Film
Horror Affect
Been watching a lot of horror movies lately. Seems like there’s a lot to be learned affect-wise in the way certain films can build a space and response in the viewer by simple depictions, sound and color. Though often, these effects, by the end of a film, are dispelled: any inherent blank or fear in buildings or suggestions are explained away by removing masks, using weapons, spilling gore. This, for me, always is simultaneously a relief, because I can get out, but also a supreme disappointment, because then there is nothing left to rub. Specifically, last night I watched a pop horror film, The Strangers, and was actually starting to feel really activated, but then after the fear became murder it was easy to forget. There are, of course, though, horror films that don’t answer the questions, and have the affect, such as The Shining, and other films not quite horror in name but that cause that stir and don’t dispel it by the film’s end, such as Solaris or Invocation of My Demon Brother or Mulholland Drive. I can think of a lot of films like those, but much many less in the “official” horror genre, which seems weird.
What are some horror films that open these doors and leave them open, and also are beautifully made, clean of cheese?
What about books that cause this fear in you, and extend beyond page turners? House of Leaves is a close example, in that it has that affect, and the craft is decent, but I wish the book had had a more thorough edit to pare down the distractors.
Tags: horror movies, the strangers
Dude. Begotten: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7973225371449473825#
Dude. Begotten: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7973225371449473825#
I have the DVD and I occasionally show it to people. No one has ever watched it in one sitting.
I have the DVD and I occasionally show it to people. No one has ever watched it in one sitting.
It’s a great date movie.
It’s a great date movie.
I like this thread but doesn’t Mulholland Drive’s tacked on ending do the exact opposite and close all the doors? Such an amazing film for the first 2/3rds, hate the ending though.
I like this thread but doesn’t Mulholland Drive’s tacked on ending do the exact opposite and close all the doors? Such an amazing film for the first 2/3rds, hate the ending though.
I do think Lost Highway was better, but I wouldn’t say that the end of Mulholland Drive wraps anything up: the timeline is paradoxical.
I do think Lost Highway was better, but I wouldn’t say that the end of Mulholland Drive wraps anything up: the timeline is paradoxical.
nice, never seen or heard of that somehow. i will watch tonight. thank you.
nice, never seen or heard of that somehow. i will watch tonight. thank you.
Great suggestion
there is no possible way to close all the doors in Mulholland Drive. no matter how it may seem by the ending. the ending, for me, in fact, doubles the whole thing, in that it tries to pretend like it closed the door, but didn’t.
Great suggestion
there is no possible way to close all the doors in Mulholland Drive. no matter how it may seem by the ending. the ending, for me, in fact, doubles the whole thing, in that it tries to pretend like it closed the door, but didn’t.
furthermore, inland empire is connected to mulholland drive, opening even more.
furthermore, inland empire is connected to mulholland drive, opening even more.
Peter Tcherkassy’s “Outer Space” is a complete mindfuck – watch it on as big a screen as possible.
Peter Tcherkassy’s “Outer Space” is a complete mindfuck – watch it on as big a screen as possible.
It doesn’t so much close the doors as say the doors don’t exist. Basically a variation “but then I woke up and it was all a dream!” ending.
Of course, it is hard to fault Lynch when the thing was supposed to be an extended TV series and suddenly he was stuck with a TV pilot that wasn’t picked up.
It doesn’t so much close the doors as say the doors don’t exist. Basically a variation “but then I woke up and it was all a dream!” ending.
Of course, it is hard to fault Lynch when the thing was supposed to be an extended TV series and suddenly he was stuck with a TV pilot that wasn’t picked up.
surely you can give the film more credit than that, even if certain things might suggest that kind of twist. i don’t think that is what’s going on at all. not that i could say specifically what i do think is going on.
surely you can give the film more credit than that, even if certain things might suggest that kind of twist. i don’t think that is what’s going on at all. not that i could say specifically what i do think is going on.
Sorry to threadjack. I’m just always so annoyed that MD didn’t get picked up, because it could have been such an amazing TV series.
Sorry to threadjack. I’m just always so annoyed that MD didn’t get picked up, because it could have been such an amazing TV series.
In the vein of experimental Austrians, Dietmar Brehm fits this affect throughout almost his entire body of work. Particularly the films that fall under the collective name of “Black Garden” & were released by Index DVD (which also released a disc of Tscherkassky’s brilliant work).
