Cult Film Spotlight: Heathers (1988)
‘Heathers’ (1988)
Cult films have an underlying effect on pop culture, even if you have never seen or heard of the film before. There are quotes, images, storylines & subtext that carry on a resonating theme with a specific type of audience. One movie that has secretly influenced modern film for over 20 years is the 1988 dark comedy ‘Heathers’ starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
‘Heathers’ tells a twisted tale of how cliques & stereotypes can impact the lives of just about everyone in high school, and how violence and suicide can socially influence just about everyone in a small town. This film explores taboo subjects, satirically exposes America’s infatuation with violence and goes so far as to exploit how empty and shallow friendships can be. Tongue-in-cheek dark humor permeates almost every scene, pretty much nothing is left to the imagination.
Veronica Sawyer (Ryder) wants to climb the social ladder at school and become part of the in-crowd, the “Heathers” as they are called. Her half-hearted attempt at popularity catches the eye of the new kid at school, Jason Dean (Slater), who takes Veronica under his wing and shows her his own brand of revenge and popularity-control tactics. This includes murder, suicide, explosives, and lies. As the body count rises, Veronica gets caught in a downward spiral of psychotic behavior that she cannot control nor does she comprehend.
Full of catchy one-liners, eye-popping scenes of disgust and depravity, middle-class angst & incredibly violent behavior, ‘Heathers’ is a true cult classic in every sense of the word. A film such as this would never be approved for theatrical release this day in age, not outside the indie circuit at least. The media would crucify the subject matter, banning it from ever seeing the light of day. If dark humor is your cup of tea, visit our ‘Heathers’ Sound Quotes Collection page and drink it up. Just make sure you’re not sipping some liquid drainer…
Pop Quiz, Hotshot: Did you know that the role of Heather McNamara was first offered to actress Heather Graham? It’s true, she was 17 at the time and her parents refused to let her appear in such a dark and twisted movie. Also, Brad Pitt auditioned for the Jason Dean role but he was turned down for appearing “too nice” for the role.
