Never heard of this. I assumed it would be about the cult. But it's not.
Discussion
The critics formed a cult, and had fun tearing the film and the director apart.
Same director who did Deer Hunter. After its success the studios gave him carte blanche.
Apparently it took so long to shoot that John Hurt went off and did The Elephant Man, with David Lynch (rip), and then came back to set. The film effectively ruined the directors career, I think in part because of the critics.