Everyone knows that a good cult film should start with some serious Gothic psycopathy, and James O’Barr’s The Crow is exactly what the doctor ordered. Starring Brandon Lee as Eric Draven, the back-story to the film’s production is enough to make anyone want to catch this. Lee was shot in the stomach with a badly-prepared dummy gun, promptly dying. This is a genuinely chilling example of the calibre of adaptation that actually manages to supersede its original comic-book manifestation.
Moving from the chilling to the utterly haunting, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer asks an important question: how we can ever feel empathy for a horrific mass murderer? Nevertheless, John McNaughton manages it. You are guaranteed to switch off the television feeling guilty that you ever felt an affinity with a gang-raping killer, but Henry is definitely worth it.
Along the same lines is Ed Wood’s Planet 9 from Outer Space. To cap off one of the most ridiculous and poorly made films of all time, Dracula superstar Bela Lugosi walks off the screen for the final time to be met with the noise of a cymbal, supposedly signifying a car crash. Trust me, you will shit yourself with laughter.
Featuring the most marvellously-named director in the history of film, Michaelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-up reveals the Swinging Sixties in all its glory – ideal for those who don’t want to focus on the supernatural but want a challenging filmic experience. Speaking of challenging filmic experience, the greatest cult film ever made is without a doubt Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Considering the film was made in 1919, the cinematographic techniques are extraordinary – it arguably pips Citizen Kane to the title of the first film to include ‘deep focus’ – and the plot is genuinely moving. Whether you want sci-fi or period entertainment, or just want to show off your film buff credentials, cult films really are all anyone could want for a great night in. I’ll take the Spock doll…
