While it may not seem like an obvious first stop if you’re looking for something excellent to stream, Tubi has a pretty robust library of titles. In addition to being a free, ad-supported service, Tubi also has some under-the-radar titles thanks in part to the quirky way that streaming rights often work.
So, while the streaming service definitely has some classic titles that are highly regarded, we’ve also found plenty of titles that could more accurately be described as cult classics. These are movies that are cherished among certain fans, but aren’t typically though of as excellent. Hopefully, we can help change that.
Mandy (2018)
Nicolas Cage’s renaissance in recent years has been a delight to many film lovers, and one movie from the early part of that period that deserves more attention is Mandy. This stylish fever dream of a movie follows Cage’s character as he seeks revenge following the seemingly random murder of his wife.
While much of the movie is characterized by grotesque and hilarious displays of violence (there’s a fight where two characters use chainsaws like swords), Mandy is also a movie about loss and mourning, and it does a remarkably good of portraying these things. Thanks to some incredibly stylish direction, and a deeply compelling Cage performance, Mandy is a cult classic for good reason.
The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook is a great horror movie (especially on Friday the 13th) that has taken on a remarkably strange second life in the years since its initial release. The movie tells the story of a mother and son who are trying to recover from a shocking death, only to discover that they’re being haunted by a malignant force known as The Babadook.
Like many great horror movies of recent years, The Babadook is at least partially about battling your own trauma in order to find a reason to keep living, but it’s also one of the most terrifying horror movies of recent years. Add in the somewhat surprising role that the creature of The Babadook has come to play in popular imagination, and this movie more than earns its spot on this list.
Ghost World (2001)
Before Asteroid City‘s Scarlett Johansson was the movie star we all now know her to be, she was starring alongside Thora Birch in Ghost World, a cult classic about two disaffected teenage girls who are also best friends. Ghost World is really just a coming-of-age story with some quirky twists and turns — and a little bit of a sharper edge than most movies in this genre.
Ultimately, though, it’s become a cult classic both because of its quality and because of its endless rewatchability.Older millennials strongly identified with the film’s central characters, and more than 20 years later, they still do.
