Keep coming back each month to be introduced to some of the best movies in the world...or at least the ones that make you seem cool in college.  

This year I want to focus on the idea of the "cult classic."  Now, a cult classic film does not mean that it bombed in the theatres, though that has happened.  No, a cult classic means that it has a very strong, very loyal fanbase.  Often, these fans with go to verbal war to defend their favourite movie.  So, for this year, I am pulling a set of good, bad, and ugly films that qualify as cult classics for you to sink your teeth into (which should be easy in October).

May: Ghost in the Shell

     First, make sure you realise I am going to be talking about the original Ghost in the Shell anime film and am not talking about the live-action remake with Scarlett Johannson.
     The story for Ghost of the Shell began as a manga from 1989-1991.  The feature film was released in 1996.  It centres on a cyborg major in the counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9.  She and her team work to take out cyberterrorists, corrupt officials and more.
     The film has influenced an entire generation of filmmakers, including the Wachowskis—the creators of The Matrix.  In creating The Matrix, they were able to do what they saw in Ghost in the Shell “for real.”
     Once you sit down to watch this one, know that there is plenty more to see.  The film received a sequel and there are at least two television series out there.  Just, be smart, ignore the live-action film.
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April: The Manchurian Candidate

​During the Korean War, a US platoon is captured and taken to Manchuria where they are all brain-washed into thinking their sergeant saved them all—a real hero.  But something is not tracking. 
     It’s been a few years and Captain Marco is having nightmares.  Those nightmares have Sergeant Shaw killing members of the platoon.  Can these nightmares be true?  If so, what does it mean?  Marco needs to find out before something bad happens.
     Based on a novel by Richard Condon, The Manchurian Candidate has been turned into a film twice.  The original came out in 1962 and starred Frank Sinatra.  The second was released in 2004 and starred Denzel Washington.  If you are going to watch this movie, start with the 1952 version.  You can move on to the 2004 version if you really want to, but once you have seen Sinatra, really do you need to go further.

March: Leon: The Professional

We’re heading to 1994 for you to watch Léon: The Professional.  The film has what today would be considered an all-star cast.  You have French actor Jean Reno in the title role.  You get Natalie Portman in her debut role.  And some of the bad guys were played by the likes of Gary Oldman and reggae artist Willi One Blood.
     As for the premise of the film, Leon is an Italian-American hitman.  A professional.  He ends up taking in Mathilda, the daughter of a family that lives down the hall from him.  He takes her in after her family is killed by a group of corrupt DEA agents.
     Mathilda then becomes Leon’s protegee, and he begins to train her in the trade.  It all comes to a head at the end, as Leon and Mathilda are pitted against the DEA agents.
     There was talk of a sequel, but it needed to wait until Portman was older.  Unfortunately, it never came to be, but it is a great what if?  So, until we can get that sequel, enjoy this wonderful film.
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February: Escape From New York

     Originally released in 1981, Escape From New York is directed by the legendary John Carpenter and stars Kurt Russell (another legend).
     It is a dystopian film.  The year is 1997 (we’ll overlook that part), and World War III is coming to a close.  Manhattan Island has been turned into the world’s biggest ever prison.  Essentially, the entire island is the prison.
     The President of the United States of America’s plane crashes on this island prison.  He is immediately captured and held hostage.  Now, it is time to save the president.  Who do we send in?  How about a criminal?  Ex-Special Force member Snake Pliskin is given the deal of a lifetime: save the president and be released from prison.  The only downside, Snake has 24 hours to complete the job.  If he doesn’t, an explosive injected into his body will explode.  No stress.
     One of the great dystopian films from the early 80s (see Bladerunner), this is a film that many watch over and over again.  If you want, you can also watch the sequel, Escape From L.A., but it isn’t quite as good.
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January: ​Bubba Ho-Tep

