The Ultimate Cult Films

The good, the weird and the not so profitable at the box office - these are the hallmarks of the genre known as "cult films." This week, '80s horror movie Fright Night is re-imagined as a big screen blockbuster starring Colin Farrell. In honor of its origins as a supremely awesome cult thriller, we compiled this list of 100 ultimate cult films, presented here from A to Z.

By Chuck Walton

A few years before he became Robocop, Peter Weller starred as the universe's only physicist, neuro surgeon and rock musician. Alongside a motley crew of unusual co- horts, our hero Buckaroo Banzai fights for good against a dastardly group of inter- dimensional aliens called the Red Lectroids. If you prefer your cult film cross every genre available across the 8th Dimension, then this one's for you.

The most famed collaboration between crazy director Werner Herzog and intense leading actor Klaus Kinski is an adventure shot on grueling location in the Amazon about the journeys of Spanish soldier Lope de Aguirre (Kinski). Rumor has it that Herzog threatened to kill Kinski and himself if the actor dropped out of the project.

Based on a 37-volume manga comic book, the esteemed anime Akira tells an incredible, post-apocalyptic tale set in 2019 in Neo Tokyo, with warring factions seeking control of the ultimate form of human being, called Akira. Recent attempts have been made to film Akira as a live-action adventure with rumored leading men including everyone from Zac Efron to Keanu Reeves.

While Will Ferrell and company have had trouble getting studio support for a sequel, the first Anchorman continues to line 'em up on the midnight circuit, with lots of silly hijinx, and quotable Burgund-isms like "Great Odin's raven!" and "Stay classy, Planet Earth."

John Landis' schlocky horror comedy features some great, classic rock and roll, awesome werewolf transformations (which earned makeup effects man Rick Baker a well- deserved Oscar) and - for fans of Logan's Run beauty Jenny Agutter - lots of perfectly designed shots of the damsel in distress.

I want my $2! Sound familiar? If not, then rent/watch/download Better Off Dead pronto. While star John Cusack has since disowned this teen comedy from director Savage Steve Holland, it is still one of the most quotable, hilarious and actually quite genial of the '80s teen movies. It's the story of Lane Meyer, who's determined to off himself after being dumped by his preening girlfriend for the captain of the ski team. Fate, though, has other plans for Lane.

In theory a sequel to Valley of the Dolls, this heated melodrama about a trio of put -upon female rock stars is really more notable for its uber-level of campiness courtesy of cult legend director Russ Meyer and none other than Pulitzer Prize- winning film critic Roger Ebert, who co-wrote the script with Meyer over a six week period.

The Dude still abides. Thirteen years after slacker bowler Jeff Lebowski debuted in theaters in a mock noir centered around the mystery, "Who kidnapped Bunny Lebowski?," the imminently quotable Coen brothers classic has spawned a legion of "achieving" fans and an annual event called (what else?) Lebowski Fest.

If The Dude is one of Jeff Bridges' enduring creations, then Kurt Russell's spin on a hapless John Wayne-sounding trucker/adventurer is equally admired by cinema neophytes the world over. When Jack Burton arrives in San Francisco's Chinatown to help his buddy find his kidnapped fiancee, all manner of metaphysical and martial arts inspired shenanigans let loose, to which our intrepid hero simply responds..."what the hell"...

In the early '80s, Blade Runner (about a detective tracking down some rogue replicants) was simply seen as the under-achieving, slow-burning sci-fi ponderer released between Raiders of the Lost Ark and Return of the Jedi on Harrison Ford's resume. Nearly three decades later, it's seen as one of the greatest sci-fi films ever released.

Blue Velvet has a lot of strange things going for it. The ear that's found in the perfectly manicured suburban town. The oxygen-mask sported by the film's super scary villain (Dennis Hopper in full loon mode). And of course, the odd chicken dance performed up and down the sidewalk by future Twin Peaks star Kyle MacLachlan, here cast as an everyday teen who's about to become familiar with filmmaker David Lynch's darker side.

Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus star as crime-fighting, vigilante brothers known as The Boondock Saints. Their mission: rid Boston of all scum and villainy, by whatever extreme means necessary. While shunned by critics upon release, the film's been embraced by a boisterous and large cult following, and in time for its 10th anniversary, was followed by 2009's The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.

In 1996, unknown filmmaker Wes Anderson and his equally unknown stars Owen and Luke Wilson arrived on the Hollywood scene with a crafty little tale of wannabe Austin, Texas cons who rob their local bookstore before going on the lamb. It's not as elaborate or ambitious as Anderson's future work, and the Wilson brothers wear a bit more heart on their sleeves in this first offering, but all that just adds to the Rocket appeal.

Terry Gilliam, whose films all possess multiple layers of eccentricity, is probably most admired in cult film circles for the sci-fi fantasy/dark comedy Brazil, with its visions of future dystopia and a protagonist that longs to fly away with a dream girl he hasn't met. Equally compelling is the drama offscreen, with Gilliam clashing with studio bosses that released a version stateside which was decidedly more optimistic.

Phantasm director Don Coscarelli casts cult film idol Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.) as Elvis Presley, now hiding out in a nursing home, and determined to stop the fearsome Bubba Ho-Tep with the help of his partner, a black patient named Jack (Ossie Davis) who claims to be the real John F. Kennedy.

Love him or hate him, the fiercely independent artist/musician/part-time Gap model/actor/filmmaker Vincent Gallo (creator also of the love-it-or-hate-it The Brown Bunny) made his 1998 debut Buffalo '66 into something truly unique. It's the story of a painfully awkward loser (Gallo) who kidnaps a small-town ballerina (Christina Ricci), and takes her home to family dinner.

A predecessor to ghost story hits like The Ring, this well-regarded gem in the horror genre tells the story of a composer (George C. Scott) who relocates to Seattle from New York after his wife and daughter are killed in a car accident. Set up in a countryside estate, he begins to have disturbing visions of the estate's former occupants.

In recent years, this cult classic has become something of a holiday staple with 24- hour, round-the-clock airings on TBS, but in its initial box office outing, this overlooked sleeper, based on the boyhood stories of Jean Shepherd, was appreciated by only a limited audience. In the years since, the 'ol saying "you'll shoot your eye out" has become as commonplace and familiar as holidays and apple pie.

Vulgar, profane, and still imminently quotable, Kevin Smith's first work is still his best. Besides being one of the initial shotgun blasts to the thriving '90s indie scene, the movie - about bickering, twentysomething storeclerks - announced the arrival of writer/director Smith, and introduced one of his most loveable creations - Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself).

Stanley Kubrick's controversial 1971 sci-fi satire envisions a gang of youths, and their leader Alex, who take on the future by participating in rape and other amoral acts of "ultra-violence." The intervening decades have taken little off the edge of Kubrick's stylized combination of music, violence and cinematography, or the fervor of its passionate fanbase.

Taking a time out from her prime-time friendly TV series "Murder She Wrote," actress Angela Lansbury takes a hard left into gothic horror land with The Company of Wolves, directed by The Crying Game's Neil Jordan. A re-working of the "Little Red Riding Hood" tale, this dark and moody horror movie offers all of the implicit terrors of that classic fairy tale, and none of "it's only a fairy tale" lightness of being. Whether you're 4 or 54, this one is scary.

Kudos to the well-made Zack Snyder re-telling, but the original George A. Romero Dawn of the Dead, with its sly knock on rampant commercialism, is still the version that's most treasured. Night of the Living Dead takes the credit as the straight-up horror classic, but this late '70s entry still holds up as the fan favorite.

