I think one of the most interesting aspects of cosmic horrors (that is often unique to them) is that they can still be unsettling and tense even if the main characters are in a crowd, because it shows that in our numbers we are still helpless.
@@dclomg5 I know, but people still tell me that it's exclusively a body horror film; completely ignoring that the woman is a literal Eldridge horror who is self aware of being a different creature than humanity, but is self curious and wants to understand herself the world around her and it's various diversity of life. It's actually a very thoughtful portrayal of something that is usually only done without such an approach.
I actually feel the Lighthouse falls into elements of cosmic horror. A struggle to understand ones' place and identity in an unforgiving and vague setting, in which time and object permanence are in flux constantly, and the existence of any outside world becomes more and more obscure
Yes. I like that it's kept ambiguous as to whether there actually was something beyond human ken happening or if they both just slowly fell into madness and were delirious.
@@paireon3419 I watched a video just a few weeks ago on the history of lighthouse keepers "going mad" and now i honestly believe the movie is far stronger when understood in a literal (as opposed to paranormal) sense
I both agree and disagree. Absolutely want to see what a big budget cosmic horror film would look like, but also don't want studio executives to ruin the idea of the genre.
There’s an excellent low-budget film titled Out of Mind, well worth a watch if you can find it. Also there’s the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s vintage-style productions of The Call of Cthulhu and The Whisperer in Darkness. Both are well worth checking out for anyone who loves HPL’s fiction.
People tend to forget 1998's Sphere. Despite being set underwater it is cosmic horror and, while the delivery is far from perfect, the premice is dope as hell.
I love Sphere! One of my favourite movies. When I look at some of the reviews it got, I think they're watching the wrong film! Think it gets more love now time has passed, as it rightly should!
The one thing I'll credit Underwater for is getting the scale 'right'. I always imagine C'Thulu as inconceivably large, too big to take into one's scale of vision all at once, and in that movie he's definitely that. However, his focus on trying to kill these particular little people seems out of place. I'd see it more as you're going to die in his wake or be driven to madness at the sight of him, rather than him chasing you down with his mini-me's.
If there was a Mythos Cinematic Universe, I would get the Coen Brothers or David Fincher to do a Lovecraftian movie. The Coens could do Call of Cthulhu or Whisperer in the Darkness. Fincher could do something with a little more atmosphere like Cool Air or the Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
@@dgeci Prisoners: Best Structured Crime Investigation Thriller Since David Fincher's Films. Sicario: A Classic & Accurate Portrayal of War Action. Arrival & Blade Runner: 2 of The Best Sci Fi Films, One Being Faithful & Artistic To Original. Dune: A Great Adventure Epic Of Its Kind Since LOTR. He Doesn't Need Hype Like Other Movies Today. His Movies Speak For Themselves.
its focus on pure body-horror and special effects when its premise provides ample opportunity for exploring a deeper existential horror prevents it from being a masterpiece. What do I mean? What's interesting about the idea of the Thing is that it replicates whomever it imitates - does that include their consciousness, their memories and personality? So any of the characters incl. the hero could in fact be the Thing *and not even know it*? Exploring that kind of territory would have really elevated the movie and is somewhere I feel a more sophisticated director than Carpenter, like a Cronenberg, would have gone with it
Worth noting, “The Thing,” “Prince of Darkness”, and “In the Mouth of Madness” are all directed by Carpenter, and are collectively known as the Apocalypse Trilogy bc they all explore similar themes of encroaching cosmic terror :)
Annihilation really drew me in. (like the shimmer) Something about the dreamlike visuals and editing made the disturbing visuals feel... Calm? Almost welcoming? Something about the concept of trying to analyse and understand a cosmic entity really appeals to me because you see the women in the movie are smart and capable but like everyone who came before them they all eventually just... Succumb. No matter how prepared they are they just lose part of themselves bit by bit and that gradual degradation feels so hopeless and existential. Another layer I enjoy is the metaphorical nature of it. It really leaves you thinking for hours afterwards and makes you go "oh" on rewatch as you realise what you can read some of the unfortunate implications as.
