To fully grasp the concept of what a cult film is, it is important to understand the anatomy of a cult film: the film itself, the ways in which the film is received and what exactly puts the “cult” in the film.

Many elements make a film cult–from innovation and strangeness to loose ends and promotion–which is not to say that all these elements need to appear in a film in order for it to be considered cult.

In cult cinema, audience reception is just as crucial as these elements. Directors do not set out to make a cult film, it’s the audience response, fan celebrations, and critical receptions to a film that make it cult. Take The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), for example. This film has a dedicated audience that watches the film repeatedly, quotes the dialogue, and actively participates. In fact, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been called “the very definition of the term cult picture” by American film critic Danny Peary.

According to film historians Ernest Mathijs and Zavier Mendik, the anatomy of a cult film can be divided into four main categories:

As we learned in both our screenings–Maniac (1934) and American Grindhouse (2010)–exploitation lies at the very core of cult cinema. Maniac, directed by Dwain Esper, was possibly the most appropriate example of how the “badness” of a film can make it cult. With stolen footage, nudity, completely out-of-place shots and drug use, Maniac highlights what is at the core of exploitation cinema–exploiting taboo topics.

Maniac is laced with random titles in order to legitimize the use of these taboo topics, and give them educational value. A way to get away with drug abuse and, essentially, the exploitation of taboo topics.

The screening of American Grindhouse was a glimpse into what the exploitation era was all about–sex, drugs, violence and nudity. Exploitation cinema is simply cinema exploiting just about anything. It makes all the sense in the world that exploitation and the dawn of the motion picture went hand-in-hand. People want to see what they shouldn’t want to see. The notion seemed quite normal to me; everyone is captivated by gore, sex, drugs and even childbirth.

The one thing that did leave me speechless, however, was the exploitation of gender-based violence. The part of the documentary about “roughies” was, for me, extremely difficult to watch. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to watch those kinds of films for entertainment, but there’s something for everyone, I guess.

All-in-all, it’s been a great two weeks learning about cult cinema, and I am beyond excited for what’s in store.