Top 50 cult movies

[CadillacJack]

Did anyone pick up the last edition to Entertainment Weekly.  It had the top 50 cult movie.  I think they did a pretty good job of rating.
#1 This is Spinal Tap
#2 Rock Horror Picture Show
The one big mistake I think they made, was they rated Evil Dead 2 as #19.  I think it should have been in the top 5.

[Duck Sauce]

Did anyone pick up the last edition to Entertainment Weekly.  It had the top 50 cult movie.  I think they did a pretty good job of rating.
#1 This is Spinal Tap
#2 Rock Horror Picture Show
The one big mistake I think they made, was they rated Evil Dead 2 as #19.  I think it should have been in the top 5.

I got it, but Mac will probably be able to find the list online somewhere

[Keener]

What did Holy Grail rank ?

[children with angels]

I've always wondered: what exactly is the criteria for something to be offically labelled 'cult'? Seems to be a fairly fluid term when Pink Flamingoes can rate on the same list as Shawshank...

[godardian]

I've always wondered: what exactly is the criteria for something to be offically labelled 'cult'? Seems to be a fairly fluid term when Pink Flamingoes can rate on the same list as Shawshank...

Yeah, if they were going to be including "legit" films like Superstar, Rushmore, Grey Gardens, etc, and not just the b-movie Troma-type stuff, they should have included The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, in my opinion.

I think EW's definition of "cult movie" is quite nebulous and arbitrary. Something about "They compose our cultural Esperanto, a subliminal vocabulary of vaguely subversive images, ideas, and phrases that we continue to obsess over and dissect at parties, around watercoolers, in bars, over the blaring banalities of the mainstream media din."

I think they tried too hard to make Rushmore sound less mainstream than it is so they could include it. I mean, it's a great movie, don't get me wrong, but I think they're stretching it with the things they say about it in their little cult-capsule synopsis.

[Mesh]

Spinal Tap's a better movie than Rocky Horror, but Rocky Horror has a far more cultish following.  It should be #1.

And, yeah, godardian's right:  Rushmore?  Take that out and replace it with, like, The Matrix or something.  The Dark Crystal, maybe?

[Derek237]

That's actually a pretty good list but it only has one of the Evil Dead movies (EDII, the best one IMO), and it's not even that high. Army Of Darkness isn't there, surprisingly.

[bonanzataz]

or how about mommie fucking dearest? god, these people have no respect for the greats.

[RegularKarate]

I disagree about The Cook,TTHWTL... don't really see that as cult.. at least not one that's more prevalent...

agreed about Rocky Horror though... while I hates it, it is definately the number one cult film ever.

Oh yeah... I didn't see Refer Madness on that list.  Or the Faces of Death flicks.  I guess they're not including Mondo type flicks.

What about Goonies... that's pretty cult.

[BrainSushi]

The hell... ? Since when is "Friday" a cult movie?

[MacGuffin]

I didn't see Refer Madness on that list.  Or the Faces of Death flicks.

50)Faces of Death Vol. 1

[godardian]

I disagree about The Cook,TTHWTL... don't really see that as cult.. at least not one that's more prevalent...

agreed about Rocky Horror though... while I hates it, it is definately the number one cult film ever.

Oh yeah... I didn't see Refer Madness on that list.  Or the Faces of Death flicks.  I guess they're not including Mondo type flicks.

What about Goonies... that's pretty cult.

I've actually seen The Cook... play at a revival house (at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland in 2000) and draw out a throng of devotees. Unlike The Goonies.

[godardian]

or how about mommie fucking dearest? god, these people have no respect for the greats.

Now that's a cult movie to reign with the cultiest.

Speaking of which, did anyone watch Martha, Inc. on Monday night? Doesn't hold a candle, but it was fairly juicy/funny. The filmmakers didn't keep their poker faces straight enough, though, so then you got this feeling they were trying too hard to be campy and it lost some of the tone.

[RegularKarate]

I've actually seen The Cook... play at a revival house (at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland in 2000) and draw out a throng of devotees. Unlike The Goonies.

Well, I'm sure a ton of people would go see a theatrical showing of The Seventh Seal... doesn't make it a cult film.

And THE GOONIES showed here IN A CAVE!  Hosted by Corey Feildman and folks paid thirty bucks and up per ticket to see it.  That's cult-y

I definately agree about Mommy Dearest.

and whoops about the Faces of Death.

And I can see Friday as a cult classic... not list worthy maybe though

[godardian]

I've actually seen The Cook... play at a revival house (at the Clinton Street Theater in Portland in 2000) and draw out a throng of devotees. Unlike The Goonies.

Well, I'm sure a ton of people would go see a theatrical showing of The Seventh Seal... doesn't make it a cult film.

In that case, though, what does make a cult film? I mean, I really want to know. I think of Cook being a cult film in the same way I think of Clockwork Orange being a cult film, but I can't quite put my finger on why... and I don't think EW knows better than you or I do. Like, what exactly does Friday have that makes it more of a cult film than something like Cook?

Just in the interests of clarification... I really don't have any answers to these questions. I'm beginning to lose any tiny shred of faith I had in the "cult" label, anyways. I've just sort of vaguely thought of it as a film that inspires particular devotion, for some reason, or maybe something that was poorly distributed or unappreciated or swept under the rug at first, and then people "discovered" it and became protective of it. But I guess it's just easier to say "cult." I'm going to put that word in the same trash heap I put the words "alternative" and "weird"; meaningless through overuse and misapplication.