Type of Cult Movies....

The Midnight Movie

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Movies that got popular specifically because of their fan cultivation in the hallowed halls of the midnight theater. This is the daddy of cult types. These movies don't fall to genre as much as they demand to be interactive more than other cult movie types perhaps may. Bring your spoons, bring your toast, dress up and shout the lines! Midnight Movies are all about the community. Examples: The Curse of Frankenstein, Rocky Horror Picture Show (featured), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

The "So Bad, It's Good"

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A film critic by chance saw one of the screenings of the initial two week run it was intended to have in a single theater in LA, and left the building calling up every person he knew telling them they just *had* to come see this trainwreck. "So Bad, It's Good" cult films are often shot poorly, low budget, acted atrociously, with ridiculous story lines - but somehow that endears us to them. You can't help but smile at how terrible they are. Examples: Reefer Madness, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Show Girls, Robot Monster, Battlefield Earth, The Room (featured).

The Unsung Innovator

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I made this category up (you can find most other critics talk about most every other type I list), but I think it is important not to leave out. There are several cult classics that aren't terrible movies - though niche they may be - but are received poorly initially because frankly, people just weren't ready for them. Thus, they germinate in relative anonymity and build a cult following before it dawns on the smarties of the world and then the general public how rad these films truly are. Before their time, and often trendsetters, but cult status nonetheless.Examples: Akira (featured), Halloween, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Metropolis, Avatar (jk lawl).

The Nostalgia Trip

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Nothing feels better than remembering the good ole days, so why not have films take a fun romp through the golden years - whatever years they may be? Films can either do that as period pieces (50s nostalgia in Back to the Future) or by aging into artifacts in their own right (80s nostalgia in Back to the Future). Looking back at the culture of one's youth is a surefire way to garner attention and positive feelings, but like a fine wine, this usually comes with age. Examples: John Hughes films, Back to the Future (featured), The Last Picture Show, Dazed and Confused, The Artist, Amarcord.

The B Movie

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This type overlaps a great deal with both Midnight Movie and "So Bad, It's Good", and "Genre Films" (to come) but I feel it deserves it's own attention, especially because so many B movies are intentionally spectacle. Tommy Wiseau really thought he was making art with The Room, but Piranhaconda probably didn't, let's be real. These are commercial films and unabashedly goofy and cheesy movies that harbor no delusions of being arthouse films. They are just a grand old time, and no one can take that away from them. They gather followings for being ridiculous and entertaining, and certainly don't waste a large budget pumping them out by the dozen. Examples: Sharknado (featured), Pals of the Saddle, Hercules in New York (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger), Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (EATS WHAT??), Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos.

Exploitation and Arthouse

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I've combined these two types because they shared similar grindhouse locales and respect (or perhaps lack thereof in some cases) but are more tongue in cheek, or more serious even, than B movies. Exploitation films can be divided into subcategories like Blaxploitation, Sexploitation and fetishism, and gore - among many, many others.. Smut and borderline/pseudo-snuff films fall here, too. Arthouse affairs were often pretty smutty themselves, and certainly low budget, but did not yet have the respect modern times give to indie films, which provided them the opportunity to be considered for cult status by their underground and noncommercial runs. Examples: "Exploitation" - Coffy (featured), Foxy Brown; The Last Orgy of the Third Reich; Cannibal Holocaust, Blood Feast, Hostel; "Arthouse" - The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover, L'ennui; The Passion of Joan of Arc, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, The Holy Mountain.

Genre Films

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These require special attention because they are usually given cult infamy because they fall into a category or genre of films that already has a following. Martial Arts films, monster movies, and more recently there has been a swelling of attention for film noir, all put forward cult classics that aren't remarkable as individuals so much as they are part of a whole filmography that is beloved. Genre films are often dismissed because they are usually made to appeal to an established audience and not for the love of cinema or whatever reason snooty cinephiles think movies should be made.Examples: Bruce Lee anything (featured), The Wolfman, Bladerunner, The Blob, basically any horror film, especially slashers.

I recently graduated and wrote my thesis paper on cult films. My actual paper, however, wasn't up to my personal par because I was typing it in a drugged stupor from a hospital bed in order to graduate on time, so I figured I'd try and not waste months of research and put my knowledge to good use! Let me know if you like this, because I have 8000 more things to say (ex: the history of cult, what defines "cult status", cult vs. cool, the new rules of cult in the internet age, why I hate Quentin Tarantino, etc.), or I could talk about specific films, too.