I highly recommend reading the books!! The film takes a lot of ideas and mashes them together into an entirely new plot. I love it as a separate film but I don't think it's a good adaptation at all if that's even what they were going for
@@joocleary4576 I feel the same about adaptations of books I enjoyed where it's not necessarily faithful but plays with the concept in such an interesting way that you're glad it exists, you know? The books have been on my list for a while and I've been putting them off because I didn't have the time for reading but I just found the three book bundle for a reasonable price on Kindle so I've purchased them! I'll get to reading them tomorrow.
@@Hindustaniyoddha089... Uh... That's not how anything works. Stories can have similar themes or premise. Stories can, shockingly, even be inspired by something and do its own thing with the idea. Even if the writer was inspired by that story it wouldn't be a rip off. It's like saying Evil Dead is a rip off because it has the necronomicon in it. Or that Alien or Hellboy or It are rip offs cause they took inspiration from Lovecraft.
You gotta love Sam Neill. He's the cosmic horror go-to guy, and he's been in the best films IMO. The Empty Man is one crazy good movie. It stayed with me for weeks.
Annihilation is my personal favorite. ‘“I don’t know what it wants…if it wants”. Oh, and the bear of course. Bone chilling and beautiful at the same time. Such an incredible mood piece.
Read the Southern Reach Trilogy. The Books are WAY better than the movie by miles. If you think the movie was creepy then you've seen NOTHING. The books are gonna freak you out, especially the bear scene that they got completely wrong in the movie.
@@Rocks_vs_Uzis Agreed on the books, especially the disturbing use of hypnosis, all the odd ambient sounds, lapses in time, and staying very vague as to what the shimmer really is/looks like. First book is fantastic and unsettling, second book isn't my favorite, but the third nails the ending.
Watched The Empty Man last night. It's a very impressive movie. I highly, highly recommend it. It's one of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen. There are many movies that try to do what The Empty Man does with tone and atmosphere, but most fall flat. The Empty Man is the only film that gives me confidence that Lovecraft can be done believably on the big screen. It's also quite timid with regards to jump scares, preferring a slow-burn psychological eerie creepiness. I wasn't over impressed with the ending but I was very satisfied, and it's definitely one I'd enjoy re-watching. It has one of the best movie prologues I've ever seen too.
Birdbox for the concept. Trying to imagine something that would make you lose your mind by just trying to comprehend its appearance makes it so good for me. Since the creatures are never truly shown. I imagined them to be similair to the Alien in the shimmer from Annihilationm extradimentional and formless yet having every form known. I know IT is horror and all, but ITs true form also fals into this category. The deadlights.
They designed a monster. It was a pale greenish baby faced thing. The cast laughed when they first saw it on set so they decide to reshoot and keep the monster ambiguous.
@cool dude +1 for the Cthulhu idea. In the story it is said when he rises Cthulhu will teach us “new ways to kill” and the crazies that survive outside are only intent on killing.
I have to say, was very interested in "The Endless", and it took me a while until I could finaly watch it, but after that I was quite disapointed, pretty lackluster, though it still has some good aspects
The Thing may be the greatest movie ever made. The blood test scene is my favourite scene of all time in cinema. It reached so deeply within my sympathies, never felt so connected to art. That helplessness, immobility, testing testing testing, the need to know and the fear of discovery, the unknown possibility it could be me- or you. Isolation, coldness, gathering bits of information with no real end, no women, no pleasure, no comfort, alone in the void. The mute indifference of a totally meaningless world based on biology, strength, weakness, drives. No evil, no goodness just isness. The constant not knowing. This film has it all. I saw it at the cinema when I was 11? Walked out in a daze of awe.
Agreed, but its a shame the sequel eschewed practical effects for lousy CGI. It would have been a good movie if they just fleshed out the 'origin' more.
