The only cult I’m proud to be a member of
September 11th, 2008 at 08:56am Will Pfeifer
For months now, The Onion AV Club has spent each Thursday spotlighting a different modern cult movie in a noble mission to establish a “New Cult Canon” to follow the list of classic cult movies developed in the 1970s and 1980s, largely by author Danny Peary (who wrote CULT MOVIES, CULT MOVIES 2 and — wait for it — CULT MOVIES 3).
This week, in a break from the new stuff, the Club is presenting “The Old Cult Canon,” a list of 16 movies that established the idea of just what the heck a cult movie is. Ranging from FREAKS to ERASERHEAD to REPO MAN to (of course) THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, it’s as good a primer as any if you’re looking to investigate the phenomenon on your own. (I’m pretty sure they’re all available on DVD).
I bought Peary’s CULT MOVIES as a freshman in college, and spent the next four years — and countless hours in the campus theater — checking movies off the list. I’ve seen just about every one (many several times), but I have to admit, I’ve never seen THE HARDER THEY COME, EL TOPO or AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD. Anyone out there familiar with these movies? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em?
And has anyone out there seen PINK FLAMINGOS? If you’re only familiar with John Waters from HAIRSPRAY (either version), this one might come as a bit of a shock.
Entry Filed under: Cult movies
5 Comments Add your own
1. John N | September 11th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
The Danny Peary Cult Movies books are my favorite books to read about the movies. Hopefully, they’ll all be collected and reprinted in a new hardcover edition someday because my softcover versions are losing pages from reading them so much.
The Onion AV Club article was a fun read too and I can’t argue with most of the choices (although I never got into ROCKY HORROR).
2. jan | September 13th, 2008 at 8:34 am
I really like AGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD. There’s a great scene at the end which makes the movie—sort of like the dance scene in ZORBA. The Danny Peary Cult Movie books are great (I have all of them), but another really good read, also by Peary, is “Alternate Oscars.” He takes the best picture, the best actor, and the best actress from each year since the Oscars began (up until the early ’90s when the book was published) and either agrees or disagrees with the choices made with an excellent discussion as to why or why not. It’s available used from sellers from Amazon for less that $10, I think, and I think you’d like it. For one thing, he thought “Night of the Hunter” should have gotten best picture, and that’s one of my favorites. It introduced me to many movies I had never even heard of: “Dogfight” comes to mind especially. What a great movie and a great performance from Lily Taylor. I keep buying used copies and giving them to friends who are movie aficionados. You, of all people, should check it out.
3. Jerry | September 14th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I agree on AGUIRRE. This film introduced me to Herzog and I believe it is still representative of his best narrative work to date. The opening was unlike anything I had ever seen and the atmosphere of the film really wraps you into the story.
4. Dr. K | September 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I would also add Danny Peary’s CULT MOVIE STARS to the list of indispensible cult movie reference books. I find myself poring over that book on a regular basis, even more than the other 3 Peary books.
5. Will Pfeifer | September 15th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
All those Peary books are great — I keep GUIDE FOR THE FILM FANATIC on my desk at work. Even though it’s more than 20 years old, it’s still a great reference and still fun to read. And my copy of CULT MOVIES is literally falling apart I’ve read it so many times.
I like ALTERNATE OSCARS for a lot of reasons, the main one being his gives Andy Griffith the statue for A FACE IN THE CROWD, one of my all-time faves.
And yes, Jan — NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is one of the truly great, truly original American films. Amazing in every way.
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