Login

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 Seventh Seal (1957)

8.2/10
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Gunnar Bjornstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson

Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges h... Read more

The Searchers ( Blu-ray ) (1956)

8/10
Director: John Ford
Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Natalie Wood

This classic western stars John Wayne as a Civil War veteran who tracks a Comanche raiding party for five years to rescue the girl they hold captive.... Read more

The She-Creature (1956)

3.2/10
Director: Edward L Cahn
Starring: Tom Conway, Cathy Downs, Chester Morris, Marla English

A hypnosis based horror film tells the story of an oily hypnotist Dr Carlo Lombardi and his beautiful former carnival worker assistant Andrea. Dr Lomb... Read more

Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1956)

5.1/10
Director: Edward L Cahn
Starring: Fats Domino, Sterling Holloway, Touch Connors, Margaret Dumont

The endearingly awful "Shake, Rattle and Rock!" serves as a showcase for four top rock-and-roll talents of the 1950s. Fats Domino heads the cast as "h... Read more

The Searchers (1956)

8/10
Director: John Ford
Starring: Ward Bond, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter

In this revered Western, Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns home to Texas after the Civil War. When members of his brother's family are killed or abdu... Read more

The Day The World Ended (1956)

4.4/10
Director: Roger Corman
Starring: Richard Denning, Adele Jergens, Lori Nelson

Originally released in the fifties during the atomic decade, Day The World Ended tells the story of what happened when man finally destroys himself in... Read more

Female Jungle (1956)

5.6/10
Director: Bruno Vesota
Starring: Jayne Mansfield, Lawrence Tierney, John Carradine

Aka 'The Hangover'. Taking place over the course of a night this fifties take on film-noir tells the story of the murder of a glamorous blonde actress... Read more

The Girl Can't Help It (1956)

6.9/10
Director: Frank Tashlin
Starring: Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien

A gangster prevails upon a theatrical agent to groom the former's dumb girlfriend for stardom. Featuring wild sight gags, a great comedic turn by Jayn... Read more

Girls In Prison (1956)

5.6/10
Director: Edward L Cahn
Starring: Richard Denning, Joan Taylor, Adele Jergens

A 'babes behind bars' film that has it all: a beautiful woman sent to jail on a trumped-up robbery charge, tough inmates looking for a hidden fortune,... Read more

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

7.8/10
Director: Don Siegel
Starring: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates

The original sci-fi classic that combined outer space terror with Cold War paranoia. A small California town is under siege from alien "pods" that tur... Read more