I get what you're saying for the most part, but what on earth do you mean by "no women" in this context? If its because you think women exist to provide comfort and pleasure then you really need to reexamine some things
I liked the movie and understand your point. Ultimately we can still understand where the creature came from and what it wants. Because of those reasons I would exclude it from this genre.
BTAR , imo is not a cosmic horror , well yes we got some alien abomination that feeds sweet dreams into Lost astronaut , but other than that it doesnt really stick the "something is out there , and its evil" kind of thing
One movie that scratches that cosmic horror itch, at least a bit for me, is The Sphere. It is never truly understood what it is, if it's sentient and if so, what it's motivations are. It's not horror in the traditional sense, but it is a very suspenseful film that shows what might go wrong if you trust your own mind too much.
iirc it's not cosmic horror, altho the protagonist does go through the same hopeless & inexplicable horror & confusion. triangle's true story is actually more down to earth (spolier: it's about guilt, trauma, & self-persecution) presented in an absurd way. triangle's main antagonist doesnt come from any eldritch monstrosity from space or the netherworld, it's here on earth inside every human. tldr: triangle is not cosmic horror
@@ivanav.3136 I disagree, it certainly is cosmic horror, so what that it doesn’t have eldritch monsters in it or characters from HPL books, it evokes the same imaginative feelings of dread and hopelessness everyone comes to expect from cosmic horror films. It’s not perfect, and the acting is lacking in places, but it works, and it’s very scary.
YEEAAHH!!! For a while this was my favorite crazy movie, I used to show all my mates this during movie nights, and it messed up every single one of them without fail...hahaha
I watched Mandy and Beyond the Black Rainbow. I haven't got around to Color out of Space yet. Based on the other two, I'm a little nervous. I really wanted to like Mandy and Rainbow, but they just asked a little too much of me. I was fairly bored by them. I'm afraid Color out of Space is going to have a similar result.
@@markbrowning4334 Color out of Space isn't paced like the previous two movies you mentioned, so I think you do stand a decent chance of enjoying it. I also wanted to really like BTBRainbow and Mandy but I just couldn't get in to them due to the slow pace of the films.
@@markbrowning4334 Just interested if you got around to watch Color Out Of Space. I feel like you do about Mandy (haven't watched Rainbow) and I'm feeling apprehensive about Color mainly because of that. If you've watched it, do you recommend it?
@@Ink129 I haven't yet. I need to get around to seeing it. I could see watching something like Beyond the Black Rainbow again, but I think Mandy was probably a one and done viewing. Not that this one is made by the same people, but if you want another pretty cool stylish and atmospheric movie with a little stronger story, give Under the Skin a try. Its still really vague, but it does have a little more grounded narrative.
Prometheus should have been renamed "Dude, Don't Do That!" It had so many characters holding the Idiot Ball that it distracted from anything positive the movie may have had.
That's a running theme through a few of these movies. They mention paper thin characters in more than one of the movies listed and I think it's important to note that not everything is written to be just about character. Sometimes the characters are vehicles for an idea. If there's one thing people have taught me it's that they're always going to do human shit. That is to say...some folks can't help but let their curiosity bleed in with stupidity. But I'm rarely ever offended by people making dumb decisions in movies. Gives that element of interactivity because now I can lament at their dumb decisions out loud...and that's the case here. It's a literal "curiosity killed the cat" story. Some folks, obviously, don't want their science filled with bad decision making. Personally, I just think it's a shame how many people let the deeper shit get overshadowed by stereotypical characters.
@@foxross4468 ehhh, disagree. You can have smart characters making mostly good decisions and still end up in trouble (Alien, The Mist, The Thing...) and while humans gonna human, characters in Prometheus are criminally stupid. You'd think they'd get better or even best people in their respective fields than what they got - I've been to the university, I know a few scientists... and while there's an occasional Fifield that would get lost even tho he has the mapping device most of them are rather smart and careful people... that wouldn't really try to pet alien donger snake worm thingie... That movie is pretentious and very poorly written, and any attempt at 'deeper themes' is just obstructed by how bad the characters are.
