100 Greatest Cult Movies
Criteria: These Greatest Cult Movies are ranked according to their popularity as cult films. Definition: Cult movies are offbeat, strange, quirky, surreal, eccentric, campy, oddball, avant garde, often with outrageous characters, plots, and sets, that usually fared poorly at the box office but continue to live on with devoted and curious audiences.
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100 titles
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsRob ReinerMichael McKeanChristopher GuestSpinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
- DirectorGerald PottertonJohn BrunoJohn HalasStarsRichard RomanusJohn CandyJoe FlahertyA glowing green orb that embodies ultimate evil terrorizes a young girl with an anthology of bizarre and fantastic stories.
- DirectorHal AshbyStarsRuth GordonBud CortVivian PicklesYoung, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
- DirectorMike JudgeStarsRon LivingstonJennifer AnistonDavid HermanThree company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBruce CampbellEmbeth DavidtzMarcus GilbertWhen Ash Williams is accidentally transported to 1300 A.D., he must retrieve the Necronomicon and battle an army of the dead in order to return home.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey WalterA young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
- DirectorRalph BakshiStarsSkip HinnantRosetta LeNoireJohn McCurryIn the late 1960s, a pretentious, womanizing young cat drops out of college, starts a riot in Harlem, hits the road with an ex-girlfriend and gets mixed up with domestic terrorists.
- DirectorJared HessStarsJon HederEfren RamirezJon GriesA listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
- DirectorJim HensonStarsDavid BowieJennifer ConnellyToby FroudSixteen-year-old Sarah must solve a labyrinth to rescue her baby brother when he is taken by the Goblin King.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJonathan PryceKim GreistRobert De NiroA bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsPeter FondaDennis HopperJack NicholsonTwo bikers head from L.A. to New Orleans through the open country and desert lands, and along the way they meet a man who bridges a counter-culture gap of which they had been unaware.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceNotorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJohn CusackCameron DiazCatherine KeenerA puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDuane JonesJudith O'DeaKarl HardmanA ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls that are ravaging the Northeast of the United States.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsBob GeldofChristine HargreavesJames LaurensonA confined but troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsCary ElwesMandy PatinkinRobin WrightA bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
- DirectorDan O'BannonStarsClu GulagerJames KarenDon CalfaWhen two bumbling employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to rise again as zombies.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsSonny BonoRuth BrownDivineA 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsAlejandro JodorowskyBrontis JodorowskyJosé LegarretaA mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.
- DirectorRichard KellyStarsJake GyllenhaalJena MaloneMary McDonnellAfter narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsJason PatricCorey HaimDianne WiestAfter moving to a new town, two brothers discover that the area is a haven for vampires.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsBruce WillisMadeleine StoweBrad PittIn a future world devastated by disease, a convict is sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus that wiped out most of the human population on the planet.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsUma ThurmanDavid CarradineDaryl HannahAfter awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.
- DirectorHenry SelickStarsDanny ElfmanChris SarandonCatherine O'HaraJack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
- DirectorW.D. RichterStarsPeter WellerJohn LithgowEllen BarkinAdventurer, brain surgeon, rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his crime-fighting team, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, must stop evil alien invaders from the eighth dimension who are planning to conquer Earth.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsRoger DaltreyAnn-MargretOliver ReedA psychosomatically blind, deaf, and mute boy becomes a master pinball player and, subsequently, the figurehead of a cult.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsWinona RyderChristian SlaterShannen DohertyAt Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsAlejandro JodorowskyHoracio SalinasZamira SaundersIn a corrupt, greed-fueled world, a powerful alchemist leads a messianic character and seven materialistic figures to the Holy Mountain, where they hope to achieve enlightenment.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsJoe DallesandroGeraldine SmithPatti D'ArbanvilleA man desperate for money and no income, turns prostitute and interplays with a variety of clients and hustlers.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsNicolas CageHolly HunterTrey WilsonWhen a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
- DirectorTobe HooperStarsMarilyn BurnsEdwin NealAllen DanzigerFive friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn TurturroJohn GoodmanJudy DavisA renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
- DirectorLouis J. GasnierStarsDorothy ShortKenneth CraigLillian MilesCautionary tale that features a fictionalized take on marijuana use. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.