Richard Linklater's classic ode to high school adolescence rings true for the '70s or any era where kids like to drink, party and stay out all night. The soundtrack of Foghat and Aerosmith rocks, and like American Graffiti before it, the cast is an A to Z of future film stars, including Matthew McConaughey, Renee Zellweger, and Ben Affleck - in his finest role to date as the class bully.

On the cusp of megastardom as Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone co-starred with "Kung Fu's" David Carradine in this low-budget wonder about a TransContinental Road Race in the year 2000, where drivers earn points for speed and pedestrian kills. Stallone's bad guy, "Machine Gun" Joe Viterbo, takes on David Carradine's Frankenstein, who plans to win the competition and detonate the leader of the current fascist state.

Jake Gyllenhaal in full brooding mode stars in this 2001 sci-fi thriller about a teen who's plagued by visions of an impending apocalypse, made more disturbing by the appearance of a demonic-looking rabbit named Frank. It's a chilling and fascinating hybrid that crosses Tears for Fears, E.T. and a warped version of Harvey.

David Lynch's feature debut is still a cinematic nightmare like no other. Nominally, the story's about a guy living in an industrial wasteland, who fathers a mutated baby and is seduced by the girl across the hall. Really, though, it's a meditative, ponderous and visceral manifestation of the director's own nightmares. It's a vision to behold...but not necessarily to be viewed when trying to catch a catnap.

Sam Raimi's second in the Evil Dead franchise is less outright terrifying and more outrageous than its predecessor. It's also more hilarious, with star Bruce Campbell contorting his facial muscles and other limbs into seemingly impossible postures to demonstrate the demon possession within. Once he's severed his own hand and replaced it with a chainsaw, you know you're in cult cinema nirvana.

Russ Meyer's '65 exploitation film stars cinema vixen Tura Santana as the leader of a trio of thrill-seeking go-go dancers who roam the desert wastelands looking for adventures and riches. Although there's no nudity, there's plenty of gratuitous violence and provocative sexuality to round out this cult classic for the ages.

Edward Norton and Brad Pitt trade grit, grime and lots of bodyblows as the founders of "fight club," where pedestrian yuppie dudes let loose from their everyday civility to take part in something more primal and barbaric. David Fincher's film still makes sense to those who'd like to lay flame to their IKEA catalogs.

This midnight movie martial arts flick, a staple on local cable access during the 1980s, tells the story of the Venom mob: five fighters who take on different martial arts specialties as The Centipede, The Snake, The Scorpion, The Lizard and The Toad. Since its initial debut, artists as diverse as The Wu-Tang Clan and director Quentin Tarantino have paid homage to the film's influence in their own work.

Chevy Chase earned more mainstream success in the Vacation series, but the original Fletch, based on the detective novels centered around reporter Irwin M. Fletcher (byline Jane Doe), continues to amass fans for its endless quotables ("I'll take a steak sandwich...and a steak sandwich") and Chevy's inimitable could-give-a-sh*t attitude. He's Axel Foley, with even more attitude.

Tod Browning's infamous Freaks, one of the earliest cult films, is a wonder of filmmaking that uses real carnival performers (Siamese twins, midgets, legless and armless artists, strong men, etc.) to tell the story of life at a soap-opera filled circus. Abhorred upon release and shunned for years by distributors MGM, the film has now been restored to its original release print.

The beloved urban comedy is the opposite side of Ice Cube's own Boyz in the Hood, co-starring Cube and Chris Tucker as two friends spending their Friday on the porch hanging out, smoking out and dealing with all of the other colorful folks in the neighborhood. While Tucker went on to more mainstream fame with the Rush Hour franchise, he's never been funnier than his performance here as the aptly named "Smokey."

Back in the mid '80s, Fright Night was an original vampire horror movie about a vampire who moves in next door to a horror-loving teenager who has the darndest time convincing anyone that the stylish new gent really is a bloodsucker. While not as high profile or sequel laden as the Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street series, the film did respectable b.o., was well- reviewed, and has now spawned an upgrade for the 21st century.

