Tag Archives: Cult

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

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“That’s what you’re all becoming… Martianmallows.”

So the Martians of this piece have no idea what television is, despite watching it often. They have no idea what dolls are. They have no comprehension of the idea of tender loving care, but they’re fans of hamburgers and chocolate cake in pill form? How does that work? I have a feeling even with the notorious “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” being touted to children in its original release, the kids in the audience sat through about twenty minutes, and thought this experience would be much better with some acid at hand. It’s not so much that “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” is a bad movie, it’s that it’s so terribly put together and written that it ends up watching as a slow and painful death that you can’t help to look at with sheer disbelief.

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Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010)

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“Scott, if your life had a face, I’d punch it.” – Kim Pine

The stellar Edgar Wright has finally made it to the American shores by way of a cult series of graphic novels and in typical Wright-fashion, he’s not prone to just making any movie that would appeal to an audience of the PG-13 sector. “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is self aware. It’s so self-aware it’s aware that it’s self-aware and makes its audience aware of its self-awareness by reminding us of its self-awareness with an often self-aware sense of humor that very few will get. Leave it up to Wright to make a broad mainstream teen film that will only appeal to a cult audience as “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is basically about the modern generation. It’s pure unadulterated pop culture overload with ideals that are simplified and set to the tune of classic video games.

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V: The Complete First Season (DVD)

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When I saw “V” for the first time in 2003, it was a refreshing experience. I watched them recorded on VHS tapes from my uncle who insisted I see the first mini-series and then its sequel, but avoid the spin-off TV show entirely. And I did so, accordingly. “V” is famous not just because it’s an epic science fiction mini-series from the late seventies but because it’s one of the most intelligent and relevant science fiction series of all time that is much more about aliens taking over the world. What seems like just a struggle of two races trying to live side by side after a visit from a massive army of human-like visitors from space actually becomes a very thought provoking metaphor for the Nazi regime and their occupation of new territory that inevitably turned in to an all out invasion and war.

The aliens who are declaring to be our friends at first soon become our mortal enemies, while the remaining humans who catch on to their ruse are soon symbols of the Jewish culture who resisted their invasions and were either murdered in mass numbers or taken prisoner. The show was such a brilliant take on world history even down to its trademark love became V for Visitors, then V signifying a peace sign, and soon took on a life as the Visitors own swastikas.

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Mandy Lane: Pretty Poison

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Women are trouble. They always have been and they always will be. To the lovelorn man with a taste for old fashioned romance, women are their poison, the source of inspiration, bliss, torment, and their downfall. “Double Indemnity,” “King Kong,” “Cleopatra,” “MacBeth,” the list goes on, but the one true defining theme in all of fiction is that women can make or break the man, and Jonathan Levine’s “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” is the truest depiction of the power of the beautiful woman and what they can do in a world that idolizes, idealizes, and fetishizes women. Levine’s film is something of a slow boil horror thriller, one that is based around love for a blond beauty named Mandy Lane, and how she inspires a stalker, male admirers, female admirers, and a slasher lurking in the shadows. This is all set to the tune of the real monster. Her name is Mandy Lane and in the final scenes of Levine’s cult classic, we learn that even the dirtiest of monsters can have an angelic face that few men can resist.

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The Undead: 20 Movies Vampire Collection (DVD)

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91BoASf4FUL._SL1500_Mill Creek Entertainment releases a veritable bevy of 20 films spotlighting the undead and vampires of the sort, all of which is your typical selection you can find literally anywhere online. Sets like this usually consist of nothing but public domain and easily affordable classic horror movies and Television movies, some of which deserve to be shun in to obscurity and others are well worth the re-watch. For any horror buff looking to start their collection, a set like this is the best way to build up the numbers and school yourself in the bare essentials, and with this set Mill Creek gives the consumer four discs, all of which have some rather memorable horror films revolving around the concept of the undead.

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Best Worst Movie (2009)

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best-worst-movie-originalThere is a certain undertone of sadness present in “Best Worst Movie,” as its mainly a testament to the dangers of filmmaking and the potential for either making a masterpiece or what is considered the worst movie of all time. “Best Worst Movie” is a charming and enthusiastic portrait of the lives of an array of actors, all of whom took part in the 1990 abomination entitled “Troll 2.” What we learn is that these people have been affected by it and its cult status whether they know it or not and we follow star Michael Stephens around as he re-connects with his co-stars and attempts to comprehend why this film has suddenly caught on. Perhaps it was ahead of its time, perhaps cynical horror fans just need some absurdity and innocence and are just bonded with its sense of innocence and incoherency. Regardless Stephens, who refused to touch the movie again after starring as protagonist Joshua, grabs the legacy of this film and discovers an underground of followers who treat “Troll 2” as an almost religious experience.

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Troll 2 (1990)

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“Don’t let them eat, Joshua. For the love of God don’t let them eat.”

Making a really bad horror movie and linking it to a respectable movie for the hopes of financial returns and name recognition is not a new thing. Video companies have been doing it for decades, it’s a common practice in the direct to DVD market. Not to mention the cult classic “Zombie” alludes to being a sequel to “Dawn of the Dead,” even though it really isn’t. But somewhere down the line to avoid being thrown in to obscurity as it rightfully should have been, “Troll 2” is not a sequel at all, it is instead a really god awful movie about Goblins and… really bad acting. There isn’t a single decent performance in the entire film and it’s all so laughably embarrassing that it’s almost impossible to deem this as so bad it’s good.

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