@@benjimlem1284 I know a few biologist that would have tried to pet the alien snake if they were in a protection suit. Scientist are humans. They often act stupid.
@@Infiny92 eh, I guess, still - taking off helmets on an alien planet? Reminds me of that scene from Galaxy Quest I think it was - "DONT OPEN THAT! IT'S AN ALIEN PLANET! IS THERE AIR?! YOU DONT KNOW!"
I watched the movie Coherence around the same time as I saw The Endless and The Void, and I liked it a fair bit more than the latter. It’s about a house full of friends being enveloped by darkness following a comet flyby. Having no phone service, they go to a neighbouring house whose lights are still on, only to find that the house is occupied by copies of themselves, but with very minor differences. Loved it so much, really played into the whole idea of iterations and alternate realities well
Event Horizon was my introduction to cosmic horror. It creeped me out the first times I saw it in the late 90's. It ranks amongst my favourite cosmic horror movies along with Annihiliation and The Void.
And don't forget Invasion of the Body Snatchers from the 70s with Donald Sutherland. That was AWESOME cosmic horror. Another remake, but vastly superior to the original, like the Thing was vastly superior to the original.
@@brian6391 No, youre thinking of the 2011 prequel. The Thing starring Kurt Russel is a remake. No way in hell would anyone believe the prequel is better
Watched it last night. Loved it. It felt like a true Lovecraft story; really heavy on atmosphere, a brilliantly paced slow build, and an ending that felt like a perfect climax to how the film told its story. Also it had fantastic character writing. Everyone reacted believably, and that just made it all the scarier.
I first watched John Carpenter's The Thing as a preteen. 30 years later, after an all-night horror movie binge, and after I'd already seen this a hundred times at least, I had some truly horrifying nightmares because of it. IMO, John Carpenter's The Thing is THE BEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME!
I'm ok with horror movies where the characters backstory aren't as defined or flesh out as much before horror is, looking from a far pov looking at a fish tank. The little fish present action and reaction against the bigger fish that'll eat it, sooner or later. Though not cosmic horror but related in a way, I want to see weird horror/literature adaptation or inspired movies. Alot of weird fiction/horror writers are inspired by Lovecraft but theirs aren't strictly cosmic horror but the same existential dread and atmosphere are still the driving force of the stories. Thomas Ligotti, Paul Tremblay and John Lagan novels. Would be great.
I’m a huge fan of HP Lovecraft and I think that, when it comes to the written words, he is the best. But here we are talking about movies so my favourite cosmic horrors are The Thing (I love the original B&W film, but the 1982 version is great too) and Alien. But of course there are so many great films belonging to this genre
possession (1981) is one of the best horror movies (and movies in general) tha i've ever seen, i can't even explain what i felt while whatching it, and the entire cast was absolutely amazing, especially Isabelle Adjani.
I like to hangout with a buddy of mine & watch campy/cheesy sci-fy or horror. We’ll critique throughout the entire film (Mystery Science Theatre- style) One day he picks The Thing because he’s never seen it and i believe he thought it was going to be bad, being made in the early 80’s. I tell him “Bro, i’ve seen it but i’ll definitely watch it again and i’ll bet you’re not going to find very much to mock.” He was pretty much mute, leaning towards the tv the entire time. He said trying to guess who “it” is really reels you in.
Very happy you included annihilation, it was do beautiful yet horrifying. I saw it in theaters with no clue as to what I was about to witness and to this day it's one of those movies I'd recommend without thinking about it
The thing about Cosmic horror for me is that it needs to walk such a razor sharp edge. Slip to either side just a fraction and you get something like Event Horizon or The Void. Films I feel I should enjoy based on their superficial characteristics. But when I watch them I struggle to stay awake as the predictable transformations of bodies and space take place. But then there are those films like Annihilation, In the Mouth of Madness or even Cabin in the Woods that I just can't get enough of. Where there's more to the horrors than just icky morphings of forms. Where you can question reality at its core and us humans place in it. And without watching the movie, it is impossible to predict where it will fall on that edge. So I have to continue to wade through the tons of tons of films that bore me to the bone to get those few nuggets of excellence. So. In short, I can say that I love the genre, but I paradoxically can't really stand 99.9% of the films that make up its indescribable tentacled mass.
