By Hampus Eckerman: For each pair, vote for the top cult movie. Vote for what is memorable, what is fun, what is interesting, what is cult. You will have at least 24 hours to answer, but after that it depends on when I have time to count the votes.
1. TOO SQUARE
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Cube (1997)
2. WHO WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Quiet Earth (1985)
3. FUTURE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE WILL AFFECT YOU IN THE FUTURE
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
The Ice Pirates (1984)
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Ladyhawke (1985)
Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
5. BEING PLAYED
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. THE ALL MONSTER BONANZA
Godzilla (1954)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
7. TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Reefer Madness (1936)
8. WANTING TO WIN OR TO LOOSE
Six-String Samurai (1998)
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987)
Excalibur (1981)
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Barbarella (1968)
Soylent Green (1973)
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
12. LETS DO THIS ONE AGAIN
Donnie Darko (2001)
Better Off Dead (1985)
13. WITH OR WITHOUT WALLS
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Serenity (2005)
Amelie (2002)
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Rank the candidates from 1 to 3 in the order of preference (1 = best)
Dark City (1998)
Akira (1988)
Groundhog Day (1993)
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Ladyhawke (1985)
5. BEING PLAYED
The Big Lebowski (1998)
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987)
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Barbarella (1968)
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Serenity (2005)
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988)
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Rank the candidates from 1 to 3 in the order of preference (1 = best)
3. Dark City (1998)
2. Akira (1988)
1. Groundhog Day (1993)
1. TOO SQUARE
Cube (1997)
2. WHO WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
The Quiet Earth (1985)
3. FUTURE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE WILL AFFECT YOU IN THE FUTURE
Abstain
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Ladyhawke (1985)
5. BEING PLAYED
The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. THE ALL MONSTER BONANZA
Abstain
7. TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE
Abstain
8. WANTING TO WIN OR TO LOOSE
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987)
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Barbarella (1968)
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. LETS DO THIS ONE AGAIN
Donnie Darko (2001)
13. WITH OR WITHOUT WALLS
Abstain
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Abstain
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988)
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Rank the candidates from 1 to 3 in the order of preference (1 = best)
Dark City (1998) 2
Akira (1988) 3
Groundhog Day (1993) 1
1. TOO SQUARE
Cube (1997)
2. WHO WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
3. FUTURE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE WILL AFFECT YOU IN THE FUTURE
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
5. BEING PLAYED
The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. THE ALL MONSTER BONANZA
Godzilla (1954)
7. TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE
Reefer Madness (1936)
8. WANTING TO WIN OR TO LOOSE
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987)
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Soylent Green (1973)
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
12. LETS DO THIS ONE AGAIN
Donnie Darko (2001)
13. WITH OR WITHOUT WALLS
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Serenity (2005)
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988)
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Rank the candidates from 1 to 3 in the order of preference (1 = best)
Dark City (1998) – 3
Akira (1988) – 2
Groundhog Day (1993) – 1
1. TOO SQUARE
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Cube (1997)
2. WHO WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The Quiet Earth (1985)
3. FUTURE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE WILL AFFECT YOU IN THE FUTURE
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
The Ice Pirates (1984)
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Ladyhawke (1985)
Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
5. BEING PLAYED
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
6. THE ALL MONSTER BONANZA
Godzilla (1954)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
7. TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Reefer Madness (1936)
8. WANTING TO WIN OR TO LOOSE
Six-String Samurai (1998)
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987)
Excalibur (1981)
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Barbarella (1968)
Soylent Green (1973)
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
12. LETS DO THIS ONE AGAIN
Donnie Darko (2001)
Better Off Dead (1985)
13. WITH OR WITHOUT WALLS
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Serenity (2005)
Amelie (2002)
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988)
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Rank the candidates from 1 to 3 in the order of preference (1 = best)
2. Dark City (1998)
1. Akira (1988)
3. Groundhog Day (1993)
2. The Quiet Earth.
Apple or orange? Orange or apple? Argh.
(Proposed rule: Any movie that gets turned into a Broadway musical no longer qualifies as “cult”.)
3. Plan 9 From Outer Space. I don’t believe in the “so bad it’s good” classification, but Plan 9 is definitely… something.
4. Ladyhawke
5. 5000 Fingers of Dr. T
(I may be prejudiced. When I was trying to sell movie scripts in the 1990’s, the one that came closest to being bought — called out to LA for meetings with development people, etc, but, sadly, never any actual money — was compared favorably to Dr. T. And, yep, it was a definite influence on my script.)
9. The Princess Bride
10. Barbarella. (Another apples/oranges choice.)
11. This is Spinal Tap
15. Kung Fu Hustle
(Once again, class: DIE HARD IS NOT A CULT MOVIE.)
16. In order or re-watchability: 1) Groundhog Day* 2) Dark City 3) Akira
*You can watch Groundhog Day over and over and over and over….