The Goonies actually was a big box office hit in 1985, but has earned even more praise over the years from a cult audience that refuses to see it as a kids-only adventure. A guaranteed midnight movie crowd pleaser, The Goonies calls on adults and kids alike to give into their childhood wish to scavenge the underground caverns of Astoria.

Before they made the move to western audiences, director John Woo and star Chow Yun- Fat fashioned this action-packed epic that's brim full of gun battles, martial arts and elaborately staged spectacle, culminating in a lengthy and awesome final action sequence set inside a huge, civilian-filled hospital.

The 1971 comedy centers around the romance between Harold (Bud Cort), a young man intrigued by death, and an old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon). Far from conventional or well-received upon its original release, the Hal Ashby flick has since been embraced by a large cult audience, and was even transformed into a Broadway play.

Cementing the "it" status of Christian Slater and Winona Ryder, the cult hit Heathers is still a scathing dark comedy about the backstabbing back-and- forth of high school politics, with Ryder's Veronica getting the final word on both the bitchy clique of Heathers and Slater's own sociopathic J.D.

One of the funniest rock docs ever, Heavy Metal Parking Lot captures in full leather-and-beer-intoxicated glory the phenomenon of '80s headbangers. Comprised entirely of footage of heavy metal fans waiting outside a Maryland sports arena for the impending Judas Priest / Dokken concert, getting wasted and waxing not-quite- rhapsodic, it is a living testament to the joys and perils of spandex and inebriation. All hail Zebra Man!

Before he signed on as the odd-seeming FBI agent Dale Cooper, Kyle MacLachlan was cast as the odd-seeming FBI agent Lloyd Gallagher, assigned to Los Angeles to help solve a rash of brutal crimes and murders committed by otherwise seemingly innocent citizens. The reason: the killer's actually an alien who changes bodies, and MacLachlan's actually an alien, too, albeit the good kind.

There can be only one. So sayeth the Highlander in this swords-and-sci-fi-actioner about dueling warriors who fight through the centuries to be the last Immortal standing. In reality, this modest hit from MTV music video auteur Russell Mulcahy would not be the only one. Not nearly. A quarter century later, the first Highlander has spanned a massive fanbase, countless sequels and a TV series to boot.

While not nearly a box office behemoth on the level of, say, The Hangover, this hilarious and profane "guy" comedy, which takes our time-traveling heroes back to 1986, is a gem worthy of instant cult classic status. Fans of Poison, New Order, Sixteen Candles and Red Dawn, take note.

As the years go by, Adrian Lynne's psychological horror film Jacob's Ladder gains even more admirers amongst those who appreciate truly disturbing film fare. On the surface, it's the tale of a Vietnam vet (Tim Robbins) who's haunted by macabre visions of hell on earth. It's also a dream-like meditation on themes of life, death and mortality. Sounds heavy and hard to shake? Absolutely.

Dismissed as too slight and whimsical upon its initial release (although reviewed favorably by Roger Ebert), this collaboration between producer Steven Spielberg, writer-director John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) and star Tom Hanks is actually a spirited, fun and meaningful comedy about a dying guy who agrees to jump into a volcano.

Steven Soderbergh's made many fine films, but underestimated - and unreleased on DVD and Blu-ray - is this cult classic from 1993, which follows the adventures of a junior high school kid growing up during the depression, who learns to fend for himself as, one by one, his family is taken from him. Look for an early starmaking turn from Adrian Brody as an older teen who looks after the kid.

Jim Henson, George Lucas, David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. What's not to love? In this 1986 fantasy film, all of the elements come together in a story about a teen girl who must venture to a faraway land and make her way through a labyrinth of challenges to rescue her brother from goblins who've abducted him - after she inadvertently wished for him to be taken away.

