The book hangs its collection of essays with the somewhat thin gimmick that because cult films induce an 'orgasmic' sensation in their viewers, cult movies can be seen within a framework of sexual, gender-political and/or revolutionary contexts. Fine. But this is an academic text, and we know how longwinded these guys can get. The book doubly shoots itself in the foot by claiming that the fan community and the academic community can come together in enjoying and analysing these films. No they can't! Every pleasure of cult movies involves some kind of intellectual stimulation, but this collection of academic essays merely makes its subjects appear banal. The essay that should have turned this around, an essay on 'Showgirls', promised itself as an essay on the enjoyment of a derided movie from a fan persepctive, but even that essay soon bogged itself down with inappropriate and uninformative (and unexplained) references to camp and the movie's gay fanbase.
This is very well illustrated and is definitely packed with ideas, enough to warrant a tentative recommendation. But be warned that it IS an academic text, not a rollercoaster ride of fun film criticism.