Ben Wheatley is no stranger to cult cinema. Having directed cult hits such as Kill List and A Field in England, Wheatley has a history of creating movies that cultivate a passionate and very vocal fan base.
To celebrate the cinema release of Wheatley’s latest film, FREE FIRE on March 31st, we have put together a collection of our favourite films that have reached cult status over the years.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro lead this Terry Gilliam psychedelic road trip to Las Vegas while heavily under the influence of a cocktail of drugs. Picking up hitchhikers, girls, and binging on any drug they can get their hands on, and generally wreaking havoc upon themselves and all around. Directed by the creative mind behind Monty Python’s famous animations, Terry Gilliam, known for his colourful and mad creations, this isn’t the only one of Gilliam’s films that have gained cult following. Despite initially receiving bad press upon release, audiences loved the film, leading it to gain a huge cult following from home entertainment release.
Withnail and I
Like several other cult classics, Withnail and I was not a box office success upon its release, but it’s now considered one of biggest cult comedies of all time and one of the most quoted too. Starring Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann and Richard Griffiths, the film has now inspired everything from song lyrics to drinking games.
The Big Lebowski
Like Ben Wheatley, many Coen brothers films could be considered ‘cult’. But The Big Lebowski stands above the rest, with its extremely loyal and dedicated fanbase. The comedy starring Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski has inspired a wide range of fan support. There are constant midnight screenings, a store in New York called The Little Lebowski, a religion known as Dudeism and even a festival called Lebowski Fest.
This is Spinal Tap
The 1984 American rock music mockumentary based around the touring lives of three childhood friends turned band members. Receiving modest success upon initial release, it seemed as though audiences didn’t quite get the irony and satire that the film was going for. It appeared that they thought this may be an actual documentary of a band, and the huge cameo roles and hilarity was just coming naturally. Described as ‘cutting close to home ‘by musicians such as Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and Ozzy Osbourne; admitting that they too had got lost backstage, and noted that the film was almost written about their own bands.
Reservoir Dogs
When Reservoir Dogs premiered 25 years ago at the Sundance Film Festival, what the audience saw was a super confident debut, which oozed style, a (now) classic soundtrack and violence. Nearly set exclusively in a warehouse, Reservoir Dogs tells the story of a bank heist and its subsequent fallout, when they realise a rat is among their group.
FREE FIRE
Justine (Brie Larson) has brokered a meeting in a deserted warehouse between two Irishmen (Cillian Murphy, Michael Smiley) and a gang led by Vernon (Sharlto Copley) and Ord (Armie Hammer) who are selling them a stash of guns. But when shots are fired in the handover, a heart stopping game of survival ensues.
Read our Glasgow Film Festival Review.
FREE FIRE opens nationwide across the UK on 31st March 2017.
