Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films Of All Time Vol 1-3 (TV Review)

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

PLOT: A TV docuseries hosted by Joe Dante, John Waters, and others affectionately recollects what it means to be a cult-movie. The series is cleaved into three 90-minute episodes to highlight the best in each category: Midnight Madness, Horror/Sci-fi, and Comedy.

REVIEW: Joe Dante, John Waters, Kevin Pollak, and Illeana Douglas co-host the new heartfelt and reverential TV docuseries, TIME WARP: THE GREATEST CULT FILMS OF ALL TIME, the first episode of which is set to air on April 21st, 2020. Bound to leave a plastered smile on your mug as you revel in the delights of some of the coolest, strangest, most obscure and offbeat movies we all know and love, the documentary is a well-made flashback to the past that, despite only touching on each film for a few minutes, remains constantly absorbing and consistently entertaining all the way through. The format adheres to the typical talking-heads style of interview, spliced with old footage from whatever movie happens to be discussed at the time. Naturally, the film opens with the phenomena of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW to illustrate how powerful a cult-movie can become and how much it can mean to its fervent fans. The number of knowledgeable interviewees culled to inform viewers with cool new factoids and tidbits about these cult movies is the best part of the show. Despite a few rough transitions from film to film, I can’t imagine anyone disliking this movie at all!

Co-written and directed by Danny Wolf, the film begins by asking what a cult-movie means. While definitions slightly vary, most agree that the term refers to a movie that did not perform well at the box-office initially, but through fanatic word of mouth, it grew in popularity over time. There’s an element of self-discovery as well, or as the great Bruce Campbell puts it, the audience finds the movie, the movie doesn’t find the audience” (paraphrase). As Roger Corman puts it, cult films are usually genre joints that have some element that transcends that very genre. The first episode then goes on to explore the Midnight Madness fad of the ‘70s and ‘80s, which feature bizarre cult-movies that rose in popularity during midnight screenings. ROCKY HORROR is the queen-bee of such flicks and rightly deserves to open the series to contextualize what it means to be a cult-film. Oddly, however, THE BIG LEBOWSKI is the next film to be addressed, a personal favorite, sure, but not quite a midnight movie (it could have been saved for the third episode – Comedy and Camp). My favorite part of the first episode chronicles the Blaxploitation trend of the 70s, highlighted by the work of Jack Hill and Pam Grier (COFFY, FOXY BROWN, etc.). Both are on hand to give juicy historical recollections, the coolest being the way in which Grier apparently wrote many of the violent action-scenes in those flicks.

Of course, one can’t talk cult-movies without the inclusion of the fearless and peerless David Lynch. ERASERHEAD is given its due respect, but more of his surrealistic work could have been highlighted in greater detail. Other genre classics such as THE WARRIORS and ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 are addressed, including a cool nugget of info that John Carpenter sold a screenplay to Barbara Streisand of all people while fresh out of USC. It’s what gave producers the balls to let Carpenter helm ASSAULT, largely conceived as a neo-RIO BRAVO. All in all, the first episode of TIME WARP feels the most complete. But for our purposes, let’s turn to the Horror/Sci-fi chapter, set to air on May 19, 2020. The episode rightly bows to the late great George R. Romero for not only redefining the zombie subgenre but also for creating the first legit midnight cult-horror movie. DAWN OF THE DEAD is subsequently hailed for its inspired setting and consumerism metaphor (Ken Foree speaks candidly), leading to a discussion of Sam Raimi’s ingenious EVIL DEAD. Bruce Campbell is there to relay hilarious anecdotes, including ones of Joel Coen in the editing bay.

Where the show tickles my heart most is in its effusive praise for THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Archival footage of the late great Tobe Hooper is included, voicing his humbled honor over filmmaking greats like Ridley Scott and Stanley Kubrick loving the film so much that they owned their own 35mm prints. Edwin Neal (The Hitchhiker) is also pleased to gush about the film, as is John Waters and Joe Dante. The heartstrings are tugged at even more tenderly when Stuart Gordon appears to discuss his undeniable cult-classic, RE-ANIMATOR. Having recently passed away, one can’t help but mourn the loss of yet another horror titan in Gordon. The chapter strangely ends its horror portion with THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, which, to my mind, is debatable as to whether or not it deserves cult-movie status. From there, we move into the science fiction realm, where BLADE RUNNER and Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE stands out as the most fascinating back-stories. Malcolm McDowell is present to espouse details on the making of the latter, which any honest film buff should be happy to lap up.

Indeed, as aforesaid, I can’t see anyone truly disliking this series. The only real gripe I can muster is that, given the sheer amount of movies celebrated, not enough time is always devoted to exploring each in great detail. Also, the transitions from one movie to the next are sort of clunky, without a natural flow. We’ll abruptly shift from, say, THIS IS SPINAL TAP to PINK FLAMINGOES in quick succession without much connective tissue. But this is just a pittance of a complaint. TIME WARP: THE GREATEST CULT MOVIES OF ALL TIME is well-made and highly engaging from beginning to end. Speaking of the end, the final chapter (Comedy and Camp, which is less germane to this review) is poised to air on June 23, 2020. Check them all out!