In (2011) with Antonio Banderas

R18 - Sounds delish. Looks to be out of print however.

R21, I second your vote for “Pin.”

I am a sucker for films with evil dolls, malevolent mannequins, etc.

How about movies so bad they're fun-good? I'd vote for The Swarm under that criteria.

Let's try that again...

OP almost every movie starring Christina Ricci is considered cult, is it not? She's the bobblehead Queen of Cult.

It's the bulk of her filmography, from MERMAIDS and THE ADDAMS FAMILY, to GOLDDIGGERS and NOW & THEN, to BUFFALO '66 and THE ICE STORM, to SMALL SOLDIERS and FEAR & LOATHING..., to DESERT BLUE and PECKER, to SLEEPY HOLLOW and 200 CIGARETTES, to THE LARAMIE PROJECT and PROZAC NATION, to MONSTER and BLACK SNAKE MOAN, to LIZZIE BORDEN TOOK AN AXE and Z: THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING. Most of her movies don't really hit it massive, but they don't flop and fade into obscurity either. She is perfect for offbeat yet highly-likeable and watchable projects, and has a knack for finding and picking them (or her agent does).

The only ones she's done that aren't considered cult--of her better-known movies, that I can think of off the top of my head (she's done two dozen forgettable paint-by-numbers tv romcoms, kids' movies, and paranormals)--are CASPER from early in her career (which imo ought to be more popular or culty), THE MAN WHO CRIED, ANYTHING ELSE, SPEED RACER, PENELOPE, BEL AMI, and more recently MATRIX RESURRECTIONS and PERCY VS GOLIATH.

r25 — you can stream PRIVATE PROPERTY on Amazon Prime and Kanopy for free, or Tubi with commercials.

Here's the trailer. I love the fetishy moment where oversexed Kate Manx puts Corey Allen's rough leather belt around her neck and tightens it to see how it feels. Amazing that this was made in 1960.

How did I never watch the movie "Private Property"? I have to see this movie!!

"The Opposite of Sex" is genius-fun to watch, Ricci& Ivan Sergei (beautiful man) Kudrow and Lyle Lovett were great together. To be honest, LOVED the entire movie

.

[quote] Go (1999) Sarah Polley, Jay Mohr and Scott Wolf

GO! is without a doubt a cult classic. Why would you say it isn't?

Sarah Polley is a fantastic actress, but it's pretty cool of her to quit and go into directing for her self-respect.

Dear Evan Hansen deserves midnight screenings in big cities with movie-going sophisticates.

R32 It was not a BO success when released and I'm unaware that it has gained a following since.

Paul Bartel's 1972 Private Parts

Fun fact about GO!—director Doug Liman, certifiable maniac and eccentric, shot the film without a proper comprehensive license for some locations (such as the liquor store, and the warehouse parking lot), and used shoulder cameras and improvised lights for many scenes. The actors in the movie have all said the same about the experience of making it, that it was chaotic and on-the-fly and gonzo, with police watching the cast & crew some days of filming.

Liman also shot offscript a vaguely-described ‘sweet intimate moment’ for the gay couple characters (Jay Mohr & Scott Wolf), meant for the ending minutes of the film, but this was mysteriously cut and never made it in the final edit, for some reason. I always wonder what it was—a kiss? A hug? A cute make-up nuzzle and sweettalk outside their apartment?—and why we never saw it. It would have pulled that story arc/character thread together, I think, as by the ending we get it’s hard to know where the two stand in their relationship and whether anything has changed.

[quote]Paul Bartel's 1972 Private Parts

Fantastic, super-kinky movie. The clear blow-up doll filled with water is like something from a giallo. Apparently Bartel just filmed it in the rooms and hallways of a Los Angeles skid row hotel.

The King Edward Hotel R37

The King Edward Hotel was used in many TV shows and movies. Most recently Feud in the scene where Crawford pays her brother a visit at the hotel where he works.

Choose Me (1984) with Genevieve Bujold, Lesley Ann Warren, and Keith Carradine -- a classic of "Careful what you pray for, 'cause you might get it." Also with Rae Dawn Chong and John Larroquette. This is one of my all-time favorites. If you've never seen it before, give it a look.

Full movie free on YouTube. Link is to opening credits.

R26 you might like 1979s Tourist Trap which might be more of a guilty pleasure. than a cult item though Stephen King is supposedly a fan. It features waxwork mannequins that are pretty creepy.

[quote]Pumpkin-black comedy movie where Christina Ricci plays a vapid sorority girl who falls in with a disabled guy.