Also, for my money Tscherkassky’s Happy-End actually lingers longer than Outer Space, which relieves itself in intensity. The former is just ritual dissected in the home, and it takes on an utter air of terror.
Hmm, I have to say I disagree with this entirely. Like Blake, I wouldn’t say I know what’s going on, but you seem to be saying he’s giving some priority to the second narrative over the first, as though the end were “more real” within the space of the film. I don’t see it. After the box is dropped in the bedroom, the elements of the former narrative are given a massive shake, and allowed to reassemble themselves in a strange new way. This new assembly is, I think, is coequal.
In the vein of experimental Austrians, Dietmar Brehm fits this affect throughout almost his entire body of work. Particularly the films that fall under the collective name of “Black Garden” & were released by Index DVD (which also released a disc of Tscherkassky’s brilliant work).
Also, for my money Tscherkassky’s Happy-End actually lingers longer than Outer Space, which relieves itself in intensity. The former is just ritual dissected in the home, and it takes on an utter air of terror.
Hmm, I have to say I disagree with this entirely. Like Blake, I wouldn’t say I know what’s going on, but you seem to be saying he’s giving some priority to the second narrative over the first, as though the end were “more real” within the space of the film. I don’t see it. After the box is dropped in the bedroom, the elements of the former narrative are given a massive shake, and allowed to reassemble themselves in a strange new way. This new assembly is, I think, is coequal.
The film, to me, pretty clearly shows that the first 2/3rds of the film is the dream/fantasy of Watts real life character. It ties everything together fine. I guess you can throw in more crazy theories (I know people do this for lots of films, even straight forward ones like Star wars) but I guess I’m an Occam’s Razor guy.
When I watched it I thought it was the best film I’d ever seen then suddenly it had this tacked on ending that almost ruined it. Felt like Lynch had scrambled to make it sensible at all from something longer. Then I read about the film and learned that’s basically what happened, he had a long multi-arc TV series planned and had to think up a way to tie together a TV pilot into a film.
How about the stories of William Gay?
The film, to me, pretty clearly shows that the first 2/3rds of the film is the dream/fantasy of Watts real life character. It ties everything together fine. I guess you can throw in more crazy theories (I know people do this for lots of films, even straight forward ones like Star wars) but I guess I’m an Occam’s Razor guy.
When I watched it I thought it was the best film I’d ever seen then suddenly it had this tacked on ending that almost ruined it. Felt like Lynch had scrambled to make it sensible at all from something longer. Then I read about the film and learned that’s basically what happened, he had a long multi-arc TV series planned and had to think up a way to tie together a TV pilot into a film.
How about the stories of William Gay?
Not that it is necessary to have a strict interpretation of a film of course, but to me the lame “all a dream ending” is hitting me in the face and I have to bend over backwards to make it something else. I’d have liked the film more if it just ended at the 2/3rds mark.
Not that it is necessary to have a strict interpretation of a film of course, but to me the lame “all a dream ending” is hitting me in the face and I have to bend over backwards to make it something else. I’d have liked the film more if it just ended at the 2/3rds mark.
Blake. You must find and watch Val Lewton’s horror films from the forties. They were a direct response to the Universal monster films of that time, which are fun but cheesy and not at all true horror. Lewton’s movies are all open doors and windows, atmospherics and shadows and nothing is nicely wrapped up at all. The Seventh Victim, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Isle of the Dead…I’d maybe start with those since they’re the creepiest, I think. They’re the opposite of gore–all suspense and suggestion.
Blake. You must find and watch Val Lewton’s horror films from the forties. They were a direct response to the Universal monster films of that time, which are fun but cheesy and not at all true horror. Lewton’s movies are all open doors and windows, atmospherics and shadows and nothing is nicely wrapped up at all. The Seventh Victim, Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, Isle of the Dead…I’d maybe start with those since they’re the creepiest, I think. They’re the opposite of gore–all suspense and suggestion.
man, i love william gay
man, i love william gay
A friend was just recommending “Black Garden” a few weeks back, but didn’t give much detail about it. I’ll definitely check it out now. “Happy-End” too, which I somehow missed.
