Danny Peary's Cult Movies series helped my expand my teenage love of film beyond horror movies. While I was already aware of some of the films in this volume as a child beforehand - Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, Blood Feast - others I wouldn't have normally been exposed to were introduced to me for the first time, and piqued my curiosity about them and other films withing those genres. Films like The Wicker Man and Basket Case weren't bound to show up on HBO or Showtime in the 90s. If it weren't for the Cult Movies series, it would have probably been another decade or so before I was even aware of films like Vanishing Point and Quadrophenia. I can still credit Cult Films 2 as being the reason I even heard of Phantom of the Paradise, for which I am still thankful.

Peary's selection of what he classifies as 'cult movies' in this volume covers a wide range of films, from cultural mainstays like The Bride of Frankenstein and Mommie Dearest, to art house favorites like Picnic at Hanging Rock and Breathless, to more obscure films outside of the mainstream like The Great Texas Dynamite Chase and A Boy and His Dog. This is probably one of the few film guides you will read that devotes equal time and attention to both Last Tango in Paris and Zardoz. Whether the films are known for their excellence (The Seventh Seal) or their lack thereof (Massacre at Central High), Peary examines not just the films themselves, but the making of them, and the attention they've garnered, good or bad.

Spoiler Alert: Peary's essays on the films in this book are preceded by detailed synopses that basically reveal the entire film, including plot-twists and endings, and the majority of his essays are written under the presumption that the reader has already seen the film. Cult Movies is a great book for exposing you to new cinematic treasures, but tread lightly if you aren't a fan of knowing the story before you see it. ( )

Synopses of the films, not all of which should be termed cult, plus some interesting facts and comments ( )

A must have for all cult movie buffs. ( )

http://home.comcast.net/~tonydal/wiseguy_reviews.htm ( )