Review by John Delia
Whether you are a film buff or just like something different, Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All-Time Volume 1 “Midnight Madness†starts the ball rolling with interviews of the stars and directors of some of the most famous cult films on the planet. The anthology is more than just a look into the business, it also answers questions on the most watched movies in the business. Although some didn’t make it big when they were originally released they gathered a following much like the most notable The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) that had a participating audience pulled from every walk of life to join in and throw rice, squirt water guns, and recited the dialogue during the showing.
This first of a three part series on VOD and Digital introduces the dais of directors Joe Dante, John Waters, Ileana Douglas and Kevin Pollak who continue through all of three parts. Their job is to comment on the films, introduce the actors who were in them and give the audience a history, a bit of comedy and some of the things that happened on sets or during the releases.
From “The Rocky Horror Picture Show†to “The Big Lebowski†and everything in between, this fascinating deep-dive documentary begins its celebration of the greatest cult movies of all-time discussing the birth of the midnight movieâ€â€¦Quiver Distribution  “In Los Angeles, to a Hollywood Executive a Cult film means the 20 people that were smarter than them liked it, then it lost a lot of money…†says John Waters. “or as a midnight movie it was a hit. Rocky Horror Picture Show, that was obviously a movie that became the most successful show…†says Joe Dante.
It this volume, that includes stars Pam Grier, Rob Reiner, Barry Bostwick, Michael McKean, John Turturro, Gary Busey, Jeff Goldblum, Fran Drescher, Penelope Spheeris and Peter Bogdanovich, the film gives you some insight into how it was to work on the films and their opinions as to why they weren’t initially successful while showing some choice clips. Most of them get both serious and comical as they remember the days of shooting and incidents during the making of their most beloved box-office wonder.
Some of the films being featured in this volume include “Rocky Horror Picture Show†(1975), “The Big Lebowski†(1998), Pam Grier’s “Foxy Brown†and “Coffy†(1973) that includes a segment on Blacksploitation, “Reffer Madness†(1936), “Freaks†(1932), “Eraserhead†(1997), “Pink Flamingos†(1972) with some insight from John Waters, “Harold and Maude†(1971), “Spinal Tap†(1984) with some priceless comments from Michael McKean, Fran Drescher and Fred Willard, some of Russ Meyer’s films with comments by him and Rob Zombie, “The Warriors†(1979) one of my favorites, and “Point Break†(1991) with some choice comments by Gary Busey.
In the next two volumes to be released Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films Of All-Time Volume 2 â€Horror And Scifi†on May 19 and Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films Of All-Time Volume 3 “Comedy And Camp†on June 23, both will be available on VOD and Digital
All three volumes are unrated, but contain language and some film clip sex, nudity and violence. The documentary is laced with laughter and bring back a lot of fond memories.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A film buff’s must. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Hosts: Joe Dante, John Waters, Ileana Douglas and Kevin Pollak
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Pam Grier, Rob Reiner, Barry Bostwick, Michael McKean, John Turturro, Gary Busey, Jeff Goldblum, Fran Drescher, Penelope Spheeris and Peter Bogdanovich
Directed by: Danny Wolf
Genre: Documentary
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 1 hr. 45 min.
Opening Date: April 21, 2020
Distributed by: Quiver Distribution
Released in: VOD, Digital HD