Last Updated on April 4, 2023, 7:43 PM | Published: April 4, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — There’s just nothing in cinema quite like those weird, wild unexpected little gems that so often popped in and out of theaters in the blink of an eye, missing any widespread success, but find a rabid, diehard audience much later.
The great classics of film are studied, dissected, imitated, and respected above all else, but the cult classics are loved beyond measure, in a way that can’t be quantified or replicated or sometimes even really understood.
These are often movies that came and went swiftly in the public consciousness, but eventually found a passionate, irrepressible audience later that has grown over time to spawn fanbases, costumes, anniversary parties, and more.
It’s common for indie theaters and art houses to pepper some of these cult movie screenings into their schedules alongside the more refined and artistic fare, but throughout the month of April, OKC theaters are going cult crazy!
‘Empire Records’ presented by VHS & Chill – Blue Note – April 11th
If you don’t know “Empire Records,” then you must not have been a young, outcast indie-rocker in the mid-to-late-90s.
If, however, you came of age in the post-grunge era during the last gasp of the record store, then there might just be a special place in your heart for this tale of a most fateful day in the lives of one such establishment’s young, lost, rebellious staff.
Featuring a cast of would-be indie breakouts and a soundtrack that would launch a thousand sensitive, jangly college rock bands, “Empire Records” went from 1995 also-ran to eventually spawning its own cult holiday two decades later.
In honor of the fictional store’s welcoming washed-up, endlessly irritating pop relic Rex Manning (played to perfection by Maxwell Caulfield,) fans have declared a Rex Manning Day each year to celebrate the film and gather with fellow fans.
In the spirit of Rex Manning Day, guerilla indie-film screening organizers VHS & Chill (partnering with Chat Pile’s Raygun Busch) have set the festivities for the 11th at OKC’s historic Blue Note.
What could be cooler than seeing one of the 90s’ best music movies in an actual music venue?
It’s free, but to RSVP, visit vhsandchill.net.
‘Infernal Affairs’ Trilogy – Oklahoma City Museum of Art – April 13th, 20th, & 27th
Perhaps only a “cult” classic series here in the US, the “Infernal Affairs” saga actually stands as one of the most successful and enduring film series in the history of Hong Kong cinema.
In America, though, it’s often remembered simply as the film that was remade into Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winner “The Departed.”
Much more than just remake-fodder, however, “Infernal Affairs” regarded among fans of Hong Kong film as a masterpiece of tense action, suspense, and almost infinite moral complexity, with a deadly Triad member infiltrating the police just as a cop infiltrates the feared Triad gang.
For fans of “The Departed” that haven’t seen the original inspiration, there are loads of differences, including a much deeper, more complicated connection between the two central characters, not to mention the fact that the series is a complete trilogy, extending the story far further than Scorsese’s standalone film.
To celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary at the end of 2022, brand new, crystal clear 4K transfers of each film were released, and Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Sam Noble Theater is proudly screening each of them on consecutive Thursdays throughout April.
For showtimes and tickets, visit okcmoa.com.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’ Extended Edition – Cinemark Tinseltown – April 13th & 19th
How can one of the most successful and awarded films in the history of all cinema be considered a cult classic?
Well, if you’ve ever been to a screening party with costumed fans, Middle-Earth diehards, and fantasy fanatics, then you’ll know.
While the original theatrical version of Peter Jackson’s 2003 “Lord of the Rings” finale swept the Oscars and raked in massive box office numbers, the four-hour-and-ten-minute “Extended Edition” was crafted purely for the cult fanbase that couldn’t ever get enough of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary world on screen.
As “Return of the King” also celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, Cinemark Theaters are presenting the most recent, gorgeous transfer of possibly cinema’s greatest fantasy movie masterwork for two nights this month.
For showtimes and tickets, visit cinemark.com.
“The Doom Generation” – Rodeo Cinema – April 21st
Perhaps the most traditionally “cult-y” of all the films here, 1995’s “The Doom Generation” comes courtesy of edgy outsider filmmaker Gregg Araki.
Featuring a trio of young drifters on an all-American odyssey of sex, violence, and misunderstood youth, the film elevated Araki into a national spotlight that was never likely to capture him, and catapulted star Rose McGowan to the forefront of her generation’s cult stars.
A tale of lost innocence and lost sanity in a lost nation, it’s not exactly a “feel good” film, but seeing it right now is a stark reminder of how eternally relevant some of these themes can be when pop culture and social collapse seem to keep recycling every few decades.
For showtimes and tickets, visit rodeocinema.org.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