[quote]Clockwatchers-90s movie about a group of women who become friends through temp jobs

[quote]Party Girl mostly but really any '90s indie films starring Parker Posey.

[quote]House of Yes is another Parker Posey that should have been a cult classic.

[quote]And The Opposite of Sex, but that perhaps IS a cult classic in some circles.

[quote]Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) Heather Matarazzo

[quote]Rules of Attraction (2002) James Van Der Beek as Sean Bateman, Ian Somerhalder and Faye Dunaway

I’d say all of these are cult classics.

There's an indie movie called Golden Arm that came out in 2020. It's about a female trucker who ropes her college friend into competing in an arm wrestling competition. It's weird comedy movie that somehow works well. I doubt it will never get any kind of cult status because the two leads are played by odd looking comedians from improv communities.

Welcome to the Dollhouse has a cult following and some of the characters were revisited in two other movies that Solodonz wrote.

R9 lol I saw that in theaters and enjoyed it. Another slasher movie that got a terrible reviews, but I really liked was Valentine.

Sleepaway Camp but “tranny phobia”

Smile

Cold Turkey

11:14 -- From 2003, Patrick Swayze, Hilary Swank, Ben Foster, Colin Hanks

So. What makes a film a cult classic? Ignorant cineastes, the floor is yours.

Sugar&Spice the cheerleading bank robbery was originally written by Lona Williams who wrote Drop Dead Gorgeous. It was a fun black comedy movie, but was pretty much hated by the critics and audiences didn't follow it.

Office Killer with Carol Kane as a crazy spinster who starts killing her co-workers. The problem is that it's not really fun enough to be 100% camp, but it has some enjoyable moments and performances.

I think Sleepaway Camp has a rather large cult following in the horror community. It's pretty well regarded among most slasher fans as being one of the most memorable of that period.

Cult classics are defined by the masses. It's retrospective.

Of course, I'm sure many Indies now are actively trying to drum up similar support.

Propaganda sadly works, but I hope they are not able. Being considered a "cult" film is democracy of the viewers in action.

Just under Rocky Horror Picture Show, Heathers is the epitome of a cult film. Critically liked upon release but not a financial success in the least. Only college kids and young gay weirdos, like myself, new of this film for years until it broke through to cult status. In fact, it was my sister's male gay college aged friend who showed the 14-year-old me Heathers in 1989. It was love at first sight.

Cherry 2000 should have more of a cult following.

One of my favorite "no one ever heard of it" movies is 1990's "A Shock to the System" - a black-hearted comedy about a ruthless corporate climber who kills to get ahead. Think "American Psycho" as a black comedy -- or more so anyway. Starred Michael Caine and Paul Riegert.

Phantoms (1998) with Peter O'Toole, Rose McGowan, Joanna Going, Liev Schreiber, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt and Clifton Powell. The film takes place in the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado, where something evil has wiped out the community. It is up to a group of people to stop it or at least get out of Snowfield alive.

Beware gurgling in the water pipes and drains.

Suicide Kings -- Christopher Walken, Henry Thomas, Jay Mohr

Hard Candy -- Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson. Psychological thriller that will chill you to the core.

[quite] Cult classics are defined by the masses. It's retrospective.

A necessary but insufficient condition. By that token, it Happened One Night would be a cult film.

Try again r52. You're getting there!

R55 I have seen A Shock to the System and loved it. Michael Caine is very cheeky in it.

Why doesn’t R59 define it for us, since he knows so much?

Oh well r61. Here goes. And mind you, I'm only going to make one point. You guys have to add to it. I'm not going to do all the work. This is a discussion forum. I'm not going write a thesis.

So adding to r52, I'd say, besides public acclaim not received critical appreciation as he pointed out, I'd say a cult film is also subversive of the standard conventional norms either in cinema or of society, or both.

In The Company Of Men

R63 I don't trust anything that bleeds for a week and doesn't die.

The Safety of Objects-suburban drama ensemble movie that features Glenn Close who plays a mother whose son (Joshua Jackson) is in a coma. It was a weird as fuck drama movie.

That G, she's so weird.

Is Dick (1999) considered a cult classic? I always thought it deserved more attention.

Stretch starring Patrick Wilson.

"Cult Classic" is as overused a term as "iconic" -- it doesn't even mean anything anymore. I can however think of several movies that are criminally underknown/forgotten gems and also have a quirkiness about them that most people would associate with "cult" status.

Offhand, I'm thinking about "Eating Raoul", "After Hours", and "Kentucky Fried Movie"

[quote] also have a quirkiness about them that most people would associate with "cult" status.

Yes, quirkiness is indeed a feature of most cult films.

