John Carpenter is a legend when it comes to sci-fi and horror, but one of his most beloved
movies was actually hated upon its initial release.
Luckily, like all the other movies on this list, it's since been embraced as a cult classic.
One of the most recent and infamous additions to the cult horror canon is 2009's Jennifer's Body.
Starring Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox at the peak of her popularity, and written by
Diablo Cody, who'd just won an Oscar for Juno, Jennifer's Body was hyped as the next big thing.
It featured a pair of up-and-coming actresses and a dream team behind the camera, including
Karyn Kusama as the director.
Suffice it to say, though, Jennifer's Body was not the next big thing.
Nevertheless, it is regarded as one of the most feminist films in recent memory, though
audiences were understandably shocked when they went to the theater and didn't get what
they bargained for.
Over the years, Jennifer's Body has certainly earned its cult status, as people don't just
like it, they love it.
Like the best cult films, its blemishes show off a depth and an inventiveness that remain
admirable to this day.
It's also simply a blast to watch, with plenty of hilarious and quippy dialogue.
"MoveOn.org, Needy, it's over."
You can't talk about cult films without mentioning the glory of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
This 1975 classic is the type of movie you can't believe was ever actually made.
To this day, watching it still feels like a feat of creativity and sexual fluidity,
starring names that have only grown bigger and better with the passage of time.
The plot is undeniably quite weird: Brad and Janet are boring sweethearts who get a flat
tire right near an eerie mansion inhabited by the hypersexualized Dr. Frank-N-Furter.
While there, they meet a guy named Eddie played by Meat Loaf, some scary house attendants,
and Rocky — a dumb but very hot man.
And that's pretty much it.
There's no way to explain it further except to tell you to watch it.
Rocky Horror flopped brutally upon its release.
But over the years, thanks to midnight screenings in which audiences wear the costumes of the
iconic characters and throw food at the screen, the film has earned over $170 million at the
box office and become the longest continually running movie release of all time.
Released in 1982 and starring Kurt Russell at the peak of his stardom, The Thing follows
a crew of researchers in the Antarctic.
It starts off with them crossing paths with a dog who turns out to be a terrifying shape-shifting creature.
Directed by John Carpenter after a string of hits including Halloween and Escape From
New York, The Thing didn't make much of a dent at the box office, which is truly mind-boggling.
And at the time of its release, it was trashed by critics, who called it bleak, paranoid, and depressing.
This ended up alienating its potential audience.
But in the years since, justice has been served.
The Thing has earned its place in the canon of horror classics and is often regarded as
Carpenter's best and most cohesive film.
It features amazing practical effects, an unnerving setting, a timeless score, and an
ambiguous ending for the ages.
"Wait here for a little while.
See what happens."
1974's Phantom of The Paradise is a pastiche of various stories, borrowing from the likes
of Phantom of the Opera and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
It's a film that at times feels more interesting and daring than good, which is actually part
of its charm.
It's also a snapshot of a filmmaker before he fully found his voice; director Brian De
Palma veers in directions that can be considered exciting and strange now that we have some context.
But some of his iconic visual trademarks are already present.
Phantom of the Paradise follows William Finley as Winslow — a naïve composer whose music
is stolen by a producer played by Paul Williams, who might also be the devil.
With the stolen music, the producer launches a theater of epic proportions called The Paradise.
Winslow loses his mind and his face.
He starts wearing a mask and haunting the theater in order to get his music back.
It's mostly nonsensical but in the most fun and daring way you can imagine, making for
exactly the type of film that inspires a vibrant cult following.
At the time of its release, it made almost no money, so let that be your invitation to
give it a watch.
It's tough to imagine a world where a Quentin Tarantino movie flopped at the box office,
but that's actually the world that we live in.
Released in 2007, Grindhouse was billed as a double feature of Planet Terror and Death
Proof, with the former directed by Robert Rodriguez and the latter directed by Tarantino.
It didn't draw much of an audience — at least not initially.
Perhaps the strangeness of the idea is why people didn't turn out in droves, but it might
also be the reason why it's been revisited and has earned cult status among its devoted followers.
Poor box office performance in the U.S. resulted in the release of both parts as separate features
abroad, which is rather sad, as Grindhouse is quite the collaboration.
Although their names are each attached to a single half, the entire thing was really
Rodriguez and Tarantino's baby together.
Featuring the acting talents of Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, and many more,
Grindhouse presents a parade of amazing attractions, including plenty of zombies and car chases.
Simply put, it's a great time.
The Guillermo del Toro-directed Crimson Peak was a flop at the box office.
It's understandable why some people might be turned off by its slow pace — and also
by the incest.
But Del Toro often features taboo subjects in stories that are otherwise palatable to
mass audiences.
If he were directing the biggest blockbusters of today, the world would be a whole lot more fun.
Released in 2015, Crimson Peak is pure gothic goodness.
It features a trifecta of lovely performances from Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, and Jessica Chastain.