​     It is time to give you a cult film with the king of cult films: Bruce Campbell.  If you don’t know Bruce Campbell, then you have a long education in store.  Bruce (who used to live in Medford, Oregon) is considered one of the (if not the) best B-actors of all time.  In Bubba Ho-Tep, he gets to show off his skill in an amazing fashion.
     The story focuses on a nursing/retirement home.  One resident (Campbell), claims that he is the real Elvis Presley.  Meanwhile, a second resident (Ossie Davis) is a black man who claims to be the real J.F.K.
     These two discover that a mummy is terrorising the retirement home.  It is sucking the souls of the residents.  It is up to these two men (one in a wheelchair and one using a walker) to take down the mummy and save the souls of the residents.  The question is, can these two geriatric men do it?  You will need to watch the film to find out.
     The story for the film comes from a novella of the same name by Joe R. Lansdale.  If you are interested, you can find the story in the collection The King Is Dead: Tales of Elvis Post-Mortem. 

December: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

     There ae cult movies and then there are cult movies.  There are great Christmas movies and then there are awful Christmas movies.  There are amazing movies, and then there’s Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.  Often considered one of the worst movies ever made, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians deserves at least one viewing.
     The premise to this 1964 film is fairly easy.  Martian children are lazy and hooked on television programs picked up from Earth.  In order to bring some pep into the lives of the Martian children, it is decided to kidnap Santa Claus so that he can infuse the same kind of excitement into the Martian children as he does for Earth children.  Well, Santa and a couple of Earth kids get kidnapped, and then go about teaching the Martians the error of their ways.
     That’s the premise, and it was done with what looks like the budget of a high school theatre production.  Don’t believe me, watch the movie and then come and talk with me about the awesome polar bear used for the film.
     Once again, it’s not a movie you will watch again and again, but Santa Claus Conquers the Martians holds a certain place in American cinema and should be viewed at least once.  Just know you will probably laugh, or cry, while watching it.
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November: Bladerunner

​The poster child for a cult classic.  Bladerunner was not a runaway success when it was first released in 1982.  And it should have been.  The story was built around Sci-Fi icon Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (a classic in its own right), directed by Ridley Scott (director of Alien, Gladiator, The Martian and more), and starring Harrison Ford (of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame).
     The story itself is a futuristic crime noir.  Replicants (realistic robotic humanoids) are illegal on Earth, but many smuggle themselves onto the planet, and it is the job of blade runners to track down and “retire” these rogue replicants.  Ford plays the blade runner Deckard, who is assigned the job of chasing down the most dangerous group of replicants yet.
     There are several versions of this movie.  Many different director’s cuts of the film.  If you only watch one version, then you haven’t seen the entire thing.  A sequel came out a few years ago.  It also did not hit as big as it could have.  Maybe it has future cult classic written all over it.

October: Dog Soldiers

     Here’s a little horror for October (and yes, it is rated R--so be forewarned).  Dog Soldiers begins with an elite unit of British soldiers being flown into a remote area of the Scottish Highlands for a training exercise.  Sounds like a safe enough story…oh, wait.  As the movie progresses, the soldiers realise they are in the territory of a pack of werewolves and those werewolves are hungry.
     A battle of survival unlike anything these soldiers have ever seen ensues, and it gets pretty bloody.  In the end, only one side can win.  You can probably guess which side, but there are a few twists and turns before we get there.
     Go ahead and give this one a viewing…late at night…with the lights out…with your dog scratching to be let inside.  You don’t own a dog?  Oh.

September: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

     Let’s start the year with an Oregon-based film.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was filmed at the Salem Hospital on Center St.  And, it was perfect casting for the setting—you see the novel it was based on too place at the Salem Hospital and was written by Oregon writer Ken Kesey.
     The premise of this cult classic is pretty straight forward.  McMurphy is a criminal who pretends to be crazy in order to avoid jail time.  Mission accomplished, but now he is stuck in a mental hospital.  Not being one to sit still and obey orders, McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson) proceeds to cause mischief at every turn and to create an enemy of Nurse Ratched.  The film follows their battles, and in the end, we get to see who ends up the winner—but I won’t give it away.
     This is one of very few films that won all of the Big Five at the Oscars—Screenplay, Director, Picture, Actor, and Actress).  It is worth watching at least once, and then it is worth reading the novel. 
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