Totally agree, totally agree. That's why I'm skeptical of Del Toro making The Mountains of Madness. However, cosmic horror is also one of my favourite genres, but there's a love hate relationship. You know who I want to pull off a cosmic horror movie in the future? I think Villeneuve can do it.
@@sk8shred Yeah, del Toro is one of those directors where I see he does great stuff. But when I sit down to actually watch the films I tend to leave very underwhelmed.
Honestly, one of the best cosmic horror is actually Stephen King's IT. It technically fits "cosmic horror" more than most of these movies you mentioned on this list. It's just that mainstream public just sees the clown and thinks "oh creepy killer clown", not realizing that Pennywise is an interdimensional entity that's billions of years old, who's real form cannot be comprehended by humans. He even says to Bill, "You'll never see me, you'll see only what your little mind can allow! For if you stay, you'll lose your little mind...".
Sunshine (2007) would have been an excellent addition. It's a Danny Boyle film and the cinematography is beautiful! Check it out if you haven't. 10/10 IMO.
Going off the audience recommendation of The Endless, I would also recommend another film by the directors (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) of it called Spring (2014). To borrow from it's wikipedia page, it's a '..romantic body horror film..'. Yeah. It's cosmic horror but used to explore personal relationships and love. I adore it, and its really bizarre genre mix. Everything those two have been involved in has been a big hit with me.
well, one is 'you got chosen with no fault of your own' vs 'you made a deal and you try to skip town without paying' ; but the movies do have a similar feel to them.
Strongly recommend The Empty Man - very underrated movie and it had horrible marketing at release. It's very eerie and it takes its time to slowly creep under your skin. I'll have to re-watch again soon.
I feel like I'm the only person in the world who has seen Sphere (1998). A star-studded cast set in a underutilized setting that matches perfectly with Lovecraftian/Cosmic horror. I don't want to say anything else about it to avoid spoiling anything, just go watch it if you want a good existential horror/mystery film.
Loved it so much when I watched it in high school I decided to read the novel. Funny story, I was dropped a reading assignment at the time and wrote about it. The 60+ year old teacher had some trouble with my report and brought me in to clarify a few things.
Fun fact about The Mist, the creatures that invade are actually from an alternate dimension, the same dimension that the creature from Stephen Kings IT is from.
Beyond the Black Rainbow is my fave, a bit arty and doesn’t explain itself at all but it’s great for atmosphere and full of style. I think this is a defining feature: cosmic horror is very like sci-fi, but unlike sci-fi it doesn’t have to explain itself. For true cosmic horror, I don’t think you can avoid mentioning 2001: A Space Odyssey, a U-certificate movie which has lonely existential dread and powerful unseen forces in every frame. Cosmic horror doesn’t have to mean ‘Lovecraft’ - it can refer to H G Wells or Olaf Stapleton or John Wyndham - the Village of the Damned and The Day of the Triffids both have that vibe. Then there is Quatermass and the Pit, and here in the UK growing up in in the 1970s I was lucky enough to be terrified by some great cosmic horror TV: Children of the Stones traumatised a generation, but we also had The Stone Tapes, Sapphire and Steel, The Changes and the late 70s Quatermass. Even sci-if shows like Star Trek and Space 1999 sometimes dropped their reliance on scientific explanation to focus on stories of unseen manipulative gods and their familiars.
