MetaFilter posts tagged with Cult

Right, Zach?

naju — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:10:18 -0800

The cult 2010 video game Deadly Premonition gets a Director's Cut this week. The brainchild of a guy who calls himself SWERY, one could make a strong case for Deadly Premonition being the most entertainingly bizarre game ever made. It's undeniably influenced by Twin Peaks and more than a touch of Japanese horror, yet that doesn't begin to explain how unique, disturbing and hilarious the game is. The humor is intentionally unintentional. Everyone agrees there are significant gameplay problems, but the phrase "so bad it's good" does the game a terrible disservice. "Capable of swinging from zany to nasty, inspired to absurd within the course of a single sequence," and boasting an eccentric, often inappropriate soundtrack, Deadly Premonition is either a joke, a masterpiece or both. (Previously: It's like watching two clowns eat each other.)

Plate of Shrimp

Artw — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:36:22 -0800

It is an apocalypse tale with no doomsday, a punk movie with no concert, a science fiction story with less than ten seconds of aliens - Repo Man: A Lattice of Coincidence, a look back at the 1984 classic film by cult director Alex Cox, whose current project is a crowdfunded adaptation of Harry Harrison's Bill, the Galactic Hero.

And Now For Something....

sendai sleep master — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 14:10:54 -0800

(minor Spoilers should be assumed for most of the post) Fringe, which many have called a cult show, has a pension for playfully populating its episodes with pop culture references and has continued to do so into its fifth and final season. As mentioned previously, the show has gone as far as to release a record by a fictional prog-rock group, regularly tinker with its own opening titles, and lay aside each season's 19th episode in order to play with the show's format. There has been a musical episode, an animated episode, and an episode that takes place in the show's future and includes opening titles similar to the opening of the film, Blade Runner. The show's most recent season is a shorter one, scheduled to last only 13 episodes, and thusly it will not have the traditional 19th episode. That hasn't stopped the show from having a similar amount of fun with this season's ninth episode which includes an homage to Terry Gilliam's technique of cut out animation. While it may be a stretch it is also worth mentioning that the legendary Monty Python comedy group, including Gilliam, were influenced by a comedy stage show called "Beyond the Fringe" which was created via a collaboration between the Oxford Revue and The Cambridge Footlights (previously). This is all somewhat relevant because not only were some of Python's members involved with organizations like the Revue but Oxford is also where Fringe's resident, loveably mad doctor, Walter Bishop, did his Post-Graduate work.

The Yodeling Astrologer

solarion — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 03:53:44 -0800

When Jim Holmberg fractured his skull after a motorcycle accident in the 1960s, it left him several things - deafness in the left ear, a belief in cosmic forces that had cured the resulting spinal meningitis, and an astonishing sopranino range in his voice. This voice subsequently caused his discovery while busking in New York by Bernard Stollman, head of the eclectic ESP-Disk label. A short studio session later and 1969's Color By the Number would be his solitary recording artifact, solo psych-folk coated in reel-to-reel delay and reverb courtesy of experimentation with ESP-Disk engineer Onno Scholtze. Like so many other psychers of the day he subsequently fell off the musical map, the limited pressing of the LP soon becoming a collector's item. But without trace wasn't quite true; a good 40 years later this cult status reached his awareness. "I gave my brother one of the albums and asked him if I can borrow it back. He sent it to me and I opened it up and the record was broken. I had no other copies. then I just thought I would google it to be shocked to see I'm all over the internet. " Subsequently he sent several missives of a spiritual nature to ESP-Disk,, and was interviewed by Vice Magazine on his whereabouts for that whole time, and his reflections on music.

Life Without Father.

availablelight — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 06:10:30 -0800

My mother finished with, “If Jesus came to you and said that he had found your perfect spouse, what would you say to him?” She paused for effect. “Now, how much more is Father?” Photographer Jen Kiaba writes a first hand account of courtship and a mass wedding under the direction of Reverend Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church. Not every arranged marriage story is unhappy, but inside and outside observers are curious to see what happens to the organization (and its finances and investments) after Moon's death this past September. Oh, and of course there is a goofy TLC special. Previously. (And previously, on the Moonies and the Washington Times.)

De-listing of the MEK

Blasdelb — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:53:32 -0800

The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), or People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, is an Iranian dissident group that has been formally designated for the last 15 years by the US State Department as a "foreign terrorist organization". When the Bush administration sought to justify its attack on Iraq in 2003 by accusing Saddam Hussein of being a sponsor of "international terrorism", one of its prime examples was Iraq's "sheltering" of the MEK. Its inclusion on the terrorist list has meant that it is a felony to provide any "material support" to that group. Now, in the with the support of A-list American politicians who have been handsomely compensated for their efforts, the MEK are being delisted. Glenn Greenwald draws Five lessons from the de-listing of MEK as a terrorist group

There is a separate justice system in the US for Muslim Americans.

The US government is not opposed to terrorism; it favors it.

"Terrorism" remains the most meaningless, and thus the most manipulated, term in political discourse.

Legalized influence-peddling within both parties is what drives DC.

There is aggression between the US and Iran, but it's generally not from Iran.

