My Favorite Cult Movie Directors

It seemed apropos to do a blog discussing my favorite cult movie directors, considering that the topic of last week's episode of THE SAUSAGE FACTORY was none other than...wait for it...cult movies.  But I wanted to go a little more in depth here and detail a few of my favorite cult movie directors individually.  First, of course, I have to be clear in my definition of exactly what a "cult movie director" is.  A cult movie director, in my opinion, eschews mainstream standards for their own, oftentimes less mainstream and/or more-often-than-not less than politically correct, subject matter and have garnered a following of loyal devotees who admire and respect their dedication to a less glamorous, less financially rewarding but far more artistically rewarding form of cinema.  In other words, there's plenty of people out there who would prefer watching movies about outcasts, social degenerates, perverts, fiends and the perpetually inept than a shallow, glossy and overly bloated summer blockbuster in which a bunch of stuff gets blown up real good!  The following filmmakers have stuck to their artistic guns and, though some have flirted with mainstream success to varying extents, have remained on the celebrated outskirts of popular filmmaking.

1. Jim Jarmusch.  I first discovered Jarmusch through his film Dead Man (1995), the story of an unassuming accountant (played by Johnny Depp) in the 19th century west who finds himself wanted for murder and, with the aid of an Indian guide named Nobody, embarks on a journey into the spirit world to evade bounty hunters hot on his trail.  It's quirky, chaotic, violent and hilarious.  It's also deep and philosophical and strangely moving.  I followed that film with Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999), the story of a (clearly insane) urban hitman who lives his life in strict accordance to the codes of the ancient samurai.  Like Dead Man, Ghost Dog is quirky, violent and hilarious.  It is also deep, philosophical and very moving.  Jarmusch's minimalist filmmaking style and penchant for writing wonderfully flawed characters allows his protagonists (and their eccentricities) to shine on screen.  In a world of inflated budgets and computer generated everything, Jarmusch proves time and time again that less is more.  Other noteworthy Jarmusch films: Broken Flowers (2005) and Night on Earth (1991).

2. Fred Dekker.  I can't think of a more cult director than Fred Dekker. Dekker's directorial debut, Night of the Creeps (1986), was an ode to the sci-fi/fantasy/horror movies of his youth, featuring parasitic alien slugs that infest and reproduce inside their host's brains and control them like murderous zombies.  It's up to two college losers and a burned-out, two-fisted, hard-drinking, one-liner spewing detective (played by Tom Atkins) to save the human race.  The movie was released to little fanfare and enjoyed a very limited theatrical run.  Dekker followed Creeps the very next year with The Monster Squad (1987), a movie that pits a group of monster-movie-loving kids against the classic Universal monsters.  Dekker deserves a special place on this list for having directed two cult favorites in as many years.  Both films suffered similar fates at the box office, as neither film was easily marketable by their respective studios, were met with lukewarm reviews by critics and were largely ignored by audiences.  Both films eventually garnered cult statuses, particularly The Monster Squad, by way of VHS in the late 80's, making it a staple of sleep-overs and movie nights with friends.  The fact that The Monster Squad is a movie that both kids and adults can equally enjoy deserves extra kudos. Dekker continued his career by directing RoboCop 3 (1993), another flop that has its own, admittedly much smaller, following, and has unfortunately not been back behind the camera since.

3. Abel Ferrara. Ferrara is another director with several cult titles under his belt, most notably Ms. 45 (1981) and Bad Lieutenant (1992).  Ferrara's films feature indelibly flawed characters, more often than not, on a bullet train to self-destruction, juxtaposed against a tapestry of religious concepts and imagery, set amid the vast urban squalor of New York City.  My favorite film of Ferrara's is Bad Lieutenant, featuring Harvey Keitel as a drug addled New York detective investigating the rape of a nun while frantically trying to collect cash to pay off his gambling debt.  The film is rife with deeply disturbing moments, graphic sexuality, drug use and violence.  During the course of the film, Keitel's character, already struggling with his faith, sees the opportunity to solve the rape case as a means to redemption.  The movie, along with Keitel's powerful performance, are unforgettable.  Ferrara has dabbled in the mainstream, having directed several episodes of "Miami Vice" in the 80's and the big budget Body Snatchers remake in 1993.  Other noteworthy Ferrara films include: King of New York (1990), The Funeral (1996) and The Addiction (1995).

