Cult Films You Must Watch

Cult movies can be movies of any genre, identified only by the fiercely devoted audience that continues to watch the movie over and over. Often the audience will engage in online discussions with other die-hard fans and even attend conventions and events dressed as their favourite cult classic movie character.

We’ve put together a list of some of our favourite cult classic movies that you have to watch:

1- “Blade Runner” (1982): Blade Runner is a science fiction movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford. The movie came out in the early 80s, which turned out to be the perfect time as ‘nerd’ culture was really starting to take off. Other science fiction greats such as Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien were huge at the time and new technologies such as home computers were becoming more easily available.

The movie sparked a fierce debate amongst fans on whether Deckard (Harrison Ford), the Replicant Hunter, was a replicant himself or not. With the sequel ‘Blade Runner 2049’ set to release on 6 October, there’s never been a better time to watch the original.

2- “Rounders” (1998): Rounders was released in 1998, directed by John Dahl and stars Matt Damon, Edward Norton and John Malkovich. Rounders tells the story of a man who loses his money in a poker game, after quitting gambling due to pressure from his girlfriend, he returns to the poker tables to help his friend pay off a debt. The film became an unexpected hit, with many authorities in the space citing it as one of the best gambling films of all time. With a budget of $12 million, the movie ended up grossing $22 million in total domestically.

3- “The Thing” (1982): John Carpenter’s The Thing is another classic that horror fans can’t miss. Set in remote Antarctica, the movie follows a group of American research scientists who take in a sled dog that begins to brutally attack all living things on the base. The group soon discovers that the beast can take the shape of its victims.

This movie is an excellent example of how to do remakes right, as a fantastic reinvention of 1951’s The Thing From Another World by Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby.

4- “Donnie Darko” (2001): The 2001 movie directed by Richard Kelly and starring a young Jake Gyllenhall follows Donnie (Gyllenhall), a schizophrenic with a history of violence who while sleepwalking meets Frank, a man in a frightening bunny costume who tells him the world will end in 28 days.

Donnie Darko famously flopped at the box office with a budget of around $6 million the movie only grossed $1.3 million domestically. Over time however Donnie Darko grew into one of the most well-known cult classics, with die-hard fans still writing up potential theories for the movie to this day.

5- “Fight Club” (1999): Fight Club is often one of the first thoughts when someone talks about cult classics. The movie follows the story of a depressed man (Edward Norton) who suffers from insomnia and his meeting with a soap salesman (Brad Pitt). The pair eventually forms an underground fight club, with a strict set of rules.

6- “A Clockwork Orange” (1972): A Clockwork Orange is an adaption of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 novel of the same name, by Stanley Kubrick. A dystopian crime movie set in a futuristic Britain; the movie famously makes use of violent and disturbing imagery to comment on a range of subjects, including youth gangs, juvenile delinquency and psychiatry.

Mentalfloss posted an interesting article on 15 things you might not know about A Clockwork Orange, a must read for any fans of the book or movie.

7- “The Evil Dead” (1983): Decades before directing the Spider-man trilogy, director Sam Raimi made his first foray into professional filmmaking with the horror movie The Evil Dead. Raimi famously took a huge risk, dropping out of college to shoot The Evil Dead on a famously low budget of $350,000.

The story follows a group of five college students who take time off to spend a vacation at a remote cabin. The group find themselves helpless to stop the evil that they released after reading the incantations in a book they found.

8- “Pulp Fiction” (1994): One of Quentin Tarantino’s best movies to date; Pulp Fiction follows the intertwining stories of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangsters wife and a pair of diner bandits. Pulp Fiction features an all-star cast of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman and more.

Pulp Fiction was a box office hit, famously being the first movie to gross more than $200 million and with a budget of just $8 million.

9- “Night of the Living Dead” (1968): Night of the Living Dead was George A. Romero’s debut movie, beginning Hollywood’s craze with Zombie flicks. The movie has glowing reviews from critics and general audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes with a spectacular critic score of 96%.

The story revolves around a group of characters who barricade themselves in an old farmhouse after dead start coming back to life throughout the nation. Night of the Living Dead is a classic that any horror fan will enjoy.

10- “The Big Lebowski” (1998): The late 90s – early 00s was a great time for movies that would eventually become cult classics. The Big Lebowski released in 1998, directed by the Coen brothers and starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi.

The movie follows Jeff Lebowski, nicknamed ‘the Dude’ who is a laid back bowling enthusiast who happens to have the same name as a millionaire, whose wife owes a lot of money to dangerous people.