Cult Classic
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See Category:Cult Classic for the description that used to be here.
Examples of Cult Classic that have not yet been confirmed to have "Category:Cult Classic" include:
Anime and Manga
- The medium as a whole everywhere except Japan (especially in North America).
- Akira, a.k.a. THE definitive cult anime in the English-speaking world. Released in Japan to relatively little fanfare in 1988, it gradually began to pick up popularity in the US and UK during the 90s as the dubbed VHS tapes were circulated among schoolboys, students, sci-fi and animation fans, until by 2001 it was such an underground phenomenon that the US distributor reportedly spent over $1 million on a film restoration and new dub for its DVD release, and recent months have seen large portions of the Internet (even outside the anime fan community) in an uproar over a controversial proposed Hollywood adaptation. It is often credited with single-handedly creating the overseas market for adult-targeted anime and paving the way for other international hits like Ghost in the Shell.
- Early Anime:
- The works of Satoshi Kon
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (about as mainstream as anime can get in Japan, but a cult phenomenon in the West, even among anime fans)
- Berserk Is very well known in the manga fandom for it's high quality, but it still defines this trope because of it's ultra violent, semi pornographic and all out grimdark nature that keeps it from ever becoming mainstream.
- The Canadians and a fair amount of Americans love Spider Riders.
- In the United States, practically every well-respected anime that aired on Adult Swim last decade has developed a cult following as a result. Many of these have eventually become mainstream, as have many of Toonami's (see below) anime programs.
- Cowboy Bebop
- Samurai Champloo
- Trigun
- Wolf's Rain
- FLCL
- Crayon Shin-chan
- The Big O
- Outlaw Star
- Inuyasha
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
- Eureka Seven
- Lupin III
- Paranoia Agent
- Detective Conan (AKA Case Closed)
- Blue Gender
- Bleach
- Code Geass
- Death Note
- Neon Genesis Evangelion, already a cult phenomenon since the 90s, experienced a resurgence in popularity after being aired on the network.
- And the mother of all anime cults: Fullmetal Alchemist.
- Before Adult Swim, there was Toonami, which (aside from mainstream hits like Dragon Ball and Naruto) also created a devoted cult following for the likes of:
- The Ringing Bell Of Chirin (a dark film about a Chibi little lamb)
- Excel Saga
- |Ghost in The Shell (anime films)
- Giant Robo
- Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin and
- Ginga Densetsu Weed'
- Hyakko
- Kurau Phantom Memory
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes, a.k.a. "the greatest anime that will never leave Japan".
- My-HiME
- Guyver
- Nekojiru Sou, being also Widget Series.
- SD Gundam Force
- Revolutionary Girl Utena
- Utena's professed spiritual successor Star Driver is shaping up to be this as well.
- Among American audiences, Teknoman (the English adaptation of Tekkaman Blade). Despite its questionable quality, fans loved it to the point that Tekkaman Blade II was frowned on despite staying more faithful to the source material.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
- Wandering Son. Even despite the anime and its intentional reaction, it has changed little in popularity.
- RahXephon
- One Piece for America. After 4Kids' Cut and Paste Translation drew away most of its potential audience, Funimation's significantly more faithful dub has been working to gradually win them back. A rare case in that it's not as lesser known in most other countries (especially not Japan).
- The Bowdlerized 4Kids dub itself is probably more of your standard Camp Classic since its compellingly awful quality makes for good entertainment. See the comparison.
- Slayers was once very, very popular when it was released in America in the late 90's.[1] Due to its fourth and fifth seasons being held off for an unGodly long time, the fanbase shrunk, and now it's more or less this trope, but fans old and new still love it.
- Gunslinger Girl, a cult series even within anime fandom.
- Baccano!
- The Animatrix, an anime Adaptation Expansion of The Matrix series, is fairly little-known in most circles but has a devoted following of sci-fi and animation fans, many of whom consider it to be better than the film that inspired it (or at least its sequels).
- Monster Rancher, an underrated gem among Mons series.
- Anime movies as a whole tend to be this. Arashi no Yoru ni, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Tekkon Kinkreet, Akira..
- Pokémon manga as a total, even Pokémon Special.
- Afganisu-tan
- Sailor Moon
- Dash! Yonkuro! and Bakusou Kyoudai Let's and Go didn't get an exported to America, and they were forgotten after the shows ended, though there are still group of people in Europe and Asia who read/watch these anime and play their mini-4wds, which is what these series encouraged them to in the first place.
- The Mysterious Cities of Gold was popular in France and the UK, but it has a cult following around the world, primarily in the US and Japan (the latter of which it was made in and bombed with audiences, preventing the creation of later seasons).
- Wild Knights Gulkeeva
- The Toei season of Yu-Gi-Oh!, erroneously referred to by fans as "Season/Series Zero."
- Axis Powers Hetalia tends to be seen as this in certain parts of the world.
- Some light novels later adapted to manga and anime, such as Gate and Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist have become this.
- Legend of Galactic Heroes, both for the original novels and their myriad adaptations.
