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Spend your 2023 with 21st Century Cult, a series highlighting modern cult favorites! While the 20th century gave us countless enduring cult classics (Rocky Horror, anyone?), the 2000s and 2010s have offered their fair share of offbeat movies that may or may not have been successful when they first came out but have since become repeat viewing for devoted fans. So what are you waiting for: come join the cult and catch some this year!
Josie and the Pussycats – Jan 6 & 7
Directed by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan | 2001
Based on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, Josie and the Pussycats follows Josie, Melody, and Val, three friends who dream of making it big as The Pussycats but struggle to book even local shows. When they are approached by charismatic promoter Wyatt (an endearingly snarky Alan Cumming) to sign up with the very prestigious MegaRecords, the girls pounce at the opportunity. Success, however, comes with strings attached, and The Pussycats eventually realize that MegaRecords is selling a lot more than music through their records…
Ichi the Killer – Jan 20 & 21
Directed by Takashi Miike | 2001
Based on Hideo Yamamoto’s cult manga of the same name, Ichi the Killer follows Ichi, a demented costumed assassin who becomes violent when sexually aroused. When a local yakuza boss is found dead, the victim’s associates finger Ichi as the murderer. Determined to avenge his boss’s death, enforcer Kakihara searches high and low for Ichi, who finds himself manipulated into more killings by rival yakuza factions.
The Raid: Redemption + The Raid 2 – Jan 27 & 28
Directed by Gareth Evans | 2011 & 2014
In The Raid: Redemption, a 20-man S.W.A.T. team, led by Sergeant Jaka, raids an apartment block in pursuit of a ruthless mobster and encounters a veritable army of killers. Having bid his father and pregnant wife goodbye, rookie officer Rama plunges into the fray in search of his estranged brother as his team members are picked off one by one. The Raid 2 finds Rama undercover, tasked with a mission to help topple crime syndicates and a crooked police chief by ingratiating himself with vicious mobster heir Uco.
Donnie Darko – Feb 3 – 5
Directed by Richard Kelly | 2001
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie, a somewhat unhappy young man who finds himself at ideological odds with his family, and even most of the town he calls home. When Donnie finds himself lost in recurring visions of a mysterious, manipulative giant bunny, he finds himself committing increasingly violent acts as commanded by his furry new friend – all while handling the pressures of high school, teenage love, and some strange metaphysical goings-on…
Suspiria (2018) – Feb 17 – 19
Directed by Luca Guadagnino | 2018
West Berlin, 1977. As Germany is riven by strife and radical left-wing terrorism, a young student from a world-renowned dance academy goes missing. As a grieving psychotherapist investigates the matter, an ambitious young dancer (Dakota Johnson) arrives in the city, seeking a spot in the company. The two dig deeper into the mystery and uncover a sinister secret lurking at the heart of the academy.
Brick – Mar 3 – 5
Directed by Rian Johnson | 2005
Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a teenage loner, but when his ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin) turns up murdered, Brendan uses the few clues he has to investigate, leading him deeper into the seedy underbelly of his high school than he ever intended.
Climax – Mar 10 & 11
Directed by Gaspar Noe | 2018
In 1996, a professional French dance troupe isolates to rehearse within an abandoned school in the midst of a harsh winter night. Afterwards, their sole plan is to simply party and drink until the sun rises. That is, until their sangria is unknowingly spiked with LSD, causing a nightmarish chain reaction of danger, violence and irrevocable states of psychosis amongst the dancers inside.
Drive – Mar 24 & 26
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn | 2011
The Driver (Ryan Gosling) is a Hollywood stunt driver by day, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld by night. A loner by nature, he finds himself a target for some of LA’s most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband (Oscar Isaac) of his beautiful neighbour, Irene (Carey Mulligan). When the job goes dangerously awry, he takes it upon himself to keep Irene and her son alive.
