Digging Into Horror Cult Classics

Ela Moss ‘27 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

For the zealous fiends of spooky season, there’s a bubbling, squelching, malodorous, cinephilic pit of content to be dug into as the months turn to double digits and the air begins to chill. For those who like to feel their skin crawl and put their minds at unease, there are classic horror films aplenty; if you’re looking for gore you’ll never run out of good slashers; and even if it’s a fright-less solution to get in the autumnal spirits, there are family-friendly Halloween films in abundance. However, for those who are looking for something a little stranger, something from a mind as twisted and wicked as the characters in all those aforementioned, there are answers tucked away in the shadows of the chaos, ones that when brought to light seem to draw the more deranged viewer with a reverent hold. These are the not-so-acclaimed horror cult classics at which you might not know whether to laugh, cry, or scream. 

Defining a cult classic cannot be done in black and white, but there are some necessary appendages of the genre. Most obviously, the fanbase is so sworn by the film that they live up to cultish standards of devotion; an affectious affliction that their “normal” friends pinch their eyebrows at. Those same friends watch what is considered mainstream media, as opposed to the exclusively offbeat and often transgressive appeal cult classics offer to idiosyncratic audiences. There is a definitive resistance to artist elitism permeable throughout the genre, as well as longevity of viewership; fans’ repeated viewings and references to the films are evidence for the allure standing the test of time. 

There’s a certain kind of spell that envelops you when watching a horror cult classic, whether it be one you’re in the fanbase of and you’re able to recite every line as you attempt to indoctrinate your friends, or one you’ve never seen before, stricken in a theater alone in Somerville, jaw hanging open and thoughts scrambling inside your head. I personally spend time swinging from either end of the spectrum; the Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is of course a more well-known film in the genre, but one that I’ve been encouraging everyone to watch since my first viewing as a sophomore in high school. It traverses the cult classic subgenres from horror to a more generally LGBTQ+ space, but the tradition it’s cultivated makes it, arguably, the poster child for cult classic films everywhere. With live cast performances, devoted audiences in costume for viewings, and some theaters screening the film every month, it maintains a steadfast grip on queer culture and is a monument among horror cult classics, most evidently because of the community aspect the film nurtures. This cultish semblance and the longevity of its commitment is therefore not only a reaction to the film itself but also upheld by the people and traditions that accompany it. 

Alternatively, by way of the Somerville Theater, I was introduced to two new (to me) horror cult classics in a double-feature screening this Halloween season; the uniqueness of my solo adventure and the eccentricity of the films cementing the delirium that is Basket Case (1982) and The Gate (1987) into my memory forever. Without giving away too much about either film, it’s obvious from the laughter erupting in the small theater audience that these films are classics as a result of their absurdity rather than their ability to make your skin crawl. The bizarre plots of both films do the cult genre justice, as what could be more captivating than a deformed blob of a brother seeking vengeance and sexual stimulation, and three children left home alone to defend their house from a horde of miniature demons pouring out from a hole in their backyard. The use of special effects to create the monstrous miscreants leaves quite a lasting impression as well and is most definitely part of what sets these films apart from others in the horror genre, and consequently makes them so niche-ly appreciated. 

You may have to go looking, but there are many cult classic horror films to be seen that, in my personal opinion, are often much more interesting at least than the overdone horror standard. Some have grown larger fanbases, like Suspiria (1977), The Thing (1982), House (1997), and more recently Jennifer’s Body (2009), but many like The Gate are hidden geodes to be dug up that will surprise you in ways you wouldn’t even think of. Come digging for the mad artists, the media of deranged and damaged minds, if you’re looking to stray off the path this spooky season. It can be a wonderfully bizarre and comedic, while still a fantastically horrific change of pace.