1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Why cult films are always horror films?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by edy, Dec 29, 2014.

  1. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Evil Dead, The hills have eyes, Young Frankenstein etc You don't see other kind of films that are treated as such
     
  2. Browncoat

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2, 2011
    Messages:
    4,053
    Likes Received:
    9
    Location:
    Zefram Cochrane's hometown.
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Firefly, Rocky Horror, Monty Python...
     
  3. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Ok, either horror or science-fiction. You don't see dramas (at least they are over-the-top involuntary comedies) or normal comedies (unless they are horror comedies)
     
  4. biAnnika

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2011
    Messages:
    1,839
    Likes Received:
    8
    Location:
    Northeastern US
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    You consider Young Frankenstein to be a horror film?? Have you *seen* it? How often did you laugh during "The Hills have Eyes"?

    Browncoat named the first two that came to mind for me:

    Rocky Horror Picture Show - despite the name, do you consider this to be horror?

    and

    Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail - not even the name suggests horror...or does the amount of blood spilled to warrant calling it horror?

    Some would also consider the Big Chill to be a cult film. Pure drama...yes, funny moments, but it's drama.

    Nah, I have to call "busted" on the thread premise.
     
  5. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Young Frankenstein and Rocky Horror Picture Show are both horror comedies. They might not be scary but they belong to the horror genre

    And not every horror film qualifies to be considered a cult classic, it seems like only horror films from the 70's and 80's (especially from the 80's) can qualify (with few exceptions of course)... and American films, most of the time

    ---------- Post added 29th Dec 2014 at 06:34 PM ----------

    And, I don't really complain, because I'm a huge fan of the genre BUT it would be nice to see more conventional forgotten old films being claimed and not only horror/sci-fic
     
    #5 edy, Dec 29, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2014
  6. Skellington

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2014
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Northern Europe
    Sexual Orientation:
    Straight
    Out Status:
    Some people
    There are plenty of cult films that aren't horror movies. It's just that horror cult has been so widely popularized...

    Just to name a few non-horror cult films:
    • The Wizard of Oz (1939, Judy Garland)
    • 2001: A Space Odyssey (although my little sister's boyfriend considers this to be a horror film – it scared the shit out of him when he was younger)
    • A Clockwork Orange
    • The Iron Giant
    • Requiem for a Dream
    • The Goonies
    • Nightmare Before Christmas
    • Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    • Napoleon Dynamite
    • The Breakfast Club
    • Hedwig and the Angry Inch

    It also just depends on how narrow the definition of 'cult film' is.
     
  7. Rawrzilla

    Rawrzilla Guest

    Probably has something to do with the fact that horror and fantasy are still stigmatized by the general public for being perceived as something for kids, geeks and freaks. Nowadays this line of thought is much less pervasive than it used to be, but I don't think we are completely over it yet. Despite the fact that people are more open to the idea of watching horror/fantasy flicks without making the association that enjoying them means you are fucked in the head or a satanist or something among those lines, it's not like critics and the general public alike acknowledge them as legitimate expressions of art they way they deserve.

    The horror/fantasy/sci-fi genre certainly has gained more acceptance (although I see it more as tolerance really), but this hasn't necessarily translated into respect. The majority still see them as nothing more than disposable entertainment, the kind of which doesn't merit much thought beyond what they present at face-value; things to be consumed "with your brain shut off" on Sunday nights and immediately forgotten. Dismissed as nothing more than pop-corn flicks (at best).

    What about those who think otherwise? Those who dare look beyond the buckets of corn syrup and fake entrails to ponder on the ideas behind the flick with the same amount of consideration they would give an "art-house" flick, what about those people? Well, those are still the weirdos. The ones who would be openly ridiculed for insinuating that "The Badabook" should be on everyone's top 10 best films of the year this year without so much as a chance to prove their point.

    That's why these flicks get to be the cult films. It's as close to public recognition or an award of sorts as they will ever get, not because of their quality but because of their very nature. The rest of the films that don't fit the horror/fantasy/sci-fi umbrella don't need the cult status. They already get Academy Awards' nominations. At least, this is my hypothesis.
     