Wes Craven's made plenty of horror movies, but none more disturbing than the original Last House on the Left. Inspired by Ingmar Bergman's 1960 Swedish film The Virgin Spring and followed up by a 2009 remake, the film is definitely not for the faint of heart. After torturing a girl to death, three evil killers find the tables turned on them when they come across the girl's parents, who wreak ultimate retribution. Viewers beware. The film pulls no punches.

Christian Bale's known for his intensity and extreme methods when it comes to preparing for his roles. He admits, though, to nearly crossing the line when he lost over 60 pounds to play a machinist in this nightmare thriller about a factory worker with a severe case of insomnia, who begins to have strange visions at the work place and beyond.

Keith Gordon's World War II ensemble includes familiar faces Ethan Hawke, Gary Sinise and Kevin Dillon, director Peter Berg, plus character actors Frank Whaley and Arye Gross. Although critically acclaimed upon its limited 1992 release, the film - a story about soldiers on both sides of the front attempting a truce - has grown in stature over the last two decades, representing an artistic highpoint for the filmmaker and many of its leads.

Before Robert DeNiro's appearance in comedies became par for the course, he surprised audiences with his deft turn as a bounty hunter opposite Charles Grodin's accountant -turned-con-on-the-run in Martin Brest's follow-up to Beverly Hills Cop. While the film's remained somewhat under the radar in the years since, it's still appreciated by cult film lovers as a hilarious and f-bomb filled version of the '80s buddy comedy.

Gabriel Byrne, pre-Usual Suspects, smolders as the right-hand man of gangster Albert Finney in this epic gangster film from the Coen brothers. Loyalties are questioned, and lines are crossed, double-crossed and double-crossed again in this critically acclaimed film that has risen over the years to make both AFI's top 10 gangster films, and Time magazine's 100 greatest films made since the magazine's inception.

You've finally met the love of your life. Then you find out the world will be coming to an end in 90 minutes. What do you do? That's the scenario for Anthony Edwards' likeable jazz musician, who discovers equally likeable free spirit Mare Winningham at an L.A. museum on the day and night before a nuclear bomb attack. Ultra-intense, and must-see movie watching.

The cast includes Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Cary Elwes, Nicolas Cage and Judd Nelson. It also features a starring role for newcomer at the time Peter Berg. Young Guns 3, you say? Hardly. This is actually a low-budget, sweet-natured comedy about pals Peter Berg and Andrew Lauer stranded in the desert with their dream girl Claudia Christian. The only problem? She's a lesbian. Fun, comic complications and an all- star cameo ensemble ensue.

The term 'TPS report' is forever embedded in the brains of all who've witnessed and become a part of the cult fan base for '99's Office Space, written and directed by "Beavis and Butthead" / "King of the Hill" mastermind Mike Judge. We also love seeing "Swinger" Ron Livingston in the lead role as an office employee who decides he's "just not going to go anymore."

To some, Sergio Leone's final spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West is the finest western ever made, and the final word in the genre. Surprisingly, it's still not as known as Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name trilogy, and qualifies as more of a cult classic. Cult or no, this tale of good (Charles Bronson), bad (Peter Fonda) and ugly (Jason Robards) gunslingers at the edge of the frontier is must-see cinema.

Hard-core action junkies cite Steven Seagal's Out for Justice as the apex of his early output. Chasing down William Forsythe's out-of-control drug dealer Richie Madano, Seagal's detective Gino Felino lays waste to everything and everyone in his path - in brutally explicit Aikido fashion.

Matt Dillon's debut movie, made at the tender age of 14, is a darker version of The Outsiders, with restless teens in a non-descript Colorado suburb lashing out on their community and the authorities by trashing the neighborhood, and locking the parental types in the school auditorium.

Winner of the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Paris, Texas features veteran actor Harry Dean Stanton's finest performance as modern cowboy Travis, who's literally been lost in the wilderness for four years, only to be found and reunited with his young son Hunter. Next on their agenda is a fateful reconciliation with Hunter's mother Jane.

