The Top 10 Best Cult Movies
5. The Master
The thing about cults is they don’t really go after the most well-adjusted people when it comes to recruitment. They prey on those who are at their most vulnerable and manipulate them into feeling accepted and dependent on the cult. The Master examines the kind of people who end up becoming the victims of cult leaders as it follows a former WWII soldier played by Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix is suffering from PTSD and a slew of other issues including sexual abuse from his childhood. He’s prone to anger issues and can’t find a way to function in society. All his problems lead him to the doorstep of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The film is a study in how cults use people for as a means to an end, which makes this one of the more unique cult movies on this list.
4. Martha Marcy May Marlene
In all honestly, cult movies aren’t always the easiest to watch. Marth Marcy May Marlene is the tale of a girl who is trying to escape from a cult but finds the reintegrating into society is not as easy as she hoped, especially since a lot of cults don’t really like the idea of their members leaving. The movie cuts back and forth between the present and the past as she remembers the terrible things she was not only forced to endure but eventually willingly participated in once she was brainwashed by the cult’s charismatic leader. Her family tries the best they can to help her, but are unprepared for just how deep her scars are from her time away. Marth Marcy May Marlene is a gutwrenching film that is filled with triggers. Still, when it comes to cult movies, it tells the harsh truth.
3. Midsommar
A small part in me initially wanted to include Hereditary on this list but was torn about it. Luckily, Ari Aster just came out with a new movie that definitely deserves a spot on this list of cult movies. Like Hereditary, Midsommar is not an easy movie to watch. It follows some American students who travel to a small village in Sweden to witness their midsummer festival. It quickly becomes clear that something isn’t quite right in this small village, but they chalk it up to cultural difference and move on. Things go from weird to terrifying as the village carries out pagan rituals that become more and more extreme. What makes this movie so creepy is the “midnight sun” that results in constant daylight, making it clear the cult has no shame or doubt when it comes to the acts they carry out.
2. Rosemary’s Baby
I’ll be the first to admit that Roman Polanski is not a good guy. He is a great director though, which is why I’m including Rosemary’s Baby on this list of cult movies. People tell me that having a baby is a blessing. Rosemay might not agree with that sentiment though. Moving to the big city with her husband, the two decide to have a baby. The night of conception Rosemary has a terrifying and vivid nightmare and the following months she begins to suspect that her pregnancy is far from normal. Her suspicions prove to be correct as she learns of a satanic cult that believes that Satan is her baby daddy. Things go from bad to worse as she realizes the cult is far more vast and powerful than she realized.
1. Fight Club
Some guys go out and buy a sports car when they have an existential midlife crisis. Other’s start a cult hell-bent on ending society in the name of toxic masculinity. Fight Club is one of the most brilliant films I’ve ever seen featuring an all-star cast at their best. A man finds himself lost in this modern world with no idea what it is to be a “man” in society today. At his lowest, he meets Tyler Durden who is everything he wishes that he could be. Slowly he finds himself charmed by this man and helping him recruit others willing to subscribe to his philosophy. Their little group becomes a full-blown cult and eventually a terrorist organization. A lot of guys like to think Fight Club was trying to teach them how to be a man but in truth, Chuck Palahniuk was commenting on how screwed up society’s definition on what it means to be a man really is.
Those are my picks for the best cult movies of all time. There are a ton of other ones out there though. Let me know in the comments what you think of the films that earned a spot on here. I’d also love to hear what movies you think should have a spot on here. As always, I’ll be updating this list as more cult movies hit theaters. So, check back from time to time to see how the rankings change.