31 Best Cult Classics of All Time

By Vlad Zakh · March 9, 2026

United States Comedy nostalgic

The Big Lebowski barely made money on release and is now the most quoted film of its decade, while Office Space became a cult workplace comedy years after a quiet release. Mallrats flopped and slowly built a devoted following, Dazed and Confused got funnier with each year, and Empire Records became a video-era favorite. The Usual Suspects, Boogie Nights, Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction, Clerks and Fight Club round out the list, with The Rocky Horror Picture Show as the original cult film.

Mallrats (1995)

01

Mallrats (1995)

TMDB ★ 6.5

Two aimless friends spend a chaotic day at the mall after both getting dumped by their girlfriends.

Directed by Kevin Smith · 1h 35m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

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Dazed and Confused (1993)

02

Dazed and Confused (1993)

TMDB ★ 7.6

Technically about the 70s, made in the 90s, and somehow nostalgic for both eras at once.

Directed by Richard Linklater · 1h 42m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Empire Records (1995)

03

Empire Records (1995)

TMDB ★ 6.5

The eccentric staff of an independent record shop spend one chaotic day fighting to save it from a corporate buyout.

Directed by Allan Moyle · 1h 30m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

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The Usual Suspects (1995)

04

The Usual Suspects (1995)

IMDb ★ 8.5 RT 87% Metacritic 76

A small-time con man recounts the twisted events leading up to a deadly heist and a mysterious crime lord.

Directed by Bryan Singer · 1h 46m · Rated R

Won 2 Oscars37 wins & 17 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

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Boogie Nights (1997)

05

Boogie Nights (1997)

IMDb ★ 7.9 RT 91% Metacritic 87

An ensemble rise-and-fall story that made a porn-industry setting feel almost tender.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson · 2h 36m · Rated R

Nominated for 3 Oscars36 wins & 64 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Criterion Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Trainspotting (1996)

06

Trainspotting (1996)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 93% Metacritic 83

A group of Edinburgh friends cycle through heroin addiction, betrayal and half-hearted attempts to get clean.

Directed by Danny Boyle · 1h 34m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar23 wins & 35 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Plex · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Pulp Fiction (1994)

07

Pulp Fiction (1994)

IMDb ★ 8.8 RT 92% Metacritic 95

Two hitmen, a boxer and a gangster's wife weave through a nonlinear crime saga in Los Angeles.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 2h 34m · Rated R

Won 1 Oscar69 wins & 72 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Clerks (1994)

08

Clerks (1994)

IMDb ★ 7.7 RT 90% Metacritic 70

Kevin Smith's two convenience-store clerks bicker through one absurd, plotless day of customers.

Directed by Kevin Smith · 1h 32m · Rated R

7 wins & 10 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Essential · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

09

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A newly engaged couple stumbles upon the strange mansion of an eccentric scientist from Transylvania.

Directed by Jim Sharman · 1h 40m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: BroadwayHD, Broadway HD Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

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Fight Club (1999)

10

Fight Club (1999)

IMDb ★ 8.8 RT 81% Metacritic 67

A satire so stylish that a lot of viewers missed it was a satire at all.

Directed by David Fincher · 2h 19m · Rated R

Nominated for 1 Oscar12 wins & 38 nominations

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Office Space (1999)

11

Office Space (1999)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A disillusioned software engineer stops caring about his soul-crushing job, with unexpectedly liberating results.

Directed by Mike Judge · 1h 30m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Big Lebowski (1998)

12

The Big Lebowski (1998)

IMDb ★ 8.1 RT 79% Metacritic 71

A laid-back slacker is mistaken for a millionaire and dragged into a bizarre kidnapping scheme.

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen · 1h 57m · Rated R

7 wins & 18 nominations

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Death Race 2000 (1975)

13

Death Race 2000 (1975)

TMDB ★ 6.3

Competitors in a brutal cross-country race score points by running down innocent pedestrians.

Directed by Paul Bartel · 1h 20m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Cultpix, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Best of British Tv Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Warriors (1979)

14

The Warriors (1979)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A street gang falsely accused of murder must fight their way home across the city by subway.

