~ March Issue ~
 

Top 10 Cult Classic Films
By Brittany Crawford, Staff Writer

A cult film is a colloquial term for a film that has acquired a highly devoted, but relatively small, group of fans. Cult films often are not successes at the box office, and are usually slammed by critics, but the films attract an often obsessive fan-base, hence the analogy to cults. Here are the top 10 films.

1. Released in 1975, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is still shown in many theatres. This is the only movie in which fans come dressed up to the showing of the movie, and recite the lines with the movie as they happen. The story revolves around a transvestite (played by Tim Curry) and a preppy couple who get stranded outside his castle. This musical boasts classic song such as "The Time Warp" and is, in my opinion, the top cult movie because of its huge following of loyal fans who never get tired of dressing up in costume, going out to a theatre, and speaking the entire movie.

2. Night of the Living Dead was released in 1968, and is credited as the first good zombie movie. Directed by George A. Romero (the king of zombie movies), the dead come back to life after a fallen satellite comes to Earth. This classic zombie film boasts the famous line "Their coming to get you, Barbra!". This film was a pioneer in the movie market and has spawned countless imitators.  

3. Donnie Darko is a 2001 psychological thriller about an intelligent, troubled teenager named Donald ("Donnie") J. Darko. He is encouraged by a human-sized rabbit named Frank to commit seemingly random acts of vandalism. The film addresses such themes as love, sacrifice, and time travel. The film was a flop upon its release in the US, but has found strong DVD sales and is now generally considered a cult classic, ranking 106th on IMDB's top 250 films of all time.  

4. Fight Club is a 1999 film adaptation of 1996 novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. The film revolves around a lonely, thirty-something professional with a sleeping problem who seeks an escape from his mundane existence with the help of a devious soap salesman--the infamous Tyler Durden. They find their release from the struggles of daily life through underground fight clubs. The film opened with mixed reviews from critics, but its memorable quotations and an unconventional ending has made this film a cult classic and is ranked #31 on IMDB's Top 250.  

5. Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut feature film of director Quentin Tarantino. The film portrays the events preceding and immediately following a badly botched Los Angeles jewel heist which causes the group of men, all identified by different colors, to suspect that there is a police informant in their group. It incorporates many of the themes and aesthetics that have become Tarantino's trademarks — violent crime, pop culture references, memorable dialogue and nonlinear stories.  

6. Office Space is a cult 1999 comedy film written and directed by Mike Judge. It satirizes work life in a typical software company during the late 1990s, focusing on a handful of individuals who are fed up with their jobs. The film's sympathetic portrayal of ordinary workers garnered it a cult following among those in that profession, but also addresses themes familiar to office workers and employees in general. 

7. The Breakfast Club is a 1985 teen film widely considered as the definitive work in the genre. Written and directed by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club storyline follows five teenagers (each representing a different high school clique ) as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes. The Breakfast Club was ranked number 1 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies and has had a tremendous impact on both the teen film genre and on popular culture since the 1980s.  

8.  A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of a 1962 novel of the same name by Anthony Burgess. The adaptation was produced, written, and directed, by Stanley Kubrick.The film revolves around Alex, a violent juvenile in the near future, is caught after a number of brutal rapes and murders. While imprisoned, he submits to a controversial experiment to make criminals ill at the mildest suggestion of violence or conflict. Now Alex's victims want to welcome him back into society with the same enthusiasm Alex had always exhibited when performing his crimes.  

9. The Boondock Saints is a 1999 action crime drama revolving  around fraternal twins Conner and Murphy, who become vigilantes after killing two members of the Russian mob in self-defense. Believing they are on a mission from God, the brothers with friend and former mob errand boy, Rocco, who is referred to as the "Funny Man" throughout the film, set out to rid their home city of Boston from the Russian mob and Italian Mafia. Meanwhile, they are pursued by FBI agent Paul Smecker and are joined at the end of the film by mob hitman "Il Duce". Critics essentially hated the film, but has maintained a huge fanbase which has spurred the production of a sequel set to start filming within the next year.  

10. Swingers is a film released in 1996 about the lives of single, unemployed actors living in Los Angeles, California. The characters in the film clearly idolize the swinging lifestyle of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack; in fact the number and makeup of the group of friends are an homage to the original group. The release of the film coincided with the swing revival of the 1990s. It increased interest in 1960s culture, Hollywood nightlife, and swing music. Some of the slang used in the movie became popular following its release, especially the use of the word phrase "You're so money!".