Comic Books
- The works of Isaac Baranoff
- Cherry Comics
- The works of Daniel Clowes
- The works of Robert Crumb
- The works of Peter Bagge
- The works of Hart Fisher
- The works of Frank Miller
- The works of Alan Moore
- The works of Jhonen Vasquez
- The works of Harvey Pekar
- Black Hole
- The Book Of Jim
- The Books of Magic
- Cerebus
- The Chuckling Whatsit
- The Crow
- Fables
- Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth
- Liberty Meadows
- Love and Rockets
- MAD Magazine
- Omaha the Cat Dancer
- Persepolis
- Preacher
- The Sandman
- Savage Dragon
- Strangers in Paradise
- Transmetropolitan
- Valiant Comics
- Madman
- Hitman
Film
0-9
A
- The ABCs of Death
- The Abominable Dr. Phibes
- Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe
- Absurd
- Act of Vengeance
- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
- The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
- After Hours
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God
- Akira
- Alexander Nevsky
- Alice, Sweet Alice
- All Hallows' Eve
- All Superheroes Must Die
- All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
- Alligator
- Alone in The Dark
- American Psycho
- An American Werewolf in London
- The Amityville Horror
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
- Wes Anderson
- The Anthropophagus Beast
- Antichrist
- The Apple
- Darren Aronofsky
- Attack of the 50 Foot Woman
- Attack of the Giant Leeches
- Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
- Audition
B
- The Babadook
- The Babysitter
- The Bad Seed
- Bagdad Cafe
- Barbarella
- Basic Instinct
- Batman: The Movie
- The Battle of Algiers
- Battle Royale
- Battleship Potemkin
- A Bay of Blood
- The Beastmaster
- The Beaver Trilogy
- The Best Of Everything
- Betty Blue
- The Beyond
- Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
- Big Money Hustlas
- Kathryn Bigelow
- Billy Jack
- The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
- Birdemic: Shock And Terror
- Bitch Slap
- The Black Belly of the Tarantula
- Black Belt Jones
- The Black Cauldron
- Black Christmas
- Black Dynamite
- The Black Hole—Disney's 1st PG-rated movie[2]
- Black Sabbath
- Black Sunday
- Blacula
- Blade Runner
- The Blob
- Blood and Black Lace
- Blood Feast
- Blood Freak
- The Blood on Satan's Claw
- Blood: The Last Vampire
- Bloody Bloody Bible Camp
- The Blues Brothers
- The Boondock Saints
- A Boy and His Dog
- Brain Donors
- Brainscan
- Brick
- Bride of the Monster
- Bubba Ho-Tep
- Buffalo Sixty Six
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Bullet in the Head
- The Burning
- The Burning Moon
- Tim Burton
- But I'm a Cheerleader
C
- Cabin Boy
- Cabin Fever
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- Cannibal Apocalypse
- Cannibal Ferox
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
- Carnival of Souls
- John Carpenter
- Cast a Deadly Spell
- Castle Freak
- Cat's Eye
- Cemetery Man
- Un Chien Andalou
- Child's Play
- Children of the Corn
- Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
- Chinatown
- Chopping Mall
- A Christmas Story
- The Chronicles of Riddick films
- Chuck And Buck
- Citizen X
- Clue
- The Coen Brothers
- Blood Simple
- Raising Arizona
- Miller's Crossing
- Barton Fink
- The Hudsucker Proxy
- Fargo
- The Big Lebowski (to the point that there are at least two Lebowskifest conventions a year. The first cult film of the internet era.) Also it is the basis of the totally not Parody Religion, Dudeism
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- The Man Who Wasn't There
- No Country for Old Men
- A Serious Man
- Coffin Joe
- Coffy
- Color Me Blood Red
- Commando
- Conquest
- Constantine
- The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
- Coraline
- Roger Corman
- A Bucket Of Blood
- The Little Shop of Horrors (1960, but the remake could also be considered one as well)
- House of Usher
- The Masque Of The Red Death (which, along with the above, are actually based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe)
- The Wild Angels
- Hells Angels on Wheels
- Wes Craven
- Creature with the Atom Brain
- The Creeping Terror
- Critters
- David Cronenberg
- Cronos
- Cruising
- Cube
D
- Daimajin
- Joe Dante
- Piranha
- The Howling
- Gremlins (and the sequel to an even greater extent)
- Innerspace
- Matinee
- The Burbs
- Dark Angel: The Ascent
- The Dark Crystal
- Dark Night of the Scarecrow
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (the original - see Klaatu Barada Nikto).