It follows Wasikowska as Edith Cushing — a young writer who gets trapped in a game devised
by siblings Thomas and Lucille.
The bright colors and the devotion to the gothic romance style capably cover any small
missteps, resulting in something quite special that has amassed plenty of fans over the years.
"I won't stop until you kill me, or I kill you."
Before James Gunn was a certified superhero movie director, he was simply a guy who made
horror movies and attached his name to projects that were truly bizarre.
If you look over his filmography, you'll find a variety of titles like 2006's Slither — a
gory and sticky film about an alien invasion that takes place in the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina.
The plot is straight out of a B horror movie, and that's kind of the point.
The craftsmanship in Slither is amazing, and it also features a clever script and memorable
lead performances from Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion.
On top of that, it has some really awesome practical effects, the likes of which are
quite rare in modern cinema.
If you want to watch some spooky visuals that are a throwback to simpler cinematic times,
then look no further than Slither.
"We're itchy."
Based on the novella of the same name written by Ira Levin, 1975's The Stepford Wives is
an incredibly impactful tale.
In fact, the title has since become common shorthand for a certain type of obediently
smiling spouse.
The film follows Katharine Ross as Joanna, Peter Masterson as her husband Walter, and
their two daughters as they move to the town of Stepford, Connecticut.
The family is soon surprised to discover that this town is inhabited by women who are house-managing
robots whose lives revolve around their husbands.
The Stepford Wives caused a stir among both feminists and critics at the time of its release,
though it's earned a cult following over the years.
As Mary Stuart Masterson, daughter of the actor who played Walter, put it to Entertainment
Weekly in 2017,
"'Stepford wife' has become code for some robot following a script and meeting some
male misogynistic ideal of femininity.
[It's about] negating your agency as a woman."
Annihilation is not easy viewing.
Still, the fact that it flopped at the box office despite its glowing reviews is heartbreaking.
Directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman, the film is based on a novel by Jeff
Vandermeer, though it veers in a different direction than the book.
The story remains the same but the focus shifts, resulting in a tale that's more internal and thoughtful.
Additionally, the narrative is presented with beautiful and incredibly terrifying visuals.
Released in 2018, Annihilation follows Portman as a biologist and soldier named Lena.
She joins a mission to investigate the mysterious Area X, which hosts a shimmering phenomenon
that is slowly taking over the world.
It's a film that shifts depending on the viewer — what you get out of it depends on what
you put into it.
Much like the characters that make up the story, it has some baggage.
It's an ambitious movie that asks its audience to open their minds for some unique rewards.
"Our bodies and our minds will be fragmented into their smallest parts until not one part remains."
Donnie Darko is one of the strangest movies ever made.
Like all great cult films, it prioritizes mood, vibrating with a dread and discomfort
that's tough to pinpoint or describe.
Featuring a wonderful lead performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and directed by the always
ambitious Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko is a must-watch for anyone who's ever felt isolated
— especially as a teenager.
Unfortunately, it was a victim of bad timing; the 9/11 terrorist attacks had just happened
at the time of its October 2001 release, and its inciting incident was a jet engine falling
on top of someone's house.
Donnie Darko's story grows more resonant with each passing day.
On the surface, it's a film about a troubled kid who thinks the world is ending and makes
it his mission to stop it by following his dreams.
But that's like saying that Mad Max is a film about racing cars.
Donnie Darko is a two-hour fever dream that doesn't exactly make sense, yet it somehow
all fits perfectly together.
"Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit?"
"Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?"
Next up we have one of the more recent releases whose cult will hopefully only continue to grow.
Released in 2015 and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, Green Room is one of the simplest and goriest
films you'll ever see.
It's filled with an unbearable thrum of tension that simply doesn't let up.
Starring Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Sir Patrick Stewart as the terrifying leader
of a neo-Nazi group, the film follows a punk rock band who find themselves trapped after
witnessing a violent act.
Despite the fun and simple premise, Green Room flopped at the box office, making just
$3.8 million against a $5 million budget.
Fortunately, it's being rediscovered, buoyed along with the help of streaming, the passage
of time, the tragic death of Yelchin, and the fact that it's just pretty damn good.
Near Dark is a bloodsucking horror gem.
Released in 1987, this Kathryn Bigelow-directed fright flick stars Adrian Pasdar as Caleb
— a young cowboy and newly turned vampire.
After falling in love with a vampire girl played by Jenny Wright and following her around,
he ends up involved with a band of evil vampires.
The film's music is scored by the German electronic band Tangerine Dream, taking the overall experience
to another level.
It's like Twilight but set in the 80s and a whole lot cooler.
Upon the time of Near Dark's release, the market was crowded with vampire flicks, which
is perhaps why this one fell through the cracks.
While its contemporaries leaned into more mainstream directions, Bigelow found ways
to deviate from the expected.
She crafted a film that's fun because of its vampires but also intelligent and dark as
it probes at the ennui of eternal beings.
No matter how many vampire movies come and go over the years, Near Dark remains a touchstone.
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