A cult comedy inherently caters to a select audience; if it had broad mainstream appeal, it would not be classified as such. However, some cult comedies may have the status, but are not necessarily exclusive to a select few. A film like John Waters’ Cry Baby, for example, may have musical elements and campiness, but it is something you could feasibly show someone who has never seen it, and they will still take something away from it. Yet, other cult comedies will forever remain a treasure to only a select number of people who are willing to take the time to understand them.
These are 10 cult comedies that remain exclusionary to all but their core audiences, requiring a certain degree of prior knowledge to appreciate the cinematic experience.
‘Terminal USA’ (1994)
An Asian American family living in New York is each at a vital point in their lives: Katsumi has been shot in a drug deal gone bad and is hiding out with his girlfriend while getting high and bleeding out; Holly is fearful of her sex tape being leaked while she pines for the embrace of the family’s sleazy lawyer; Marvin is “pervert in the backroom” who is obsessed with studying and bondage; Dad lost his job due to racism and is now planning for the world’s end; mom needs some romance, and grandpa is silently dying in the corner.
“Sometimes I Think the Only Way Out Is To Explode.”
Terminal USA can seem rather cruel and mean-spirited to the Asian American experience, particularly digging into stereotypes. Still, its director, Jon Moritsugu, injects his particular brand of dark comedy inspired by his own family experience, albeit a very gross perversion thereof. The punk-rock approach is indicative of underground New York cinema, which embraced very transgressive themes. Moritsugu’s almost cartoonish take adds an extra layer that makes it less accessible to a mainstream audience.
‘Putney Swope’ (1969)
The chairman of a Madison Avenue advertising firm dies during a board meeting. The board members go forward with the plan to vote to replace him. With no one allowed to vote for themselves, they all voted for the company’s head of music, Putney Swope, thinking that no one else would pick him. Swope, a radical anti-consumerist, breaks all the rules and drastically changes the company from the bottom up, starting to produce a series of surreal, nonsensical commercials and implementing questionable business practices.
“I’m Not Going To Rock the Boat. I’m Going To Sink the Boat.”
You have to be willing to embrace Robert Downey Sr. in all his faults and view the work within its release timeframe to give a film like Putney Swope. This is before even tackling the nonsensical and surreal approach of his work. Notably, its handling of racial themes is a point of understandable contention, even though the director established himself as an outsider by tackling such subjects with an anti-consumerist angle. It is overtly misguided by today’s standards, but in the 60s, it was championed as outsider art. For what it is worth, the film has some phenomenally great one-liners and some surreal commercials for air conditioners and pimple cream.
‘Forbidden Zone’ (1980)
The Hercules family has a portal to the Sixth Dimension in their basement, a cartoonish, sexually charged, and grotesque alternate universe created by King Fausto. One day, Frenchy Hercules heads down into the basement and accidentally falls in, prompting her family members and friends to rush in to save her. However, Frenchy catches the eye of King Fausto, placing her in a precarious position where she is both protected from certain death while being hunted by the jealous Queen Doris.
“We’re Going Into the Sixth Dimension, Baby!”
A loose and disjointed narrative, chalked with bizarre music numbers and set pieces, Forbidden Zone requires viewers to dig a bit deeper to see it for the anarchic satire that it is. The movie, created by Richard Elfman, brother of Danny Elfman and lead singer of Oingo Boingo, brings a distinct musical style and aesthetic to the production that, if you can’t vibe with, will ultimately be off-putting. Forbidden Zone also features Hervé Villechaize and Susan Tyrrell in its cast, who bring their own unique appeal for long-time fans of either or both. Warning: Despite its rather playful veneer, the musical is likely to offend viewers the most on this list due to its language and stereotypes.
‘Buzzard’ (2014)
Marty Jackitansky (Joshua Burge) is a bitter, nihilistic temp office worker who often finds little scams, such as stealing and returning office supplies, to help keep himself afloat. When his scams get found out, and he feels the pressure of the law, he hides out in an awkward co-worker’s basement. After that inevitably fails due to Marty’s insufferable persona, he flees into the city, wearing a makeshift Freddy Krueger glove, to figure out his next step.
“I’m Not Stealing, I’m Surviving.”
Is it embarrassing to say you have to know a guy like Marty to enjoy Buzzard? That said, director Joel Potrykus has captured a particular type of human that a select few have had the displeasure of running into and can appreciate the utter bleak comedy that comes from watching that type of person fail. At the same time, the movie has a slight surreal flair, and the comedy is extremely dry, making the kind of humor itself very exclusionary. Still, Joel Potrykus is one of the most unique voices in comedy today, and Buzzard’s unique slacker and anti-establishment comedy is worth a shot for those who have not seen it.
‘Bad Boy Bubby’ (1993)
Bubby is a 35-year-old man who has been kept cooped up in an apartment by his abusive mother his entire life, barely able to speak and fearful of the outside world from the stories he is told. After her death, Bubby is forced to wander outside, but finds a wholly alien world where he is unable to pick up on social cues. Navigating humorous, dangerous, and bizarre scenarios, Bubby slowly learns to fit in.
“I Can Be God. I Can Do What God Does.”
