Movies Become Cult Classics:
Cult Classics are movies that have managed to beat all odds and gain a cult following. Cult Classics generally have a loyal fan base that is head over heels for a particular movie, having repeated discussions and debates, quoting the movie’s dialogues from time to time, and developing a sub-culture around the movie itself. The last decade has some pretty good potential cult classics on the line.
1. Velvet Buzzsaw
Velvet Buzzsaw is a very peculiar horror thriller. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the lead hero, Velvet Buzzsaw was something people all over the world were looking forward to. Dan Gilroy who had joined forces with Gyllenhaal for another amazing blockbuster movie called Night Crawler was in on this project. Velvet Buzzsaw was destined for greatness. Yet when it hit Netflix it tanked. The movie did not generate as many views as Netflix had hoped. Velvet Buzzsaw could still become a cult classic because of various reasons. It has very captivating visuals and a very engaging premise that unravels differently every time you view the movie. The movie also has many hidden details fans are still just discovering even today. The movie revolves around a group of art enthusiasts that intend to make money off of the haunted works of a dead artist.
2. Upgrade
Logan Marshall Green plays the lead character of Grey, a technophobe who lives in a time where technology has advanced beyond human comprehension. When Grey’s wife is killed and he is paralyzed from the neck down after a hit and run case, Grey is given an Artificial Intelligence Implant that not only allows him to walk and move again but also gives him near superhuman abilities. Upgrade was made under the Blumhouse banner under just a 3 Million Dollar budget and yet it has action scenes that will put movies like The Matrix to shame. If you have not heard about this movie even today, we would not blame you. Upgrade had a very limited theatrical run. This movie has all the necessary ingredients to become a cult classic.
3. The Voices
Anything that has Ryan Reynolds in it is bound to appear on the radar. That guy is the movie Viagra. Ryan Reynolds plays a schizophrenic and delusional factory worker in The Voices. The movie has an ensemble cast. Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver, and Gemma Arterton co-star in this movie beside Reynolds. The Voices tells the story of Reynolds’ character as he has to cope-up with his talking cat who wants to kill someone. Marjane Satrapi’s black comedy horror movie has a fresh take on the genre. Reynolds also gives a career-best performance in The Voices, a bizarre tale where everything looks insane and crazy, to begin with.
4. The Kid Who Would Be King
The Kid Who Would Be King is yet another British origin production. It is yet another modern retelling of the done and dusted King Arthur and the Legend of Excalibur. So why does this movie seem like a potential cult classic to us you ask? Because it has a unique setting and premise! It is the first retelling of the classic Legend of King Arthur that mixes in the modern world and successfully helps it transit into a light-hearted comedy area. A kid discovers the legendary sword of Excalibur and with his fellow friends, travels across the country to save the world from imminent doom.
5. Joker
Joaquin Phoenix gives his career-best in his latest performance in Joker, a movie chronicling the rise of the Clown Prince of Crime of Gotham City and the deadliest super villain in comic book history – The Joker. Before the Joker became the scourge of the DC Universe and a forever thorn on Batman’s side, he was just a meek little man living a meek little life. The Joker shows how it is the society that can make people into psychopaths. The Joker was a far cry against the elite ruling class, who had for too long stepped on the little guy like they were ants. Joker is a very dark movie with undertones as pitch black as the center of a black hole. It is a movie that will make you think and wonder at the same time.
6. Us
A family is one vacation in the sunny land of Santa Cruz. They are having a very good time. Then tragedy strikes when the family realizes that they are being chased by a group of doppelgangers that look just like them. The Wilson Family then has to deal with the Wilson Family Clones that are hell-bent on killing them. It is later shown that the Doppelgangers come from a place called the Underground where an army of Doppelgangers lives, each a clone of a person in the real world. Adelaide, the lead female protagonist of the story harbors a secret that might change the equations of not just the Underground but also the real world.
7. Man of Steel
This might already be a cult classic in the making. Zack Snyder’s greatest masterpiece, Man of Steel was the first movie to do something to Superman no movie before it had managed to – humanize him. Kal El aka Clark Kent was seen as the hero figure worshipped as an idol within the DC Universe. He was a God amongst Men. No movie before Man of Steel had ever managed to show such a grounded Man of Steel before Zack Snyder did it in 2013. He revealed that in a realistic scenario, even Gods have to face human situations and deal with human emotions. Snyder show3ed that Superman may be able to lift an entire building with his bare hands but he still struggles with simple issues like discovering his purpose and identity.
8. Ready or Not
Ready or Not garnered a lot of attention with that crazy trailer. When the movie came, everybody was stunned. The plot was a roller coaster ride. The entire premise was bonkers. And yet everything fell into place like clockwork. Ready or Not showed the world that there is some harmony in chaos and if one has the talent to tap into that aspect, even the craziest story will start making sense. A young newlywed bride realizes that her husband’s family plays a crazy game of Hide and Seek for all new members of the Family. The bride has to hide from her in-laws till sunrise within which, if she is found out, then she will be executed.
9. Midsommar
This list will not be complete without one of the greatest slow-burning horror thrillers to have been ever made. Director and Film Maker Ari Aster made an amazing movie called Hereditary. A short while later he came up with another horror movie called Midsommar. The movie centres on a group of friends that are invited to attend a religious gathering in Sweden. Little do they know that this ’religious congregation’ is an ancient cult meeting. Like Hereditary, Midsommar is also unconventional horror. It will raise eyebrows and many fans will keep talking about it for years on end but there will be a lot more that will also scoff at it. This movie has truly managed to create a massive rift within the horror fan base.
10. Split
M Night Shyamalan is a genius. But he is down on his luck right now. After giving us some true master-pieces like The Sixth Sense, The Village and Unbreakable, Shyamalan’s other works fell flat. After his found footage horror dark comedy movie The Visit also bombed, many thought his career was over. That does not mean that Split, a movie released two years after the Visit, as not note-worthy. Split tells the story of Kevin (played by James McAvoy). Kevin suffers from a split personality disorder. He harbors 23 alter egos within his psyche. But there is a 24th alter ego called the Beast. The Beast presumably has superhuman powers and only comes out on special occasions. Split explores the same concept its predecessor did – can Superhumans exist in the real world?
