Bad Movies you didn't know are Cult Movies

[claws]

I own Karate Cop (1991) on DVD for a few years now. Though oozing with cheese I always thought it was kind of "special". Coincidentally I was clicking through a few links on wikki today and ended up on the Karate Cop page. Whoever wrote the page claims that Karate Cop has become a cult favorite over the years. I could agree with the cult movie labeling because as I said before, it is kind of special. However, it makes you wonder how they still came to that conclusion. Karate Cop went straight to video and I'm not aware of any midnight theater showings in the past or present. Neither was this title heavily discussed at cult forums or magazines I have visited or read over the years 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C52DGW9oBS8

Either way, its entertaining and the DVD could be found at bins for $1. Amazon is asking for $17 

Any bad movies you didn't know are cult movies you want to share?

[The Burgomaster]

I'm a bit skeptical of many movies that get the "cult" (or even more intense "cult classic") honor bestowed upon them.  Not long ago, cult movies were clearly recognizable and I think most movie buffs agreed on which movies were cult films.  Now, it seems like people just stamp this terminology on various cheap and/or bad movies.  By definition, a cult movie is a movie that a has relatively small audience of people who have seen it numerous times (and often memorize the dialogue, dress up as the characters, or whatever).  Seems like the prestige of being named a cult classic got watered down after home video became popular.

[WingedSerpent]

I agree.  Cult movie is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot. A couple years ago in college I had some time to kill. I went to the library and started flipping through some of the books in their movie section.  One was a movie about supposed Cult Movies and one of the films it talked about was the original 1933 King Kong

King Kong is not a cult movie. Its considered one of the most iconic movies of all time.  Everyone knows the ending with Kong fighting a top the Empire State Building. 

There were a few others that I can't remember-but I know that they weren't cult movies.

[ChaosTheory]

I'm a bit skeptical of many movies that get the "cult" (or even more intense "cult classic") honor bestowed upon them.  Not long ago, cult movies were clearly recognizable and I think most movie buffs agreed on which movies were cult films.  Now, it seems like people just stamp this terminology on various cheap and/or bad movies.  By definition, a cult movie is a movie that a has relatively small audience of people who have seen it numerous times (and often memorize the dialogue, dress up as the characters, or whatever).  Seems like the prestige of being named a cult classic got watered down after home video became popular.

Yep, like Bruce Campbell said, a cult movie is one that 50 people watch 500 times.  In the past I've often associated cult flicks with not just being unseen, but unheard of by the average filmgoer (something like, say, TWO-LANE BLACKTOP or PONTYPOOL, for example). With so many formerly obscure movies becoming easily available through social media, I can see where the line could get blurred, but a true cult movie is still one that has a smaller devoted following. 

What irks me is when a cheapo movie gets touted as a cult classic right upon, or even before, its release (like REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA).  To really qualify a movie has to be rejected or ignored by the general public until a handful of people warm to it (like - especially around these parts - POOTIE TANG, DIRTY WORK, possibly GALAXY QUEST).  I don't know what kind of initial reception KING KONG had, maybe it had a cult audience in its day but it certainly wouldn't be a cult movie as of now.

[RCMerchant]

KONG was a box office smash in it's day-and a yard stick for adventure films for years to come. A cult film. Nah-unless your cult has a following rivaling Jesus Christ.


BLOOD FREAK.
PLAN 9 from OUTER SPACE.
The SADIST.

These are cult classics.
I dont think the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW counts-because The ROCKY HORROR SHOW was a hit on Broadway,I beleive,before it became a film.

Around here-NINJA TERMINATOR has a popular following-I've loaned out my copy numerous times-untill I traded it on this forum.

[WingedSerpent]

Would you consider Mad Max a cult movie?  I was just in a video store and saw a copy with the phrase "Cult Classic" plastered across the top.  I never did.  I guess it could, but it always seemed like it was too well known or referenced by non-geek culture to be called a cult film. 

[Saucerman]

The One True Cult Movie is DEVIL'S RAIN.  It's about a cult, an actual cult leader (Anton LaVey) was on set in a supervisory position, one of the actors would later become a big name and join a cult (John Travolta), and I'd say it has a small cult following in the present day. 

[dean]

I heard someone once say that a cult movie is a cult movie because it has at least one thing wrong with it, but that people watch despite that one [or more] thing.

This could range through to a number of factors:

No Budget - ie Ed Wood sillyness, or perhaps a film that had zero budget but it was presented so well you would have thought it was a bigger budget.
Ridiculous acting pairings
An odd musical number
Rubber necking a blockbuster: Big budget but is just plain awful [see Battlefield Earth]
Has dated really badly [such as old sci-fi that could have been considered 'a-grade' when released]


And so the list could go on.

Essentially he ranted that a cult movie is one that you could easily hate because of one or more of the above examples, but people love despite that.


Sorry not really on topic, but I saw a few questions about what makes a cult movie and it reminded me of this guy and his rather detailed rant on the topic which I figure is good food for thought.

[WingedSerpent]

I heard someone once say that a cult movie is a cult movie because it has at least one thing wrong with it, but that people watch despite that one [or more] thing.

This could range through to a number of factors:

No Budget - ie Ed Wood sillyness, or perhaps a film that had zero budget but it was presented so well you would have thought it was a bigger budget.
Ridiculous acting pairings
An odd musical number
Rubber necking a blockbuster: Big budget but is just plain awful [see Battlefield Earth]
Has dated really badly [such as old sci-fi that could have been considered 'a-grade' when released]


And so the list could go on.

Essentially he ranted that a cult movie is one that you could easily hate because of one or more of the above examples, but people love despite that.

That's kind of a weak definition if you ask me.  It would mean any movie could be a cult film.  Name me one movie that is totally flawless.