Delving into the world of Australian cult cinema, which offers a unique take on horror, exploitation, and erotica, provides a better framework for understanding why Bad Boy Bubby is such a perfectly disgusting comedy. There was a sort of unapologetic approach with a distinct cultural flair that has made it a niche many appreciate, and Bad Boy Bubby embodies all the taboo genres into one gleefully uncomfortable underdog story. Exploitation comedy is a rare niche, and the film, which transitions from tragedy to dark comedy with disturbing erotic moments, makes this Australian oddity accessible only to a select few.
‘Wrong Cops’ (2013)
Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong Cops follows several corrupt and incompetent police officers as they harass the public and fumble their way through reporting crimes. The movie primarily follows Officer Duke, whose love of techno music and side hustle of selling contraband continually put him in precarious situations.
“Write a Book About What?”
In modern society, it is not difficult to find an audience that favors comedies that mock cops. Yet, in Wrong Cops, horrible officers succeed despite the abuse of power and deplorable actions. Here, an appreciation for absurdism certainly goes a long way, with French director Quentin Dupieux having his own unique brand of comedy that is not for everyone. Dupieux, who also goes by the moniker Mr. Oizo for his electronic music career, scores his own film with a frenetic and disjointed dance music that the viewer needs to vibe with to appreciate.
‘Underwater Love’ (2002)
Thirty-something Asuka works at a fish processing factory. It is here she meets a Kappa, a turtle-like monster from Japanese folklore, and develops a friendship with it. However, the closer she gets, she begins to have romantic feelings for the creature, leading to an awkward courtship. Underwater Love would get the French-German duo Stereo Total to provide its infectious musical numbers.
A Pink Musical
How much do you know about yokai? What are your thoughts on Japanese pink film? Do you like minimalist retro techno? If your answer to each is confusion, there is a lot of ground to make up before approaching one of the most bizarre R-rated musicals ever made. An erotic monster musical may sound appealing to some in theory. Still, this one is a very deliberate homage to many other cult Japanese films, which makes it hard to appreciate unless that is already your thing.
‘Razzennest’ (2022)
A film-within-a-film, Razzennest presents itself as a spoken commentary over the screening of the latest film by Manus Oosthuizen, a fictional experimental Austrian filmmaker, with its maker and a film critic. The two bicker throughout the series of abstract images meant to represent the Thirty-Year War, but one location in the film, emanating a sort of supernatural essence, seems to creep into the recording booth with deadly consequences.
“I Refuse To Show the Thing I Want To Address.”
Pretentiousness and art go hand in hand. There will always be filmmakers and actors who can be obnoxiously self-assured. At the same time, the media side that covers art can also come with its own occasional sense of entitlement and self-righteousness. This is where the comedy or Razzennest rests, and there has to be a general willingness to poke fun at both of these stereotypes. Director Johannes Grenzfurthner is one of the most fascinating filmmakers today, with his focus on creating narratives through visuals and audio unlike anything else out there. Razzennest, with its horror unfolding during the screening of an experimental film, is an approach unto itself that will isolate many.
‘Nowhere’ (1997)
Gregg Araki’s Nowhere follows a single day in the lives of a group of disaffected Los Angeles teenagers. At their core is Dark (James Duval), a bisexual aspiring filmmaker who is struggling in his relationship with his girlfriend Mel (Rachel True). A who’s who of ’90s names, including Christina Applegate, Heather Graham, Ryan Phillippe, Shannen Doherty, John Ritter, and Denise Richards, make up the cast of eccentric characters that Dark encounters as he aimlessly wanders LA.
“I’m Just Gonna Do a Bunch of Speed Later and Not Eat for, Like, Three Days.”
The further we step away from ’90s culture, the more alien it feels (pun intended for those who have seen the movie), and Nowhere, though a masterpiece of punk LGBTQ+ cinema, remains very much absorbed in the decade in a way that becomes less resonant with time. Director Greg Araki also built his own cinematic universe during the era; Nowhere is part of the “Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy.” As a result, while each of his films is a separate viewing experience, his body of work is best appreciated when viewed as a whole. Nowhere embodies a youthful, rebellious spirit, but those who struggle to connect with the idea of growing up in the 1990s may find themselves at odds with the content.
‘Entertainment’ (2015)
Entertainment follows a road comedian, played by Gregg Turkington, on a disastrous and lonely tour across the Mojave Desert. The hostility he faces from crowds while on stage is juxtaposed with bizarre interactions offstage. Devoid of a strict narrative structure, the movie flows from one failure to another, with the constant weight of existential dread following the comedian wherever he goes.
“Now, If You Would Like To Wander, Please Feel Free To Do So.”
While cringe comedy is already somewhat niche, anti-comedy is an even more out-there concept that many will find challenging to approach. Purposely hacky, subverting traditional joke structures to deliver awkward and painful jokes, is the bread and butter of Entertainment. Starring Gregg Turkington, Entertainment serves as a sort of unofficial movie for his character, Neil Hamburger, whose stand-up routine primarily consists of inappropriate jokes delivered as dryly as possible between sniffles, coughs, and long drink sips, along with inane observations about local news and culture. It is a niche that has an audience but will never resonate beyond that.