11 Hated Sci-Fi Movies That Became Cult Classics
1. The Man Who Fell To Earth
It's rare that a cult film can garner enough enthusiasm and critical respect to earn a Criterion Collection edition, but Nicolas Roeg's 1976 adaptation of Walter Tevis' novel is that good. It's loaded with imagery and themes well outside the typical sci-fi model, exploring what we value as a culture and what we're willing to dispose of.
It's gorgeous to look at, even earning a callback in Zack Snyder's Watchmen (Dr. Manhattan's military lab has the same wallpaper), and it features a pitch-perfect performance from David Bowie, who was so coked out of his mind he doesn't remember filming a single frame - appropriate while playing an alien desperate for water to save his dying planet.
Critics were largely mixed, some calling it beautiful but "pretentious" and incapable of a simple narrative. Nevertheless, it's made the midnight movie circuit right alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which some critics have called a disservice to its legacy.