Pee-Wee Herman, who's returned to full glory with recent stage performances, arrived on the big screen in Tim Burton's wonderfully weird Big Adventure. Ever since, cult audiences have flocked to screenings for the colorful and unique "kiddie" movie.

The notorious John Waters exploitation flick features Divine in pink drag, and eating dog feces. Waters himself claimed Flamingos was "the most disgusting movie ever made." Who are we to disagree?

Ed Wood's infamous sci-fi disaster has been labeled "the worst movie ever made." While it might be that, it does also have its pleasures, including the lame special effects and an admirable level of general filmmaking ineptitude.

Surfing? Check. Bank robbing? Check. Skydiving? Check. Gun fights galore and one of the coolest chases on foot in cinema history? Of course. While Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves actually appeared together first in 1985's hockey flick Youngblood, it is here where their relationship - as surf guru and FBI agent - came to complete fruition. Laugh as you might, it's still plenty entertaining, even with the multiple endings.

Michael Tolkin's The Rapture is unlike anything ever made. Its the story of a lost soul in Los Angeles (Mimi Rogers) who finds religion, only to lose it again when she feels she's been asked to make one too many sacrifices. That's exactly when the biblical Rapture actually occurs.

Back before he became the Ice Man, the Dark Knight, Doc Holliday and Jim Morrison, Val Kilmer was perfectly cast as wiseguy and resident campus genius Chris Knight, who watches over his young charge and the rest of the college smarties in this endlessly entertaining and quote-worthy teen comedy ("I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said...I drank what?")

Extreme gore, dollops of comedy, some H.P. Lovecraft style of horror, and a story about a scientist who re-animates severed heads and body parts. If any of that sounds appealing, then this cult classic from the '80s should be right up your alley. While not everyone's cup of tea, the film and its sequels have earned a substantial fan base who are able to find the ironic humor in it all.

Wolverines! Who can forget the mantra of those teen rebels who took to the mountains and fought the invading Russians in Red Dawn? Besides being the first PG-13 movie, the movie earned distinction for racking up the most violent acts on film when it was released to theaters. Seen as outrageous propaganda by some, it actually works fine as what-if action entertainment.

Originally shot in the '30s as a warning against the dangers of marijuana use, the film was rediscovered in the 1970s as a cult film, depicting various actors being "driven" to manslaughter, suicide, insanity and attempted rape due to the influence of the drug. It later inspired a musical satire that debuted off-Broadway in 2001.

"I ain't going to be no repo man." So proclaims the young Emilio Estevez, but life has other intentions for the punk-rocker-turned-car-thief, who saddles up alongside Henry Dean Stanton in this ultra-bizarre tale of repo men, extraterrestrials and lots of other cool, weird stuff.

Pulp Fiction gets all the glory, but Tarantino's previous film about six cats on a heist job and the aftermath is just as flashy and potent. It also has a hilarious and profane speech about Madonna's "Like a Virgin," and lots of cool nicknames - except for Tarantino's own.

Dorothy returns to Oz in this darker sequel based on a couple of L. Frank Baum's later Oz books. Auntie Em has sent Dorothy to the sanitarium to rid her mind of the "Oz nonsense," but soon enough, Dorothy's back in Oz, except now her friends have been turned to stone and the Nome King has taken over the land. Although it didn't do well at the box office and reviews were mixed, the film's developed a loyal following.

Tim Hunter's dark teen drama sheds light on the other side of the high school cafeteria, where a troubled youth kills his girlfriend in a remote location, brings his friends to see her dead body, and none of them bothers to report it. In one of his earliest screen roles, Keanu Reeves appears as a kid whose conscience does drive him to do the right thing.

P.J. Soles, fresh off her appearance in John Carpenter's Halloween, stars as the rock and roll-loving Riff Randle who's determined to meet The Ramones, and have them rock her high school. A cult film from the get-go, it features a booming soundtrack and appearances by the actual punk music legends.

