The 1990s gifted cinephiles with many modern movie masterpieces that might not have been appreciated at the time, but eventually garnered a large following. Films like Fight Club, True Romance, and Miller's Crossing are just a few examples of movies that might not have been box-office heavyweights, but became cornerstones of pop culture and helped shape the views of contemporary filmmakers.
But what about the films that remain underrated by the masses for one reason or another?
These movies flopped at the box office when they debuted in the '90s, but over the years have developed a small but steady following. They are cult classics, indie favorites, and forgotten gems that should be revisited and remembered.
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Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Michael J. Fox, John Astin, Dee Wallace, Jake Busey, Jeffrey Combs, R. Lee Ermey, and Trini Alvarado
Budget: $26 million
Box Office: $29.3 millionFans of The Lord of the Rings and King Kong might be shocked to learn of Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson's early exploits as a B-movie king making such films as Bad Taste and Dead Alive. A supernatural horror-comedy as a follow-up to the outstanding Heavenly Creatures, then, was actually not too strange.
The Frighteners, the story of a widowed psychic who uses his gifts to exploit the bereaved until he finds himself in the center of a decades-long murder mystery, left many in confusion when it first opened in theaters. Folks didn't know what to think of the jumbled genre pic. But thanks to the performances of lead Michael J. Fox, and fairly remarkable and terrifying special effects, The Frighteners has amassed a cult following among folks who understand the craftsmanship that went into creating the extraordinary ghost story.
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Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, and Kathleen Quinlan
Budget: $60 million
Box Office: $26.7 millionWhen a distress signal from the starship Event Horizon is detected seven years after it was due to return, a rescue vessel is dispatched to find out what happened to the ship and its crew. Discovering the spacecraft abandoned and the entire crew massacred is just the beginning of their worries; the would-be heroes find themselves battling the forces of hell when the ship's new technology accidentally opens a portal.
Critics and audiences didn't appreciate Event Horizon when it came out, but the film now has a dedicated and loyal cult following of cinephiles who recognize its contributions to the genre of cosmic horror.
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Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, Keith David, Tobin Bell, Lance Henriksen, Gary Sinise, and Bruce Campbell
Budget: $32 million
Box Office: $18.6 millionSam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead, a female-led pic about revenge in the Old West, features a star-powered cast that almost outshines the movie itself, including several Oscar winners, The Jigsaw Killer, Childs from The Thing, Bishop from Aliens, and Lieutenant Dan. The saga of gunslingers gathering for a fast-draw, single-elimination contest in the town of Redemption harks back to horse operas of yore, but with the avant-garde style that made Raimi a name in Tinseltown.
Filled with the director's signature camera tricks such as fast-tracking camera zooms and tilted framing, The Quick and the Dead stands out among Westerns thanks to Raimi's unique vision, the quality of the cast, and one hell of a revenge story.
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Director: Alex Proyas
Cast: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, and Richard O'Brien
Budget: $27 million
Box Office: $27.5 millionThough it was eclipsed by 1999's The Matrix, this neo-noir science-fiction film from director Alex Proyas was his follow-up to The Crow and preceded the Wachowskis' movie by a year. Though similar, Dark City merits its own conversation and should not to be lumped in with other cyberpunk action pics of the time.
The plot follows an amnesiac, John Murdoch, who is hunted through a bleak cityscape caught in perpetual night by men known as the "Strangers." In a world that is part of an extraterrestrial experiment, he's an anomaly who can save the human race. With story elements akin to The Matrix but without all the flash, Dark City was quickly forgotten. But modern film enthusiasts laud the noir pic for its innovative look and style.
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Director: Kinka Usher
Cast: Ben Stiller, Paul Reubens, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Greg Kinnear, Lena Olin, Geoffrey Rush, and Suzy Eddie Izzard
Budget: $68 million
Box Office: $33 millionThe superhero parody Mystery Men was so ahead of its time that movie audiences and critics seemed baffled by the film when it was first released. The story, about a group of amateur superheroes with super unremarkable powers who are called upon to save the day when the real heroes are unavailable, was dismissed at first, resulting in a disappointing box office.
Even with a savvy script and A-list comedy cast - including Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, and Janeane Garofalo - the outing flopped. Since then, Mystery Men has developed a cult following and is acknowledged as a precursor to irreverent superhero parodies such as Kick-A** and The Boys.
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Director: Robert Mandel
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Chris O’Donnell, Cole Hauser, Anthony Rapp, Amy Locane, and Ben Affleck
Budget: $18 million
Box Office: $14.7 millionSet in the 1950s, School Ties is the story of David, a working-class Jewish high schooler who receives an academic scholarship to an exclusive Catholic prep school during his senior year so he can help win them a football championship. Charming and good-natured, David is immediately liked by his peers, but chooses to hide his religion from classmates who look upon Jewish people negatively.
Written by Dick Wolf of Law & Order fame, the period piece about intolerance offers an esteemed cast and an important message that is sadly still needed today.
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