| Samuels also attempts to explain the elements
that contribute to a film's cult status while challenging the profile
of the typical cult filmgoer. Including selected clips from the films
and rare footage of the fans who attend the late screenings, Midnight
Movies rejoices in the campy, flamboyant and sensational films
that continue to draw fans to the cinema, albeit for midnight screenings,
some 20 to 30 years after their original release, informs the media
reports.
Samuels said, "These films became ritualised moments of film
viewing and forged a relationship with the audience that is completely
locked into the time period of the '70s. These films were all made
by a singular individual outside of the traditional Hollywood system,
for very little money and failed initially on a commercial level,
but were reborn when they were screened at midnight."
Helmrich states, "This project is unique in that the cult
films of the '70s led to the mainstream films of today, especially
for such directors as John Waters and David Lynch. We would not
had Moulin Rouge without Rocky Horror or Blair
Witch without Night of the Living Dead. What was once
cult has become, in fact, mainstream today."
After interviewing Samuels about Midnight Movies, noted
film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Movies like these are why people
at film festivals are always talking, talking, talking. What should
they think about them, and why? What have they learned about human
nature from movie characters set free from the rigid requirements
of genre? Some directors choose to work outside the safe area favored
by that man who goes to the movies to be entertained. No wonder
they end up making Midnight Movies. I've always thought the most
interesting people stay up late."
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