- DirectorRoger VadimStarsJane FondaJohn Phillip LawAnita PallenbergIn the 41st century, an astronaut partakes in sexy misadventures while seeking to stop an evil scientist who threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsPeter TorkDavy JonesMicky DolenzThe Monkees frolic their way through a series of musical set pieces and vignettes containing surreal humor and anti-establishment social commentary.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsGene WilderJack AlbertsonPeter OstrumA poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsPaul WilliamsWilliam FinleyJessica HarperA disfigured composer sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music. However, an evil record tycoon betrays him and steals his music to open his rock palace, The Paradise.
- DirectorTroy DuffyStarsWillem DafoeSean Patrick FlaneryNorman ReedusTwo Irish Catholic brothers become vigilantes and wipe out Boston's criminal underworld in the name of God.
- DirectorGeorge EnglundStarsJohn RubinsteinPatricia QuinnDon JohnsonTwo gunfighters separate and experience surreal visions on their journey through the west.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsJoe DallesandroHolly WoodlawnGeri MillerDuring the course of a day, a heroin addict overdoses in front of an upper-class couple, attempts to fool welfare by having his girlfriend fake a pregnancy, and frustrates the women in his life with his drug-induced impotence.
- DirectorTom LaughlinStarsTom LaughlinDelores TaylorClark HowatEx-Green Beret hapkido expert saves wild horses from being slaughtered for dog food and helps protect a desert "freedom school" for runaway.
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsRobert AugustMichael HynsonLord James BlearsThe crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsDavid BowieRip TornCandy ClarkAn alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsMary WoronovPaul BartelRobert BeltranA relatively boring Los Angeles couple discovers a bizarre, if not murderous, way to get funding for opening a restaurant.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsRoger DaltreySara KestelmanPaul NicholasComposer and pianist Franz Liszt (Roger Daltrey) attempts to overcome his hedonistic life-style while repeatedly being drawn back into it by the many women in his life and fellow composer Richard Wagner (Paul Nicholas).
- DirectorJoseph McGrathStarsPeter SellersRingo StarrIsabel JeansThe world's richest man and his adopted hobo son set out to test the limits of human vanity and greed through a series of "money games".
- DirectorJohn HughesStarsEmilio EstevezJudd NelsonMolly RingwaldFive high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
- DirectorRalph BakshiStarsMews SmallRon ThompsonJerry HollandThe story of four generations of a Russian Jewish immigrant family of musicians whose careers parallel the history of American popular music in the 20th century.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsSam J. JonesMelody AndersonMax von SydowA football player and his friends travel to the planet Mongo and find themselves fighting the tyranny of Ming the Merciless to save Earth.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJames TaylorWarren OatesLaurie BirdWhile drag-racing through the American Southwest in a Chevrolet 150, a driver and his mechanic cross paths with an enigmatic hitchhiker and the tall-tale-spinning driver of a GTO.
- DirectorRobin HardyStarsEdward WoodwardChristopher LeeDiane CilentoA puritan police sergeant arrives in a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl, who the pagan locals claim never existed.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsDavid CarradineSylvester StalloneSimone GriffethIn a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality.
- DirectorLaslo BenedekStarsMarlon BrandoMary MurphyRobert KeithTwo rival motorcycle gangs terrorize a small town after one of their leaders is thrown in jail.
- DirectorBruce RobinsonStarsRichard E. GrantPaul McGannRichard GriffithsIn 1969, two substance-abusing, unemployed actors retreat to the countryside for a holiday that proves disastrous.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsJoe DallesandroUdo KierVittorio De SicaAn ailing vampire count travels to Italy with his servant to find a bride.
- DirectorHerschell Gordon LewisStarsConnie MasonWilliam KerwinJeffrey AllenSix people are lured into a small Deep South town for a Centennial celebration where the residents proceed to kill them one by one as revenge for the town's destruction during the Civil War.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsTom BerengerGlenn CloseJeff GoldblumA group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.
- DirectorJamie UysStarsN!xauMarius WeyersSandra PrinslooA comic allegory about a traveling Bushman who encounters modern civilization and its stranger aspects, including a clumsy scientist and a band of revolutionaries.
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsJessica HarperCliff De YoungRichard O'BrienJanet and Brad become contestants on a game show and wind up as captives.
- DirectorFranc RoddamStarsPhil DanielsLeslie AshPhil DavisJimmy Cooper loathes his dead-end job and his working-class parents. He seeks solace with his mod clique, scooter riding, and drugs, only to be disappointed.
- DirectorMichael SarneStarsMae WestJohn HustonRaquel WelchAfter undergoing gender reassignment surgery, an aspiring actress travels to Hollywood, where she also wants to make a claim on her wealthy uncle's estate.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsDavid EmgeKen ForeeScott H. ReinigerDuring an escalating zombie epidemic, two Philadelphia SWAT team members, a traffic reporter and his TV executive girlfriend seek refuge in a secluded shopping mall.
