Oddur B.T. Film Blog

Blogging about my passion

„Cult“ is where my comfort zone lies

I mostly enjoy writing about films that fit into the category „Cult“ in one way or another. It‘s, frankly, where my comfort zone lies. It would be easy to just focus on horror films (by far the most films labeled „Cult“ are horror films) but the category also includes so many films that are really un-classifiable. Many of these movies are so truly enjoyable and you don‘t even know exactly why. These are often films that are considered very poor, very cheap, very amateurish and some are just plain old studio films that got panned or performed very poorly when released. This is the stuff I like to write about and I hope you like reading about.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery / Leave a Comment

At the Shady Rest nursing home in East Texas resides Elvis Presley, withering away as the days merge together. Still reeling from a broken hip from years before and with some grotesque puss on his genitals he fears may be cancer; the former King of rock and roll looks set to fade into the sunset with no fanfare. Known to the staff as Sebastian Haff, an Elvis impersonator, the King is a shell of a man who spends his days in bed reminiscing about the old days and how he messed things up and treated badly those who cared for him.

Buffy – “The Zeppo” and “A New Man”

Comedy, Drama, Mystery

I’m a huge fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003). Although the show is highly regarded for a variety of reasons it is, and will be, pigeonholed in the teen supernatural/drama category with the likes of “Charmed” (1998-2006) and Kristen Stwewart’s “Twilight” film series (2008-2012) and be easily dismissed by many “serious” watchers. That’s a shame and in my twenties I was fairly obsessed with convincing others of the show’s genuine quality in just about every department and felt bummed they wouldn’t even give it a go. Just the name Buffy the Vampire Slayer was enough to dismiss it as pure nonsense. But thankfully those that did give it a go recognize how good a show it was. This had exceptionally good and layered writing and creative world building, a terrific ensemble cast and top notch production values, particularly after Seasons 1 and 2 had displayed the quality at work.

Sadly now three actors from the series have passed on. Michelle Trachtenberg played Buffy’s sister, Dawn Summers, and was introduced in Season 5. She was only 39 years old. In 2026 series regulars from the beginning, Nicolas Brendon and Anthony Stewart Head, passed on ages 54 and 72. This prompted me to re-visit two particular episodes that spotlighted the characters Brendon (Xander Harris) and Head (Rupert Giles) played as they were both huge fan favourites.

Deer Woman (2005)

Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Det. Dwight Faraday, who’s been relegated exclusively to animal attacks, gets the call and just can’t figure out how this happened. Upon examining the body he and spunky coroner Dana discover that the victim died in a state of arousal and the remains display a number of hoofprints.

Death Becomes Her (1992)

Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Horror

Fading stage and film star Madeline Ashton is struggling to draw a crowd in her latest musical. Old friend Helen, along with her fiancée Ernest, pays her a visit and introduces Madeline to her plastic surgeon soon-to-be. Madeline is smitten by Herman and swiftly steals him away from Helen. The scorn woman becomes an obese recluse and swears bloody vengeance on Madeline.

Warning Sign (1985)

Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

A government run research facility called BioTek Agronomics deals, on the surface, with genetically engineered corn that will improve farming considerably. But what the government is really doing is sponsoring a germ-warfare program which be can activated should the Soviets launch an attack on the USA. At the end of a normal working day the biohazard alerts appear on the monitor and security guard Joanie follows protocol and effectively puts BioTek on lockdown.

Alone in the Dark (1982)

Drama, Horror, Slasher, Thriller

Dr. Leo Bain runs a mental institute called The Haven. He believes in unorthodox treatments and refers to his patients as voyagers and maintains that they be treated as human beings. Most of the patients are considered relatively harmless apart from four individuals who are incarcerated on the third floor of the establishment and it’s the only floor with maximum security.

The Brood (1979)

Horror, Sci-Fi

Frank Carveth is experiencing lousy times. His wife Nola is under the care of controversial psychiatrist Hal Raglan and requires complete isolation. Frank’s marriage is severely on the rocks and when their daughter Candy returns from a visit to her mother she’s covered in bruises.

Moon of the Wolf (1972)

Horror, Thriller

“Moon of the Wolf” is quite the find for werewolf film lovers and fans of old TV movies. Shot on location in Louisiana and subsequently featuring some great authentic bayou surroundings that certainly add a lot of visual charm to this decently written lycanthrope mystery that’s very compact, to the point and well cast.

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