Gizmodo Movie Night: Catch Up On Some Of The Best Cult TV Shows And Movies

Every now and then, by luck or by skill, some TV series and films build themselves a passionate following — viewers who will do absolutely anything to watch every episode, or re-watch every scene, and tell all their friends. This weekend, take some time out to immerse yourselves in some of the TV shows and movies that have inspired cult followings around the world.

We’ve re-jigged our existing Netflix Movie Night series, and brought in Australia’s other popular subscription video on demand services — Stan and Presto — to give you a broader selection of movies and TV shows to enjoy. On all three services, you can watch from your tablet or smartphone, on your PC or laptop, through your Smart TV, or through a media streaming dongle like the Google Chromecast, although specifics can vary. Stan costs a flat $10 per month, Netflix can cost from $9 to $15 per month, and Presto is $10 to $15 depending which package you choose.

We’d love any feedback you have on the new Movie Night layout, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Want to look a little further afield? Other strong cult titles that you should track down during your streaming adventures include The Punisher, Watchmen, The Big Lebowski, Fight Club, Evil Dead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Monty Python, The Room, and Office Space

Stan

UnREAL

UnREAL — A behind-the-scenes look at the chaos surrounding the production of a dating competition program. You know how The Bachelor is big in Australia right now? Watch UnREAL and you won’t look at any ‘reality’ dating show the same ever again. Watch it now on Stan.

Stan: This dramedy follows producer Rachel and the crew of a not-so-realistic dating reality show, where convictions are ignored and moral lines blurred.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off — a high school wise guy is determined to have a day off from school, despite what the principal thinks of that. This mid-80’s cult hit is worth watching purely for the double-shot of pure Matthew Broderick charm that’ll blow you away. Watch it now on Stan.

Stan: A teen perpetrates a series of elaborate deceptions to ensure that he and two friends spend a carefree day in Chicago.

Better Call Saul

Better Call Saul — the trials and tribulations of criminal lawyer, Saul Goodman, in the time leading up to establishing his strip-mall law office in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Carrying on from the amazing success of Breaking Bad, BCS follows one of the previous show’s most interesting and engimatic characters, criminal lawyer and sometime criminal Saul Goodman. Watch it now on Stan.

Stan: Better Call Saul is the prequel to the award-winning series Breaking Bad, set six years before Saul Goodman became Walter White’s lawyer. We follow Saul’s transformation from small-time lawyer into the man who puts “criminal” into “criminal lawyer”.

Let The Right One In

Let The Right One In — Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl. This Swedish vampire flick is quiet, serene, and absolutely gripping — it’ll make you think differently about vampires, and it’ll make you perpetually wary of small children. Watch it now on Stan.

Stan: A young boy suffering at the hands of bullies in school finds strength through and love in a strange young girl.

The Trip

The Trip — Steve is asked to review restaurants for the UK’s Observer who is joined on a working road trip by his friend Rob who fills in at the last minute when Coogan’s romantic relationship falls apart. If you like British humour, The Trip is an absolute must-watch. Watch it now on Stan.

Stan: When Steve is commissioned to write half a dozen restaurant reviews, he decides to plan a trip around England with his food-loving girlfriend.


Netflix

House of Cards

House of Cards — A Congressman works with his equally conniving wife to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him. This US remake of a British series has become hugely popular in Australia and around the world, and has inspired a generation of new-age political wonks. P.S — never trust Kevin Spacey. Watch it now on Netflix.

Netflix: A ruthless politician will stop at nothing to conquer Washington, D.C., in this Emmy and Golden Globe-winning political drama.

Dredd

Dredd — In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO. If you love beautiful movies with utterly trippy cinematography, give Dredd some of your time. Watch it now on Netflix.

Netflix: In a catastrophic future, the remaining population is crowded into megacities, where all-powerful and ultraviolent cops are hunting for terrorists.

Orange Is The New Black

Orange Is The New Black — The story of Piper Chapman, a woman in her thirties who is sentenced to fifteen months in prison after being convicted of a decade-old crime of transporting money to her drug-dealing girlfriend. This is prison drama Oz, but with a distinctly different (and more interesting) cast. Watch it now on Netflix.

Netflix: Sentenced to fifteen months for a crime committed in her youth, Piper Chapman leaves her supportive fiance Larry for her new home: a women’s prison.

In Bruges

In Bruges — Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be. I never thought it’d be possible to make Colin Farrel likeable, but In Bruges is a deceptively lovely movie about a less than lovely topic. Watch it now on Netflix.

Netflix: After a job goes wrong in London, two hit men are ordered to lay low at a bed-and-breakfast in Bruges, Belgium, until their boss contacts them.

Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead — A man decides to turn his moribund life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, reconciling his relationship with his mother, and dealing with an entire community that has returned from the dead to eat the living. It’s one part of the excellent, and cult-famous, Cornetto trilogy from amazingly talented director Edgar Wright. Watch it now on Netflix.

Netflix: He’s a loser with a plan: First, win back girlfriend. Next, reconcile with mom. Finally, save London from zombies.


Presto

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead — Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Grimes leads a group of survivors in a world overrun by zombies. If Game of Thrones was the show that made fantasy, dragons and knights cool again, then The Walking Dead did exactly that — but for zombies. Even if you don’t like the genre, this is one to watch. Watch it now on Presto.

Presto: After waking from a coma in an abandoned hospital, police officer Rick Grimes finds the world he knew gone – ravaged by a zombie epidemic of apocalyptic proportions. Nearby, on the outskirts of Atlanta, a small encampment struggles to survive as ‘the dead’ stalk them at every turn.

Clerks

Clerks — A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof. This is a cult classic from stoner-friendly director Kevin Smith, and if you’re a film student dreaming of maxing your credit cards on film equipment and then striking it rich, it’s basically required reading for you. Watch it now on Presto.

Presto: A wacky day in the life of two shop assistants whose razor wit and antics give a whole new meaning to customer service. Anything can happen when these guys are left to run the store.

Kill Bill

Kill Bill — The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her – a team she was once part of. This list wouldn’t be complete without a Quentin Tarantino flick, and Kill Bill is simultaneously one of his most accessible, goriest, and most entertaining. Watch it now on Presto.

Presto: Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride emerges from a coma wanting vengeance having been gunned down by her former boss Bill and his deadly squad of assassins.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy The Vampire Slayer — A young girl, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends. Although Joss Whedon fans will argue with each other endlessly over whether Buffy or Firefly is better, one thing’s true — there’s way more Buffy to enjoy. Watch it now on Presto.

Presto: Buffy is a quick-witted heroine whose birthright as the sole slayer of her generation is to protect the world from the undead, yet she pines to be normal.

Big Trouble in Little China

Big Trouble in Little China — An All-American trucker gets dragged into a centuries-old mystical battle in Chinatown. 80’s hair, Kurt Russell, ancient Chinese wizards; there’s not too much about Big Trouble in Little China that you can’t help but love. This is the cult movie you’re looking for. Watch it now on Presto.

Presto: A truck driver is plunged into a strange netherworld after his friend’s fiancee is kidnapped by mysterious forces in San Francisco’s Chinatown district.

Disclosure: Stan is a 50/50 joint venture between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media. Allure Media, the company which publishes Gizmodo Australia, is also owned by Fairfax.


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