Best Cult films never made

Miss Teri

Miss Teri

Idea that popped into my head whilst thinking about alternate movies on Mystery Science Theater.

Just think of B-Movies, flops, or any other films that could've been made, and could have gathered a cult following. Here's my contribution:

The Architects of Fear (1999)- Adaptation of classic Outer Limits episode. Centers around scientists faking an alien invasion to avert nuclear apocalypse. Flopped and panned on release, due to the hammy acting, the lackluster special effects, and the heavy-handed proselytizing. Has since garnered a cult following, with regular screenings, analysis, and even a DVD re-release.
 

Ravenclaw

Dune by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It should have happened, though it might have been bigger than a cult film.
 

ColeMercury

The Songs of Distant Earth -- story by Arthur C Clarke, based on his short story of the same name and with influences from his other short story "The Shining Ones".

A space ark containing refugees fleeing from a destroyed Earth at sublight speeds stops to repair its debris-shield at the long-isolated colony world of Oceana a.k.a. Shaana (which is mostly ocean, with the only dry land being volcanic islands). In return for assistance, the leaders of Shaana ask the astronaut crew to help them in discovering what's been damaging their power generators on the ocean floor. It turns out to be an intelligent species of indigenous cephalopods who have been stripping the power generators of their metal to make tools -- and who could, in time and given the means, exceed the Shaanans in technological advancement.

Made circa 1980 to take advantage of the sci-fi popularity boom, The Songs of Distant Earth was not particularly successful, possibly because it was not science-fictiony enough: most of the film was shot on location in Hawaii, with more runtime spent in a submersible underwater than in space, and much of the film was a talky drama about the culture clash between astronauts and Shaanans with almost no action sequences. The movie later gained a cult following on home video for its intelligent approach to its subject matter, and was also recognised for its surprisingly progressive attitude towards polyamory (suggestions of bisexuality, however, were cut from the film before release, though the deleted scenes were included on the DVD). Rumours of a remake come and go every few years or so, but nothing has come of it so far.
 
Miss Teri

Miss Teri

ColeMercury said:
The Songs of Distant Earth -- story by Arthur C Clarke, based on his short story of the same name and with influences from his other short story "The Shining Ones".

A space ark containing refugees fleeing from a destroyed Earth at sublight speeds stops to repair its debris-shield at the long-isolated colony world of Oceana a.k.a. Shaana (which is mostly ocean, with the only dry land being volcanic islands). In return for assistance, the leaders of Shaana ask the astronaut crew to help them in discovering what's been damaging their power generators on the ocean floor. It turns out to be an intelligent species of indigenous cephalopods who have been stripping the power generators of their metal to make tools -- and who could, in time and given the means, exceed the Shaanans in technological advancement.

Made circa 1980 to take advantage of the sci-fi popularity boom, The Songs of Distant Earth was not particularly successful, possibly because it was not science-fictiony enough: most of the film was shot on location in Hawaii, with more runtime spent in a submersible underwater than in space, and much of the film was a talky drama about the culture clash between astronauts and Shaanans with almost no action sequences. The movie later gained a cult following on home video for its intelligent approach to its subject matter, and was also recognised for its surprisingly progressive attitude towards polyamory (suggestions of bisexuality, however, were cut from the film before release, though the deleted scenes were included on the DVD). Rumours of a remake come and go every few years or so, but nothing has come of it so far.
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Hey, this movie was in your old timeline. The one directed by Francis Ford Coppola. I would love to see this film if it actually existed.
 

scottrich

Glory Road-directed by John Milius-a faithful adaption of R.A. Heinleins novel about a Viet Nam War vet that gets recruited to travel the Multiverse on a quest for the egg of the Phoenix. Starring Kurt Russel as Oscar, Michelle Pfeiffer as Star and Danny Devito as Rollo. It was shelved for a decade due to the author's estate being contested by his heirs. Found on Netflix and Hulu.
 

Kalvan

Quozl, (1988), directed by Julien Temple and featuring Geena Davis, Jeff Goldbloom, Brice Beckham, and over 100 people in costumes from Jim Henson's Creature Workshop, and written by Julie Brown, based on the Science Fiction novel by Alan Dean Foster. Heavily promoted in theaters, it sank at the box office, only to be resurrected by USA for "Up All Night," and then became a mainstay on Mystery Science Theater during the Sci-Fi Channel years.
 

ColeMercury

Mr.E said:
Hey, this movie was in your old timeline. The one directed by Francis Ford Coppola. I would love to see this film if it actually existed.
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Yep. Arthur C Clarke did actually write a film treatment for "The Songs of Distant Earth" soon after "Star Wars" (it's published at the end of his short story collection titled "The Sentinel") but the one time anyone was interested in it they wanted him to write the screenplay, and Clarke hated screenplays so he passed. The novel of the same name, which is probably the best-known iteration of the story, wasn't actually written and published until 1986.
 
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