Previously, Previouslier

Audrey Blue

roger ackroyd — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:59:02 -0800

"On the 23rd day of the month of September...in an early year of a decade not too long before our own...the human race suddenly encountered a deadly threat to its very existence." Presenting Little Shop of Horrors, the cult movie that became a musical that became a movie musical, a comic book, a game, and a Saturday morning cartoon. Besides starring Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and Levi Stubbs in signature roles, the 1986 film also launched the careers of Ellen Greene, Tisha Campbell, and Tichina Arnold, and one unforgettable scenery-chewing star named Audrey II.

W.D. Richter's "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension"

Egg Shen — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 15:11:32 -0800

... Buckaroo Banzai is paradoxically decades ahead of its time and yet completely of its time; it’s profoundly a movie by, for, and of geeks and nerds at a time before geek/nerd culture was mainstreamed, and a movie whose pre-CG special effects and pre-Computer Age production design were an essential part of its good-natured enthusiasm. What at the time was a hip, modern take on classic SF is now, almost thirty years later, almost indistinguishable from the SF cinema that inspired it in terms of the appeal to modern viewers: the charmingly old-fashioned special effects, and the comparatively innocent earnestness of its tone. - Danny Bowes The "expanded universe" begins with the novelization by screenwriter Earl Mac Rauch and continues with a series of graphic novels by Moonstone Books. Until the RPG ships, you can pass the time with the Scott Adams interactive fiction game.

An introduction to cult movies

Artw — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 23:40:56 -0800

"What is a cult film? A cult film is one that has a passionate following, but does not appeal to everyone. James Bond movies are not cult films, but chainsaw movies are. Just because a film has become a cult movie does not automatically guarantee quality. Some are very bad; others are very, very good. Some make an awful lot of money at the box office; others make no money at all. Some are considered quality films; others are exploitation movies. One thing cult movies do have in common is that they are all genre films - for example gangster films or westerns. They also have a tendency to slosh over from one genre into another, so that a science fiction film might also be a detective movie, or vice versa. They share common themes as well, themes that are found in all drama: love, murder and greed." - of the British TV film slots accompanied by an introduction perhaps the most celebrated is Moviedrome, running between 1988 and 2000 and presented first by Repo Man director Alex Cox and then film critic Mark Cousins. Alex Cox introduces... The Wicker Man The Parallax View Jabberwocky Stardust Memories Brazil An American Werewolf in London Knightriders What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Rabid Cry Baby Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) Django Face to Face Requiescant The Andromeda Strain Coogan's Bluff The People Under The Stairs Halloween Psychomania Race the Devil Excalibur Nothing Lasts Forever Mark Cousins introduces... The Fly Society The Warriors The Fog Carlitos Way Don't Look Now ALSO ON BBC 2: The Forbidden Season... Alex Cox presents Django Kill Empire of the Censors Doing Rude Things 1, 2 ON BBC 4: Alex Cox presents... Five Westerns Part 1 Five Westerns Part 2 Moviedrome Guides part 1 & 2 in the free stuff section Alex Cox's website. Moviedrome archive. Previous Alex Cox. Previous Repo Man. Bonus insanity: Alex Cox interviews Sam Cohen, inventor of the neuron bomb

CRASH AND BURN

The Whelk — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:59:42 -0800

The Onion's AV Club Asks: Just How Prescient Was Hackers Anyway?

Church or Cult?

Artw — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:24:35 -0800

Inside the creepy and controling world of Seattle's Mars Hill Church, home of "real marriage".

Aum Shinrikyo fugitive surrenders after 16 years

Umami Dearest — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:06:05 -0800

Makoto Hirata, a senior member of doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and one of three remaining fugitives from the group, has turned himself in to police after more than sixteen years on the run, leading to questions about the timing of his surrender now, after all these years. While Aum is best known as the group responsible for the deadly sarin-gas attack on Tokyo's subway system that killed 13 people and injured more than 6000, Hirata is wanted on suspicion of taking part in a different crime, the kidnapping and murder of Kiyoshi Kariya, the brother of an ex-Aum member who had left the group. Despite the fact that police stations and koban (police boxes) throughout Japan have prominently displayed wanted posters of the three Aum Shinrikyo fugitives for the past 16 years, Hirata had remained at large and hadn't had plastic surgery, leading to police speculation that he must have been helped by others while on the run.

It's a window and a metaphor of your life!

The Whelk — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 08:38:34 -0800

In 1999 MTV launched Downtown, an animated slice of life show about young people in Manhattan's Lower East Side based on interviews with non-actors (Pilot part 2 part 3 ) created by animator Chris Prynoski (Daria, Beavis And Butt-head, Metalocalypse). Despite an Emmy nomination, the show was cancelled after one season (with one unaired episode). Like so many MTV shows, licensing complications prevented it from reaching DVD, meaning the only way to watch the show was to e-mail Chris directly. Until someone uploaded the entire series to Youtube.