  8. SomeLeviathan

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2014
    Messages:
    651
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    the natural condition of humankind
    what about American History X? The Big Lebowski is a more traditional comedy. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas isn't scifi or horror. Fight club is a drama.
    The trailer park boys movies are comedies.
     
  9. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    What about the forgotten and more conventional flicks that don't have academy awards and are remembered by practically no one?



    Yes, but they are directed by well-known people, they were cult favorite practically since day 1
     
  10. Skellington

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2014
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Northern Europe
    Sexual Orientation:
    Straight
    Out Status:
    Some people
    My girlfriend would probably hang me out to dry if I didn't add Tank Girl to that list of non-horror cult films.
     
  11. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Yes, but that one was based on a comic (the fan base of the original source would easily help the film to gain cult status) :lol:
     
  12. SomeLeviathan

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2014
    Messages:
    651
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    the natural condition of humankind
    okay what does that have to do with your claim that all cult films are horror movies when it is pretty evident that it isn't true?

    American History X was also Tony Kaye's first movie... so yeah..
     
  13. Rawrzilla

    Rawrzilla Guest

    Give me something to work with (examples).

    Regarding the Academy Award thingie, I mentioned it in a manner of speaking, no need to take it so literal. They don't have to win Academy Awards to earn the respect of the general public (that's kinda my point). First off, being nominated would be more than enough, but more importantly that's just the highest step on the social acceptance ladder. It's not the fact that "conventional" flicks get to the nomination polls at all that defines the divide between them and the cult hits in people's minds, it's the fact that they are being considered for these acknowledgments before you even take into account the quality of the film itself just by virtue of fitting the "conventional" mold. The horror/fantasy/sci-fi stuff on the other hand, still gets dismissed outright only for being part of those genres.

    I now know that The Judge won't get a single nomination because it's a steaming pile of crap that not even the awesomeness of RDJ could save, but if critics coming out of press-screenings would have suggested it as a serious contender for Oscar's season I wouldn't have had any problem believing that even before watching the film, because it fits the "conventional" mold. If the same scenario were to happen with a horror film, this same response by critics would be met with skepticism and derision by most, again, even before watching the film.

    Both kinds of films run the risk of flying under the radar, but while one type may do so because of lackluster quality or lack of novelty, the other is almost distressingly condemned to this fate because of the nature of the subjects they touch. That makes all the difference.
     
  14. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    There are non-horror films that are (surprisingly) considered cult classics: Cecil B Demented, Party Monster and Freddy Got Finger. But these belong to the "over the top" category
     
  15. Rawrzilla

    Rawrzilla Guest

    There's your answer. It's not a coincidence that this is something they have in common with horror/fantasy/sci-fi.
     
    #15 Rawrzilla, Dec 29, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 29, 2014
  16. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    It's unfair if you ask me lol
     
  17. Rawrzilla

    Rawrzilla Guest

    It is. Don't let my impassive approach fool you, it drives me nuts too.
     
  18. edy

    edy
    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2014
    Messages:
    813
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Out Status:
    A few people
    It means any obscure B movie or any over the top involuntary comedy can qualify for such title, despite its quality (or lack of)
     
    #18 edy, Dec 29, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2014
  19. swagmaster

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2015
    Messages:
    81
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    cambridge
    Gender:
    Male
    kite,tears of the black tiger,the gangs of wassypur series,i am a cyborg but thats okay,the decline of western civilization series,the room,the harder they come,brazil,akira,aguirre the wrath of god,liquid sky,jubilee,wax or the discovery of television amoung the bees,six string samurai,el topo,a boy and his dog,fantastic planet,wristcutters a love story,bad santa,perfect blue,battle royale,velvet goldmine,miami connection,oldboy
     
  20. Nekoko

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2014
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    6
    Location:
    In the shadows!
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Actually I'd say there are a lot more comedy films that have a cult following or really terrible films that are fun to laugh at, but if you want a cult drama film might I suggest The Room? XD