The Cult Standard

A film cult that managed to survive a poor box office performance, a lack of campy charm and almost 40 years of release time has to have something going for it, right?

Kathryn Bigelow's Vampire Western has a deep cult following that's sustained itself despite the utter lack of availability of this title. Does it transcend its lackluster narrative?

We delve into a cult film pushed so far underground it's almost impossible to see, and it scared enough people that almost no one wants to remember it anyway.

Park Chan-wook, best known for Oldboy, also made a sexy vampire movie. The cult soon followed.

Faye Dunaway swings for the fences, and, for a while, people thought she struck out with Mommie Dearest. But not anymore.

A cult that most people know about, but few people have actually experienced. It's the scientology of cult films.

What some have called the best found footage horror film of all time languished in obscurity for more than a decade. Now it's cult following has a wider audience.

The Wicker Man from the 70s is often called "the Citizen Kane of horror." Does it live up to the hype?

Mike and James review the 1999 animal attack movie Bats, submitted by special guest Chase Hutchinson of the Tacoma News Tribune and of the Scratch Cinema Podcast.

In a Cult Standard first, James wants to start a splinter cult of The Prowler's following. Find out why the existing cult just doesn't cut it.

Personal trainer Tevin Allen joins us to review the 1977 bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron.

Pickford Film projectionist Jules joins the Cult Standard as a special guest to discuss Fantastic Planet, the film she put forth as part of the Pickford's Third Eye cult cinema series.

More of a bomb, Black Dynamite flamed out at the box office, but that would be much different if it came out years later. We find out why!

Ben Stiller's box office bomb was weird enough to linger in the minds of loyal fans. But is it good enough to join their cult? The Cult Standard investigates!

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is as weird as its title is long, and it practically begs to be a part of a cinematic universe, but it's cult following hopes it never is. The Cult Standard investigates!

On this bonus episode, we are joined by a special guest from the Pickford Film Center. Mikayla, the director of the Third Eye Cinema cult film series, talks to about bringing great cult gems to the big screen.

The Cult Standard is happy to welcome Lindsey Gerhard, marketing manager of Bellingham's only independent cinema Pickford Film Center. She's put forth Death Becomes Her, which she also did for the Pickford's cult film series "Third Eye Cinema."

Stepmonster has all the makings of a cult classic - Roger Corman, a group of people far too talented for the material, and a really cool monster. Does it all come together as well as that beautiful Tropopkin costume? The Cult Standard investigates.

Troll 2, the so-called "best worst movie," has a formidable cult following, and our special guest Steve is a card-carrying member. Find out how something so wrong can feel so right.

The year of our lord Coronavirus has helped Contagion-Fever grow and pushed the loudest voices of this cult to the forefront of Wikipedia and The New York Times. Is it just part of the panic, or is this Cult worth joining?

Barely one year old, and Alita: Battle Angel already has a cult following to be reckoned with. Is the film deserving of its cult, or has it just been co-opted by alt-right reactionaries? The Cult Standard investigates!

Decades ago, the creative heads behind Night of the Living Dead split asunder into two franchises, one of them wildly popular, and the other ... Return of the Living Dead. Why do some people like this movie better than anything George A. Romero cooked up? The Cult Standard investigates!

Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man has quite the cult around it. We found out if they're as crazy as they seem.