- Brian De Palma
- Dead Heat
- Dead or Alive
- The Deadly Spawn
- Death Race 2000
- Death Rides a Horse
- Death Wish 3
- Deathdream
- Deathgasm
- The Decline Of Western Civilization (and Part II even moreso)
- Deep Red
- Deliverance
- Jonathan Demme
- Demolition Man
- Demoni
- Demonlover
- The Descent
- The Devil's Rejects
- Dirty Work
- Disco Godfather
- Divorce, Italian Style
- Django
- Dog Soldiers
- Dolemite
- Donnie Darko (the first film of the 2000s to inspire ongoing midnight screenings a la Rocky Horror)
- Don't Open Till Christmas
- Don't Torture a Duckling
- Doomsday
- Dr. Cyclops
- Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
- Dragonheart
- Dredd
- The Driller Killer
- Drive
- Drive Angry
- Drop Dead Fred
- Duck Soup
- The Dungeonmaster
E
- Earth Girls Are Easy
- Easy Rider (1969 - big on release, cult later)
- Eating Raoul
- Empire Records
- End of Days
- Enemy Mine
- Enter the Dragon
- Enter the Void
- Escape 2000
- Equilibrium
- Equinox
- Event Horizon
- Pandorum (a Spiritual Successor to the above, is becoming this)
- Evil Alien Conquerors
- Evilspeak
- Excalibur
F
- Faces Of Death
- Falling Down
- Fantastic Planet (1973, animated)
- Feast
- Felidae (1994, animated)
- Fight Club
- The Final Girls
- Fire and Ice
- Five Deadly Venoms
- The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (live-action Dr. Seuss, 1953)
- Flash Gordon
- The Fly
- The Food of the Gods
- Forbidden Planet
- Forbidden Zone
- Frankenhooker
- Frankenstein's Bloody Terror
- Freaked
- Freaks
- Freddy Got Fingered
- Freeway
- Friday
- Fright Night (the original 1985 film)
- From Beyond
- Frostbite
G
- Gamera
- Ghost World
- Ghoulies
- The Giant Claw
- Terry Gilliam
- Jabberwocky
- Time Bandits
- Brazil
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
- The Fisher King
- 12 Monkeys
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- Tideland
- The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
- And The Man Who Shot Don Quixote, in all likelihood.[please verify]
- Ginger Snaps
- Girl, Interrupted
- The Girl Next Door
- Give My Regards to Broad Street (the cult is small, but still measurable)
- Glen or Glenda
- G Men From Hell
- God's Gun
- The Gods Must Be Crazy
- Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell
- Good Burger
- The Goonies
- The Gore Gore Girls
- Gozu
- Graduation Day
- The Great Dictator
- The Great Race (a small cult again, but still here)
- Gregory's Girl
- Grey Gardens
- Grizzly
- Guest From the Future (mainstream in former USSR, cult elsewhere)
- Guinea Pig
- Gutterballs
- Gymkata
H
- Hack-O-Lantern
- Hackers
- Hair (theatre) (1979)
- Half Baked
- Hands of the Ripper
- The Happiness of the Katakuris
- Harakiri
- Hard Boiled
- Hard Candy
- The Harder They Come
- Hardware
- Harold and Maude
- Ray Harryhausen
- Hatchet
- Hausu
- Hawk the Slayer
- Todd Haynes
- Head
- Heathers
- Heaven's Gate
- Heavy Metal
- A lot of films by Harmony Korine, particularly Gummo
- Heavy Metal Parking Lot
- The Hebrew Hammer
- Hedwig and The Angry Inch
- Hell of the Living Dead
- Hellraiser
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
- Heroic Trio
- The Hideous Sun Demon
- High and Low
- Highlander
- The Hitcher
- Hobo with a Shotgun
- Hocus Pocus
- Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers
- The Holy Mountain
- Horror Express
- Horror of Dracula
- Hot Rods To Hell
- House
- House of 1000 Corpses
- The House of the Devil
- The House of Yes
- House on Haunted Hill
- Housebound
- Howard the Duck
- The Human Centipede
- The Hunger
- Hush
I
- I Am Cuba
- I Come in Peace
- I Drink Your Blood
- I Heart Huckabee's
- I Sell the Dead
- I Spit on Your Grave
- I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
- The Iceman
- Idle Hands
- In Bruges
- The Infernal Affairs Trilogy
- Inferno
- Infra-Man
- The Innkeepers
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers
- The Invitation
- Irma Vep
- The Iron Giant
- Irreversible
- Ishtar
- It Lives By Night
- It! The Terror from Beyond Space
J
- Jack Frost
- Peter Jackson
- Jim Jarmusch
- Jennifer's Body
- Jesus Christ Superstar
- Jean Pierre Jeunet
- Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
- Joe Versus the Volcano
- Miami Connection
- Mike Jittlov
- The Wizard of Speed and Time (original short)
- The Wizard of Speed and Time (full-length film)
- Fashionation
- Mike Judge
- Just Before Dawn
K
- Kagemusha
- Lloyd Kaufman
- Kickboxing Academy
- Kids
- Killer Condom
- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
- The Killing of Satan
- Killing Zoe
- Kin-Dza-Dza
- Kind Hearts and Coronets
- Krull
- Kubo and the Two Strings
- Stanley Kubrick
- Kung Fu Hustle
L
- Labyrinth
- Ladies And Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains
- Lady Snowblood
- The Lair of the White Worm
- Lake Placid
- The Last Dragon
- The Last Man on Earth
- The Last Seduction
- The Last Temptation of Christ
