Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time-Vol 1: Midnight Madness

Along with a diverse crew of talking heads from all corners of the film world, there are four hosts, if you will, which include Joe Dante, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Pollak, and John Waters. They kick things off by discussing films they find interesting and then we get bounced around from film to film (as well as talking head to talking head) and then get tossed back to the hosts a few times. The placement of the hosts is a little aimless which is basically my only small complaint I have about the series. Otherwise, this is just the sort of documentary that I could watch over and over again. I can’t wait to see the other volumes which delve into horror and sci-fi for volume two and comedy and camp for volume three.

“…it puts a spotlight on movies that don’t get the red-carpet treatment all the time…”

Volume 1 alone boasts more star-power than one movie can typically handle. Along with the people I already mentioned we have David Cross, Kevin Smith, Malcolm McDowell, Gina Gershon, and Jeff Goldblum just to name a few. The hour and forty minutes of fun flew by. I have admittedly seen all but two of the films that were discussed in Volume 1, which are Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss and John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (I know, I know, I have plenty of time to get to them now and I will). The reason that this documentary was so entertaining for me is that it puts a spotlight on movies that don’t get the red-carpet treatment all the time. It also makes one realize how special it is to see a movie on the big screen for the first time and made me realize how much I truly miss going to the movies.

Director Danny Wolf and writers Irv Slifkin and Paul Fishbein really have a great love and knowledge of the world of cult cinema, and I for one am very glad they decided to share it with the rest of the world. My only hope is that someone who is just now getting into film will watch this documentary and use it as a guide for which movies to watch next. Obviously, if you want to know more about cult cinema, Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time is a great place to start.