A friend was just recommending “Black Garden” a few weeks back, but didn’t give much detail about it. I’ll definitely check it out now. “Happy-End” too, which I somehow missed.
is there a good place to get US versions of the Brehm, Mike? the Index is PAL
is there a good place to get US versions of the Brehm, Mike? the Index is PAL
it’s “zip”, not “zap”
it’s “zip”, not “zap”
Miike’s Gozu did this to me years ago, and I still think about it. Visitor Q too, probably moreso. You said in Mulholland Drive its ending doubles the ambiguities because it tries to close them but fails. The endings of both these movies fall flat on their face like this, but entirely intentionally and with a strong sense of humor. Now that I think of it, maybe all Miike’s endings are ironic deflations or intentional failures
Miike’s Gozu did this to me years ago, and I still think about it. Visitor Q too, probably moreso. You said in Mulholland Drive its ending doubles the ambiguities because it tries to close them but fails. The endings of both these movies fall flat on their face like this, but entirely intentionally and with a strong sense of humor. Now that I think of it, maybe all Miike’s endings are ironic deflations or intentional failures
Your point about certain movies giving you an out (forgettable, explainable murder), and others leaving things open and therefore stirring is an interesting one. Do you think it is at all related to what Joyce was going at in Portrait of the Artist through Stephen and Lynch’s discussion of pity and terror?
“Pity is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the human sufferer. Terror is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the secret cause.”
The explainable murder is a pity for the victim, the stirring universal ill-at-ease is terrifying for the viewer. few books or movies are capable of the latter.
it’s not exactly a horror film, but i love what fellini does with juliet of the spirits
Your point about certain movies giving you an out (forgettable, explainable murder), and others leaving things open and therefore stirring is an interesting one. Do you think it is at all related to what Joyce was going at in Portrait of the Artist through Stephen and Lynch’s discussion of pity and terror?
“Pity is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the human sufferer. Terror is the feeling which arrests the mind in the presence of whatsoever is grave and constant in human sufferings and unites it with the secret cause.”
The explainable murder is a pity for the victim, the stirring universal ill-at-ease is terrifying for the viewer. few books or movies are capable of the latter.
it’s not exactly a horror film, but i love what fellini does with juliet of the spirits
straight up Blake, not to seem too masturbartory, but Scorch Atlas does that for me.
straight up Blake, not to seem too masturbartory, but Scorch Atlas does that for me.
I know this isn’t a movie but the final episode of Twin Peaks is the scariest hour ever appear on television. And, since the show got cancelled, the doors are unshutable.
I know this isn’t a movie but the final episode of Twin Peaks is the scariest hour ever appear on television. And, since the show got cancelled, the doors are unshutable.
Hardly ideal, but better than nothing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unw8YYKYZPQ
Hardly ideal, but better than nothing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unw8YYKYZPQ
man, thank you jon. that makes me happy.
agreed. ep 30 is something truly else.
man, thank you jon. that makes me happy.
agreed. ep 30 is something truly else.
i like that a lot Rich, and seems really a nice definition of the two functionally.
also, i think kieslowski’s double life of veronique is practically about this idea, if it could be said to be about anything at all. at the end of the film the main character says, “I feel something important is happening around me. And it scares me.”
i like that a lot Rich, and seems really a nice definition of the two functionally.
also, i think kieslowski’s double life of veronique is practically about this idea, if it could be said to be about anything at all. at the end of the film the main character says, “I feel something important is happening around me. And it scares me.”
Miike is nice. yeah, he is one of the few that can bring some extreme humor, even slapstick, in and still leave an affect that hasn’t been botched. humor is often in the way of these things, and yet when it comes in and works it’s so thrilling.
those sound really nice, thanks Amber. netflixed it.
Miike is nice. yeah, he is one of the few that can bring some extreme humor, even slapstick, in and still leave an affect that hasn’t been botched. humor is often in the way of these things, and yet when it comes in and works it’s so thrilling.
those sound really nice, thanks Amber. netflixed it.
Gay almost does that for me. There’s not quite the fear, but a definite sense of aura in the spaces. It really takes a lot to make me feel that shake, and he gets really close sometimes. I do love his stuff though. Provinces of Night is fucked.
Don’t watch it alone. Or hung over. Learned that the hard way.