- Legend
- The Leopard Man
- Leprechaun
- Lesbian Vampire Killers
- Let the Right One In
- The Limey
- Richard Linklater
- Little Nemo
- Little Nicky
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
- Lord of Illusions
- The Lost Boys
- The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra
- Love and Basketball
- Love Exposure
- Love Streams
- David Lynch
M
- M
- The Mack
- Mad Dog Morgan
- Mad Max
- The Mad Monster
- Madhouse
- Madman
- The Man From Nowhere
- The Man Who Fell to Earth
- The Man Who Saves the World
- The Man with the Iron Fists
- Maniac
- Manos: The Hands of Fate
- The Manson Family
- Martyrs
- Master of the Flying Guillotine
- Maximum Overdrive
- McBain (not the Rainier Wolfcastle films)
- Meatball Machine
- Medium Cool
- Men Behind the Sun
- Metropolis
- Midnight Madness—Disney's 2nd PG-rated movie[3]
- The Millennium Trilogy
- Misery
- Mom and Dad Save The World
- Mommie Dearest
- Monsieur Verdoux
- Monster Brawl
- Monster in the Closet
- The Monster Club
- The Monster that Challenged the World
- Monty Python
- Moon
- Morvern Callar
- The Most Dangerous Game
- Ms. 45
- Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
- Murder Party
- My Bloody Valentine
- Mystery Men
N
- Napoleon Dynamite
- The New York Ripper
- Newsies
- The Night Flier
- Night of the Comet
- Night of the Creeps
- Night of the Demon (1957)
- [[Night of the Demon (1980 film)}|Night of the Demon]] (1980)
- Night of the Demons
- Night of the Lepus
- Night Watch
- Nightbreed
- Nightcrawler
- Nosferatu
O
P
- Pan's Labyrinth
- ParaNorman
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone
- The Passion of Joan of Arc
- Peeping Tom
- Performance
- Phantasm
- Phenomena
- Pieces
- Plan 9 from Outer Space
- Planet of the Apes
- Pootie Tang
- Alex Proyas:
- Popcorn
- Popeye (the live action film)
- Primer
- The Prince of Egypt
- The Princess Bride
- Léon: The Professional
- Prom Night
- The Prowler
- Pulse
- Pumpkinhead
- The Punisher
- Puppet Master
- Putney Swope
R
- Sam Raimi
- Evil Dead (and sequels, especially number II)
- Crimewave
- Darkman
- The Quick and the Dead
- A Simple Plan
- Drag Me to Hell
- Ran
- Rawhaed Rex
- Real Genius
- Re-Animator
- Red Sun
- Reefer Madness
- Remo Williams The Adventure Begins
- Repo Man
- Repo! The Genetic Opera
- The Ring
- The Ritual
- Rivers Edge
- Road House
- The Road to El Dorado
- Return of the Living Dead
- Return to Oz
- Robot Holocaust
- Robot Monster
- Robert Rodriguez
- The Rocketeer
- Rolling Thunder
- Rolling Vengeance
- George A Romero
- The Room - almost exclusively shown at midnight screenings where people throw spoons at the screen.
- Rubber
- Runaway
S
- Samurai Cop
- Santa Claus
- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians
- Scarecrows
- The Screaming Skull
- The Secret of NIMH
- Secretary
- A Serbian Film
- Saving Christmas
- Serenity
- The Seventh Curse
- Shaft (original film)
- Shakes the Clown (Film)
- Shallow Grave
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Sherrybaby
- Shinjuku Triad Society
- A Shock to the System
- Shock Treatment (a "sequel" to Rocky Horror)
- Shock Waves
- Showgirls
- Silent Hill
- Silent Night, Deadly Night
- Singles
- Six-String Samurai
- Slap Shot
- Sleepaway Camp
- Kevin Smith
- Snakes on a Plane
- Snatch
- Society
- Southland Tales
- Spaceballs
- Space Mutiny
- The Specials
- Spider Baby
- Stage Fright Aquarius
- Starcrash
- Starship Troopers
- Step Brothers
- The Stepfather
- Strait Jacket
- The Strangers
- Stay Tuned
- Stitches
- Stone Cold
- Street Fighter
- Streets of Fire
- Street Trash
- Strike Commando
- Student Bodies
- The Stunt Man
- Sucker Punch
- Suicide Club
- Super Fly
- Super Fuzz
- Super Mario Bros
- Surf Nazis Must Die
- Suspiria'
- Swingers
- Switchblade Sisters
T
- A Tale of Two Sisters
- Tales from the Crypt
- Tales from the Hood
- Tank Girl
- Quentin Tarantino
- Teenagers from Outer Space
- Tenebre
- Terror Train
- TerrorVision
- Tetsuo: The Iron Man
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- The Theatre Bizarre
- Theatre of Blood
- Themroc
- Thirst (1979)
- Thirst (2009)
- The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
- The 13th Warrior: Although it was panned by critics and one of the biggest box office bombs of all time, this movie nonetheless has a sizable fan following.
- This Island Earth
- This Is Spinal Tap
- Threads
- Three Women
- Thriller - A Cruel Picture
- Time After Time
- Titan A.E.
- Tokyo Gore Police
- Tombs of the Blind Dead
- The Toolbox Murders
- El Topo
- Torso
- Tourist Trap
- The Town That Dreaded Sundown
- Toys
- Train to Busan
- Trainspotting
- Trancers
- Transformers: The Movie (1986)
- Treasure Planet
- Tremors
- Trick 'r Treat
- Trilogy of Terror
- The Triplets of Belleville
- Troll
- Troll 2
- The Troll Hunter
- TRON
- True Romance
- Turbo Kid
- Twice Upon a Time
- 200 Motels
- Two Lane Blacktop
- Two Thousand Maniacs!
