Description: Every once in awhile, a movie comes along that slips under the radar, only to become massively popular with fans months (or even years) later. Some are critically acclaimed and others fall into the “so bad they’re good” category, but there’s one thing they all have in common: they bombed at the box office. Here is a look back at some movies everyone thought were flops before they achieved cult classic status. Check Back as I have been finding more to include!
Update: effective 08/25/20.
Creator: RoboPhone
Posted: 4 years ago
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Movie:
The Shawshank Redemption
( 1994 )
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
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Movie:
Highlander
( 1986 )
An immortal Scottish swordsman must confront the last of his immortal opponent, a murderously brutal barbarian who lusts for the fabled "Prize".
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Movie:
The Boondock Saints
( 1999 )
Two Irish Catholic brothers become vigilantes and wipe out Boston's criminal underworld in the name of God.
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Movie:
Heathers
( 1989 )
A regular girl, Veronica, tries to survive the social jungle of high school by sticking with the three most popular girls at school who are all called Heather. As she meets a sociopath named JD, her life spirals into a continuous cycle of hate, unintentional murder and indifference, as she exacts revenge on her enemies, also known as her best friends.
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Movie:
Event Horizon
( 1997 )
In the year 2047 a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the long lost starship "Event Horizon". The ship disappeared mysteriously 7 years before on its maiden voyage and with its return comes even more mystery as the crew of the "Lewis and Clark" discover the real truth behind its disappearance and something even more terrifying.
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Movie:
The Big Lebowski
( 1998 )
Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
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Movie:
The Thing
( 1982 )
A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.
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Movie:
Office Space
( 1999 )
Three company workers who hate their jobs decide to rebel against their greedy boss.
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Movie:
Dredd
( 2012 )
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
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Movie:
Fight Club
( 1999 )
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
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Movie:
Donnie Darko
( 2001 )
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
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Movie:
The Chronicles of Riddick
( 2004 )
The wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, and finds himself up against an invading empire called the Necromongers, an army that plans to convert or kill all humans in the universe.
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Movie:
Idiocracy
( 2007 )
Corporal Joe Bauers, a decidedly average American, is selected for a top-secret hibernation program but is forgotten and left to awaken to a future so incredibly moronic that he's easily the most intelligent person alive.
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Movie:
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
( 1975 )
A newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
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Movie:
The Wizard of Oz
( 1939 )
Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.
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Movie:
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
( 1971 )
A poor but hopeful boy seeks one of the five coveted golden tickets that will send him on a tour of Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory.
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Movie:
Blade Runner
( 1982 )
A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.
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Movie:
Clue
( 1985 )
Six guests are anonymously invited to a strange mansion for dinner, but after their host is killed, they must cooperate with the staff to identify the murderer as the bodies pile up.
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Movie:
Empire Records
( 1995 )
24 hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
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Movie:
Wet Hot American Summer
( 2001 )
Set on the last day of camp, in the hot summer of 1981, a group of counselors try to complete their unfinished business before the day ends.
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Movie:
The Iron Giant
( 1999 )
A young boy befriends a giant robot from outer space that a paranoid government agent wants to destroy.
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Movie:
Dazed and Confused
( 1993 )
The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
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Movie:
Showgirls
( 1995 )
Nomi, a young drifter, arrives in Las Vegas to become a dancer and soon sets about clawing and pushing her way to become the top of the Vegas showgirls.
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Movie:
Mulholland Drive
( 2001 )
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
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Movie:
Brazil
( 1985 )
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
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Movie:
The Shining
( 1980 )
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
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Movie:
It's a Wonderful Life
( 1947 )
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
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Movie:
TRON
( 1982 )
A computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.
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Movie:
Starship Troopers
( 1997 )
Humans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.
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Movie:
Hocus Pocus
( 1993 )
A curious youngster moves to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
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Movie:
Children of Men
( 2006 )
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
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Movie:
Treasure Planet
( 2002 )
A Disney animated version of "Treasure Island". The only difference is that the film is set in outer space with alien worlds and other galactic wonders.
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Movie:
The Quick and the Dead
( 1995 )
A female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death.
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Movie:
Big Trouble in Little China
( 1986 )
A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
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Movie:
Citizen Kane
( 1941 )
A group of reporters are trying to decipher the last word ever spoken by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: "Rosebud". The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane's life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane's life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man's rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the top of the world.
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Movie:
Barbarella
( 1968 )
Barbarella, an astronaut from the 41st century, sets out to find and stop the evil scientist Durand Durand, whose Positronic Ray threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy.
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Movie:
Ender's Game
( 2013 )
Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, an insectoid alien race who had previously tried to invade Earth and had inflicted heavy losses on humankind.
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Movie:
Dune
( 1984 )
A Duke's son leads desert warriors against the galactic emperor and his father's evil nemesis when they assassinate his father and free their desert world from the emperor's rule.
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Movie:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
( 1998 )
An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
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Movie:
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
( 1965 )
Three go-go dancers holding a young girl hostage come across a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert. After learning he's hiding a sum of cash around, the women start scheming on him.
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Movie:
Pumpkinhead
( 1989 )
After a tragic accident, a man conjures up a towering, vengeful demon called Pumpkinhead to destroy a group of unsuspecting teenagers.
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Movie:
Sid and Nancy
( 1986 )
The relationship between Sid Vicious, bassist for British punk group Sex Pistols, and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is portrayed.
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Movie:
Harold and Maude
( 1971 )
Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.
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Movie:
The Man Who Fell to Earth
( 1976 )
An alien must pose as a human to save his dying planet, but a woman and greed of other men create complications.
