My Top Ten Favorite Cult Movie Classics

Cult classics are movies that have a following, frequently a small one, among a group of fans who feel compelled to watch the movie again and again. Many cult classics are a phenomenon because they are low-budget and appeal only to certain kinds of people. My personal definition of a cult classic is a movie that I have to watch sometimes just to feel better.

The following is my personal list of top 10 favorite cult classics:

The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon. This movie was first released in 1975, but it is so popular that it is still frequently played in theaters. It used to run every weekend in The Village in Manhattan. It is an unforgettable, bizarre musical with Tim Curry as gender-bending Dr. Frankenfurter singing and dancing in his corset and garter along with an entire cast of transvestites.

Carnival of Souls (1962) is a great movie to enjoy on a gloomy night. It is part horror, part psychological thriller with a bizarre twist of an ending. Most of this movie was filmed in Lawrence, Kansas - a point of interest to anyone familiar with the town.

In Carnival of Souls, Mary Henry, played by pretty Candace Hilligoss, seems to survive a terrible accident, only to find herself left alone in a strange town. Desperate for company, she befriends a menacing and perverted-acting fellow boarder. She is flung from one terror to another, surrounded by the dead at an abandoned carnival grounds. This is a strange movie that leaves you feeling weird, but compelled to watch it again.

1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982). In the future, the Bronx becomes a penal colony controlled by outlaw biker gangs. Trash, the "baddest... 'mother' in the Bronx" manages to rescue a pretty heiress from a gang of rogue roller hockey players. This movie is poorly done and doesn't make a lot of sense. Watch it for handsome Mark Gregory (Marco di Gregorio). Then watch the sequel The Bronx Warriors 2 for the same reason.

Blood and Donuts (1995) is a Canadian effort. It is an independent horror film of the vampire persuasion starring Gordon Currie. You may remember Currie as the Satanic figure in the movie, "Left Behind," based on the Tim LaHaye books. Currie plays the role of the humanitarian vampire, Boya, who believes in the sanctity of every human life, preferring to feed on rats instead. He falls in love with Molly, the girl from the late night donut shop, and defends his cabbie friend from petty mobsters. Finally, he loses his fear of death and allows himself to be annihilated by the rays of the sun, all set to the tune of "Twilight Time, sung by The Platters.

There are many reasons to watch this movie again and again. It is well done, well-acted. The characters are sympathetic. Gordon Currie is beautiful as the tragic Boya. It is everything a good vampire movie should be. Plus, one of the early tracks in the movie, "Bloodletting" by Concrete Blonde is to die for!

Rosemary's Baby (1968) starring Mia Farrow and directed by Roman Polanski. There is something both comforting and disconcerting about this film that keeps me coming back over and over again. I love the 1960s decor and the sober maturity of this film - that's the comforting part. The disconcerting part is the feeling that there is more to Polanski and the occult that is secretly revealed somewhere in this movie. It's only a feeling. But, it's there.

The Shining (1980) based on a novel by Stephen King, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall, directed by Stanley Kubrick. This movie is both horror and dark comedy. There is something diabolically honest in Nicholson's portrayal of a writer driven mad by the spirits at a nearly empty hotel. The Shining explores an array of psychic and spirit phenomena.

Les Visiteurs or The Visitors (1993) starring Jean Reno and Christian Clavier. This movie is best known in France where it maintains an avid cult following, but it is so extraordinary that has found its way to a small American audience in its original French language. The sound track, "Era" by Eric Levi is an outstanding mix of metal and pseudo-Gregorian chanting. Les Visiteurs is the hilarious tale of a 12th century French knight and his vassal who are accidentally transported forward in time to 20th century Paris by a senile wizard.

It is a fun and farcical, but touching. "Mont Joie!" and "San Denis" are words from the famous La Chanson du Roland, that gave courage to the warriors of Charlemagne. Godefroy, Count of Appremont and Papincourt will need all of his courage to survive modern-day Paris and finally return to the 12th century. Watch this movie enough and you'll find yourself speaking French very naturally! Good French comedies are hard to beat and this is one of their very best.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) starring David Bowie and Candy Clark, directed by Nicholas Roeg and based on an excellent little novel of the same name by Walter Tevis. If you can stand it, get the unexpurgated, directors cut of this incredible film. David Bowie is perfect as the alien. My favorite remarkable quote in this film is, "We're all just waves in space." I just don't feel right if I don't watch this movie once in a while.

Thomas Jerome Newton (Bowie) comes to earth from his own drought-plagued planet. He has some false, pre-conceived notions about earth from television signals he was able to receive in space. He brings remarkable new technology with him. It is eventually discovered that he is not from this planet. He becomes philosophical after being exposed to bizarre medical experiments and the movie just sort of ends in standard 1970s fashion. This movie is blatantly shameless and bizarre - repellent, yet alluring.

Trick or Treat (1986) starring Marc Price with cameo appearance by Gene Simmons and Ozzy Osbourne. This is a favorite Halloween treat.

Devoted head banger, social outcast Eddie Weinbauer (Price) is devastated when his guitar hero Sammy Curr is reported dead in a tragic hotel fire. Curr, who was involved in something Satanic, manages to come back from the dead first through a special vinyl album whenever it is played backwards. Eventually, he gathers more power and begins coming through anything electric - batteries, electrical outlets, electric guitars, etc.

It's cheesy good fun. It's perfect for Halloween or any time, at all.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) starring Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman, directed by Stanley Kubrick. This is a strange movie for two such big stars as Cruise and Kidman because it is so cryptic and seemingly not aimed at a broad audience. This movie is extremely complex, which is what makes it so intriguing.

Upon viewing some people have dismissed this movie out of hand as soft porn. On the contrary, it is the highest form of art with integrity and without self-consciousness. It is beautiful and strange while hinting that there is more to the world around us than what we can see. Throughout most of the film, we see the world through the eyes of Dr. Harford (Cruise). In the beginning Harford believes that he has some power over his surroundings, but by the end of the film, he (and carefully watching audience members) realize that he (and we) have no idea about who is really running the show and we are all powerless little pawns in their invisible game.

That is my personal list of cult favorites. I could go on about a few more good ones, for example, The Breakfast Club (1983) or anything Monty Python, but these ten comprise my evolving list of top choices.