We at HORROR-WOOD keep ranting about "cult" horror films--but just what the heck is a "cult" horror film? Well, newcomer Georgina Kajganic set out to answer that question, and the result is...

By Georgina Kajganic

During Halloween, just past, it seemed completely normal for the neighbor kid to be dressed as an ax murderer or for fake vomit to be sitting on your kitchen table. In fact, a person walking down the street with an arrow through his head barely attracts attention on that spooky night.

No doubt about it, things changed during Halloween. Everything--and everyone--got weirder.

It's a time of year when silly pranks and props that normally seem childish are purchased by adults. A time when things that "should be" frightening are actually funny. A time when the more ridiculous something is, the better.

It's also a time when more horror movies are rented than any other time of year. And, while Psycho, Halloween, The Shining and other famous horror movies have their place, why not for next Halloween rent something that goes more with the spirit of the season? Something that's just as ridiculous as Halloween itself? A cult horror movie.

Cult horror films are to horror movies what Barney is to Tyrannosaurus Rex. A joke. A bad imitation. An imposter that's almost laughable. That's their appeal. They are, for the most part, bad. So bad, in fact, that they're good--or at least funny.

Typically, they're poorly written and directed, produced on a minimal budget and star people with little or no acting ability. That's their charm. Don't get me wrong. They're not all bad, but most of them are.

As the term "cult" suggests, cult horror films aren't for everyone. Instead, they're made to appeal to a small group of people: loyal horror fans. And they aren't, by any means, classics. Classic horror films, such as Tod Browning's Dracula or James Whale's Frankenstein, are not considered cult horror films. Same goes for blockbuster horror hits, such as Jaws or Scream. They can't be categorized as cult horror because they were made to appeal to a more general audience.

So, just what does a movie need to attain cult horror status? Well, as mentioned, some are just downright bad. Take Bride of the Monster, an Ed Wood Jr. movie that's…well...typical of Ed Wood: bad in a charming sort of way. "This is his best, which ain't much," says Joe "Renfield" Meadows. "An ultimate cult classic, party film, and historical oddity all rolled into one."

Then there's Horror of Party Beach, a teenagers-meet-monster movie that features every horror cliche known to man. "The greatest party flick ever made," says one reviewer. "And who can keep from tapping their feet to 'The Zombie Stomp'?"

But being bad isn't the only way to attain cult horror status. Other horror films have achieved a cult following because they were one of the first efforts by an actor or director who went on to something more respectable. Dementia 13 is an early effort that was written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (and it's not a bad movie either), and Donovan's Brain features a young Nancy Davis--better known as Nancy Reagan, former first lady. Then there's The Terror, a cult horror film partly because a then-unknown Jack Nicholson starred in it; He Knows You're Alone has cult appeal because of Tom Hanks; and I Was A Teenage Werewolf starred a young Michael Landon as the monster. On the other hand, some low-budget horror films have attained cult status because they feature an appearance by a fading star--such as Yvonne DeCarlo and John Ireland in Satan's Cheerleaders.

For the most part, however, cult horror movies just are cult horror movies. They have a personality all their own—a personality not suitable for all audiences. Not everyone wants to see women stuffed in dresser drawers, brains floating in fish tanks, monsters trample cities or the undead eating families. But some people do.

Perhaps the most famous cult horror movie, Night of The Living Dead was filmed in Pittsburghon a $150,000 budget, became one of the first "midnight movies" and is dexcrbed as the "quintessential, low-budget, gifted amateur production." "They're coming to get you Barbara"--the now-infamous line from the movie--basically sums it all up: After the living dead rise from their graves, craving human flesh, person after person becomes snack food for the insatiable monsters.

Another famous cult horror flick, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is "a horror masterpiece that still makes audiences squirm decades later," says one critic. And then there's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which teamed Bela Lugosi as Dracula, Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman and Glenn Strange (trained in the role by its originator, Boris Karloff) as Frankenstein's Monster. Not an award-winning production by any means, but defininely worthy of cult horror status.

Also worthy of cult horror status: Hillbillies in a Haunted House, White Zombie, Carnival of Souls, Mother's Day, Ben, Squirm, Godzilla on Monster Island...the list, truly, goes on and on.

So, come next Halloween, when you're tempted to rent a thriller like Nightmare on Elm Street or The Exorcist to give yourself a good scare, think about the true meaning of the season--to apreciate the silly, the stupid and the slightly perverse--and rent a cult horror flick instead. Chances are, it won't amaze you or impress you, but some part of it--whether it be the ridiculous plot, the bad acting or the stupidity of it all--will, most definitely, scare you!

Thanks, Georgina! We hope this "primer" will help our readers separate the "trees" from the "Woods" (ouch!) or at least convince them to give a few of the cult faves a try. Cheers!

Article copyright Georgina Kajganic

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