I have no idea why I feel a strange compulsion to put movies like Grizzly in my box when they show up at work. They're rarely (if ever) good, and it's not like I'm strapped for movies of the "cult" variety. I just like having them around, so much so that the "cult" section has its own shelf now.
Speaking of which, how many people does a movie that languishes in semi-obscurity need to qualify as a "cult" film? Let's say that something like The Rocky Horror Picture Show represents the "high" end, with literally thousands of people nation (world?) wide celebrating it every week. Appropriately, the low end of the spectrum should be RHPS's sequel Shock Treatment, which at best has several dozens* of seriously devoted fans who were involved in the very dvd itself.
But what makes up a "cult" audience? I've always considered Cannibal! The Musical to qualify because only five or six of us watched it in college ten years ago, and we were also the same people who seriously tried to see Orgazmo when it played at The Studio for like half a week. Now South Park is huge and everybody seems to own a copy of Orgazmo and Team America, but Cannibal! is still less known. Which I think is good. I guess. It's apparently popular enough for Troma to create a Criterion-like brand called Tromasterpiece.
Side note: Spine number 2 of Criterion was The Seven Samurai. Spine number 2 of Tromasterpiece is Redneck Zombies.
It's probably safe to say that movies from Troma and Full Moon are "cult" films, however dubious the size of said "cult". I dislike putting the term in quotes, but does it need to be in Videohound or Midnight Movies to automatically qualify? Does it need an audience base of more than 50 or something?
A quick search on Amazon brought up the following possibilities, and the somewhat dubious** Wikipedia has a page for "cult film". They begin to describe it as such:
"The term cult film is used to describe a film that has had little to no success commercially and critically upon its initial release but has later spawned a small, but devoted and usually obsessive fanbase, however there are various exceptions."
Gee, that's helpful. Especially when you suggest a movie like Freddie Got Fingered fits this criteria***. It is kind of interesting to see that in the "recent" cult films, Wet Hot American Summer is considered alongside the obvious Donnie Darko. There's also a link to Mystery Science Theater 3000, which has in its own way created a "cult" audience for films like Mitchell, Manos: The Hands of Fate, and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
In fact, I see pretty much what I expected to see on the Wikipedia page, so I'm going to turn the floor over to you guys. Submitted is the list on films on my "cult" shelf. See if you agree or disagree with their status:
All Monsters Attack!
Atomic War Bride / This is Not a Test
Basket Case
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
Caligula
Cannibal Holocaust
Cannibal! The Musical
Cemetery Man
C.H.U.D.
Class of 1984
The Company of Wolves
The Crawling Eye
The Crawling Hand
The Crazies
Day of the Animals
Detroit 9000
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Dolemite
Forbidden Zone
Gojira / Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Godzilla Raids Again
Gone in 60 Seconds
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Horror Rises from the Tomb
I Spit on Your Grave
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies
Inglorious Bastards
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The Last House on the Left
Macabre
Maniac
Maniac Cop
Manos: The Hands of Fate
The Mighty Gorga / One Million AC/DC
The Mighty Peking Man
Mommie Dearest
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Oldboy
Orgazmo
The Prowler
Race with the Devil
Repo Man
Road Games
Robot Monster
Rock 'N Roll High School
Roy Colt and Winchester Jack
Savage Streets
Seconds
The Story of Ricky (Riki-Oh)
Stranger from Venus
The Stuff
Targets
They Live
The Toxic Avenger
Vanishing Point
Vigilante
The Wizard of Gore
Xanadu
plus the following compilations / boxed sets:
42nd Street Forever volumes 1-3
The Roger Corman Collection (Gas-s-s-s, The Trip, The Young Racers, The Wild Angels, Bloody Mama, A Bucket of Blood, The Premature Burial, X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes)
Drive-In Cult Classics Volume 2 (The Madman of Mandoras, They Saved Hitler's Brain, Terrified, Bloodlust!, The Creeping Terror, Land of the Minotaur, The Hearse, The Devil's Hand)
Exploitation Cinema Collection (The Teacher, Pick Up, Malibu High, Trip with the Teacher, The Beach Girls, Coach, The Hellcats, Chain Gang Women, Don't Answer the Phone, Prime Evil, Superchick, Hustler Squad, Sister Street Fighter, The Bodyguard, Dragon Princess, Karate Warriors, Black Candles, Evil Eye, Las Vegas Lady, Policewomen)
Herschell Gordon Lewis's Blood Trilogy (Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs, Color Me Blood Red)
Paul Naschy Double Features 1 & 2 (Human Beasts / Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll and Curse of the Devil / Werewolf Shadow)
The Ed Wood Box (Glen... or Glenda?, Jailbait, Bride of the Monster, Plan 9 from Outer Space, Night of the Ghouls)
Now I'm thinking about adding the following movies: Circle of Iron, The Warriors, Donnie Darko, Wet Hot American Summer, and Eraserhead. Thoughts?
* I'm being generous, okay?
** Just as professors discourage using Wikipedia as a source, so do I recommend we not take everything it has to say to heart. After all, it's constantly changing and anyone (including the Cap'n) could change a "fact" at any time.
*** The first half (total box office failure) I see. The second half (having ANY fans) I really can't. See, I saw it (I know, you're stunned), and while it's not the worst thing you've ever seen, it's pretty unwatchable.
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