“It IS the rabbit!”Screenshot: EMI Films
Netflix has plenty of titles sorted into its horror, sci-fi, and indie categories. But its skimpy “cult” section contains a hodgepodge of genres that feels decidedly random. We’ve picked out five that Netflix thinks are cult movies—followed by five more, found elsewhere on the streamer, that also fit the criteria.
One of the most fun high-fashion horror movies ever, 1977's The Sentinel follows a model with a troubled past whose career is on the rise—until she moves into an aging Brooklyn apartment building filled with eccentric tenants (three words: “cat birthday party”) that’s hiding a demonic secret. Watch on Netflix.
In 2013—just as his star was rising, thanks to his role as Captain America in the suddenly ubiquitous Marvel Cinematic Universe—Chris Evans got grimy alongside Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris, and others in this dystopian sci-fi climate-change tale. Snowpiercer marked the English-language debut of South Korean director and co-writer Bong Joon-ho, who went on to make history with 2019's Oscar-winning Parasite. The movie spawned a multi-season TV show, but it’s still “cult” depending on your radar, apparently. Watch on Netflix.
What if the apocalypse happened while you were attending a terrible Hollywood party at James Franco’s house? That’s the set-up for this doomsday comedy, which just marked its 10-year anniversary, with an array of stars (Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Watson) gamely playing satirical versions of themselves. Watch on Netflix.
Fill the post-season baseball void by watching Kevin Costner’s golden-hued, nostalgia-tinged fantasy about second chances and magical voices calling for sports fields to be built in one’s backyard. Netflix has this one tagged as a “tearjerker”—not a quality that often overlaps with “cult”—so you’ve been warned. Watch on Netflix.
Netflix has a few Monty Python choices on tap, including the four seasons of sketch comedy show Monty Python’s Flying Circus, but there’s no question why the timeless and quotable Holy Grail (along with Life of Brian) is singled out for cult designation. Watch on Netflix.
Yorgos Lanthimos may not quite be a household name on the level of, say, a David Lynch, but he’s similarly carving out an offbeat and distinctive filmography that defies easy genre classification. Between his Oscar-nominated The Lobster and his Oscar-winning The Favourite came this 2017 drama-thriller-horror-nightmare about a family (Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman) who slowly realize they’ve been targeted for reasons by a very odd teen played by Barry Keoghan. Watch on Netflix.
This 2008 home-invasion horror movie starring Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, and some genuinely unsettling masks struck such an enduring chord that it spawned a 2018 sequel—as well as inspiring an upcoming new trilogy that kicks off in theaters next year. Watch on Netflix.
Feeling like you haven’t had a major case of the heebie-jeebies in awhile? Click on Patrick Brice’s Creep and let this found-footage exploration of boundaries getting very invaded deep in the woods wash over you. Creep 2 brings back star Mark Duplass for more, and it’s also on Netflix if you want to double up your agony. Watch on Netflix.
Karl Urban and Lena Headey star in this 2012 riff on comic Judge Dredd, with a script by Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Ex Machina, Annihilation). It got good reviews when it was released, but took time finding an audience, eventually securing its reputation thanks to the positive response among home viewers. If that ain’t cult, what is? Watch on Netflix.
After directing a trilogy starring some kid named Spider-Man, cult royalty Sam Raimi returned to horror with this 2009 flick fueled equally by recession fears and slapstick frights. Watch on Netflix.
English (United States) ·