Gay almost does that for me. There’s not quite the fear, but a definite sense of aura in the spaces. It really takes a lot to make me feel that shake, and he gets really close sometimes. I do love his stuff though. Provinces of Night is fucked.
Don’t watch it alone. Or hung over. Learned that the hard way.
jesus christ. i am buying that now.
jesus christ. i am buying that now.
holy shit you are in for a treat. you are going to love this, blake.
holy shit you are in for a treat. you are going to love this, blake.
I agree with about 80% of Salon’s Mullholland Drive analysis: http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2001/10/23/mulholland_drive_analysis/
That was roughly the conclusion I came to after I saw it a second time (before I read the Salon article). I think it’s (again, roughly) what Lynch had in mind at least as a fair interpretation. It’s not like he selects narrative elements completely at random…I think he really does have a clear structure in mind.
I agree with about 80% of Salon’s Mullholland Drive analysis: http://archive.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2001/10/23/mulholland_drive_analysis/
That was roughly the conclusion I came to after I saw it a second time (before I read the Salon article). I think it’s (again, roughly) what Lynch had in mind at least as a fair interpretation. It’s not like he selects narrative elements completely at random…I think he really does have a clear structure in mind.
i second this highly. i’ve got one of the dvd’s on top of my tv right now.
i second this highly. i’ve got one of the dvd’s on top of my tv right now.
Excellent! I feel like not enough people know his stuff, which I think was ahead of its time in many ways.
Excellent! I feel like not enough people know his stuff, which I think was ahead of its time in many ways.
Andrzej Zulawski’s POSSESSION with Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill. You think it’s one thing — taken to an almost unbearable extreme — and then it’s something else, a revelation of almost unbelievable lunacy — and then it’s something else, again…. and you realize that this elevator goes sideways as well as deep down into the eath or up into the sky…..
Andrzej Zulawski’s POSSESSION with Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill. You think it’s one thing — taken to an almost unbearable extreme — and then it’s something else, a revelation of almost unbelievable lunacy — and then it’s something else, again…. and you realize that this elevator goes sideways as well as deep down into the eath or up into the sky…..
i LOVE that movie
i LOVE that movie
Valerie and her Week of Wonders. Robert Blake in ‘Lost Highway’. Saw. Rape scene in ‘The Entity’.
Dawn Wiener’s death it ‘Hostel 2’. Laura Palmer wrapped in plastic.The little girl from the ‘Exorcist’. The earwhig in “The Wrath of Khan”. Freddy Krueger. Candyman. Dracula and Frankenstein, 2666, all blend to become Willy Pickton for me. The affect releases the Other, the killing fields, abu ghraib… I can’t tell the difference anymore. It is all ‘death’s showcase’, horrible projections, a kunstkammer of killing. I read “Three Paths to the Lake” by Ingebord Bachman recently. The movie version at the theater quit when the projector died when I went to see it earlier this week.
Valerie and her Week of Wonders. Robert Blake in ‘Lost Highway’. Saw. Rape scene in ‘The Entity’.
Dawn Wiener’s death it ‘Hostel 2’. Laura Palmer wrapped in plastic.The little girl from the ‘Exorcist’. The earwhig in “The Wrath of Khan”. Freddy Krueger. Candyman. Dracula and Frankenstein, 2666, all blend to become Willy Pickton for me. The affect releases the Other, the killing fields, abu ghraib… I can’t tell the difference anymore. It is all ‘death’s showcase’, horrible projections, a kunstkammer of killing. I read “Three Paths to the Lake” by Ingebord Bachman recently. The movie version at the theater quit when the projector died when I went to see it earlier this week.
Blake, do you torrent?
Blake, do you torrent?
sounds awesome. i will look for it
i did for a while and then gave up. too much work. if you have any good tips for easy ways, i’d love to hear them
sounds awesome. i will look for it
i did for a while and then gave up. too much work. if you have any good tips for easy ways, i’d love to hear them
Possession, 1981, directed by Andzeg Zuulawski. If you watch it, you’ll wish you never had. Your whole life will be darkened down one, imperceptible notch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535kO7N5GWw
Possession, 1981, directed by Andzeg Zuulawski. If you watch it, you’ll wish you never had. Your whole life will be darkened down one, imperceptible notch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=535kO7N5GWw
C.H.U.D.