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Movie:
Plan 9 from Outer Space
( 1959 )
Evil aliens attack Earth and set their terrible "Plan 9" in action. As the aliens resurrect the dead of the Earth to destroy the living, our lives are in danger.
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Movie:
Hugo
( 2011 )
In Paris in 1931, an orphan named Hugo Cabret, who lives in the walls of a train station, is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
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Movie:
Mallrats
( 1995 )
Brodie Bruce, a Sega and comic book obsessed college student, and his best friend, TS Quint, are both dumped by their girlfriends on the same day, and to deal with their loss, they both go to the local mall. Along the way, they meet up with some friends, including Willam, a guy who stares at Magic Eye pictures, desprately trying to see the hidden image; Gwen, one of TS's ex-girlfriends; and Jay & Silent Bob, of Clerks fame. Eventually, they decide to try and win back their significant others, and take care of their respective nemesises (TS's girlfriend's father, and a store clerk who hates the two for not having any shopping agenda).
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Movie:
Slither
( 2006 )
A small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.
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Movie:
Dark Star
( 1979 )
In the far reaches of space, a small crew, 20 years into their solitary mission, find things beginning to go hilariously wrong.
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Movie:
Death to Smoochy
( 2002 )
A kids show host, Rainbow Randolph, is fired in disgrace while his replacement, Sheldon Mopes, aka Smoochy the Rhino, finds himself a rising star. Unfortunately for Sheldon, the business of kids television isn't all child's play.
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Movie:
Near Dark
( 1988 )
A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar.
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Movie:
Dead Alive
( 1992 )
A young man's mother is bitten by a Sumatran rat-monkey. She gets sick and dies, at which time she comes back to life, killing and eating dogs, nurses, friends, and neighbors.
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Movie:
The Room
( 2004 )
Johnny is a successful banker who lives happily in a San Francisco townhouse with his fiancée, Lisa. One day, inexplicably, she gets bored with him and decides to seduce his best friend, Mark. From there, nothing will be the same again.
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Movie:
Return to Oz
( 1985 )
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
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Movie:
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
( 2001 )
A gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
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Movie:
Bottle Rocket
( 1996 )
Three friends plan to pull off a simple robbery and go on the run.
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Movie:
True Romance
( 1993 )
In Detroit, a lonely pop culture geek marries a call girl, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood. Meanwhile, the owners of the cocaine, the Mob, track them down in an attempt to reclaim it.
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Movie:
Eraserhead
( 1978 )
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
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Movie:
The Princess Bride
( 1987 )
A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
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Movie:
Reservoir Dogs
( 1992 )
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
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Movie:
Mad Max
( 1979 )
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
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Movie:
Vertigo
( 1958 )
A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
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Movie:
Blade Runner 2049
( 2017 )
A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.
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Movie:
Manhunter
( 1986 )
Former F.B.I. profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer named "the Tooth Fairy" (Tom Noonan) by the media.
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Movie:
Cry-Baby
( 1990 )
In 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
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Movie:
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
( 1989 )
An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.
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Movie:
The Astronaut's Wife
( 1999 )
After an explosion in space and subsequent two-minute radio-out period, two astronauts return home to their wives. Slightly it's revealed that they're not the same as they were.
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Movie:
Blackhat
( 2015 )
A furloughed convict and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta.
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Movie:
Clockers
( 1995 )
Young drug pushers in the projects of Brooklyn live hard dangerous lives, trapped between their drug bosses and the detectives out to stop them.
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Movie:
Deepwater Horizon
( 2016 )
A dramatization of the disaster in April 2010, when the offshore drilling rig called the Deepwater Horizon exploded, resulting in the worst oil spill in American history.
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Movie:
The Good Dinosaur
( 2015 )
In a world where dinosaurs and humans live side-by-side, an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
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Movie:
Hard Rain
( 1998 )
The partner and nephew of an armored-truck driver tries to prevent three million dollars from being taken by a gang during a catastrophic flooding caused by a severe storm.
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Movie:
Heaven's Gate
( 1980 )
During the Johnson County War in 1890 Wyoming, a sheriff born into wealth does his best to protect immigrant farmers from rich cattle interests.
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Movie:
The Insider
( 1999 )
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a "60 Minutes" expose on Big Tobacco.
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Movie:
Ishtar
( 1987 )
Two terrible lounge singers get booked to play a gig in a Moroccan hotel but somehow become pawns in an international power play between the C.I.A., the Emir of Ishtar, and the rebels trying to overthrow his regime.
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Movie:
The King of Comedy
( 1982 )
Rupert Pupkin is a passionate yet unsuccessful comic who craves nothing more than to be in the spotlight and to achieve this, he stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.
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Movie:
The Lone Ranger
( 2013 )
Native American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
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Movie:
Man on the Moon
( 1999 )
The life and career of legendary comedian Andy Kaufman.
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Movie:
Mother!
( 2017 )
A couple's relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive at their home, disrupting their tranquil existence.
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Movie:
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
( 2016 )
When it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status.
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Movie:
Shoot 'Em Up
( 2007 )
A man named Mr. Smith delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
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Movie:
A Simple Plan
( 1999 )
Three blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
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Movie:
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
( 2017 )
A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
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Movie:
They Live
( 1988 )
They influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
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Movie:
Dark City
( 1998 )
A man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.
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Movie:
Cool World
( 1992 )
When Jack Deebs was behind bars he found escape by creating Cool World, a cartoon series featuring a vixen named Holli Would. The flesh proves weaker than ink, however, as Holli takes human form in Las Vegas.
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Movie:
Earth Girls Are Easy
( 1989 )
A Southern California girl befriends three furry aliens after their spaceship lands in her swimming pool.
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platypusp : best episode