Films that have inspired a "Cult" following. Example : The Matrix

Lord Nikon

I dunno about you, bot I've noticed that some films these days have inspired cult followings. The Matrix for one has (in my opinion) triggered a following. Having seen the original 8 times in the cinema, i guess I am a fan of the whole Matrix Experience. I see myself as a cult follower of the film, but wouldn't express myself in the clothing that was worn by the actors/actresses in the film.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this, and would like to share them here? Does anyone know of any other films that have developed a cult following?

ixoy

Star Wars obviously! The clearest example by far.

Also: Lord of the Rings. It's generally, IMHO, cult if the movies fans will go to rather strange lengths in the name of their movie. Selling tickets on eBay for hundreds of dollars is one such example.

You're mentioning big cult movies, but let's not forget the many smaller cult movies. For example, Bruce Campbell is a cult icon ("Evil Dead" series is his best known work - themselves cult movies). "Fight Club" is a cult movie - fans *really* love it, and it went outside the theatre with people opening real life fight clubs and avowing the philosophy of the movie. Horror movies generally get a cult audience as well: devoted fans who will support the franchise through thick and thin, allowing far too many installments (e.g "Friday the 13th" - 10 movies, "Hellraiser" - 8 movies, "Children of the Corn" - etc etc).

Then there's long-running cults like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" that displayed weekly here in Dublin for many a year until recently. Fans would dress up and sing along to all the songs - that is *certainly* cult. Other famous Hollywood musicals have such followings (there's a similiar one in the US for "The Sound of Music" complete with people dressing up weekly as nuns).

In fact there are many many cult movies. "The Matrix" just happens to be one of the most popular (and, in a true geek sense, thus less hardcore cultish ).

krattapopov

i think its safe to say that there is a building cult following for donnie darko

Miguel_Sanchez

The Big Lebowski

Bard

- The Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Akira

s8n

withnail and I, big studenty cult film.

sinus

->Quadrophenia - Anthem for the Mods (Lucozade ads/Scooters/Paul Weller)

->La Haine - Amazing French story of urban decay and vengence during Paris Riots

->Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Well why else would they show it year after year on almost every channel? Have you seen it?? Yes???

->Obviously anything Hitchcock/Kubrick/Taruntino/Shyamalan

Karl Hungus

Anime.
All of it.

And Conan.

phaxx

Originally posted by ixoy
Then there's long-running cults like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"...

Why... why, oh god WHY?!

Seriously, someone explain it to me. What was good about that film? Apart from being weird for the sake of being weird, which doesn't count.

butch9850

here are a few..

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA(80's kids movie)
TAXI DRIVER
INDIANA JONES..like star wars etc

Cork

John Huges films like "Ferris Bueller", "Pretty in Pink", "Breakfast Club" etc.

I even think John Candy films will have cult status.

beardedchicken

Originally posted by phaxx
Why... why, oh god WHY?!

Seriously, someone explain it to me. What was good about that film? Apart from being weird for the sake of being weird, which doesn't count.

oh, it SO counts!!
but mostly it's the audience partici......pation

mycroft

Why... why, oh god WHY?!

"The rocky horror picture show is boil in the bag perversion for repressed accountants and 1st art students who've got posters of the blue brothers, betty blue, and the big blue on their BLUE F**KING WALLS"

- Tim for Spaced.

And I'm with him on this, it's an utterly kack film.

Other cults, Laurel Hardy have a huge and well deserved network of fans, called "Sons of the desert".

Caesar_Bojangle

happy gilmore

Space Coyote

Willy Wonka
Ferris Bueller
The Big Lebowski
Blade Runner
Evil Dead
Withnail & I
Clerks
Swingers
Mad Max
Monty Python
Full Metal Jacket
Airplane
Flash Gordon
Blue Thunder
The Terminator
Bill & Ted
Wayne's World
Resevoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction
...

DukeDredd

The Rocky films - especially the 1 to 4 - made many a young fella take the sport up!

krattapopov

kevin smiths films

spudulike

The Alien series - defo a cult classic. The first 2 are the best - With Aliens being my personal fav.

Gillie

The Crow - Mainly because Brandon Lee Dies during it.
And probably Bruce Lee films also.

It seems there are certain films become cult becuase of certain criteria IMO and others just "do".

Criteria:
Low Budget
Actor(s) Dying
Banned (censorship)
Explicit/Weird Content
Being Directed by QT/Fincher/Kubrik/Hitchcock

Anyone care to add subtract from this list?

puntosporting

cheech and chong man!

CyberGhost

how about

Karate Kid

there is no movie not to mention that name at some part of it! and after that movie everyone was lke WOW! Karate!!!!
poor people don't even know that it sucks so much!

Beëlzebooze

Eraserhead (David Lynch)
A Clockwork orange (Stanley Kubrick)

and of course moet of the troma flicks i.e. 'toxic avenger'

superfly

The Princess Bride is a big student cult favourite
anything by Monty Python

TUTS

Kung Pow: Enter the fist. Pie, Requiem for a dream........ And the sicko ..... Happiness! All doing the rounds of Galway at the moment.....

lampsie

Lot of horror flicks would have a 'niche' (read: small) cult following...George Romero's zombie trilogy springs to mind, but there's lots of others...

- Night of the Living Dead
- Dawn of the Dead
- Day of the Dead

- Lamps

Wheeler

what about star wars

CyberGhost

Freddy Cruger(spelling?) baby!

sionnach

"crossroadsw" and "swept away" ofc

lol jk, the godfather trilogy should surely rank highly on the list of cult movies?