C.H.U.D.
ok, sweet, i’m going to email you now with something pretty cool.
ok, sweet, i’m going to email you now with something pretty cool.
Wes Cravens DEADLY FRIEND which had be to recut a bunch of times to avoid an NC-17.
It is entirely freaky. The ending left me scarred as a kid. I shivered randomly for years afterward. I do not joke. It had no closure, in a sense. In fact it ran away from closure and more of an openness in regards to your emotions. It wanted your last feeling to be one of full field fright. Not “one last scare”, but a terrorist attack on your psyche which would cause you to distrust all things stable and safe.
Wes Cravens DEADLY FRIEND which had be to recut a bunch of times to avoid an NC-17.
It is entirely freaky. The ending left me scarred as a kid. I shivered randomly for years afterward. I do not joke. It had no closure, in a sense. In fact it ran away from closure and more of an openness in regards to your emotions. It wanted your last feeling to be one of full field fright. Not “one last scare”, but a terrorist attack on your psyche which would cause you to distrust all things stable and safe.
Brehm’s films have never had a US release (the only actual home video release has been the Index DVD). If you have a DVD drive on your computer the Index DVD’ll play on it (as I’m 99% sure it’s region free). Also, the films are around some torrent sites.
Brehm’s films have never had a US release (the only actual home video release has been the Index DVD). If you have a DVD drive on your computer the Index DVD’ll play on it (as I’m 99% sure it’s region free). Also, the films are around some torrent sites.
I’ll third it, Lewton runs shit. Seventh Victim is the best, but they’re all fantastic.
I’ll third it, Lewton runs shit. Seventh Victim is the best, but they’re all fantastic.
Almost all of Zulawski’s films are worth checking out, they all exist in their own world and create a very specific emotional/performative space that’s incredibly claustrophobic and impossible to escape from.
Almost all of Zulawski’s films are worth checking out, they all exist in their own world and create a very specific emotional/performative space that’s incredibly claustrophobic and impossible to escape from.
I think Stalker by Tarkovsky could fit here. Even the hair-washing scene in Mirror. It’s so mysterious and sublime, because the mother has become a faceless creature almost.
Cries and Whispers by Bergman. Even a good portion of Fanny and Alexander, especially the last section where the children visit the Jew’s shop. But see the complete six hour version, stay away from the theatrical version if possible, at first. Better to compare later.
I think Stalker by Tarkovsky could fit here. Even the hair-washing scene in Mirror. It’s so mysterious and sublime, because the mother has become a faceless creature almost.
Cries and Whispers by Bergman. Even a good portion of Fanny and Alexander, especially the last section where the children visit the Jew’s shop. But see the complete six hour version, stay away from the theatrical version if possible, at first. Better to compare later.
If you haven’t heard of it, see GOZU by Takashi Miike, it’s amazing and about as un-western as you can get, as far as open-ended surreal horror goes. I like it better than Ichi The Killer, which the better-known of the guy’s movies.
If you haven’t heard of it, see GOZU by Takashi Miike, it’s amazing and about as un-western as you can get, as far as open-ended surreal horror goes. I like it better than Ichi The Killer, which the better-known of the guy’s movies.
Twentynine Palms is one of the best horror films of the 2000s even though that’s not how it presents itself. Inside is also pretty dope.
Twentynine Palms is one of the best horror films of the 2000s even though that’s not how it presents itself. Inside is also pretty dope.
” House of Leaves is a close example, in that it has that affect, and the craft is decent, but I wish the book had had a more thorough edit to pare down the distractors.”
I think one of the greater things about HOL is that despite those many side ventures and feedback loops and dead-end asides, the reader can’t really escape the dread. All the distractors, while seeming to take the reader off-course, point back to the construction of the Navidson narrative (which for me was the jump-off for the book’s dread) and Truant’s mother’s relationship to that narrative (which now seems to me to be the heart of the book’s dread, with the Navidson narrative an offspring of that).
Totally agree with the hair scene in Mirror, Greg. Haunting.
Finally, ‘Antichrist’ may be worth a viewing for you in relation to this subject, Blake.
” House of Leaves is a close example, in that it has that affect, and the craft is decent, but I wish the book had had a more thorough edit to pare down the distractors.”
