The government offers Snake a pardon if he rescues the president, but just to make sure he doesn’t try any funny business, they jab him with a needle and inject him with “micro explosives” that will detonate in less than 24 hours if he doesn’t get the job done.
It is not a place you want to be trapped in, and someone must rescue the president-that someone is Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), a disgraced former special operations soldier who was convicted of robbing the Federal Reserve and rocks a mean eye patch. Prisoners are condemned to life and run amok. In this dystopian version of America, Manhattan has been converted into an open prison-the bridges are carpeted with mines and a 50-foot-high wall surrounds the island. But the pod crashes in Manhattan, which is bad. POTUS (Donald Pleasence) manages to get away in an escape pod, which is good. On his way to an international peace summit in, of all places, Hartford, Connecticut-which might be the the most batshit part of a batshit movie-the president’s plane is hijacked by terrorists.
But that’s OK-after all, that’s what cult movies are all about. Perhaps it’ll make you mad and inspire you to defend your favorites. Without further ado, here is The Ringer’s ranking of the 50 best cult movies. And though there is no official definition for a cult movie-most times, you know it when you see it-voters were asked to consider only films that (a) were not successful at the box office, (b) were not widely and initially praised by critics, and (c) gained popularity only after they left theaters, whether by word of mouth, midnight screenings, or home-video success. This ranking was assembled through the votes of Ringer staff members. The movies that were too heady for mainstream audiences the comedies that were before their time the small indies that changed the direction of Hollywood. This week on The Ringer, we celebrate those movies that from humble or overlooked beginnings rose to prominence through the support of their obsessive fan bases. “Cult films come in all varieties-and sometimes with vigorous debate about their status attached-but genuine, possessive devotion is the baseline.” This is due to the 2009 shooting of Lakewood, Washington, police officers, which occurred two months before principal photography began.ĭVD was released in Region 2 in the United Kingdom on, and also Region 1 in the United States on May 10, 2011, it was distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.“Making a list of movies that seem underrated or underappreciated is one thing accounting for the ones that generate religious fervor is another,” Adam Nayman writes in this history of the cult movie. The local police in Spokane refused to officially participate in the film's production because of the film's depiction of violence toward police officers. The writers of Hero Wanted, and also starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., penned the screenplay, while several of the producers of Hero Wanted, End Game, and Wrong Turn at Tahoe produced.ĭirector William Kaufman of the 2005 indie action thriller The Prodigy was chosen to direct.įilming took place in Spokane, Washington in early 2010. Slater co-starred with Hauser in the film Shadows of the White Nights. in Lies & Illusions as well as Sacrifice, was originally rumored to play the part of Allan Campbell.