The Best Cult Films of All Time

The fantasy/adventure is about a teenage girl (Jennifer Connelly) who has 13 hours to navigate a labyrinth and save her baby brother (Toby Froud) after her wish for him to be taken away was granted by the Goblin King (David Bowie).

Robert Rodriguez directed and wrote this case of nearly fatal mistaken identity. El Mariachi is an itinerant guitar player who goes from town to town trying to make a living. Gangsters mistake him for an assassin they are expecting and try to kill him.

In the futuristic year 1997, the American president crash lands in New York City, which has become a huge maximum security prison, and a convict (Kurt Russell sporting an eye patch) is tasked with rescuing him. There’s plenty of star power in this actioner, including Ernest Borgnine, Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Isaac Hayes, and Adrienne Barbeau.

The capper to the Evil Dead trilogy, all of them directed by Sam Raimi, finds store clerk Ash Campbell trapped in the Middle Ages. He has to find the Necronomicon, a book of evil, that can return him to his time. However, he unwittingly frees the evil inside the book and unleashes hordes of the dead.

Director Jim Jarmusch specializes in off-center films (“Down by Law,” “Stranger Than Paradise”), and “Dead Man” is his singular take on the Western. In the 19th-century American frontier, an accountant (Johnny Depp) has gone west to find a new future, but goes on the run after killing a man. The cast includes Robert Mitchum, Billy Bob Thornton, Alfred Molina, Gabriel Byrne, and singer Iggy Pop.

A black-clad gunfighter (played by director Jodorowsky himself) goes on a mystical journey in the Old West seeking an almost biblical vengeance in this trippy and mostly incomprehensible film.

John Carpenter, the director who brought you the original “Halloween” and “Escape from New York,” helmed “They Live,” a subversive combination of science fiction and horror. The film starred professional wrestler Roddy Piper as a wanderer in Los Angeles who finds a pair of sunglasses that reveal that aliens are seeking world domination.

Campy classic is about sweethearts who get a flat tire and encounter a mansion of unique characters, including the transvestite scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry). The film became a midnight show must-see at college campuses in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with filmgoers dressing up as their favorite character and shouting lines along with the dialogue. It was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry in 2005.

Vincent Gallo wrote, directed and starred in this film about a convict who kidnaps a woman (Christina Ricci) and asks her to impersonate a wife he doesn’t have to please his parents. To his astonishment, she takes to her role and ingratiates herself with the parents who are Buffalo Bills fans, lending the film its title.

A reluctant young employee of a car repossession shop pursues a Chevrolet Malibu that has a $20,000 bounty on it, and hides something not of this earth in the trunk. Buoyed by a strong cast led by Harry Dean Stanton and Emilio Estevez, “Repo Man” is one of two movies on this list with a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 98%.

Brian De Palma directed and co-wrote this well-received rock opera version of “Phantom of the Opera” as a veiled critique of the music industry. The story is about a young songwriter who is tricked into giving up his life’s work. To get revenge he terrorizes the rock palace owned by the man he believes wronged him.

“Wild Style,” written, directed, and produced by Charlie Ahearn, is about South Bronx graffiti artist Shy Zoro who is commissioned to paint a backdrop for a rap/break-dance concert. An all-star lineup of rappers involved in the film include Grandmaster Flash and Fab 5 Freddy. The movie was lauded for its exuberant celebration of hip-hop, break dancing, and rap.

The Blues Brothers, musicians played by “Saturday Night Live” alums John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, have to outrun the police, the National Guard, Nazis, and others in Chicago to save the Catholic home where they were raised in this wild farce. Among the musical greats in this film are Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, James Brown, and Ray Charles.

Director David Lynch’s debut feature film “Eraserhead” first gained popularity as a midnight movie in the late 1970s. The motion picture – about a man trapped by his environment and his fear of fatherhood – combines surrealism, horror, and dark humor. Despite its oddness, “Eraserhead” has collected countless fans worldwide since its release.

Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes praised Paul Newman’s performance as the aging player/coach of a failing minor league hockey team that turns things around after he adds to the roster several overly physical players with limited ability. The film was directed by George Roy Hill, who worked with Newman on the classic films “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting.”

Starring brother and sister actors Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, “Donnie Darko” is a surrealistic sci-fi about a troubled teen who escapes an accident and is haunted by a man in a rabbit suit who prods him to commit crimes. Re-releases, home rentals, word-of-mouth, and a memorable music soundtrack have helped turn the movie into a cult smash.

Director Michael Lehmann turned the teen comedy on its head with “Heathers.” Winona Ryder, following her well-received performance in “Beetlejuice,” plays a popular high school girl Veronica who objects to the cruel behavior of her peers. She and her new boyfriend (Christian Slater) accidentally poison a clique leader named Heather and try to make the crime look like suicide. Little does Veronica realize that her boyfriend is killing off kids he doesn’t like.

In this comedy/drama about teenage angst directed by Terry Zwigof, two devious friends (Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson) who plan to move in together once they graduate high school get more than they bargain for when they answer a man’s newspaper advertisement for a date.

Mike Judge tapped into soul-crushing office-work drudgery with this smartly written and well-cast fan favorite comedy starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston.

This stylishly violent film directed by Walter Hill is about a New York gang called the Warriors who are falsely accused of killing the leader of another gang and must fight their way back to their home turf on Coney Island from the Bronx, rumbling with gangs such as the Baseball Furies and avoiding the police.

The “Evil Dead” is the first in the original trilogy of the “Evil Dead” franchise created by Sam Raimi. In the first film, main character Ash Campbell, his girlfriend, and three friends go to a cabin in the woods and find a book, the Necronomicon, whose content reawakens the dead when it is read out loud. Critics at Rotten Tomatoes said the movie “combines just the right amount of gore and black humor.”

Kevin Smith wrote, directed, and co-produced this indie film about a day in the life of two foul-mouthed, ambition-challenged young people working at a suburban New Jersey convenience store. The movie spawned two sequels.

“Harold and Maude” drew a cult following after its release in 1971. The story is about a 20-year-old man (Bud Cort) weighing suicide who develops a relationship with a zany 80-year-old woman (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral.

Richard Linklater tapped into 1970s’ teenage angst with this coming-of-age film that takes place on the last day of school in Austin, Texas. Linklater’s movie (the title comes from a Led Zeppelin song) touches on themes of freedom and adulthood. Among the cast members who would become major stars are Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, and Milla Jovovich.

Crackling dialogue from Joel and Ethan Coen and fine performances by Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi made “The Big Lebowski” a cult favorite. Bridges plays Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, a middle-aged burnout in Los Angeles who likes to imbibe White Russians, bowl, and drive his 1973 Ford Gran Torino. Unfortunately for him, he has the same name as a millionaire whose wife owes money to bad people.

Wes Anderson’s second film was his take on the coming-of-age genre in this dramedy. Jason Schwartzman plays private-school student Max Fischer, who vies with an older man (Bill Murray) for the affections of a first-grade teacher (Rosemary Cross). Luke Wilson also appeared in the film and his brother Owen co-wrote it with Anderson.

The black-and-white indie flick “Stranger Than Paradise” was Jim Jarmusch’s directorial debut. It follows the aimless lives of two New Yorkers whose routine is jolted by the arrival of one’s Hungarian cousin. After the cousin leaves to stay with an aunt in Cleveland, the two men set out for Florida and what they believe is paradise.

John Carpenter’s remake of the 1950s’ classic horror-movie stars Kurt Russell. A research team in Antarctica is pitted against a malevolent shape-shifting visitor from another world. Carpenter’s reboot is grimmer and gorier than the original and the tension is relentless. “The Thing” holds the highest score from Rotten Tomatoes audiences among Carpenter films.