V
- Valerie and Her Week of Wonders
- Valley of the Dolls
- Vampire Hunter D
- The Vampire Lovers
- Vampires In Havana
- Vampire's Kiss
- Vampyros Lesbos
- Gus Van Sant
- Vanishing Point
- Vase de Noces
- Versus
- V/H/S
- The Virgin Spring
- Virtuosity
- The Void
- Volunteers
W
Literature
- The works of Philip K. Dick[context?]
- The works of H.P. Lovecraft[context?]
- The works of Chuck Palahniuk[context?]
- The works of Kurt Vonnegut[context?]
- The works of Richard Brautigan[context?]
- The works of the Scottish poet Robert Burns[context?]
- The works of Roger Zelazny[context?]
- Gene Wolfe's work
- American Tabloid
- Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, another case where both the original book and the movie are cult in their own right. (link goes to the work page for a film of the same name)
- The Men Who Stare at Goats (link goes to the work page for a film of the same name)
- No Logo
- Roadside America (website)
- The Rum Diary (link goes to the work page for a film of the same name)
- Youth in Revolt (link goes to the work page for a film of the same name)
Live-Action TV
- Action
- Angel
- Arrested Development
- Batman and Batman: The Movie (with Adam West)
- Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?
- Black Books
- Blake's 7
- Bottom
- Carnivale
- Community
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Dead Like Me
- Deadwood
- Dragon Ball
- The Equalizer was popular at the time of its original airings, but became this over the years.
- The Fast Show
- Fawlty Towers
- Flight of the Conchords
- Frank's Place
- Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
- Homicide: Life on the Street - spawned John Munch's Career
- Interceptor- a Game Show oddly enough.
- Iron Chef
- Jackass
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker
- The League of Gentlemen
- Masters of Horror
- The Mole
- Mr. Show
- News Radio
- Noah's Arc: The show continues to have a highly dedicated fanbase of gay men of color.
- Northern Exposure
- Nowhere Man
- The Outer Limits
- Pennies From Heaven
- Police Squad!
- Power Rangers Aside from a small fanbase, the rest of the general public never knew the show was still around.
- Profit
- Pushing Daisies is already showing signs.
- Queer as Folk
- Red Dwarf
- The Sarah Connor Chronicles
- The Singing Detective
- Sledge Hammer!
- Spaced
- Spitting Image
- The State
- Survivor: The few few seasons were extremely popular and ushered in the rise of Reality TV, but Survivor has become this over time. There was an article from a few years ago[when?] (I can't recall what site it came from)[please verify] that proclaimed that it has one of the most devoted fandoms in American television.
- Takeshi's Castle
- Tales from the Crypt
- Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
- Titus
- The Tom Green Show
- Undeclared
- V - The original.
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?
- The Wire
- Wonderfalls
- The Young Ones
Music
- The Art of Noise
- The Avalanches: Since I Left You (2000)
- Syd Barrett: The Madcap Laughs (1970)
- The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (1966)
- Brian Wilson: SMiLE (unreleased until 2004)
- Blind Guardian: Nightfall In Middle Earth (1998), etc.
- Boogie Down Productions: Criminal Minded (1987)
- Brotha Lynch Hung: Season of The Siccness (1992)
- Buckethead
- Kate Bush: The Dreaming (1982)
- The Butthole Surfers
- Butthole Surfers (1983)
- Locust Abortion Technician (1987)
- Cage: Movies for the Blind (2002)
- Can: Tago Mago (1970)
- Captain Beefheart
- Trout Mask Replica (1969)
- Company Flow: Funcrusher Plus (1997)
- The Cramps
- Nick Drake
- Five Leaves Left (1969)
- Bryter Layter (1970)
- Pink Moon (1971)
- Wild Man Fischer
- Freestyle Fellowship: To Whom It May Concern (1991)
- Fugazi: 13 Songs (1989)
- The Fugs
- The Grateful Dead
- Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
- Kool Keith
- The Legendary Stardust Cowboy
- MC5: Kick Out The Jams (1969)
- Neutral Milk Hotel: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)
- Pavement
- Psychopathic Records:
- Anybody Killa
- Blaze Ya Dead Homie
- Boondox
- Insane Clown Posse:
- Riddle Box (1995)
- The Great Milenko (1997)
- The Amazing Jeckel Brothers (1999)
- Twiztid: Mostasteless (1997)
- Reel Life Productions
- The Residents: Third Reich N Roll (1976) and Commercial Album (1980)
- Jonathan Richman
- The Shaggs: Philosophy Of The World (1969)
- Harry Smith's An Anthology Of American Folk Music (1952)
- Skip Spence: Oar (1969)
- Talk Talk: Spirit of Eden (1988)
- Tenacious D
- They Might Be Giants
- The Velvet Underground
- The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
- White Light/White Heat (1968)
- The Velvet Underground (1969)
- Loaded (1970)
- Weezer: Pinkerton (1996)
- XTC: Drums and Wires (1979)
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Frank Zappa
- Freak-Out (1966)
- Absolutely Free (1967)
- Lumpy Gravy(1967)
- We're Only in It For The Money (1968)
- Uncle Meat (1969)
- Hot Rats (1969)
- Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
- 200 Motels (1971)
- Over-Nite Sensation (1973)
- Apostrophe (1974)
- One Size Fits All (1968)
- Sheik Yerbouti (1979)
- Joe's Garage (1979)
- Arvid Tuba
Tabletop Games
Many tabletop RPGs are a cult within a cult following, including;
- Bunnies and Burrows
- Call of Cthulhu
- Deadlands
- In Nomine
- Pinball in general.
