10 Must-Watch ‘80s Cult Classic Movies

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The cult cinema phenomenon arguably began as early as around the 1910s or 1920s, with early cinephiles' fascination with underground and banned films. It wouldn't be until the '70s, however, that the culture surrounding underground and midnight movies would finally lead to the term "cult cinema" being coined. A cult reception isn't something that happens immediately, nor is it something that can be manufactured. A film becomes cult through an initial rejection of it by the mainstream and then an eventual resurrection led by passionate fans who champion the unique qualities of such movies.

The 1980s saw the release of some of the most interesting and foundational cult classics in history. With the rise of home video, the establishment of the midnight film circuit, and the re-definition of genre cinema, the '80s were truly a golden age for these sorts of movies. There are ten particular '80s cult classics that should be considered essential viewing for all those interested in cult cinema, ranked here in order of their importance for the cult phenomenon.

10 'Cannibal Holocaust' (1980)

Cannibal Holocaust is one of those disturbing masterpieces that use graphic content to make a point, and what a point it is. Provoking and critiquing media sensationalism and Western colonialism, the film satirizes the mondo film genre that was so big during the '70s, a category of exploitative documentaries portraying foreign cultures with an emphasis on sensationalized taboo subjects.

This Italian production was made as part of a wave of Italian exploitation films, and it has aged as the biggest and most iconic cult classic of the bunch.

Directed by Ruggero Deodato, this Italian production was made as part of a wave of Italian exploitation films, and it has aged as the biggest and most iconic cult classic of the bunch. Its graphic violence generated tremendous amounts of controversy at the time of its release, leading Deodato to be convicted of obscenity in Italy and the film to be banned around the world, many of those bans still being upheld today. But if there's one badge of honor that pretty much guarantees a movie will become a cult classic, it's being banned in several countries.

9 'The Evil Dead' (1981)

Sam Raimi was only 20 years old when he started principal photography on The Evil Dead, and 21 by the time the film was completed. It's one of the best movies by a director under 25, an iconic horror gem that was shot on a measly budget of under half a million dollars. Admirably, the film screened at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, and Stephen King loved it so much that his review led New Line Cinema to acquire the distribution rights.

The franchise that the movie spawned became just as big of a cult classic itself, but that was only because the original grew such a passionate following first. Through its inventive guerrilla filmmaking style, its delectably creative and over-the-top low-budget gore effects, and its undeniably youthful energy, The Evil Dead proved that films can be commercial and critical successes and still qualify as cult classics through and through.

8 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' (1980)

Although the crux of the cult cinema movement during the '70s and '80s occured in the United States, the wonderful thing about this cultural phenomenon is how willing it always is to look overseas for potential cult classics. That's precisely what happened with the South African-Motswana comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy, the first in a series of cult classics that became the most financially successful South African film ever produced at the time of its release.

The movie's unprecedented release strategy, where many arthouse theaters across the world—including the United States—kept it playing for as long as a year, largely contributed to its cult reception. Combine that with the almost universally positive word-of-mouth around its delightful sense of slapstick humor, and you get one of the biggest cult classics in the history of the African continent. Though criticisms of the way the movie brushes past the political ideology of apartheid are more than valid, that sort of nuanced analysis is precisely why cult cinema is so special.

7 'Brazil' (1985)

A man with a baby mask near the end of Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985)

Terry Gilliam of the Monty Python troupe has been one of Britain's most celebrated cult filmmakers since the start of his directing career, and it all led up to Brazil. Arguably the biggest cult classic under the auteur's belt, it's one of the best sci-fi noir masterpieces ever. Through its absurdist satirization of things like bureaucracy, technocracy, government surveillance, and state capitalism, it's a perfect film for those who think George Orwell's 1984 needed to be funnier.

Though it was successful in Europe, Brazil was met with far less fanfare in North America. But there's one thing that usually helps a movie gain a cult following, and that's a "director vs. studio" narrative. Brazil had plenty of that, and Gilliam's struggle against Universal to preserve the dystopian tone and bleak ending of his film elevated the auteur into cult stardom. Since then, Brazil has remained one of the most beloved dystopian movies of the '80s.

6 'Withnail and I' (1987)

Marwood (Paul McGann) reads the newspaper next to Withnail (Richard E. Grant) in Withnail and I

Directed by Bruce Robinson and loosely based on his own life in London in the late 1960s, Withnail and I launched Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant into British prominence. The United Kingdom has produced some of the greatest cult classics of all time, and this one in particular was a foundational pioneer of the slacker comedy genre, years before the genre's boom in Hollywood in the '90s.

