Cult Films / After Dark
Cult Films generally have limited but very special appeal. They are usually strange, quirky, offbeat, eccentric, oddball, or surreal. They may have outrageous, weird, cartoony characters or plots, and garish sets. They are often considered controversial because they step outside standard narrative and technical conventions. Cult films cut across many film genres (science fiction, horror, melodrama, etc.), and though they can be very stylized, they are often flawed or unusual in some striking way. To make a little sense of this unique genre, scroll the motherlode below, or take a side road by clicking a blue sub-heading to yer left...
Visiting "Television Shows" and the "Cult Television" sub-feature may be worth checking out, also the "Animation" feature and the "Cult Animation" or "JapAnime" sub-feature will help with the bigger picture..
Right: Henry (Jack Nance) is "Eraserhead".
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
8/10
Director: Henry Selick
Starring: Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara
A wonderfully bizarre and visually stunning Yuletide treat from Tim Burton, who uses stop-motion animation to tell the story of Jack Skellington, the... Read more
The Nutty Professor (1963)
6.7/10
Director: Jerry Lewis
Starring: Jerry Lewis, Stella Stevens, Del Moore
Jerry Lewis is a mild mannered chemistry professor who follows in the footsteps of Dr Jekyll and becomes Buddy Love, a heartless lounge lizard and hea... Read more
The Onion Movie (2008)
6.3/10
Starring: Steven Seagal, Len Cariou, Daniel Dae Kim
Based on the wildly popular newspaper hailed by The New Yorker as the funniest publication in the United States, this topical satire takes aim at pop... Read more
The Parallax View (1974)
7.2/10
Director: Alan J Pakula
Starring: Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels
A stylish, taut thriller with Warren Beatty as a determined reporter investigating an unfolding political conspiracy involving a covert organisation,... Read more
The Party (1968)
7.6/10
Director: Blake Edwards
Starring: Peter Sellers, Claudine Longet, Marge Champion
Peter Sellers in one of his best roles plays a clumsy Indian bit player who has just destroyed a remake of 'Gunga Din', and finds himself at a posh pa... Read more
The Party ( Blu-ray ) (1968)
7.6/10
Director: Blake Edwards
Starring: Claudine Longet, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers is a disaster-prone actor from India who is at first thrown off the set by the producer of a film then invited to his posh Hollywood par... Read more
The People Under the Stairs (Blu-Ray) (1991)
6.3/10
Director: Wes Craven
Starring: Bill Cobbs, Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Ving Rhames, Wendy Robie, Kelly Jo Mi...
When young Fool (Brandon Adams) breaks into the home of his family's greedy and uncaring landlords, he discovers a disturbing scenario where incestuou... Read more
The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues / Attack of the Giant Leeches (1956)
Director: Dan Miller, Bernard L Kowalski
Starring: Cathy Downs, Kent Taylor, Ken Clark, Yvette Vickers
A sci-fi schlock double feature. "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues" (1956) - An atomic powered part alligator/part turtle mutant gobbles up fishermen a... Read more
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes (2005)
6.4/10
Director: The Brothers Quay
Starring: Amira Casar, Gottfried John, Assumpta Serna
A characteristically surreal and stunning blend of live action, animation and puppetry from the Brothers Quay. On the eve of her wedding, opera singe... Read more
The Producers (1968)
7.7/10
Director: Mel Brooks
Starring: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Kenneth Mars, Dick Shawn
Mel Brook's hilarious hit about a producer who comes up with a surefire scheme for making money... on a musical production that he is absolutely cert... Read more