Cult(ure) following: "Heathers" (1988)

Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce our latest feature: "cult(ure) following," in which we take a look at classic and recent cult films. First up? 1988's seminal black comedy Heathers. Let's take a look.

Then…: So dark that the producers had to sort through nearly all of Young Hollywood to find its cast, Heathers bombed at the box office. The moral gatekeepers of society were shocked and outraged at its release, and though quite a few critics counted it among their favorite films of 1988 most were scandalized.

…And now: Tame with regards to the body count yet still edgy in its conceit, Heathers would never get made today. Perhaps that’s why it has endured so well. Aside from its own continued presence in pop culture and its ever-intense popularity among film geeks and kitsch enthusiasts alike, most of whom could quote the entire film on command, Heathers revolutionized the teen movie genre. Seriously, take a look: pre-Heathers, we had wide-eyed idealist Molly Ringwald. Post-Heathers, we got deadpan snarker Daria. Just about everyone who has been a teenager since the release of Heathers owes their adolescence to Michael Lehmann and Daniel Waters.

See it with: Jaded Gender Studies majors; any hipster chick who secretly hasn’t entirely gotten over being “uncool” in high school; Tavi Gevinson.

Drug of choice: Crushed shoulder-pad fibers and aerosol hairspray.

Predecessor to: Jawbreaker, Mean Girls, Juno—just about any marginally-snarky film with a teenaged girl for a protagonist.