- Traveller
- Dungeons & Dragons has been the go-to RPG for decades, and has served as the Trope Codifier for most modern Fantasy and RPG games and media ever since.
Theatre
- 13
- Greater Tuna
- Jesus Christ Superstar
- Hair
- Little Shop of Horrors (the off-Broadway production)
- Despite Andrew Lloyd Webber's attempts to disown Starlight Express, the musical has attracted a small but extremely dedicated fanbase, many members of which dress up as the characters a la The Rocky Horror Picture Show, interact with the actors backstage, and travel to cities and overseas to attend as many productions as possible.
- The Revels productions
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
- Repo! The Genetic Opera
- Rent You know. Rent-heads, and all.
- Spring Awakening has a following who call themselves "The Guilty Ones".
Theme Parks
- The Pirates of the Caribbean ride on which the film franchise is based is so cult, it attracted a fandom backlash before the movie was released over Johnny Depp and his gold teeth. The resulting kerfuffle only helped sell the film, of course.
- Although it was closed after eight years of operation for scaring the pants off of too many little children, the Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter at Walt Disney World has a loyal following who admire the attraction for its dark humor and rich atmosphere.
- Mr. Toad's Wild Ride is a bit cult, to the point where Disney made a film based on the ride instead of the book (The Wind In The Willows). There are shrines to the attraction years after it closed down.
- Disney's film The Wind in the Willows was based on...the book. It came out in 1949, while the ride (and Disneyland itself) are from six years later. The 1996 adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's book was then titled Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in the US, presumably so people would make a connection to the Disney ride.
- The Great Movie Ride.
- Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia. The ride was infamous for being very rough and encountered many problems during its lifetime. It opened in 1992 and closed in 1998; the park attempted to re-open the coaster in 2002 but failed and ended up demolishing it. Despite the ride's many problems, it had/still has a cult following by coaster enthusiasts and fans of the park.
Video Games
0-B
- 3D Dot Game Heroes
- A Boy and His Blob (NES version)
- The Ace Attorney series
- AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity (or simply Aaaaaa)
- Aliens vs. Predator (the Beat'Em Up by Capcom; the following games by Rebellion and Monolith Productions are too popular for Cult Classic status)
- Allegiance (the Microsoft-developed space combat game/Real Time Strategy hybrid that is now legal freeware)
- Alpha Protocol (a classic case of a game panned by critics but which picked up a devoted following)
- Games by Obsidian tend to attract this, see also Knights of the Old Republic 2 and the Neverwinter Nights 2 expansion Mask of the Betrayer.
- American McGee's Alice
- Another World, a.k.a. Out of This World
- Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
- Arm Joe! (a Beat-Em-Up based on Les Miserables)
- Asura's Wrath
- Azrael's Tear
- Battlezone 1998 (the Activision FPS/RTS hybrid PC games)
- Betrayal at Krondor
- Beyond Good & Evil
- Blaster Master
- Blade Runner the 2½-D adventure game
- Blood
- Brütal Legend
- Bunny Must Die
- Burn:Cycle
C-E
- Catherine
- Castle of the Winds
- Castle Wolfenstein
- Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
- Cave Story
- The Chronicles of Riddick games
- Chrono Cross and its predecessor Radical Dreamers (in contrast to the more mainstream success of Chrono Trigger)
- Baten Kaitos, the Spiritual Successor to Cross.
- Conker's Bad Fur Day
- Darklands
- The Darkness
- Deadly Rooms of Death
- Deadly Premonition
- The Dept. Heaven series
- Digimon World according to its page here.
- Dune II (which still has DOSBox versions and fan-mods)
- Elite
- Enslaved (While it has just recently been released, it is already managing to attract a small but dedicated fan base.)
- Eternal Darkness
F-H
- F-Zero on both sides of the pond.
- Final Fight, and to a lesser degree, its SNES sequels.
- Any Fire Emblem game in America that has not been localized. Even the localized ones could be considered to fall under this, small as the broader Fire Emblem fanbase is.
- Flashback
- Freelancer
- Free Space, especially Freespace 2.
- Fur Fighters
- Gabriel Knight series of adventure games
- Garou: Mark of the Wolves: SNK's answer to Street Fighter III, it is widely praised as the last great SNK game (even those who don't normally touch SNK fighters love MotW). Sadly, SNKP is taking forever with the sequel...
- God Hand
- Gotcha Force
- Gothic (Also, the first sequel and expansion)
- Grabbed By the Ghoulies': Liked by Rare fans and a few others, not particularly popular with the mainstream or critics.