VOTING IS CLOSED!
1. TOO SQUARE
Pink Flamingos (1972) – votes: 13
Cube (1997) – votes: 11
This room moves to 0, 1, and -1 on the X-axis, 2, 5, and -7 on the Y and 1, -1, and 0 on zed. Or was that first the Y-axis? Blast, I forgot.
WINNER: Pink Flamingos
2. WHO WOULD CROSS THE BRIDGE OF DEATH
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) – votes: 32
The Quiet Earth (1985) – votes: 7
The Quiet Earth was turned into a newt and did not get better.
WINNER: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. FUTURE EVENTS SUCH AS THESE WILL AFFECT YOU IN THE FUTURE
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) – votes: 25
The Ice Pirates (1984) – votes: 10
Ice Pirates should have used a condom.
WINNER: Plan 9 from Outer Space
4. DENIED THEIR ESSENCE
Ladyhawke (1985) – votes: 21
Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) – votes: 26
The Bishops ambush works too well and both Navarre and his hawk don’t survive the crossbow bolts. Mouse will have to pick the locks to the pearly gate after all.
WINNER: Dr. Strangelove or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
5. BEING PLAYED
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953) – votes: 12
The Big Lebowski (1998) – votes: 23
First floor dungeon/Assorted simple tortures/Molten lead, chopping blocks and hot boiling oil/Second floor dungeon/Jewelry department/Leg chains, ankle chains, neck chains, wrist chains, thumbscrews and nooses of the very finest rope/Basement dungeon/EVERYBODY OUT!
WINNER: The Big Lebowski
6. THE ALL MONSTER BONANZA
Godzilla (1954) – votes: 22
Destroy All Monsters (1968) – votes: 11
Who’s your daddy? Godzilla is!
WINNER: Godzilla
7. TO SMOKE OR NOT TO SMOKE
Yellow Submarine (1968) – votes: 28
Reefer Madness (1936) – votes: 11
Reefer Madness shouldn’t have inhaled. Under the influence of drugs… killed his entire family with an axe.
WINNER: Yellow Submarine
8. WANTING TO WIN OR TO LOOSE
Six-String Samurai (1998) – votes: 5
The Mouse That Roared (1959) – votes: 22
WINNER: The Mouse That Roared
9. TWUE LOVE WITH COMPLICATIONS
The Princess Bride (1987) – votes: 41
Excalibur (1981) – votes: 8
They forgot to water death this time and Buddy’s body lies still. Thus ends the journey toward Lost Vegas. Not to the music of the Red Elvises, but to the Sacred Funeral of Brian Tyler.
WINNER: The Princess Bride
10. IT IS NOT PRETTY-PRETTY
Barbarella (1968) – votes: 22
Soylent Green (1973) – votes: 20
Soylent Green is people. Dead people.
WINNER: Barbarella
11. LACK OF RESPECT, WRONG ATTITUDE, FAILURE TO OBEY AUTHORITY
This is Spinal Tap (1984) – votes: 31
A Boy and His Dog (1975) – votes: 11
Dog is dogmeat and is the fallout of this movie. Don Johnsson leaves for a better place with pastel tuxedos and ridiculous fashion.
WINNER: This is Spinal Tap
12. LETS DO THIS ONE AGAIN
Donnie Darko (2001) – votes: 13
Better Off Dead (1985) – votes: 15
Better Off Dead is better off alive. Donnie Darko is hit by a jet engine while Frank the Rabbit puts on an eye patch.
WINNER: Better Off Dead
13. WITH OR WITHOUT WALLS
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) – votes: 8
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) – votes: 16
Hedwig sings a song of solidarity with the misfits and losers of the world. Then becomes a loser herself.
WINNER: Pink Floyd: The Wall
14. CRASH LANDINGS
Serenity (2005) – votes: 22
Amelie (2002) – votes: 19
Amelie is arrested for burglary, stalking and harassment of one of her neighbours.
WINNER: Serenity
15. DIFFERENT FIGHTING STYLES
Die Hard (1988) – votes: 20
Kung Fu Hustle (2004) – votes: 20
Buddhist Palm vs a machine gun? Hohoho, that is a too hard thing to decide on for the filers.
WINNER: TIE!
16. INCOMPREHENSIBLE POWERS
Dark City (1998) – votes: 12 first, 16 second, 11 third
Akira (1988) – votes: 10 first, 10 second, 19 third
Groundhog Day (1993) – votes: 20 first, 14 second, 5 third
Winner is Groundhog Day. Again.
WINNER: Groundhog Day
…and I’m four-for-four in the “the one I saw is the one that won” department. Eerie. That’s got to be over fifty movies across four brackets….
Bloody hell, description for bracket 9 should have been for bracket 8 and forgot to write the one that should have been for bracket 9. Well, God Stalk.