What is a “cult classic?” First and foremost, it has to be able to stand the tests of time. Cult classics become classics after years, or even years of continuous viewership from typical fans, more invested in films that are not mainstream.
This is especially true of movies that are frequently disregarded at the time of their premiere but then celebrated at a later time.
A couple of famous filmmakers with cult followings are Stanley Kubrick (2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining), David Lynch (Eraserhead, Twin Peaks) and John Waters (Pink Flamingos) and many more.
1: High Life
Claire Denis crafts an erotic cocktail of impending death and artificial insemination with her sci-fi dystopian novel High Life. As a possible alternative to imprisonment, Death row prisoners are sent to interstellar suicide as hell-bent guinea pigs.
But when the group of misfits is subjected to sperm testing and fertility tests to aid in research into reproductive health, Monte (Robert Pattinson) is adamant.
It’s not until his hand is forced to move that an evolutionary breakthrough occurs. Soon Monte and his daughter Willow (Jessie Ross) sole survivors of a controversial mission hurdle headlong toward an open-to-interpretation ending.
The spectrum of space-related strangeness ranges from artificial intelligence, such as HAL 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey), to extraterrestrials like Alien and War of the Worlds; High Life suggests that humans are more frightening.
Co-starring Juliette Binoche and Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000), Denis The cast finds chemistry amid despair and violence. Intoxicating and sexually grating, High Life lets viewers decide for themselves if the space is an open-air space or the site of a tomb.
2: Motherless Brooklyn
API with OCD and Tourette’s “tits on the Tuesday” !”–must avenge the death of his boss during Edward Norton’s effort to direct Motherless Brooklyn starring himself.
When respected detective Frank Minna (Bruce Willis) is killed in a way that is not revealed to Lionel Essrog (Norton), or Bailey for short, as he calls him, Essrog pledges to finish the work Frank began.
In disguise as an investigative journalist who has fake qualifications, Lionel identifies Moses Randolph (Alec Baldwin), who is a powerful property developer who is the person responsible for Mina’s murder, and as the leader of a massive city-wide conspiracy.
With only Frank’s fedora and a photo memory to find evidence, Lionel must intercept Randolph’s plans to prevent Brooklyn from becoming irreparably divided.
3: The Beach Bum
Harmony Korine first dropped the audience’s jaws when he wrote his script to Kids (1995), a day-in-the-life story of a group of sexually active teens living in New York City.
Then, two years later, we received Gummo Korine’s first directorial effort that focuses on the lives of poor Ohioans after an incredibly destructive tornado.
Twenty-two years later, we’re in The Beach Bum, a stoner dramedy that stars Matthew McCaughey as Moondog, an artist who smokes pot living in The Florida Keys.
If his wealthy ex-wife Minnie (Isla Fisher) dies in an accident, the spirited Moondog has the right to half of her estate on the requirement that he finish the novel he is working on.
Looking for comfort from R&B singer Minnie’s former fiancé Lingerie (Snoop Dog) and also an alcoholic (Zac Efron) and a marine tour guide (Martin Lawrence), Moondog must decide on his own whether taking a high or respecting the wishes of his ex-wife is mutually incompatible.
4: Us
Stand-up comedian-turned-director Jordan Peele stole horror fans’ hearts with getting Out (2017), which documents a black man’s conspiratorial encounter with his girlfriend’s racist relatives.
A few years later, the cast of his film turned to themselves as doppelgangers in a jumpsuit in Us. The story continues to take the place of a lousy getaway; Us follows a family of four who moves to Santa Cruz, California, where they are surrounded by a gang of clones who wreak ha as well as sore throats.
In the end, they engage in a bizarre face-off on the boardwalk Us with its awkward voice acting and a wildly outrageous end-of-the-world struggle to critique the social fabric, eventually tearing it apart.
Six years after she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the supporting Role of a cotton-picking Patsey from Steve McQueen’s 12 Years an enslaved person (2013), Lupita Nyong’o outlaws her character as the antagonist, a mother on a quest.
With a gender-bending dad struggling to stay afloat (Winston Duke) and Elisabeth Moss as a family friend, Us’ ambition exceeds its capacity. A classic case of Sophomore slump, Peele’s next film may be a classic.
5: Uncut Gems
Adam Sandler delivers the performance that will last a lifetime on Benny And Josh Safdie’s Uncut Gems. The film is set in New York City’s Diamond District; Howard Ratner (Sandler) is an alcoholic Jewish gambler and jeweler who can acquire an extremely rare black Opal.
However, When N.B.A. star Kevin Garnett (played by himself) would like to purchase the opal for less than what it’s worth, Howard finds himself between the rock and a shaky spot.
The game is gaining momentum with each journey step; Uncut Gems is an explosion of bad deals and high-stakes stress.
To capture Sandler’s erratic moves throughout the film, the director of photography Darius Khondji (Delicatessen, Seven), invested in highly-modern focus-pulling software developed by Preston Cinema Systems, which allowed the Safdie brothers to keep their main character in focus, with a constantly changing depth of field as well as an abundance of extreme close-ups.
Moving between Howard’s home and showroom, his downtown apartment, and other interiors like nightclubs and basketball courts, Sandler is certainly Safdie’s latest MVP.
6: Climax
The climax is the most recent film by the provocative French director Gaspar Noe. It is about a group of dancers that gather in an abandoned school to have an evening party. If they find out they’ve been drunk and the party turns to all kinds of evil, shocking.
Similar to other films by Noe, The alarming subject matter almost guaranteed it wouldn’t reach the general public. However, like his previous films, many people are eager to see a movie that is a step beyond the norm.
7: Midsommar
Filmmaker Ari Aster made a splash with his debut feature film, Hereditary. Aster didn’t waste time after the success of his second movie, Midsommar. The film is about the story of a couple who attends the annual celebration in the summer in Sweden, which transforms into a violent cult.
Hereditary didn’t go over well with everyone. However, those who enjoyed the film couldn’t stop talking about it. You can expect the same reaction for Midsommar because its banality could cause some people to be turned off and may appear way too “high-brow” for casual horror fanatics. It’s still likely to occur in various lists at the end of the year.
8:The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The BigFoot
The veteran actress Sam Elliott stars in this comical adventure film, playing an unnamed American hero who fought in WWII and assassinated Adolf Hitler. He is now a retired hermit. The former assassin is enlisted to kill the most dangerous target he has ever faced, the famous Bigfoot.
The title alone can earn this movie an enthralling fan base. While it’s not precisely the cheesy B-movie it is portrayed to be, an uninvolved audience will notice the bizarre concept, and its popularity will surely increase from there.
9: Under The Silver Lake
under The Silver Lake is David Robert Mitchell’s sequel to his critically acclaimed horror debut, The Followers. The film is a humorous mystery-thriller that features Andrew Garfield as an aimless young man on the lookout for an attractive girl with a one-time encounter that uncovers the plot’s truth.
The film was delayed several times before it was released in 2019. It was quickly canceled after receiving mixed reviews. The people who loved the movie enjoyed it. The enthusiasm for this film will be shared with a larger population, specifically those drawn to deciphering intricate mysteries.
10: Ready Or Not
Ready or Ready Or is a horror film recently on viewers’ minds due to a thrilling trailer. It tells the dark tale of a young bride who is welcomed to her new family through the deadly hunt and find game.
The film isn’t released before the end of summer. However, it will likely become a massive success when released. However, mixing grisly killings with hilarious laughs is the recipe for creating a beloved cult. This could turn into a terrific late-night movie in only a couple of years.