Alex Cox's "Repo Man"

Trurl — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:07:40 -0800

Alex Cox: REPO MAN was made as a "negative pickup" by Universal at the time when Bob Rehme was head of the studio. At the time, the big deal over there was STREETS OF FIRE, and nobody really noticed our film [8 MB PDF] at all. Which was lucky for us, since Bob Rehme had "green-lighted" a film which was quite unusual by studio standards. (previously)

Animated Truth

griphus — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 09:00:08 -0800

In the 1990s, the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo ("Supreme Truth"), infamous for their gas attack on the Tokyo subway released a number (NSWF) of anime videos as a recruitment tool.

Inside The Order

Ahab — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 08:48:16 -0800

One crime had been solved — but the chest of gold stolen from Patty Kingston's closet remained a mystery. The deputy heard the Brown boys knew who stole the gold — but suddenly, without explanation, they and everyone in the clan clammed up. Rolling Stone presents the very strange story of "the most powerful polygamist cult in America" and the teenagers who robbed it.

Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill!

Lovecraft In Brooklyn — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:26:00 -0800

Die, Danger, Die, Die, Kill! is a blog dedicated to 'world pop cinema', and covers everything from Russian science fiction to Italian superhero films.

Alex Cox's "Straight to Hell"

Trurl — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:28:08 -0800

Straight to Hell is a 1987 action-comedy film directed by Alex Cox, featuring Sy Richardson, The Clash frontman Joe Strummer (after whose song the film is named), Courtney Love, Dick Rude, Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones, Elvis Costello, Xander Berkeley, Kathy Burke, Jim Jarmusch, Edward Tudor-Pole, Miguel Sandoval, as well as members of The Pogues, Amazulu and The Circle Jerks. ... While the film received almost no positive reviews, it has (like several other of Cox's films) achieved a minor cult status, largely due to its cast of musicians, many of whom have cult followings of their own. A soundtrack has been released. (previously, awesomely)

Grape Fields to The Game

telstar — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:50:30 -0800

The Madness of Cesar Chavez

The Ghost of Gulliver's Kingdom

filthy light thief — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:33:59 -0800

Kamikuishiki was a village in the Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan that gained unwanted international attention in 1995 as a key location for Aum Shinrikyo, the religious cult behind a number of acts of violence, including the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. To change the nature of attention given to the picturesque village, a new attraction was built on the former site of the cult complex: Gulliver's Kingdom, a mixed up theme park with a Scandinavian town, a petting zoo, a French puppet theater to tell the story of Gulliver, and a 45 meter version of Gulliver himself, pinned to the ground. The park was opened in 1997, but Niigata Chuo Bank was facing serious problems two years later, collapsing "under the weight of nonperforming loans." The theme park's owners were the largest borrowers from the bank, and the park closed in 2001. The park was finally purchased in 2002 in the 3rd auction attempt. In 2006, Kamikuishiki disappeared, divided and the parts merged into neighboring municipalities. The next year, Gulliver's Kingdom was demolished, leaving behind photos (new and old), and memories.

Beat the Devil

Trurl — Sun, 22 May 2011 13:51:58 -0800

"Beat the Devil" went straight from box office flop to cult classic and has been called the first camp movie, although Bogart, who sank his own money into it, said, "Only phonies like it." It's a movie that was made up on the spot; Huston tore up the original screenplay on the first day of filming, flew the young Truman Capote to Ravallo, Italy, to crank out new scenes against a daily deadline and allowed his supporting stars, especially Robert Morley and Peter Lorre, to create dialogue for their own characters. (Capote spoke daily by telephone with his pet raven, and one day when the raven refused to answer he flew to Rome to console it, further delaying the production.) - Roger Ebert's Great Movies

Juju Apple, Voodoo Apple

hermitosis — Thu, 19 May 2011 10:23:11 -0800

Looks like FOX News called it -- UK neuroscientists now suggest that the brains of Apple devotees are stimulated by Apple imagery in the same way that the brains of religious people are stimulated by religious imagery.

"What I wanted was to create a prophet"

Artw — Mon, 16 May 2011 22:49:40 -0800

"I wanted to do a movie that would give the people that took LSD at that time the hallucinations that you get with that drug, but without hallucinating. I did not want LSD to be taken, I wanted to fabricate the drug's effect." - Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune (previously) is to be the subject of a new documentary.

Liquid Sky

Trurl — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:58:04 -0800

It’s about time people started rendering unto Liquid Sky. Its long lipstick trace is smudged through much of indie cinema. The sights we see in Liquid Sky are riding the wave of genius punk sensibility from the late 70s, but by '83 are in full morph into the weird, technological forms we love. The broad bell-bottom analog curves of the 70's had given way to neon grids and skinny ties, and it was great.

I am not a Rajneesh

wcfields — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:38:12 -0800

"The tale is stranger than fiction." begins the opening line of The Oregonians retrospective "Rajneeshees in Oregon The Untold Story." The cult, began by sex guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh came to a self-rule a rural part of Oregon that battled with the native residents of the area. The conflict lead to a bio-terror attack on the residents of The Dalles to sway the outcome of a local election, global manhunts, and jail. The Oregonian also made available the hour long documentary "Rajneeshpuram - An Experiment to Provoke God"