Rider Film Symposium Explores The World Of Cult Classics

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ — Fewer things in film carry the same visual as the term “cult classic.” Whether it’s “Night of the Living Dead,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “Plan 9 From Outer Space” or some other notoriously bad film, everyone seems to have that one bad movie they just can’t get enough of.

This year’s film symposium at Rider University, set for Wednesday and Thursday, takes a deep dive into the world of “cult classics.”

The two-day annual event includes screenings, presentations from professors and students, and a student film festival and screenwriting competition.

“Cult films hold a special place in people’s lives and in the broader culture,” Rider University Film and Media Studies Program Director Dr. Cindy Lucia said. “We’re very excited to explore some of the most iconic cult films in history.”

This year’s highlighted events also include featured presentations by author Nick Dawson and filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman.

Dawson is the author of “Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel,” the first biography of director Hal Ashby. Ashby directed several quintessential movies of the 1970s, including “The Last Detail” starring Jack Nicholson, “Shampoo” starring Warren Beatty and “Being There” starring Peter Sellers.

Dawson will speak in the Rue Auditorium at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. He will focus on Ashby's 1971 movie, “Harold and Maude,” a black comedy that emerged after its initial flop to serve as a touchstone for current filmmakers like Cameron Crowe and Wes Anderson.

The film was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 1997. Dawson provided the audio commentary for The Criterion Collection's 2012 re-issue of the movie on DVD and Blu-Ray.

Released in 1984, the low-budget, over-the-top “Toxic Avenger” quickly earned cult status. Lloyd Kaufman, who shared writing, producing and directing credits on the film, will discuss his beloved creation on March 5 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 102 of the Science and Technology Center. The “Toxic Avenger” has spawned three sequels, a stage musical, cartoons and more.

Rider faculty and students are also planning several roundtable discussions that will touch on Rudy Ray Moore's “Dolemite” films, Pedro Almodóvar's “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” Jim Sharman's “Rocky Horror Picture Show” and other cult classics. Dr. Jay Stern, an assistant professor of communication who has made four feature films, will moderate a student film festival and screenwriting competition.

“When students first voted on cult classics as our symposium topic, we had a long and lively discussion attempting to define ‘cult’ in the first place,” Lucia said. “Part of our symposium is devoted to getting a grasp on the slippery term."

Lucia pointed out that the term is often associated with horror, but some comedies, like “The Big Lebowski,” are also included. While many cult films begin with critical derision, sometimes critically acclaimed films like “Being There” and “Blue Velvet” achieve cult status.

"Cult filmmakers like Lloyd Kaufman and Jess Franco pay self-conscious devotion to schlock, political incorrectness, campy send-ups and over-the-top cartoonish violence. How is their work both entertaining yet highly subversive?" Lucia said. "These are the kinds of questions we’re asking.”

The symposium is free and open to the public. All March 4 events, as well as daytime events on March 5, take place in Rue Auditorium (Sweigart Hall 115) on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus. On March 5 at 6:30 p.m., Lloyd Kaufman will appear in Science and Technology 102 on the Lawrenceville Campus.

More details, including a full schedule, are available at www.rider.edu/events/film-symposium.