- Grim Fandango
- The Guardian Legend
- Heart of Darkness
- Hellsinker
- Homeworld series, but especially Homeworld 2.
I-K
- Ico
- I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream
- Illusion of Gaia as well as its Spiritual Successor Terranigma
- Both are technically regarded as successors to Soul Blazer.
- Independence War
- Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis known as "Indy 4" by its fans
- I Wanna Be the Guy
- Jet Set Radio
- Jumper
- Kid Icarus
- Klonoa
- Koala Lumpur: Journey to the Edge
L-N
- The Last Blade
- The Last Express
- Legacy of Kain
- A few The Legend of Zelda games which didn't accrue quite the fame and acclaim of the likes of Ocarina of Time have a dedicated following:
- [[Zelda II: The Adventure of Link]
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- The Longest Journey
- Dreamfall: The Longest Journey
- Live a Live
- Loom
- Lufia
- Lunar
- MadWorld
- The Magic of Scheherazade
- Maniac Mansion
- Marathon
- Master of Magic
- Mega Man Legends
- Also Mega Man Zero and Mega Man ZX
- Metal Gear Acid
- Missile Command (classic arcade game)
- Monkey Island series (so much so that it survived the Adventure Game crash of '95)
- Monster Rancher
- Monster Party
- Moraff's Roguelikes: Moraff's Revenge, Moraff's World, and Dungeons of the Unforgiven, with World probably being the most famous of the three.
- The Mother trilogy, the video game cult classics to end all video game cult classics.
- Nail 'n Scale (With a cult of one, but still...)
- The Neverhood
- NieR
- NiGHTS Into Dreams
- Night Trap
- No More Heroes
O-Q
- Oddworld
- Ogre Battle/Tactics Ogre
- Okami
- Operation Flashpoint
- Oregon Trail
- Outcast
- Pac-Man (an example of something once hugely popular that is now cult)
- Panzer Dragoon
- Parappa the Rapper
- And Um Jammer Lammy
- Pathologic
- Planescape: Torment
- Psychonauts
- Q Bert
- Quarantine
- Quest for Glory
R-T
- RBI Baseball
- Rally Trophy
- Rayman
- Revelations: The Demon Slayer
- Most of the other old Shin Megami Tensei games would fall under this as well.
- And most Atlus games in general.
- Sky Gunner anyone?
- Same applies to Princess Crown.
- Or any other game made by Vanillaware.
- Rise of the Triad
- River City Ransom
- Riviera: The Promised Land
- Rocket Jockey
- Terra Nova Strike Force Centauri
- The Room the Game (not to be confused with Silent Hill 4 or those "trapped in a room" games)
- Sam and Max Hit The Road (too soon to say for the Telltale games?)
- Settlers
- Shadow Hearts
- Shadow of the Colossus
- Shantae
- Shin Megami Tensei series and spinoffs over here at least. In Japan it's up there with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.
- Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
- As well as both versions of Pirates.
- Skies of Arcadia
- Space Channel 5
- Space Invaders (classic arcade game, got its own Futurama parody)
- Star Control
- Star FOX
- StarTropics
- Starsiege: Tribes
- And Starsiege itself is already Earthsiege in the future!
- Steel Battalion
- Strider (both the NES and arcade version, as well as Strider 2)
- Osman, its Spiritual Successor, is on its way to attaining this status.
- Suikoden II
- Actually, comparing to other Eastern RPG series, the whole Suikoden series is pretty much a cult classic.
- Syndicate
- System Shock and especially its sequel.
- Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre
- The Tale of Alltynex trilogy.
- The Tales (series) has had a couple commercially successful installments in America, to varying extents, but the series overall outside Japan is very much a dedicated niche. Not helped by how many of the games don't leave Japan to begin with.
- Tecmo Bowl (NES) and Tecmo Super Bowl
- Thief
- Time Splitters (It did sell pretty good, but it was never a huge hit. Nevertheless, it still has a very devoted fan base to this day.)
- Tomba
- Toonstruck
- Transport Tycoon
- Tumblepop
U-W
- Ultima (also a Long Runner)
- An Untitled Story
- Vagrant Story
- Valkyria Chronicles
- Valkyrie Profile
- Viewtiful Joe
- Wild ARMs
- The World Ends With You
X-Z
- X-COM
- Xenogears
- Xexex, obscure, but well loved by those who have played it.
- XIII, the video game adaptation at least
- Yume Nikki; a strange, little freeware game by un unheard of Japanese creator, too large to be browser-based, and only distributed by the fans. Yet it has created no less than two dozen fangames (all of which can be seen here), massive amounts of Wild Mass Guessing, and an incredible amount of Memetic Mutation. And the game's only been released as Version 0.1.
- Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders
- Zone of the Enders
- Zork
UNSORTED
- Interactive Fiction in general is a cult genre comparable to CB radio.
- Same with Multi User Dungeons.
- Anything by CAVE.
- Anything by Clover Studios.
- By proxy, the same could be said of most of Platinum Games' work.
- Anything by Humongous Entertainment.
- Anything by Nippon Ichi, though Disgaea is the company's most famous work.
- Anything by Suda 51.
- Anything by Treasure.
