Some films find their audience after midnight—and keep it for a lifetime. Cult cinema has long been home entertainment gold, with fans returning to their favorites and passing discoveries from friend to friend. For decades, Xenon has assembled some of the best: the strange, the outrageous, the overlooked, and the hard to classify. Our celebrated blaxploitation titles are part of that story, of course, but this collection reaches further into the films that inspire a particular kind of loyalty—and rarely stay on the shelf for long.
From diehard DIY filmmakers like Michael Paul Girard, to the singular, iconoclastic genius of Ralph Bakshi, these are filmmakers whose work could never be mistaken for anyone else’s.
INDIE / CULT | ART-HOUSE
Dermot Mulroney, James Cromwell, Martha Plimpton
DANTE’S INFERNO has been kicking around the cultural playground for over 700 years. But it has never before been interpreted with exquisitely hand-drawn paper puppets, brought to life using purely hand-made special effects.
Until now.
Rediscover this literary classic, retold in a kind of apocalyptic graphic novel meets Victorian-era toy theater.
“…feels like the unholy offspring of Mike Judge and Robert Crumb.”
– Robert Abele
John Green, Ben Cockman, Monica Sarah Lynn
Did he really see it? Or was it just in his head?
As he emerges from yet another long slog in the Northwest wilderness, John’s resolve remains undiminished. Long estranged from his family, John checks in to grab some provisions and touch base with some fellow sympathizers and true believers before resuming his all-consuming quest—to verify the existence of a Sasquatch he claims to have witnessed.
In Hunting Bigfoot, Seattle-based filmmaker, ... Read more
“Perhaps the greatest sasquatch movie ever made…”
– Michael Medved
Snoop Dogg, Ernie Hudson, Anson Mount, Danny Trejo, Jason Alexander, Lin Shaye
Welcome to the Hood of Horror, a place where your actions in this life determine your ultimate fate. Follow Snoop Dogg through three terrifying tales from this nefarious neighborhood, whose depraved denizens can all look forward to a very unpleasant eternity.
“GLEEFULLY DISGUSTING”—Variety
Shane Jacobson, Eve von Bibra, Chris Davis, Jesse Jacobson, Ronald Jacobson
This hilarious mockumentary film follows the numerous misadventures of a porta-john worker through both his personal and professional life, including an oddly glamorous excursion to the Pumper & Cleaner Expo in Nashville, TN.
“The funniest film I’ve seen all year”—Oscar winning filmmaker Michael Moore
Dick Monda, Billybob Rhoads
Tiny Martians use Earth as a laboratory to try out new life forms. They return after ten million years only to find that the human experiment is a complete failure. They decide to mate a human with a vacuum cleaner to create a species that will be better at cleaning up after itself, but a programming error by a drunken Martian sends the oversexed cleaner on a wild rampage of rape, murder and overall bad manners.
A farfetched story filled with quirky humor, international intrigue, clueless crime fighting government agencies, and a beautiful girl with a web cam and some very peculiar ideas about how best to achieve her ambitious, mostly illegal, cyber objectives.
Shauna O'Brien, Julie K. Smith, Regina Russell, Sasha Peralta, The Porcelain Twinz
An evil alien tyrant plots to harness the sexual energy of the Earth’s population and use it to destroy the planet…all in the name of her highly rated intergalactic Reality TV Show. Her intended pawns in the scheme, an all-girl rock band, discover the plot and will do anything to save the Earth. Anything.
Billy Dee Williams, Jaime Cardriche, Marjean Holden, Tommy “Tiny” Lister Jr., Chino “Fats” Williams, Grand L. Bush, Donovan Womack
A long-lost blast of B-movie mayhem, Secret Agent Double-0-Soul unleashes Billy Dee Williams in a whirlwind of low-budget spy chaos—bungling henchmen, exploding briefcases, malfunctioning gadgets, rapping mummies, and outrageous slapstick. A cult comedy rediscovered and remastered, it’s pure, lean-back parody fun.
Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Preston Lacy, Jason "Wee Man" Acuña, Sam Maccarone
“Jackassian” stunts combined with sketch comedy form the basis of this demented channel-surfing adventure for the unfocused youth of the world. From “Fear Factor” to “Wife Swap” to “The Apprentice” to “Girls Gone Wild”, nothing is off limits.
“A movie that dares you to watch it…Steve-O [is] the poster boy for a lack of foresight, getting thoroughly drunk and stoned”—Richmond Times-Dispatch
Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole, Rutherford Cravens
Pure White B*tch unflinchingly tells a raw story of rural life where crystal meth dictates the family dynamic.
