There are many classics that have been hailed as masterpieces over time, but there are plenty of movies that win a very specific audience over, and are so brilliant that they gain a following of fans that just can’t get enough. Eventually, these gain the title of a ‘Cult Classic.’ The term “cult film” or more commonly known as “cult classic” is used to describe a movie that has generated a significant and highly dedicated fanbase over time. These are the cool misfits, while regular ‘classics’ are the popular kids.

There’s a plethora of extremely successful movies that have gained a loyal, cult-like following, such as basically every Harry Potter movie, likewise with all the Star Wars movies. Cult classics, however, specifically refer to movies that may be less successful financially, or shunned by the mainstream. Nonetheless, they developed a fanbase that engage in things like repeat viewings, dialogue references, and audience participation.

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Many agree that such favorites have led to the creation of an elaborate subculture, such as the iconic movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which has gained one of the most prominent cult followings in history. Few movies inspire such a following that, when they do, it becomes legendary. The “cults” devoted to these films are worldwide and consider the movies to not just be must-sees, but as important parts of their lives. Here is what exactly makes a movie a cult classic.

The History of the Cult Classic

     20th Century Fox

When a movie receives negative or impartial responses from critics and audiences, or doesn’t make much money at the box office, they usually fade away and are forgotten with time. However, some of these movies capture a very niche audience, and go on to be considered a cult classic. The term came from the “cult-like” behavior from the small and peculiar audiences who became infatuated with such films, usually from midnight showings, though there is sometimes some confusion on what exactly a cult classic is.

Some extremely successful and popular movies may hold an array of quotable dialogue and frequent midnight showings, and some may be under-appreciated and were unable to be financially successful, but are still appreciated by critics. Cult classics, though, are neither appreciated nor popular in the mainstream; they often run counter to traditional morals and cinematic conventions, and occupy an often bizarre or unique space that is difficult to qualify by genre labels.

The 1932 horror movie Freaks was one of the first cult classics, a box-office bomb that most critics vehemently despised. Several reviews are collected in Angela Smith’s landmark book Hideous Progeny: Disability, Eugenics, and Classic Horror Cinema; the motion picture trade journal Harrison’s Reports wrote, “Anyone who considers this entertainment should be placed in the pathological ward in some hospital,” and The Hollywood Reporter called it an “outrageous onslaught upon the feelings, the senses, the brains and the stomachs of an audience.”

Not many films had the possibility to become cult classics at that time, because of regular theater turnovers, the fact that movie theaters didn’t stay open late enough for midnight screenings until the ’60s, and obviously the lack of any home video. Years later, television began programming obscure horrors or simply the weirdest movies late at night, which became known as “midnight movies.” This helped develop more regular viewings of less popular movies, sme of which would go on to develop a cult following.

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During the ’70s, “midnight movies” became a more popular event, and it remained regular if ticket sales stayed consistent; for example, 1972’s odd reggae crime drama The Harder They Come had a fairly lengthy run at New York City’s Elgin Theater. Movies like this, and the iconic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, helped make the 1970s not only a great decade for change but revolutionary for cinema, as it reshaped cinematic assumptions.

Watching a Cult Classic

     New World Pictures

Since then, cult classics have developed traditions which their devoted following participate in regularly. They are now best well known for the use of audience participation, usually by the form of props, callbacks, costumes, and film-based rituals. Fans dress up as their favorite characters and take props to viewings of the movie; this will typically be an item that is in relation to the film, which they will use or throw at the screen after a line or scene in the movie.

Similarly, audiences may shout at the screen to interact which, according to ‘cult’ members, is called a callback. The main goal of a callback is to be creative and make the audience laugh. Although these traditions generally take place with cult classics as a whole (like drinking White Russians for The Big Lebowski, possibly at ‘Lebowski Fest,’ a festival for cult fans of the flick), there may be other, smaller traditions that are specific to that particular movie.

Cult Classic Characteristics

     PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

In most cases, cult classics will have been a low-budget movie or a big-budget release that failed to sell tickets during its theatrical run. Either way, they are still appreciated by their small but loyal fanbase; however, over time, from being a cult classic, they have become bigger and more well-known, even by audiences who overlooked it in the first place; Fight Club and Office Space are like this, showing how what may initially be a cult film becomes mainstream as culture changes.

Some cult movies, such as The Room (2003), are supported by fans purely based on the fact that they are terrible movies of the “so bad it’s good” variety, and have now become popular “midnight movies.” On the other hand, a lot of cult classic fans enjoy these movies because they believe they didn’t receive the recognition they deserved.

Many mainstream films fade from the public eye after they have been shown in the theater, but the popularity of cult classics keeps growing. The internet and digital streaming has increased this, and has produced platforms where fans can share their thoughts and enthusiasm worldwide. There are few films that can have such an effect on film lovers and inspire such dedication from their fans. That is exactly what makes cult classics possibly the best kind of movies.