Directed by Walter Hill · 1h 34m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Videodrome (1983)

15

Videodrome (1983)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A cable TV programmer's exposure to a mysterious broadcast signal triggers grotesque hallucinatory transformations.

Directed by David Cronenberg · 1h 28m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Army of Darkness (1992)

16

Army of Darkness (1992)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A chainsaw-handed hero is trapped in medieval times fighting an army of the dead.

Directed by Sam Raimi · 1h 29m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Evil Dead (1981)

17

The Evil Dead (1981)

TMDB ★ 7.4

Five friends at a remote cabin accidentally unleash a demonic force in the woods.

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

18

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 90% Metacritic 81

Quentin Tarantino's debut: a diamond heist gone wrong leaves criminals suspecting each other of betrayal.

Directed by Quentin Tarantino · 1h 39m · Rated R

13 wins & 23 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

19

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

TMDB ★ 7.5

A journalist and his attorney go on a drug-fuelled odyssey through the casinos of Las Vegas.

Directed by Terry Gilliam · 1h 58m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

20

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

IMDb ★ 8.2 RT 86% Metacritic 77

A violent young delinquent undergoes an experimental treatment designed to condition away his behaviour.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick · 2h 17m · Rated NC-17

Nominated for 4 Oscars12 wins & 26 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Cinemax Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Cinemax Apple TV channel · Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

21

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

IMDb ★ 8.3 RT 80% Metacritic 71

Four Coney Island residents' addictions spiral into devastating, interconnected ruin.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky · 1h 42m · Rated NR

Nominated for 1 Oscar37 wins & 69 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Peacock Premium, Sundance Now, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Peacock Premium Plus · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Donnie Darko (2001)

22

Donnie Darko (2001)

IMDb ★ 8.0 RT 88% Metacritic 88

A troubled teenager is warned of the world's end by a man in a disturbing rabbit costume.

Directed by Richard Kelly · 1h 54m · Rated R

12 wins & 17 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, fuboTV, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Idiocracy (2006)

23

Idiocracy (2006)

TMDB ★ 6.6

An ordinary man wakes up five centuries in the future to find society has become catastrophically unintelligent.

Directed by Mike Judge · 1h 25m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

24

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

TMDB ★ 6.7

A future where organ repossession is enforced by a literal assassin, told as a full rock opera.

Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman · 1h 38m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Room (2003)

25

The Room (2003)

TMDB ★ 3.7

A betrayed man's melodramatic love triangle became, entirely by accident, one of cinema's most beloved disasters.

Directed by Tommy Wiseau · 1h 40m · Rated R

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

26

Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

TMDB ★ 6.9

An awkward small-town teenager helps his friend run for class president.

Directed by Jared Hess · 1h 35m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Withnail & I (1987)

27

Withnail & I (1987)

IMDb ★ 7.5 RT 84% Metacritic 87

Two broke, unemployed actors flee to the countryside for a disastrous, miserable holiday.

Directed by Bruce Robinson · 1h 48m · Rated R

1 win & 2 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

28

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A fading British heavy metal band's disastrous American tour is chronicled by an earnest documentary maker.

Directed by Rob Reiner · 1h 22m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Harold and Maude (1971)

29

Harold and Maude (1971)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A death-obsessed young man who stages elaborate fake suicides falls for a life-loving elderly woman.

Directed by Hal Ashby · 1h 32m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent: JustWatch TV, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Eraserhead (1977)

30

Eraserhead (1977)

IMDb ★ 7.2 RT 87% Metacritic 87

David Lynch's debut: a man's deformed newborn and industrial surroundings spiral into pure nightmare logic.

Directed by David Lynch · 1h 29m · Rated NR

3 wins & 2 nominations

Where to watch

Stream: fuboTV, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Philo, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Repo Man (1984)

31

Repo Man (1984)

TMDB ★ 6.9

A punk teenager takes a job repossessing cars and stumbles into a conspiracy involving aliens.

Directed by Alex Cox · 1h 32m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.