After a stint in prison, Sonny (Xander Berkeley -Air Force One, Terminator 2) returns to his home in East Texas, determined to repair his relationship with his son, Abe. Standing in his way is his brother Bump (Anson Mount -“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), who ... Read more
Tony Todd, Danny Huston, Olivia D'Abo, Stephen Dorff, Duke Nicholson, Matthew Jacobs
Funny and frightening in equal measure, Traveling Light is a Bunuelian satire of bourgeoise life in Los Angeles at a moment of extreme crisis. From Candyman creator / director Bernard Rose.
“Continues Rose’s ongoing efforts to create haunting miniatures about life in Los Angeles with a classical twist.” –Vulture
’70s BLAXPLOITATION CLASSICS
Restored from Original Negatives
Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed, Jerry Jones
The legendary classic…the pillar of the ‘blaxploitation’ genre….Rudy Ray Moore is DOLEMITE! Filthy, fearless, and legendary, Dolemite launched Rudy Ray Moore’s reign as one of cult cinema’s most unstoppable icons and inspired a new generation of filmmakers. After being betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned, a street-level legend fights his way back to the top in a kung fu-fueled war against corrupt cops, rival pimps, and criminal kingpins. Loud, lawless, and packed with ... Read more
“The Citizen Kane of kung-fu pimpin’ films”—New York Times
Restored from Original Negatives
Rudy Ray Moore, Lady Reed, Jimmy Lynch, Ernie Hudson, Lady Java
In this sequel to the smash hit Dolemite, Dolemite is on the run from a redneck sheriff who has caught him with his woman. Dolemite and his posse (including a young Ernie Hudson) dodge the sheriff and his bullets in a high-speed chase that takes them to LA. Upon Dolemite’s arrival, he learns that Queen Bee (Lady Reed) and her Kung Fu Girls have been pushed out of the night-club business by a ruthless competitor who ... Read more
“The most essential Dolemite movie…”-ColeSmithey.com
Restored from Original Negatives
Rudy Ray Moore, Carol Speed, Lady Reed, Jimmy Lynch, Jerry Jones
In the fourth film of Rudy Ray Moore’s legendary run of cult classics, a retired cop turned nightclub owner goes to war against a mysterious new street drug in this wild, funk-soaked cult classic. Fueled by kung fu brawls, streetwise swagger, and pure 1970s grindhouse energy, Disco Godfather follows a one-man crusade through the criminal underworld as he takes on dealers, pimps, and predators in a relentless fight to clean up his streets.
American Genre Film Archive calls it “the shimmering finale in the cycle of Rudy Ray Moore’s blaxploitation gems… with a gritty PSA twist.”
Restored from Original Negatives
Rudy Ray Moore, Jimmy Lynch, Leroy & Skillet, Eboni Wryte, Wildman Steve
One of the classic films from Dolemite himself – Rudy Ray Moore! Gunned down by the mob, a comedian is given a second chance at life if he will marry the Devil’s hideous daughter.
“…[Moore] delivers his particular brand of humor forcefully…” – Variety
Restored from Original Negatives
Barry White, Scatman Crothers, Philip Michael Thomas, Charles Gordone
“The most incendiary work of the entire genre” – Quentin Tarantino
Starring Scatman Crothers, Phillip Michael Thomas, and soul legend Barry White. Originally reviled by activists (who had not seen the film), Coonskin has now been acknowledged by critics as the important masterpiece that it is. Rap superstars The Wu Tang Clan have expressed their love for the film, and want to produce a remake.
“Coonskin could be RALPH BAKSHI’S MASTERPIECE.”-New York Times
Restored from Original Negatives
Tobar Mayo, J. Walter Smith, Roxie Young, Gladys Lum, Tony Rumford
A black scientist moves his family into an affluent neighborhood, only to be greeted with threats and vandalism by their new white neighbors. When the bigotry turns murderous, the good doctor works to transform his militant bodyguard into a black superman with fantastic physical strength and mental powers that set the stage for a remarkable climax!
“Strike fear into the hearts of intolerant racists everywhere.” Rovi
Restored from Original Negatives
Marlene Clarke Lawrence Cook Wally Taylor
In this horror film, black African Christians confront the traditional religion of their peers when a Yoruban priest is drowned after attempting to stop the Christian baptism of a young girl and her mother. Trouble ensues when the priest comes back to life.
“Rife with powerful allegory … A film of style and deep substance that ranks among the best independent works of 1970s Black cinema.” – Screen Slate
This came out of nowhere and hit me like a ton of bricks…. extremely well constructed …. I can’t recommend it enough! – Chris Kirby, Letterboxd
Restored from Original Negatives
Joseph De Sue, Ivory Stone, Roosevelt Jackson, Liz Renay, Cardella Di Milo
Eddie, a Vietnam vet who has lost his arms and legs, is restored by DNA expert Dr. Stein. But the results turn monstrous when a rival for Eddie’s fiancée gives him the wrong medication.
Restored from Original Negatives
Rod Perry, Jimmy Witherspoon
A small-time numbers runner takes on the drug king pin that murdered his best friend.