10 Cool Cult Classics

1. INFERNAL AFFAIRS

The Hollywood blockbuster “The Departed” was based on this Chinese cult classic, but, I believe this film is much superior to it’s Hollywood copy. The plot centres around two men, Chan-Wing Yan (played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai ) and Inspector Lau kin- Ming (played by Andy Lau). Leung’s character is a cop who goes undercover into a Triad gang, whereas, Lau’s character is a member of the triad gang masquerading as a police officer in order to feed information to his boss. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot to keep you on the edge of your seat and the climax is breathtaking. Rent this movie and you won’t be disappointed.

At number two, we have another Asian classic. Oldboy is a Korean movie starring Choi Min-Sik as the movies hero, or rather anti-hero Oh Dae-Su. Oh Dae-Su is a Korean businessman who is one day abducted from the street one night. He wakes up locked inside a single room, where he has no visitors and is fed through a slot. Fifteen years later, he is released with no idea what happened to him. The rest of the plot shows his attempts to find out what happened to him and to gain revenge on the perpetrators. This is a brutally violent film, but is equal in its brilliance. The plot is simply memorizing and I guarantee you will not see what is coming next. This is definitely a must see movie.

In my opinion this is the best musical ever made. It is funny, trashy and bizarre in equal measures. The songs are great fun and very memorable. The plot sees two young clean cut American kids enter the world of Dr Frank N Furter a transvestite alien with a love of seducing anyone and everyone he comes into contact with. He is brilliantly played by Tim Curry. This movie brilliantly spoofs all those old sci fi B movies. There is also an appearance by Meatloaf who plays biker Eddie. If you love corsets, stockings and sweet transvestites, this one’s for you.

“ I Kick arse for the lord” is my favourite line from this very low budget horror film directed by Peter Jackson, who is now famous for directing the Lord Of the Rings trilogy. This is horror comedy at its best (and cheapest). Lionel lives with his controlling mother in a small town, when she is bitten by a monkey at the zoo, she becomes a zombie. Lionel loves his mother and he continues to look after her although she is now a member of the undead. He also takes on the task of looking after other zombies in his community, trying to control them with sedative injections, but, eventually all hell breaks loose. This is probably best watched with friends after a few beers.

Yet another Asian entry, this time from Japan. This film is brutal from start to finish, with plenty of gore. It is set in a time when Japan is in chaos and adults fear children. So, to keep them in their place, every year they select a class of children, send them to a deserted island, arm them and make them fight to the death. The last person surviving gets to live. Oh, and just to ensure they can’t cheat they all have explosive devices strapped around their necks so if they don’t kill each other they will all explode! Although this movie sounds like nothing more than a bloodbath, it is also an intelligent and often sensitive movie. WATCH IT NOW!

This film belongs firmly in the slasher genre of horror. It is about a very disturbed young man who becomes a serial killer who kills his victims by removing their scalp. Frank is schizophrenic and talks to his dead mother at night in his bedroom (which is full of dismembered mannequins). He stalks women in the Bronx , kills them, removes their scalps and then attaches them to his precious mannequins. The ending to this one is a shocker. Watch this one with the lights on and the doors locked.

The Warriors was released in 1979 and was based on a novel by Sol Yurick. It is set in New York and centres on gang war in the city. When the leader of the biggest most powerful gang in New York is murdered, The Warriors are falsely accused of being behind the assassination. They then have to make it back to safety in there own patch, Coney Island, without being caught and almost certainly killed by members of the various other New York gangs who are angry after the killing. The movie takes place all in one night. I recommend watching the directors cut of this movie.

This has to be one of the most visually stunning pieces of cinema ever. It was directed by Ridley Scott and starred Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young. The movie is set in 2019 where robots called replicants, who look exactly like humans are being used for dangerous work on “off world colonies”. Inevitably some of the replicants uprise and thus all replicants are banned. “Blade Runners” are sent to track down and dispose of the replicants. This is a must have for all science fiction fans.

This film was promoted as being “the most disgusting movie of all time” and it certainly lives up to its name. The star of the movie, transvestite, Divine, ate dog faeces for part of the film. The film centres on two families who are competing to see which family is the most disgusting. Fans of John waters will love this, but, if you are easily offended give it a miss.

Probably one of the strangest movies ever made, that’s hardly surprising, as, it was directed by David Lynch who is known for his strange but brilliant cult movies. It is billed as a surrealist horror film and I think that is certainly a good was of describing it. I don’t even know how I would begin to describe it, but, believe me it is definitely worth watching, if only for the weirdness.