"Pumpkin" is one of my favorite comedies, and a movie that few people seem to have seen. It's transgressive but has a lot of heart. I remember seeing it when I was around middle-school age on TV and liking it even at that age. Great acting, unique story, and the visuals and style are very retro '60s, though the film seems to take place in modern day. I have the DVD but wish it would get put out on Blu-ray someday. There is no way it could be made in today's socio-political climate.

[quote] The Daytrippers should be re-released; maybe it was unacceptable at the time?

Another vote for The Daytrippers which is now part of the Criterion Collection.

Between that film and “Next Stop Wonderland” I remember thinking at the time that Hope Davis was going to have an amazing career.

Girls Will Be Girls!

R71 I watched Pumpkin sometime back because it was on some movie channel. Can't remember which it one. I like the 60s retro clothes some of the characters wore.

May, a horror movie starring Angela Bettis had some attention for awhile. It's seems forgotten.

They Might Be Giants (1971)

Brittania Hospital (1972?)

Fedora (1979

Silent Running (1972), might already be.

Psychic Killer (1975)

Where Does It Hurt? (1972)

Skidoo (1969), just to see Carol Channing dressed in and outfit looking like big bird and later singing title song in a pirate suit.

Drowning Mona, with Danny DeVito, Bette Midler, and Yugo cars.

R67 everyone on Datalounge loves Dick.

Cult classics tend to be really basic bitch movies for dumbasses

R77 Drowning Mona would be a classic if they had pushed a little more absurd. It gets a little sad at some point

Go (1999)

The Rules of Attraction (2002)

Define “cult classic”

R67 No!! a friend and I walked out of it. It was a protracted SNL skit

And SWOOSIE KURTZ, r55! "Shock to the System" is so good.

I watched "Vampire's Kiss" last year because it was supposed to be a cult classic, and it was pretty bad. Halfway through, I turned to my boyfriend and said, "Was this written by some guy mad at his ex wife?" and it turned out, it was. The biggest disappointment was Maria Conchita Alonso, who was sometimes mouthing the lines along with her co-stars, like a high school student in their first play.

My Blind Brother-black comedy with Adam Scott, Nick Kroll, and Jenny Slate.

Eye of the Cat (1969)

A Sinful Life (1989)

Heading' for Broadway (1980)

I just posted this in another thread about guilty movie pleasures....

Waiting to Exhale. Angela Bassett, Whitney Houston, and Loretta Devine are gay campfest gold.

Is Killer Klowns from Outer Space considered a cult classic?

R91 yes

Anything with Adrienne Shelley. Trust is one. Waitress I already cult classic imo.

Phantom Thread. Lots of great camp and costumes. Should be a DL fav

A lot of the films here ARE cult classics. Every Todd Soldonz and Parker Posey movie is considered one. Sleepaway Camp is also one. Also, a film doesn't have to be a box office bomb to be a cult classic - Pulp Fiction is a cult classic, and it was a huge success. The Big Lebowski made a decent profit. It just has to have a fanbase surrounding the movie itself and certain unique aspects to it that you wouldn't find in regular studio sludge.

Psycho Beach Party was originally called Gidget Goes Psycho but Busch received a cease and desist letter claiming copyright infringement from whoever owns the rights to Gidget.

Hush with GOOP and Jessica Lange

Cats

Hahaha, r58, Hard Candy chilled me to the bore. Page’s character was so obnoxious I wasn’t exactly rooting for Patrick Wilson’s nonce, but I did find the movie a pointless exercise. Page is always better as a supporting character.

R89 Are they Helen Lawson productions?

So you guys convinced me to finally watch the Opposite of Sex last night, and... meh. Very much of its time.

R83 -

Manos, The Wicker Man, Midsommar, Suspiria, Eyes Wide Shut, The Village, The Master, The Endless, and The Sacrament

R55 American Psycho IS a black comedy.

I agree the term cult has been so overused that it no longer has a clear definition. I’d assume the film has to have aspects of a cult like organised and loyal followers who know all the relating minutiae. It has to be continually relevant with a dedicated and often growing audience. It has to be evangelised to new recruits by word of mouth. It has to have insignia like known quotes, recognisable scenes and possibly a market for relating merchandise (even small things like references on magnets, posters, to T-shirts). I also agree it has to have a quirky, alternative, or subversive aspect, and it can’t be too mainstream. Star Wars has lots of these aspects but it’s not cult for instance.

The thread has many great suggestions, but it’s like a Venn diagram overlapping between ‘Cult’, ‘Camp’, ‘Under appreciated’ and ‘Hidden gems’. My 2¢.

the end credits of Skidoo (1968) sung by Nilsson.