I think one of the greater things about HOL is that despite those many side ventures and feedback loops and dead-end asides, the reader can’t really escape the dread. All the distractors, while seeming to take the reader off-course, point back to the construction of the Navidson narrative (which for me was the jump-off for the book’s dread) and Truant’s mother’s relationship to that narrative (which now seems to me to be the heart of the book’s dread, with the Navidson narrative an offspring of that).
Totally agree with the hair scene in Mirror, Greg. Haunting.
Finally, ‘Antichrist’ may be worth a viewing for you in relation to this subject, Blake.
Can’t believe a lot of giallo films haven’t been mentioned.
Bava’s “Black Sunday,” “Bay of Blood/Twitch of the Death Nerve.” The latter is particularly spooky, weird, and has an ending that is like, ‘WHAT THE HELL.’ In the best way.
I’m also a big fan of “Sauna,” which just came out recently.
However, I find that dismissing many horror films as simple cheese once the murders happen is too easy. Horror films are essentially about atmospherics and cultural taboos being broken or upheld, at least at this point in the genre’s history. I find the way in which morals are being promoted/rejected in such films their most fascinating aspect, at this point.
One that strikes me as somewhere between cheeseball and rather terrifying is ‘Session 9,’ which one can watch in its entirety here: http://www.vureel.com/video/4336/Session-9 .
Can’t believe a lot of giallo films haven’t been mentioned.
Bava’s “Black Sunday,” “Bay of Blood/Twitch of the Death Nerve.” The latter is particularly spooky, weird, and has an ending that is like, ‘WHAT THE HELL.’ In the best way.
I’m also a big fan of “Sauna,” which just came out recently.
However, I find that dismissing many horror films as simple cheese once the murders happen is too easy. Horror films are essentially about atmospherics and cultural taboos being broken or upheld, at least at this point in the genre’s history. I find the way in which morals are being promoted/rejected in such films their most fascinating aspect, at this point.
One that strikes me as somewhere between cheeseball and rather terrifying is ‘Session 9,’ which one can watch in its entirety here: http://www.vureel.com/video/4336/Session-9 .
also blake, especially because you liked sombre, you need to see grandieux’s la vie nouvelle— it is virtually all affect, and it’s terrifying. this interview he did with nicole brenez is good good good:
http://www.rouge.com.au/1/grandrieux.html
also blake, especially because you liked sombre, you need to see grandieux’s la vie nouvelle— it is virtually all affect, and it’s terrifying. this interview he did with nicole brenez is good good good:
http://www.rouge.com.au/1/grandrieux.html
Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
love that you tossed out THE SHINING and MULHOLLAND
don’t know if this qualifies but i thought MEMENTO was a powerful film, for some reason going back to the beginning, coming full circle it had that effect of spiraling down the rabbit hole
again, THE MACHINIST, while the ending does give you the “answer” to what haunts him, again, it send me back to the beginning
love that you tossed out THE SHINING and MULHOLLAND
don’t know if this qualifies but i thought MEMENTO was a powerful film, for some reason going back to the beginning, coming full circle it had that effect of spiraling down the rabbit hole
again, THE MACHINIST, while the ending does give you the “answer” to what haunts him, again, it send me back to the beginning
Battle royal
Battle royal
Silence of the lambs
Silence of the lambs
Old boy
Old boy
Rosemary’s baby
Rosemary’s baby
oh yes.
great call with Memento
oh yes.
great call with Memento
I feel like 2007’s Sunshine might go into this category of horror. But it’s not really a horror movie.
I feel like 2007’s Sunshine might go into this category of horror. But it’s not really a horror movie.
I was thinking about the Alien franchise, those first two movies were terrifying. I’ve been affecting horror, myself, more effectively, than anything I’ve seen. Maybe not heard. Attila Csihar does it good, and Hoath Torog from Sargeist. Sound is scarier than sight usually.
I was thinking about the Alien franchise, those first two movies were terrifying. I’ve been affecting horror, myself, more effectively, than anything I’ve seen. Maybe not heard. Attila Csihar does it good, and Hoath Torog from Sargeist. Sound is scarier than sight usually.
Don’t Look Now, Begotten, Alice (Jan Svankmajer’s), Cannibal Holocaust, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Try The Beyond, Brain Damage, and Bloodsucking Freaks for some beautifully made cheese.