Sporting the longest-running theatrical release in film history, The Rocky Horror Picture Show may also be the most recognized cult film in existence. Based on the British play, the combo parody of sci-fi and horor films, which introduced a young Tim Curry and Susan Sarandon to the world, became legendary when midnight screenings started to include active participation.

Giving new definition to the term "so bad it's good," this 2003 film written, directed by and starring Tommy Wiseau, is a melodrama about a love triangle between a man, his fiancee and his best friend. Similar to Rocky Horror, the film's become a hit on the midnight circuit with audiences actively participating and even dressing up as the main characters.

He's directed The Godfather movies and Apocalypse Now, but ask Francis Ford Coppola which film that he's made is his favorite, and he's likely to answer Rumblefish, a movie starring Matt Dillon and Mickey Rourke as brothers trying to find their way in the world. Shot in atmospheric black and white, the film features an amazing percussive score from Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

"Say hello to my little friend." A coked-up gangster played by Al Pacino made those six words one of cinema's most oft-quoted catchphrases in this Miami gangland classic directed for maximum impact by Brian DePalma. Also onhand for the fireworks are sexy newcomer Michelle Pfeiffer, and a synthesizer-laden score by Giorgio Moroder.

Following up the cult sci-fi TV series "Firefly," the big screen Serenity takes on the continuing adventures of a cargo ship captain and his crew. It quietly passed from theaters to DVD, but future screenings - often held at the last minute - of Serenity have sold out quickly, and director Joss Whedon will now take on next summer's The Avengers.

It's admittedly a bad idea (The Bee Gees covering Beatles tunes onscreen?), but this so-bad-it's-interesting film still compels due to the curiosity factor - is that really George Burns mixing it up with the Bee Gees, Alice Cooper and Peter Frampton? Yes it is.

Genius among many of the genius accomplishments of Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead concept is the idea that the two slacker blokes at its center (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) are so out of it already that they fail to notice that the rest of their London neighborhood has been transformed into zombies. When it finally dons on them, the results are priceless.

It earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Morgan Freeman, but otherwise, this Stephen King adaptation about the lifelong friendship between Freeman and Tim Robbins' incarcerated characters failed to light up the box office. That's ok. It's ranked #1 amongst all users of the Internet Movie Database.

Shedding her "Saved by the Bell" image, her clothes and her future film career, Showgirl Elizabeth Berkley inadvertently tapped into a morass of ridiculousness directed with no trace of subtlety, restraint or ounce of tastefulness by Basic Instinct creator Paul Verhoeven. The movie is a point of shame for most involved, but it has provided endless entertainment to cult film fanatics.

Butch Cassidy director George Roy Hill strikes sports comedy gold with this irreverent hockey underdog tale starring Paul Newman, future "Twin Peaks" star Michael Ontkean and a trio of loveable hockey goons known the Hanson brothers.

Re-tooled in the 2000s by Steven Soderbergh, James Cameron and George Clooney, the original 3 hour plus, Russian version is a complex, metaphysical sci-fi journey about a scientist who discovers his long-dead wife alive again on a space station far from Earth. This time, he's determined to save her from her ultimate fate.

Austin Powers brought Mike Myers additional star wattage after the Wayne's World movies, but in between those franchises, Myers starred in multiple roles in the San Francisco murder comedy So I Married an Axe Murderer, featuring our favorite version of his Scottish brogue - a superb character named Stuart MacKenzie who espouses an interesting theory about the powers of a certain Col. Sanders.

Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas make life ok and funny for hosers everywhere playing Bob & Doug McKenzie, a couple of unemployed brothers determined to do very little in life other than horse around with each other and seek out some more cold brewskis.

Director Jim Jarmusch, a master of the deadpan comedy, stirs up his most potent version of the form with this absurd project about two dimwits and one of the boy's cousins, who end up on a road trip to Cleveland and then Florida. Not much happens before they end up in three different situations at movie's end. But it's all a lot of fun in an extremely deadpan kind of way.

