Whether popular or marginalized, cult films enjoy an active and enduring following by dedicated fans. Going beyond the Anglo-Western configurations of fans’ visible performances and collective practices, this essay calls for a reevaluation of cult cinema by highlighting the sociopolitical, industrial, and cultural forces that have structured the lived experience of films. Here, cult films are introduced as persistently relevant cultural products to their fans, whose individual practices of fandom extend into the public sphere despite/because of the obstacles against their continued presence. Using various examples, this essay argues that Iranian cult films are confusing signifiers that defy ideological appropriations and denunciations as a result of their textual indeterminability and the culturally volatile environment of their reception. Furthermore, it is argued that Iranian cult fans have historically been attracted to these films because they signal myriad forms of failure.