Don’t Look Now, Begotten, Alice (Jan Svankmajer’s), Cannibal Holocaust, Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Try The Beyond, Brain Damage, and Bloodsucking Freaks for some beautifully made cheese.
If we’re going to get into ‘Sombre’ and all that, then I also heartily recommend Noe’s ‘Seul Contre Tous.’ Infinitely more unsettling than ‘Irreversible,’ even.
If we’re going to get into ‘Sombre’ and all that, then I also heartily recommend Noe’s ‘Seul Contre Tous.’ Infinitely more unsettling than ‘Irreversible,’ even.
I would argue that Noe’s films work on an entirely different level than Grandrieux’s (and I would think both artists would agree with that). I Stand Alone is affecting, I suppose, in it’s overwhelming misanthropy that is occasionally muddled by it’s diegetic breaks in the narrative (the inter-titles that address the audience), whereas Grandrieux works towards affect at the level of the medium itself, with control over light and sound. The narratives of Grandrieux’s films only serve to heighten the affect brought materially/structurally, whereas in Grandrieux the material/structural elements serve to only heighten the narrative.
I would argue that Noe’s films work on an entirely different level than Grandrieux’s (and I would think both artists would agree with that). I Stand Alone is affecting, I suppose, in it’s overwhelming misanthropy that is occasionally muddled by it’s diegetic breaks in the narrative (the inter-titles that address the audience), whereas Grandrieux works towards affect at the level of the medium itself, with control over light and sound. The narratives of Grandrieux’s films only serve to heighten the affect brought materially/structurally, whereas in Grandrieux the material/structural elements serve to only heighten the narrative.
Oops in that last sentence it should be like this:
“The narratives of Grandrieux’s films only serve to heighten the affect brought materially/structurally, whereas in Noe the material/structural elements serve to only heighten the narrative.”
Oops in that last sentence it should be like this:
“The narratives of Grandrieux’s films only serve to heighten the affect brought materially/structurally, whereas in Noe the material/structural elements serve to only heighten the narrative.”
one of the most completely immersive experiences i’ve had with a book in a long time. i was reading it in the cold next to the fort point channel on the boston harbor. i assume it was beautiful, but really the sky was raining ink and my dad was awful at basketball and I was on a tricycle looking into a chasm filled with dead, crust-ridden bodies. fucking wrecked me in the realest way. thank you man.
house of leaves was fun and all, but i like it as a piece of concept art more than I like it as a narrative. but fuck narrative.
one of the most completely immersive experiences i’ve had with a book in a long time. i was reading it in the cold next to the fort point channel on the boston harbor. i assume it was beautiful, but really the sky was raining ink and my dad was awful at basketball and I was on a tricycle looking into a chasm filled with dead, crust-ridden bodies. fucking wrecked me in the realest way. thank you man.
house of leaves was fun and all, but i like it as a piece of concept art more than I like it as a narrative. but fuck narrative.
I agree with so many here from Solaris to the Shining, but David Lynch seems to provide an especially acute sense of “existential dread”. The Twin Peaks finale, the flawed Fire Walk with Me, Lost Highway & Mulholland Drive are full of the otherworldly that aren’t really frightening movies but rather movies that open you up to be a little frightened of existence, the hidden in our own minds & reality. The only filmmaker that made my teeth feel numb in a similiar way was David Cronenberg ,in a muted way in his horror films, but in particular in “Crash”. Even though it wasn’t a so-called scary movie there was something in the subtext , an angst, a feeling very like in Lynch’s films.
I agree with so many here from Solaris to the Shining, but David Lynch seems to provide an especially acute sense of “existential dread”. The Twin Peaks finale, the flawed Fire Walk with Me, Lost Highway & Mulholland Drive are full of the otherworldly that aren’t really frightening movies but rather movies that open you up to be a little frightened of existence, the hidden in our own minds & reality. The only filmmaker that made my teeth feel numb in a similiar way was David Cronenberg ,in a muted way in his horror films, but in particular in “Crash”. Even though it wasn’t a so-called scary movie there was something in the subtext , an angst, a feeling very like in Lynch’s films.
For a book I’d recommend, “We Need To Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver; a very dark, creepy and well written book. A real thrilling read.
For a book I’d recommend, “We Need To Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver; a very dark, creepy and well written book. A real thrilling read.