Another cult film headed for a remake this fall, this Sam Peckinpah movie tells of an American mathematician (Dustin Hoffman) who abhors violence, but is forced to resort to extreme measures after local thugs rape his wife and terrorize the couple at their remote home.

Tobe Hooper's ghoulish film introduces a family of Texas lunatics who prey on a group of young people caught in their surreal world of horrors. Chief amongst its carnival of terrors is Leatherface, a brute force who wears masks of flesh and wields a chainsaw for his victims.

John Carpenter's thoughts on blind government and corporate control take the form of a sci-fi actioner where aliens have taken over America via subliminal messages. Wrestler Roddy Piper is enlightened to the truth of things, and fights back with a classic mantra to "kick ass and chew bubblegum." Film also features one of cult cinemadom's coolest and longest-lasting fight scenes.

Besides They Live, John Carpenter's The Thing is a near-perfect cult classic that has, since its initial disappointing box office in 1982, risen in the ranks to be acknowledged as a true sci-fi horror movie classic. The film features strong effects, lean storytelling, and a pitch perfect cast led by Kurt Russell as no-nonsense helicopter pilot R.J. MacReady.

"These go to 11." Fictional heavy metal group Spinal Tap are the focus of this mockumentary from director Rob Reiner. Every cliche you've ever heard about rock and roll bands gets a proper skewering in this sharp and hilarious satire.

After being dumped in a vat of toxic waste, a scrawny janitor becomes the Toxic Avenger, defender of the weak, and superhero for two more sequels that play up the legend of Toxie and all like-minded heroic monsters. If evil's your thing, then Toxie's on his way to maul you.

In a spoof of all the classic monster movies, Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward play good- natured hicks who turn into heroes after their small town in the middle of the desert is plagued by gigantic underground creatures. Aiding in the battle are "Family Ties" star Michael Gross and singer Reba McEntire as shotgun-wielding survivalists.

While the cult fan base for the original Tron wasn't quite enough to break blockbuster records with the sequel Tron: Legacy, those legions will still swear by the retro-cool effects, and the awesome performance of Jeff Bridges in his first onscreen appearance as computer programmer extraordinaire Flynn.

A couple years after the TV series, Kyle MacLachlan and Sheryl Lee returned to Twin Peaks in this prequel tale about the last seven days in the life of Laura Palmer. A bleak and dark tale from director David Lynch, the movie, as with the TV series, has its share of fervent cult fans.

A cult classic road movie featuring minimal dialogue, lots of footage of Route 66 and stars James Taylor and Dennis Wilson from the music scene behind the wheel, Two-Lane Blacktop is an existential journey that makes little effort to reveal itself, yet still somehow sticks in your head.

Mention the Baseball Furies, the Lizzies or the catchphrase "Warriors, come out to playyyy-ayyy!" and if you read any sign of recognition, you know you've run into another Warriors cult movie acolyte. It's the story of a New York gang who have to "bop" their way back to Coney Island through enemy gangs' territories over the course of one-action filled night.

Kevin Dillon, nowhere near his Entourage character's Hollywood playground, strikes out on a modern warpath alongside Lost Boys star Billy Wirth in this actioner about a mock cowboy-and-indians demonstration gone awry.

It's animated and based on a children's book, but this dark cartoon is built more for older audiences, relating the tale of a group of heroic rabbits who fight for survival on their way to a safe haven known as Watership Down. Beloved by cult film fans everywhere, and the producers of "Lost," who featured the cover of the book, and its themes, in several early episodes.

Scorned by film critics when it was originally released, the film has become a guilty pleasure for leagues of cult film fans, and a legitimate phenomenon, spawning a successful Broadway stage interpretation, and a hit soundtrack with several top 40 hits for Olivia Newton-John and the Electric Light Orchestra.