- Anything by Vanillaware. Their ranks are comprised of the same former Atlus members that worked on the aforementioned Princess Crown (in fact, Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade are Spiritual Successors to Princess Crown).
- Japanese Visual Novels in general, i.e, the good ones.
- Then there are the cult classics among this already niche genre, namely Brass Restoration, Narcissu, True Remembrance...mostly doujin stuff.
- Shmups in general, at least in modern gaming (back in the Golden Age, they enjoyed mainstream popularity).
- Fighter's History
- In the same vein, Visco's Breakers. Ironically, while Fighter's History was known as the SFII copycat (to the point that Capcom filled a lawsuit against them), it was Breakers that had a larger number of Captain Ersatzes on the roster. Regardless, both titles were good enough to receive sequels (Fighter's History Dynamite and Breakers Revenge) and possess dedicated followings despite having fallen into obscurity.
- All of the titles made by Ukrainian developer Deep Shadows count.
- Boiling Point: Road to Hell
- White Gold: War in Paradise and
- The Precursors (The last two only released in Eastern Europe, though fan translations are available)
- The Great Giana Sisters and its DS remake.
Web Original
Western Animation
A-E
- Lots of cartoons on Adult Swim, thanks to its timeslot. Examples that have retained a cult following include:
- Adventure Time was the cult phenomenon of 2010 before My Little Pony came out.[4]
- The Adventures of Mark Twain
- Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers
- Aeon Flux
- American Dad
- Archer
- The cartoons of Tex Avery
- Ralph Bakshi
- Beavis and Butthead
- The Brave Little Toaster
- Charlie Brown... animated specials and the Saturday morning cartoon:
- A Charlie Brown Christmas
- It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
- You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)
- This Is America, Charlie Brown (miniseries) and feature films:
- A Boy Named Charlie Brown
- Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
- Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown
- Snoopy Come Home Usually remembered for being ridiculously depressing.
- The cartoons of Bob Clampett
- Clerks the Animated Series
- Clone High
- The Critic
- Daria
- DiC had a few series considered this, some of which can be found elsewhere on this page.
- The Dilbert cartoon.
- Doug (While the Disney version was considered more successful, Nickelodeon's are still considered this)
- Drawn Together
- Duckman
- Dungeons and Dragons
F-J
- Fantastic Planet ("La Planète Sauvage")
- Felidae
- Freakazoid!
- Freak Show
- Futurama (Not as popular in the mainstream as The Simpsons, but still has an obsessive cult following)
- Garfield: His 9 Lives
- Gumby
- Happy Tree Friends (premiered in the Festival of Sick and Twisted Animation)
- The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
- Hey Arnold! (Turning into this; even eight years after the last episode aired, devoted followers are trying to convince Nickelodeon let the show have a proper finale)
- The Hobbit
- Home Movies
- Invader Zim
- The cartoons of Chuck Jones
K-O
- KaBlam!
- Kirikou and The Sorceress (French film, based on African folk tale)
- Looney Tunes
- Mission Hill
- Mister T (animated)
- Monkey Dust
- The Mouse and His Child
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic ascended to the upper echelons of cult status in little more than a year.
- The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat
- The Oblongs
P-T
- PJ Katie's Farm
- The Plague Dogs ("a special kind of movie magic from the makers of Watership Down")
- Popeye (original shorts)
- Quasi at the Quackadero
- Recess
- The Ren and Stimpy Show
- John Kricfalusi also did the music video for Tenacious D: ---- Her Gently
- The Ripping Friends
- Rock and Rule
- Rocky and Bullwinkle and its spinoff, Dudley Do-Right.
- Rankin/Bass films in general, in part thanks to Nostalgia Filter.
- The Hobbit (1977)
- The Return of the King (1980) Where there's a whip...
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
- Samurai Jack
- The Secret of Kells (Cartoon Saloon in general is beginning to have this)
- The Secret of NIMH
- Song of the South
- South Park
- Sonic the Hedgehog (a.k.a SatAM)
- Todd MacFarlane's Spawn
- Swat Kats
- Teen Titans was decently popular for a while, but was widely bashed by a lot of comic and superhero fans for its more unusual style, and turned into the Butt Monkey of Cartoon Network. However, even years after its cancellation, it still has a fiercely loyal fanbase.
- The Thief and the Cobbler
- ThunderCats
Entire Media
- Tokusatsu
- Video Games used to fall under this, being seen as the exclusive domain of children and nerds. In the last decade, however, the success of products like the Nintendo Wii and iPhone App Store, as well as franchises like Halo, Grand Theft Auto, Madden NFL, Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, have made video games a much more commonplace and socially acceptable pastime. Still, most games apart from big-name franchises remain relatively obscure in mainstream popular culture.
- Gamebooks have a small, but incredibly devoted following of readers, authors, bloggers, and programmers who kept the medium alive and thriving to this day.
- ↑ (namely for its female protagonist, appeal to both genders, and it was one of the few dubs made at the time that wasn't Macekred.)
- ↑ At least two live-action films from the 1950s were rated PG on video release.
- ↑ At least two live-action films from the 1950s were rated PG on video release.
- ↑ (and is even somewhat competitive with fans of the latter, the two shows having very little [dead link] in common)