I'm a big cosmic horror fan, so you can only imagine how surprised I am that ALIEN (1979) didn't make this list! After all, that one pretty much triggered the modern space horror genre. Same said for Clive Barker's HELLRAISER (1987). That said, I also heartily recommend Stuart Gordon's FROM BEYOND (1986), loosely adapted from a Lovecraft story, and a personal favorite of mine, Tobe Hooper's LIFEFORCE (1985), a throwback to Hammer horror and Quatermass, with space vampires, full frontal nudity, an epic explosive apocalyptic climax in London with zombies, an awesome bloody set piece in a helicopter, and a great Henry Mancini score!
“Await Further Instructions” is a brilliant British cosmic horror movie. You never find out what the real evil is and the ending is harrowing. It also has a lot of King tropes.
I would put Mandy on this list alongside Colour Out Of Space. Also Hellraiser 2 and even Hereditary has elements of Cosmic Horror and are both brilliant. One I saw recently was In The Earth which was solid if not amazing.
Love this list. My favorites: 1. The Thing 2. In The Mouth Of Madness 3. Annihilation 4. Event Horizon 4 movies I would like to add, in my honest opinion, honorable mention list. 1.) The Blob 1988 2.) From Beyond 1986 3.) Phantoms 1998 4.) Beneath Still Waters 2005 I hope you enjoy my selections, they are worth a view to really appreciate the cosmic horror concepts. They are true gems.
So glad to see that you picked to cover 'The Void'; super original and underrated gem, cosmic horror paradoxically thrives on practical effects. I loved the feeling of total madness in this movie, like reality was having a nervous breakdown in slow motion.
@@RickySteels Perhaps you're right. I noticed the few monsters but to me they were only the surface, I kept wondering about whatever unknown forces had sent them, molded them, the deathly motivations laying behind. It had a strong hold on me as a viewer, the same hold that 'The Thing' and 'The Mist' have had. It's all subjective, of course. Have a beautiful day.
I would say it does. We are helpless to resist the alien. Even if we are shown what happens we still don't understand what's going on. (the lake and the runoff) Maybe the book explains this more. i recently saw the movie and got the same vibes as well.
I saw Event Horizon as a teenager at the Virgin Trocadero in London. It fits very well into the aesthetic of late '90s British cinema. It's a film susceptible to many criticisms, yet arguably fewer genuine faults. It's almost improved by its apparent imperfections...
I'm pretty sure you cant call it a horror movie but the movie "stalker" directed by andrei tarkovsky is probably the best movie with cosmic element sprinkled in ive ever seen. The absolute mystery of the zone is extremely intriguing and the philosophical dilemmas presented in the movie are not pretentious like in some other movies
Annihilation has a specific and brilliant kind of aesthetic that doesn’t come around very often, a lot of people i’ve talked to didn’t like this movie but i really felt like it was one big, horrifying work of art, cosmic horror never fails to draw me in though..
DUDE. When I was a kid I saw a horror movie that I was definitely too young for, and there are images from it that have stuck with me my entire life, but since I was only like 8 or 9 when I watched it, I had no idea what it was called so I could never find it again. Google and friends who watch horror movies all failed me. IT WAS PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)!!! I am SO EXCITED that some random recommendation in a youtube video has helped me find it!! I hope it's just as horrifying when I finally watch it as an adult :D
If ppl are hungry for more I would also nominate “They Remain”(2018), “Southbound”(2015) & “Gaia”(2021). Also it’s a little debatable but I’ve always loved Thomas Jane’s “Dark Country”(2009) of which he directs and stars in.
Carpenter's *Apocalypse* sequence (i.e., The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness) really are the cornerstones of cosmic horror cinema... in North America. However, I'd also be interested in an exploration of European and Asian cinema's forays into cosmic horror.
@@mesmeran296 Not at all, it's folklore horror. Witches, curses, spirits and such kind, long present in any culture. The genre gives very different and distinct feel.
"Prometheus" is the classical "undoing cosmic horror"-movie: everything that could be slightly eerie is quickly explained away (the elefant-astronaut is just wearing a hybrid helmet, everything comes done to a banal toxic goo etc.).
