The Best Cultist Movies (2019): Movie Monsters

By Steve Hutchison

Steve Hutchison reviews 50 of the best cultist movies. Each film is analyzed and discussed with a synopsis and a rating. The movies are ranked from best to worst. How many have you seen?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steve Hutchison
• Release date: Mar 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781778871528

Steve Hutchison

Artist, developer and entrepreneur in film, video games and communications Steve Hutchison co-founded Shade.ca Art and Code in 1999, then Terror.ca and its French equivalent Terreur.ca in 2000. With his background as an artist and integrator, Steve worked on such games as Capcom's Street Fighter, PopCap's Bejeweled, Tetris, Bandai/Namco's Pac-Man and Mattel's Skip-Bo & Phase 10 as a localization manager, 2-D artist and usability expert. Having acquired skills in gamification, he invented a unique horror movie review system that is filterable, searchable and sortable by moods, genres, subgenres and antagonists. Horror movie fans love it, and so do horror authors and filmmakers, as it is a great source of inspiration. In March 2013, Steve launched Tales of Terror, with the same goals in mind but with a much finer technology and a complex engine, something that wasn’t possible initially. He has since published countless horror-themed books.

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Tales of Terror’s

Movie Monsters 2019

The Best Cultist Movies

INTRODUCTION

Steve Hutchison reviews 50 of the best cultist movies. Each film is analyzed and discussed with a synopsis and a rating. The movies are ranked from best to worst. How many have you seen?

#1

Blade

1998

A vampire hybrid protects the human race against the pure-blooded of his kind.

8/8

Blade is the condensed adaptation of a vampire universe owned by Marvel Comics. Wesley Snipes plays a strong and agile superhero who confronts a whole vampire council practically solo. Martial arts are his thing, so this is first and foremost an action flick with big effects, exciting choreography, breath-taking stunts and intricate camera work. The pacing is tight and the build-up palpable.

Blade, like most blockbusters, is a nicely packaged and saturated concoction of subgenre tropes. The fights are massive, unique and usually supported by enticing techno trance tracks; a curious vibe we are introduced to early on, courtesy of Traci Lords. She, horror pillars Udo Kier and Stephen Dorff play key vampires. They are impervious to pain, taboos and are so cold they appear genderless.

The film is crafted by masters of their arts. The directing and photography are impeccable; occasionally hindered by post-production constraints but not distractedly. The gimmick is strong, the script brilliant but dumbed down to remain accessible. 1998’s Blade is representative of its time. Arrogant, aggressive yet classy, it immortalizes short but memorable trends of the dying millennium.

#2

From Dusk Till Dawn

1996

Two criminals take a family hostage in order to cross the Mexican border and take refuge in a bar for the night.

8/8

What starts off as a viciously witty crime and road movie turns into something completely unexpected around the half-way point. Character exposition is cleverly delivered through a very important subplot that tricks the mind into caring for something that is ultimately trivial. Outlaws and bullies eventually turn into an asset and their evil becomes relative as they face a must stronger threat.

Acting-wise, you get the cream of the crop. Each of the spoken lines is scripted in a calculated fashion. This is horror filmmaking of the highest quality, with many cameos, fine photography, generous effects and plenty of good looking gore. The keyword here is cool. The characters’ testosterone level finds a purpose in the second half, as all hell breaks loose.

See, you’re watching two brilliant films in one. You’ve got gangsters, gadgets, one liners, prosthetics, animatronics, nudity and implicit rape wrapped into an unlikely surprise box. A series of intricate atmospheric sets are presented to us in succession, mirroring the different subgenres From Dusk Till Dawn alludes to and the many emotions it takes us through.

#3

The Lost Boys

1987

A family moves to a city that is home to a clan of vampires.

7/8

Unraveling to a highly atmospheric score and a soundtrack of its time, this well-crafted supernatural