Paul Bartel's Private Parts (1972)

This is a good thread.

A cult classic used to be something like UHF, a box office bomb that generated a dedicated following from VHS rentals. Now, Gen Z never takes the time to use sayings in proper context so Avatar is a “cult classic”, it just now means a lot of people like it and watch it a lot.

Avatar is a movie for children and foreigners.

Two films that appear not to have cult status as defined above are Scotland, PA, and Dinner Rush, both of which are great.

Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills - is that one cult? It doesn't seem to be popular on DL, which somewhat surprises me.

Supergirl

I really enjoyed Scotland, PA. Much better than I had anticipated, and I'm, always happy to see Maura Tierney and James LeGros

For me, early 80s movies Testament and Resurrection are two of my favorites. Technically, they really have nothing to do with each other, but in my mind, I think of them together, I think in part of the strong female lead and the emotional toll it takes on the viewer.

Plus, Jane Alexander and Ellen Burstyn give just amazing performances.

Scenes From the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills - is that one cult? It doesn't seem to be popular on DL, which somewhat surprises me.

Despite the gay subtext it's flat and amateurish

Scenes From the Class Struggle is a hoot. Yeah, I'm really surprised that this is the first mention I can recall the film getting on DL.

My Boyfriend's Back sort of fits into this. It received a lot of bad reviews. It was aired frequently on cable during the 90s. I always thought it was better than what the reviews made it out to be.

One I wish would become a cult classic, but probably won’t, is Movie 43. It’s a weird mashup of some truly hilarious bits with some other not so funny ones. What I find incredible, and always will, is the cast that the filmmakers managed to rope into the film. Halle Berry is extremely out of her element, while Emma Stone and the still married couple of Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts are comedic perfection.

I don't know if these are already considered cult classics, so feel free to point out my ignorance. At any rate...

Forbidden Zone (1980) with Susan Tyrrell, Herve Villechaize and Danny Elfman (as the Devil). Highly WTF-ish.

Dead Alive (1992) directed by Peter Jackson. A hilariously over-the-top gore fest from the guy who would go on to direct the LOTR series.

Sweet Movie (1974). Probably not quite as extreme as A Serbian Film, but it makes the John Waters' films of the same period seem quaint and provincial in comparison. I think I permanently traumatized a young friend by showing him this movie.

The Little Hours

Once Upon a Crime!

It’s not a good movie but it’s a fun movie that’s been forgotten. They used to play it on TV when I was a kid but it vanished after the 2000’s.

FOXFIRE, the moody romantic tragedy that broke every babydyke's heart back in the 1990s. Only lesbians or Ange Jolie superfans seem to have heard of it.

Does A Company of Wolves count?

If not mentioned yet, it will be-

Orphan - First Kill

'The Broken Hearts Club', Greg Berlanti's cute little turn-of-the-Millennium romantic comedy. Few gay people I know of have ever heard of it.

R27, the Lindsey Lohan movie I Know Who Killed Me is bad, but also was very watchable, and had a somewhat interesting aesthetic so that might come under that heading.

"I wake up - fingers, hand, leg: GONE!"

OP, you've used hyphens when you should have used Em Dashes.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Are any of these cult classics?

Clerks

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Pieces of April

R113 - I love Resurrection. Anyone know where I can stream it?

The Daytrippers got a Criterion re-issue a couple of years ago and Clockwatchers was on Criterion's streaming service not too long ago, so they clearly have followings.

R93 Came here to say this. There are so many indies like Trust from the 80s and 90s that seemed destined for cult status but seem forgotten.

One I really liked is Hard Choices, an indie crime drama that was well-received when it was released in the 1980s that has never even gotten a DVD release and has apparently never been put on a streaming service.

TRUE COLOURS (1991), the homoromantic, class-divide political thriller with James Spader & John Cusack. One of the most intense late 80s-early 90s vibe movies. It's great for Xmas/NY viewing too.

Actually, I've always felt the story and characters would adapt well to the stage, and wonder why no-one's tried to do it yet. Maybe I'll give it a try if no-one else does in the next decade, which they probably won't because the movie is all but forgotten--never played on TV, never re-released, never even popping up in those online reviews of vintage movies on YouTube or wherever.

Cruising

Repo: The Musical

The Devil's Carnival

Anything with Paul Bartel and/or Mary Woronov

Don't Worry Darling!

(Just getting ahead of this disaster)

The Ice Storm was mentioned above. Christina Ricci again. Like Ordinary People but takes place in Connecticut. I really enjoyed this Ang Lee movie.