Bruce Robinson directed and wrote this acerbic take on bohemian characters living on the edge. Out-of-work actors Marwood and Withnail spend time in their filthy London apartment, at the unemployment office, or drinking at the pub. A holiday in the country with Withnail’s gay uncle turns into a disaster as the luckless thespians battle tedium and the constant rain.

The gender-bending “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” which draws comparisons to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” is about a German emigrant living in a trailer in Kansas, the victim of a botched sex-change operation, who is searching for fame and love. John Cameron Mitchell won audience and directing awards at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

“Freaks” is a Depression-era film directed by Tod Browning (“Dracula”) that was the most shocking movie of its day. The plot revolves around a trapeze artist who plans to marry a diminutive performer for his money, poison him, and run off with her lover. The other side-show performers discover the plot and exact their own, terrifying revenge on the conspirators. The film, which featured real sideshow performers, was banned in many states for decades because some audience members claimed it made them ill.

Ridley Scott’s grim, futuristic drama about a man (Harrison Ford) tasked to hunt “Replicants” who have escaped to Earth was misunderstood in its time but has gained a legion of fans. A sequel to “Blade Runner,” “Blade Runner 2049,” was released in 2017. It brought back Ford and cast him alongside Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas.

“A Clockwork Orange” is Stanley Kubrick’s disturbing and thought-provoking look at a dystopian England where roving gangs get high and prey on society. After one sadistic gang member (Malcolm McDowell) kills a woman, he’s captured. He allows himself to undergo behavior modification that conditions him to reject violence. When he returns to the outside world, he himself becomes the victim of his victims.

“Fight Club” is David Fincher’s exploration into nihilism and for some critics an indictment of toxic masculinity. An office worker (Edward Norton) dealing with insomnia and a soap maker (Brad Pitt) create an underground fight club that attracts men tired of living dead-end lives. Though some critics found the movie inhuman and deeply unsettling, audiences on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 96% score.

“This Is Spinal Tap” is Rob Reiner’s hilarious send-up of heavy metal rock ‘n’ roll. Told in documentary style, the movie follows the peaks and valleys of the career of the fictional British metal band Spinal Tap. Smartly written by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, and Harry Shearer – all of whom appear in the film – the comedy is chock full of quotable moments.

Featuring dazzling visuals combined with an off-kilter take on an Orwellian future, “Brazil” is about a bureaucrat (Jonathan Pryce) who pictures himself as a hero saving the life of an endangered woman. After he meets the woman of his fantasy, he becomes entangled in a web of mistaken identities and lies. Sprung from the mind of Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam, “Brazil” enjoys a 98% score from Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Quentin Tarantino’s debut as director featured intensely drawn characters and explosive violence. A group of thieves are assembled to pull off a big diamond heist. All goes wrong as it turns into a bloody ambush because one of the men turns out to be a police informer, ratcheting up the tension among the criminals.

“The Princess Bride” refreshes a one-true-love story derived from a novel by William Goldman. A farmhand named Westley and a woman named Buttercup fall in love. He goes to seek his fortune in order to marry Buttercup. When he returns, he must save her from an evil mythical kingdom. The movie has a loyal following and is Rob Reiner’s second-highest rated film among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

“Monty Python & the Holy Grail” is one of the most quotable comedies of all time. Created by the British comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the film lampoons one of Britain’s great legends, King Arthur, in his quest for the holy grail. Along the way, Arthur has to deal with heckling from French soldiers, a killer rabbit, and listens to peasants rail against capitalism.

Quentin Tarantino’s homage to 1970s exploitation films was one of the most influential motion pictures of the 1970s, mixing noir sensibilities, spasmodic violence, and black humor. The movie tells the stories of two hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits. The film is famous for the dance scene pairing John Travolta and Uma Thurman. The blockbuster cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken, Rosanna Arquette, and Bruce Willis.