The Halloween season has officially begun, and it’s time to make sure that your monthly watch list reflects that. There's no universal definition for a "cult classic," but there are several signifiers. Usually, it is used in reference to underground films, midnight movies, and box office bombs: what ties every cult classic together is its fervent fanbase.

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A movie is usually crowned a cult classic if it has a small but dedicated following who form an elaborate subculture around it — hence, a "cult." There are plenty of niche movies that are perfect for watching this spooky and spine-tingling time of year.

‘Jennifer's Body’ (2009)

Jennifer's Body

When a high school cheerleader (Megan Fox) is demonically possessed after a satanic ritual gone wrong, she feeds on her male classmates’ flesh to fulfill her cannibalistic cravings. As the opening line of the movie states, “Hell is a teenage girl.”

Jennifer’s Body has a dismal rating on IMDb with a 5.4. Needless to say, it was a box office bomb, with critics and audiences writing it off as a trashy experiment in horror-comedy. However, this might have been due to the marketing which screenwriter Diablo Cody declares was “all wrong.” Jennifer’s Body has since been appreciated as a feminist cult horror film in the wake of MeToo.

‘X’ (2022)

Mia Goth in X
Mia Goth in X

In 1979, a group of adult filmmakers traveled to rural Texas, where they met a reclusive, elderly couple who caught them in the act. A homage to '70s grindhouse movies, director Ti West’s love of the slasher genre oozes from every scene and every bodily crevice. Mia Goth and Jenna Ortega also shine as the scream queens of Gen Z.

With a reasonably low rating of 6.6 on IMDb, X has all the makings of a modern cult classic. The film is an unapologetic love letter to its influences, made for a specific section of horror fanatics.

‘Titane’ (2021)

Titane

After Julia Ducournau’s directorial debut, Raw, a cannibalistic, coming-of-age film, caused audience members to pass out, her sophomore movie was much anticipated. Titane follows a young woman (Agathe Rousselle) with a titanium plate fitted to her head and a disturbing obsession with cars. It also follows a father who is reunited with his missing son. How those two tales intertwine will probably surprise you.

The film’s average rating of 6.6 on IMDb proves that it is not for the faint-hearted or those with weak stomachs. Fans of body horror will love Titane, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

‘Heathers’ (1989)

Heathers

At Westerburg High, Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) is struggling to fit in with the catty clique of Heathers: Duke (Shannen Doherty), McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and Queen Bee Chandler (Kim Walker). When a mysterious new kid and James Dean lookalike arrives, complete with a cocky smirk and leather jacket, Veronica’s teenage angst suddenly racks up a body count.

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Over two decades after its initial release, Heathers still influences iconic teen movies, including the new Netflix release Do Revenge. If that, along with its 7.2 rating on IMDb, doesn’t cement Heathers’ cult classic status, I don’t know what will.

‘Videodrome’ (1983)

Videodrome

Written and directed by the King of body horror, David Cronenberg, Videodrome follows a programmer (James Woods) at a TV station specializing in adult entertainment who stumbles across the stuff of nightmares: a mysterious broadcast signal of snuff films. As he attempts to uncover the signal’s source, he increasingly loses touch with reality in a series of disturbing and bizarre hallucinations.

Although a box-office bomb with mainstream audiences in 1983, it has been heralded a cult classic among niche circles and Cronenberg’s best film to date, with a rating of 7.2 on IMDb.

‘Hereditary’ (2018)

Hereditary

When her unstable mother passes away, Annie (Toni Collette), her husband, son, and daughter mourn the loss. Tortured by grief, Annie and her children begin to experience strange visions and compulsions. In director Ari Aster’s twisted and nightmarish imagination, generational trauma is monstrous and inescapable.

Described as this generation’s The Exorcist, Hereditary truly is terrifying, with an average rating of 7.3 on IMDb. Midsommar is not far behind with a rating of 7.1, and Aster’s much-anticipated third movie has been described as a four-hour long “nightmare comedy.”

‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ (1975)

Rocky Horror Picture Show

When a straight-laced young couple’s car breaks down, they are forced to seek shelter at the residence of Dr. Frank N. Further (Tim Curry), a cross-dressing mad scientist who is about to unveil his latest creation. As Brad and Janet give themselves over to absolute pleasure, it is clear that this night will be one they remember for a very long time.

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Any conversation about cult classics would be incomplete without mentioning The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which holds an IMDb rating of 7.4. Since its midnight movie release over four decades ago, diehard fans have gone to screenings dressed up as the film’s quirky characters, singing along and shouting responses.

'Grindhouse' (2007)

Death-Proof-1

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez team up to pay homage to the exploitation double features of the 60s and 70s. Death Proof is a slasher flick with the most satisfying ending, while Planet Terror shows the world in the midst of a zombie outbreak. The two movies are tied together with fake trailers in between, just like the good old days.

While it currently holds an IMDb rating of 7.5, Grindhouse was a box office bomb back in 2007. It was a move made by, and for, cinephiles. A love letter to a style of cinemagoing that has long since died out, mainstream audiences just didn’t get it.

‘The Wicker Man’ (1973)

wicker man

When Sergeant Neil Howie, a devout Christian, arrives in a remote Scottish island village in search of a missing twelve-year-old girl, he stumbles across a strange pagan cult who engage in disturbing fertility rituals and denies the existence of a missing girl.

Described by Cinefantastique as “the Citizen Kane of horror movies,” The Wicker Man has an IMDb rating of 7.5. On its original release, as the "B-feature" in a double bill alongside Don’t Look Now, the film was met with confusion from critics and audiences alike. However, over the next twenty years, the film attracted a new audience and earned its cult classic status.

‘Donnie Darko’ (2001)

Donnie Darko

After narrowly escaping death, a troubled teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is plagued by disturbing visions of a man in a large rabbit costume who calls himself Frank. When Darko discovers that the world will end in 28 days, he is drawn into a series of bizarre events that may reflect his unraveling sanity.

With an impressive IMDb rating of 8, Donnie Darko is a creepy cult classic that will leave viewers scratching their heads long after the credits roll. While it may seem confusing on the first watch, the satisfaction of peeling back the film’s endless layers makes it all worth it. Perhaps the only truly unexplainable element of this movie is that only two people showed up to an Evil Dead screening on Halloween.

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