The film has proven tremendously influential for the buddy genre as a whole, but it's thanks to its cult following that it has remained such an integral part of pop culture. With its unforgettably quotable script and the legendary drinking game associated with it, it was canonized by its re-emergence with the rise of home video in the '90s, connecting with Gen X and Millennial angst in ways that ensured its timelessness.

5 'Tetsuo: The Iron Man' (1989)

A man covered in wires and/or metal in Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Shinya Tsukamoto's Tetsuo: The Iron Man is one of the scariest movies of the last 40 years, but also one of the most deliriously fun and irresistibly entertaining body horror movies of all time. It was the first feature-length film by Tsukamoto after a career in short films and experimental theatre, and the result is a foundational example of '80s cyberpunk that has only gotten better with age.

It's astonishing just how profound Tsukamoto's critique of the dehumanizing nature of hyper-industrialization is, considering how gleefully extremist, intentionally grotesque, and aggressively surrealist Tetsuo: The Iron Man is. Ideal for those who enjoy the work of auteurs like David Lynch and David Cronenberg, the film's ultra-kinetic style and DIY charm instantly captivated midnight movie audiences worldwide. To this day, it's still one of the most essential entries in the body horror cult canon.

4 'Videodrome' (1983)

James Woods sticking his head on a TV in Videodrome (1983)

Canadian auteur David Cronenberg is the father of body horror, far and away one of the most important and celebrated horror filmmakers in history. He's made several exceptional movies over the course of his career, but he has never quite been able to match one of the best Canadian movies of all time, the incredibly and incredibly grotesque Videodrome.

The film was initially a commercial failure, largely because its message on the media and sensationalism was far ahead of its time. With the rise of home video and Internet culture, however, a critical reassessment of Videodrome began to transform it into one of Cronenberg's biggest cult classics. It became a midnight movie classic whose cult status was only further boosted by its foundational influence on body horror.

3 'This Is Spinal Tap' (1984)

The band members of Spinal Tap performing on stage

The mainstream often looks down on comedy movies, but the cult circuit constantly embraces them. For instance, Rob Reiner's defining mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap was a box office flop back in 1984, but word-of-mouth and the rise of home video transformed it into one of the biggest comedy cult classics in history.

Critiquing both pretentious rock bands and rock documentaries, This Is Spinal Tap immediately proved itself as one of the best satire movies of the last 75 years, even if it took it some time for that reputation to be solidly cemented. Its mockumentary approach was utterly revolutionary, its running gags are still hilarious even after dozens upon dozens of re-watches, and its dialogue proved hugely quotable. It checks all the boxes that a comedy cult classic should check.

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Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

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You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

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In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

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What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

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How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

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Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

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Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

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Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

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What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

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2 'Akira' (1988)

A character in a red jacket stares at the camera with an angry expression in Akira.

Animation is every bit as important as any other medium within the cult film circuit, and anime in particular has produced some of the greatest cult classics of all time. There is no anime cult classic, however, more important than Katsuhiro Omo's Akira, based on his own 1982 manga of the same name. Credited with helping popularize anime in the Western world in the late '80s and early '90s, Akira has aged wonderfully as one of the most perfect sci-fi movies of the last 40 years.

There's virtually nothing here for fans of cult cinema to dislike. The music and sound design are enthralling, the emotionally mature and thematically dense story is deeply compelling, and the animation is probably the most stunning of the '80s. It broke the mold of traditional animation and gained pop-cultural acceptance unprecedented for anime films at the time, enshrining itself as one of the most important animated movies in history—cult classic or otherwise.

1 'Blade Runner' (1982)

There are some movies so admirable that they begin their trajectory as a cult classic, and start gaining such popularity and praise that they eventually earn acceptance as a bona fide mainstream classic. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, nowadays widely accepted as one of the greatest and most influential sci-fi and neo-noir movies of all time, is one such masterpiece. Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, it's one of the sci-fi movies with the most interesting visions of the future.

Quite infamously, Blade Runner was both a critical and commercial flop upon release. But with the rise of home video and the legendary release of the Director's Cut in 1992, the film grew a fandom that didn't grow tired of coming up with theories and appreciating the movie's impeccable production values upon re-watches. Scott's original vision was validated with the Director's Cut, and Blade Runner cemented its place in history as a cyberpunk masterpiece whose cult reception eventually transformed into mainstream universal praise.