The Warriors

Starring: a cast of nobodies in flamboyant outfits

I love cult films. There is just something so fun in embracing a film that can be reviled by so many people but that you can bond with a select group of people about. What is a cult film? Read a definition of cult films here.

So for review today is this cult classic (ranked #13 on Entertainment Weekly's top 100 cult films) titled The Warriors. You may recognize the title as a popular Rockstar games video game.

First off, let's be honest about this film. It's cheesy and not in the least bit scary or tough. The premise is extremely simplistic. A prominent gang leader who wants to unite all the New York City gangs is gunned down during an important speech and the gang named "The Warriors" is wrongfully accused. The Warriors are now targeted by every gang in NYC so they must get to their home turf of Coney Island ASAP. The movie follows their journey back to Coney Island through the subway system, parties and the streets.

What makes this movie unique though are the gangs themselves. It's hilarious to see so many flamboyant gangs attempting to murder The Warriors in face paint, silly outfits, and with ridiculous gang names. We have the mime gang, the baseball gang, the orphans, the "lizzies" (lesbian gang, although never outwardly named such), the high-hats, etc. The film has a very comic book feel because of the variety of costumed gangs and on the DVD version comic book panels have been added for segway between scenes. The film wraps up quickly and only has a running time of 93 minutes, which is perfection.

This is a fun, memorable, quotable movie that deserves cult status. I highly recommend it to those of you out there with eclectic tastes.