BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS MICH: THE ROUGH GUIDE TO CULT MOVIES

 A MINOR SPOILER BOOK REVIEW:

Photo by Chris Mich. All photos taken at the Howard S. Stainton Wildlife Refuge.

Never before in my #classicfilmreading summer campaigns have I ever dog-eared a book to save a thought on the page as much as I have with Rough Guides’ Cult Movies: Your Guide To The Good, The Bad and The Very Weird (2004). The book has a slew of editors and contributors – too numerous to mention here – but let me say this: they all love writing about movies, being snarky in the process, and providing an entertaining read that will make you gawk, giggle, or just plain scratch your head in bewilderment. 

The book is written like a field guide for those who wish to reference it in the now-gone corner video rental store or in a coffee shop – no doubt in a heated debate on the worthiness of a film being labeled “cult classic”. Each film also has neat, little icons indicating if it is available on VHS or DVD in the US and/or UK. Sure, it’s a pre-streaming book – but that doesn’t diminish its value.

Photo by Mary Mich.

From the get-go, Rough Guides is quick to establish on Page 6 what their definition of a “cult movie” is:

Any movie reviewed here should: 1) prompt people to go around quoting it to each other or inspire an unreasonable amount of devotion long after the masses have forgotten its existence; 2) be good but under-appreciated, possibly because in a market driven by stars and event movies, they were just too different to have a long run at a cinema near you; 3) be an undiscovered gem, possibly because it’s foreign or went straight to video; 4) be so bad it’s a hoot; 5) be compelling for some other reason – the script may stink but there’s a song, a stunt or scene that makes it all worthwhile; 6) be a mainstream film which has that indefinable something we call ‘juice’ 7) not be a Police Academy sequel.

Got it? Good. Because the book covers approximately 1, 380 films which are all neatly categorized by curious genre titles like “Musicals” or “Godzilla” or “Banned” or “Prisoner of War” … all in alphabetical order with “Action and Adventure” kicking you off on page 8. For those curious how it ends, it ‘ends’ with “Zombies” but then has an excellent appendix called “Miscellany” with oodles of trivia and tidbits about various films, actors, series, and so forth.

Photo by Chris Mich.

Since this is the year of the 100th Celebration of Henry Mancini, I thought it was worth mentioning the Mancini films in Cult Movies – 13 in all with all but one NOT being listed in the Top 100 Henry Mancini Films on our blog. The Hank films in this book are: Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), Charade (1963), Condorman (1981), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Days of Wine and Roses (1958), Imitation of Life (1959), Let’s Kill Uncle (1966) [which ranked #104 out of all 159 Henry Mancini films and, thus, not in our Top 100], The Prisoner of Zenda (1979), A Shot in the Dark (1964), Silver Streak (1976), Tarantula (1955), Touch of Evil (1958), and Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978).

To see where all the films fall in our Top 100, you can use any of those links above or just watch this video:

Cult Movies also has some celebrity picks of favorite cult movies but honestly, their insights are pretty ho-hum compared to the sharp wit of the Rough Guide writers. Also, they encouraged readers to watch Cats Don’t Dance (1997). I mean, c’mon! How can you not love these writers?!

Unfortunately, the website listed on the book is no more. This is a shame as they have a series of Rough Guides books advertised in the back, ranging from Superheroes to Soccer. They even have a guidebook solely dedicated to Muhammed Ali. 

Photo by Mary Mich.

I’m keeping Cult Movies very handy as I progress through this year and 2025 in my blogging. My watchlist also grew considerably during the past 5 weeks it took me to read this cover to cover. Time well spent. If you find this book in your pre-owned bookstore travels, grab it. It’s a treasure trove of cinematic delights and guilty pleasures. 

This post is an official entry into the 2024 Summer Classic Film Reading Challenge. Special thanks to Out of the Past blogger Raquel Stecher for continuing the challenge. To learn more about this summer fun endeavor, visit Raquel’s blog for more details.