- DirectorMichael BenvenisteHoward ZiehmStarsJason WilliamsSuzanne FieldsJoseph HudginsEmperor Wang is leader of the planet Porno and sends his mighty sex ray toward Earth, which turns everyone into sex-mad fiends. Only one person can save the Earth, football player Flesh Gordon.
- DirectorRuss MeyerStarsTura SatanaHajiLori WilliamsThree go-go dancers holding a young girl hostage come across a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert. After learning he's hiding a sum of cash around, the women start scheming on him.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsKevin CostnerJudd NelsonSam RobardsFive college buddies from the University of Texas circa 1971 embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.
- DirectorJohn PaysonStarsJerry O'ConnellMegan WardBilly WestA nice guy has just moved to New York and discovers that he must share his run-down apartment with a couple thousand singing, dancing cockroaches.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJames CoburnKris KristoffersonRichard JaeckelPat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
- DirectorJay LeveyStars'Weird Al' YankovicVictoria JacksonKevin McCarthyAn unemployed visionary becomes the manager of a local television station. The station becomes a success, with all sorts of hilarious sight gags and wacky humor.
- DirectorPhilippe de BrocaStarsAlan BatesGeneviève BujoldPierre BrasseurDuring World War I, a British private, sent ahead to a French town to scout for enemy presence, is mistaken for a King by the colorful patients of an insane asylum.
- DirectorJohn WooStarsChow Yun-FatTony Leung Chiu-waiTeresa MoA tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to shut down a sinister mobster and his crew.
- DirectorJohn De BelloStarsDavid MillerGeorge WilsonSharon TaylorA group of scientists band together to save the world from mutated killer tomatoes.
- DirectorNeal IsraelBradley R. SwirnoffStarsPhil ProctorHoward HessemanBeans MoroccoA committee investigating TV's first uncensored network examines a typical day's programming, which includes shows, commercials, news programs, you name it. What they discover will surely crack you up! This outrageous and irreverent spoof of television launched the careers of some of the greatest comedians of all time.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsAnthony HopkinsJohn HurtAnne BancroftA Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohn NevilleEric IdleSarah PolleyAn account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.
- DirectorMichael HerzLloyd KaufmanStarsAndree MarandaMitch CohenJennifer BabtistTromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsJeffrey CombsBruce AbbottBarbara CramptonAfter an odd new medical student arrives on campus, a dedicated local and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue.
- DirectorL.Q. JonesStarsDon JohnsonJason RobardsSusanne BentonA young man and his telepathic dog wander a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
- DirectorFred Olen RayStarsGunnar HansenLinnea QuigleyJohn Henry RichardsonA detective embarks on a mission to track down a woman in L.A.'s seedy nightclubs, only to come face-to-face with a blood-thirsty cult of lethally beautiful prostitutes. Is he the next victim of Hollywood's demented Chainsaw Hookers?
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsRobert RedfordMichael J. PollardLauren HuttonThe friendship between two Arizona dirt bike racers is tested when they both lust for an attractive runaway young woman who joins them on the racing circuit.
- DirectorKen ShapiroStarsKen ShapiroRichard BelzerChevy ChaseA collection of skits that make fun of 1970s television, featuring early appearances by Chevy Chase and Richard Belzer.
- DirectorEdward BerndsStarsZsa Zsa GaborEric FlemingDave WillockAmerican astronauts are drawn by a mysterious force to the planet Venus, which they find to be inhabited only by beautiful women and their despotic queen.
- DirectorStephen ChiodoStarsGrant CramerSuzanne SnyderJohn Allen NelsonAliens who look like clowns come from outer space and terrorize a small town.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsAllison HayesWilliam HudsonYvette VickersWhen an abused socialite grows to giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt, she goes after her cheating husband with revenge on her mind.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEvan C. KimBong Soo HanBill BixbyThe daily programming of a fictional local TV channel presented as a series of highly irreverent skits.
- DirectorPeter GeorgeStarsGail NeelyRobert HardenBarry BrennerWhen the son of a gun-wielding woman is murdered by neo-Nazi surf punks in the post-apocalyptic future, his Mama hunts them down for some bloodthirsty revenge.
- DirectorJohn Alan SchwartzStarsMichael CarrSamuel BerkowitzMary Ellen BrightonA collection of death scenes, ranging from TV material to homemade super 8 movies.