4. David Lynch. Nobody does weird like David Lynch.  Lynch has made a career out of strobe lighting, flowing red curtains and surreal circumstances, visuals and characters.  Lynch has enjoyed just as must critical and commercial praise as he has critical and commercial disdain.  His films are not easy to follow and, at times, seem to be weird simply for weirdness's sake.  Lynch has enjoyed critical and commercial successes with his television series, "Twin Peaks" and critically acclaimed films such as Mulholland Drive (2001) and The Straight Story (1999).  The latter being a Disney produced feature.  I know, Disney and David Lynch?  It certainly doesn't sound like a match made in Heaven, but the film itself is quite straight-forward in terms of plot, but with enough of Lynch's own odd touches to make it indelibly his own.  My two personal favorite Lynch films are Blue Velvet (1986) and Lost Highway (1997).  Both defy explanation in terms of story-line and in terms of being indescribably fascinating films to experience.  Dennis Hopper's demented performance in Blue Velvet must be seen to be believed and Lost Highway is the kind of film to be experienced alone, in a darkened and silent room.

5. David Cronenberg. I used to say David Cronenberg is "an acquired taste".  Then I acquired it.  Croneberg began his career with low budget exploitation films such as Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977), both of which enjoy a healthy cult following of their own due to their underlying subtext of sexual revolution.  Cronenberg graduated into bigger budgeted fare such as The Fly (1986), Videodrome (1983) and Dead Ringers (1988).  Cronenberg's films have been referred to as "body horror", a term in reference to his penchant for stories involving bodily mutation and strange medical conditions.  Another common re-occurring theme in Cronenberg's films is human sexuality.  Sex, mutation, strange medical conditions.  Now that's David Cronenberg!  Cronenberg has also flirted with mainstream success and acceptance.  He directed The Dead Zone, based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, in 1983 and followed that with the big budget remake of  The Fly three years later.  Cronenberg has enjoyed both critical and commercial success with more recent releases such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007). My personal favorite David Cronenberg film is Crash (1996), a film about a cult of broken and scarred car crash victims who've turned the physical act of a car accident into an aphrodisiac.  The film features cold, emotionally distant and incredibly fascinating characters, with absolutely no redeemable qualities.  The fusion of sex and violence, of bodily dismemberment and sexual union, is indelibly Cronenberg.  The film was released to a hail of bad press and negative reviews from critics.  Viewers got up and walked out on its screening at Cannes.  The MPAA eventually slapped the film with the dreaded NC-17 rating due to its fusion of unabashed sexuality and raw violence and, despite the ruinous implications of such a rating, Cronenberg refused to cut the film and re-submit it for a lesser rating and a potentially wider release.  Other notable Cronenberg films include: Scanners (1981), Naked Lunch (1991) and eXistinZ (1999).  Long live the new flesh!

6. Richard Linklater.  Linklater is another director that started in the indie scene, helming not one, but three consecutive cult movies: Slacker (1991), Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995), making him both a cult and indie movie darling.  Linklater went on to enjoy mainstream success with such big-budgeted titles as School of Rock (2003) and Bad News Bears (2005).  But it's Linklater's smaller scale but far more cerebral films like Waking Life and Tape (both released in 2001) that garnered him critical acclaim and cult status.  My personal favorite Linklater films are Dazed and Confused and Before Sunrise.  Dazed is a hilarious and hopeful ode to Linklater's high school years.  Before Sunrise is the story of a young man traveling through Europe who spends the night with an exotic French woman he meets on a train.  They spend their one special night together bonding over talks of life, love, spirituality, sex and so much more.  It seems like such a truly unique experience, having an entire movie's running length spent following two characters through the picturesque streets of Venice and eavesdropping on their conversations.  The film feels unscripted and the chemistry between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy is substantial.  The film is open-ended, hopeful, but ultimately sad.  As perfect as these two are for each other, you know their one perfect night will be their only and last.  It is undeniably moving.  Linklater, however, directed two sequels to Before Sunrise: Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013).  I have yet to see the latter. The former, though it feels a bit unnecessary, is a worthy sequel.

Episode 18 of THE SAUSAGE FACTORY in which we discuss cult movie.