Curated Reviews of Forgotten Cult Movies
Conspiracy (1930): Gritty Crime Melodrama
Christy Cabanne’s Conspiracy (1930) is a gritty pre-Code crime melodrama starring Bessie Love and Ned Sparks, following a desperate woman on the run after killing a drug kingpin who finds refuge with a bumbling, cynical mystery writer.
The Emperor Jones (1933): Powerful, Haunting Masterpiece
Dudley Murphy’s The Emperor Jones (1933) is a historic, haunting drama starring Paul Robeson as an escaped convict who crowns himself king of a Caribbean island, only to face a terrifying psychological descent in the jungle.
The Phantom Planet (1961): B-Movie Space Odyssey
William Marshall’s The Phantom Planet (1961) is a deliciously campy retro sci-fi B-movie about an astronaut shrunk to six inches tall on a mysterious asteroid, forced to fight rubber rock-monsters and navigate miniature alien politics.
Scarlet Street (1945): Fritz Lang’s Film Noir Masterpiece
Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street (1945) is a devastating, bleak masterpiece of film noir, capturing the agonizing psychological downfall of a meek clerk who loses his mind, his morality, and his soul to a cruel femme fatale.
The Man Who Laughs (1928): Expressionist Nightmare of Forced Joy
Paul Leni’s 1928 silent masterpiece is a devastating, expressionistic blend of gothic horror and melodrama, telling the tragic story of a man cursed with a permanent, surgically carved grin who must navigate a world far more monstrous than his disfigurement.
Elephants Dream (2006): Surreal Desolation of the Human Mind
This is your life, and it’s a mechanical labyrinth built out of giant typewriter keys and someone else’s delusion. The SetupTwo men. One endless, claustrophobic machine. An infinite web of…
Dementia 13 (1963): Coppola’s Debut Feature Film
How to Dump Your Husband’s Body in a Lake, Gaslight Your Mother-in-Law, and Launch Francis Ford Coppola’s Career on a Twenty-Grand Budget It’s 3:15 AM. My eyes feel like they’ve…
Night Tide (1961): B-movie with artistic touch
How to Fall in Love with a Carny Mermaid, Survive a Full Moon, and Witness Dennis Hopper Before He Went Wild It’s 3:15 AM. My eyes feel like they’ve been…