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• Diverting from the mainstream

For every blockbuster blitzing the box office, there are smaller, fringe films receiving next to no recognition. Sometimes sheer oddity leaves cult films ingrained with the viewers long after the last reel rolls. They’ve got potent quotes so strange they’re repeatable and so weird you can’t help but passionately recite them. Cult films may range in subject matter, but you’ll find consistencies in dark humor and controversial topics rife with characters a little skewed from normal.

Alcoholism rarely elicits ha-ha chuckles (see: Leaving Las Vegas). Yet for hundreds of Brits there’s nothing better than Withnail and I, writer/director Bruce Robinson’s semi-autobiographical story of two failed, alcoholic actors. Despite its misanthropic tone, it’s got highly quotable dialogue just odd enough to be memorable. Because they’re outsiders pining for what they can’t have, we immediately side with them. The addiction just makes their plight more interesting.

Bleak humor and acerbic wit, often box office poison, propel these lesser wonders into the pantheon of cultdom. Heathers wouldn’t be Heathers without its scathing stab at high school cliques and popularity atrocities. But lampooning teen suicide? Somehow the subversive humor seems justified when the mean kids get their comeuppance. And maybe that’s why we remember it. Just about every emo/Goth kid sports some degree of paraphernalia from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The heartwarming tale of an outsider desperate to belong is a common trend in cult films. Jack Skellington is a smiling, dancing skeleton — not someone you’d bring home to mom — but the final acceptance of his true identity is the film’s most endearing quality. Unlikely protagonists are common in cult films. Trailer park denizens like Divine, the 300 pound transvestite (I’m dead serious), chows down on dog poo. John Waters’ twisted hallmark reviles some and cheers its loyal (few) aficionados. For those depraved few, Pink Flamingos remains the text-book definition of a true cult film. Loose plotting and gruesome shocks run rampant and prove an unlikely predecessor to reality TV smut and Jerry Springer. Cult films don’t have to be obscure to gain a feverish following. For all the costumed cross-dressing and balladeering in The Rocky Horror Picture Show or the nonsensical surrealism of, acclaimed works can be recognized too. But can Oscar winners turned veritable TNT classics be cult films?

Neglected by pretty much everyone during its initial release, The Shawshank Redemption’s infinitesimal reruns embedded it into cable TV’s subconscious. Sure, it’s got weighty material and watching Tim Robbins getting raped isn’t particularly fun, but its uplifting message of hope and themes of perseverance against insurmountable odds proves inspiring enough to demand a loyal following. Diverting from the mainstream can be frightening. Cult films show us the world from the perspective of outsiders and underdogs; though not conventional, viewers find it challenging and rewarding. Because it’s unique, it’s memorable. As fans there’s an appetite for cinematic quirk and complexity. And that’s why fringe films will always have their ardent supporters.