I loved Event Horizon and personally found it absolutely terrifying until they, at least for me, broke that one cosmic horror rule... as soon as they started revealing what was on the other side of the portal and it was just torture and gore, I just sort of checked out. It went from making my imagination run wild with all the unfathomable stuff those people could have been seeing to ultimately being a Hellraiser rip-off. I guess it was more about the ride than the destination.
Exactly. It was great until they lamed it up with “we opened a portal to a biblical hell” also yeah good point about the hell raiser knock off interpretation
Honestly, I would consider Alien (1979) to be a cosmic horror movie. The atmosphere, amazing set design, and concept combine to make a hostile universe with horrible realities that are best left undiscovered.
Saw all these apart from the Empty Man. Thanks for biringing this to my attention. From what little clips you included of the creature (or whatever the skeletal remains are) the design reminds me of the artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski. Can't wait to give that one a watch!
I guess it's an unpopular opinion, but I always considered Hitchcock's Birds a great Cosmic Horror. All the birds on the face of the planet snap at the exact same moment and they get extremely violent and work together against humanity without anyone knowing what caused it. I didn't even want to watch it for many years because the concept itself sounded so silly, but once I've seen it, my mind was absolutely blown to pieces. Hitchcock did not disappoint, the movie is pure terror. Also The Happening is not a great movie, but it no doubt deserves a honorable mention here.
We don't know what made the birds go crazy. If it has nothing to do with cosmos, it isn't cosmic horror. I think some people aren't understanding the concept.
@@shawnhoelscher1440 I disagree. Cosmic horror is Lovecraftian horror. Lovecraft emphasized the horror of unknowable and incomprehensible. Most of his stories worked so well because the reader doesn't know the why and the how. There's an unknown driving force lurking in the background, just as in Birds. In The Mouth of Madness is a globally accepted as one of the greatest cosmic horror movies of all times, just as shown in this video but there's no mention in that movie that the writer who's stories come to life or the region where they take place came from the cosmos as far as I remember. The only other category where Birds would fit as far as horror subgenres go is psychological horror but those are usually connected to mental health, where's what happens in Birds is caused by an unknown global phenomena. My personal fan theory would be a disturbance in the earth's magnetic field which could've been caused by cosmic radiation or some sort of change in the planet's rotational speed caused by something, since birds are sensitive to magnetism, such an event could possibly turn them crazy I guess. It's highly unlikely though, it's probably something funnier behind it, keeping Hitchcock in mind, but since it's unexplained in the movie, we can assume anything and that's exactly what makes cosmic horror great.
@@dns5280 great, I'm talking to a person who can't let go of their fan theories, this should be fun. Fear of the unknown is one a common fear that drives lots of horror, you realize that right? Just because something is unknown doesn't automatically make it cosmic/Lovecraftian horror. We never see The Witch in "The Blair Witch Project" nor know her motivations, so I guess that's cosmic horror too, high? No it isn't. The unknown factor in cosmic horror is tied to our stance in the universe and existentialism. You can't just disagree with a definition. Man your teachers must have liked you in school. There was an event that actually happened where some birds in a California town snapped, and that's how they knew this idea could work as a horror movie according to Hitchcock's daughter. "The Birds," like "The Blair Witch Project" is no cosmic horror movie and there is more to the definition than just what's unknown. You're latching onto a small piece of the definition to justify your opinion. Not how that works
@@shawnhoelscher1440 not sure how did you presume I can't let go of my theory, i even wrote that my idea is unlikely and there's probably a funnier explanation to it. i really don't mind to be proven wrong. i like to learn. yes i realize that fear of the unknown drives lots of horror and as far as i've seen at some point we learn about the phenomena during the plot. in the blair witch project for example they say that the witch is the ghost of a woman who is hunting the forest, so i assumed that's happening. while watching birds i felt that humanity as we know it is on the edge of the abyss, being outnumbered and helpless, with no solution to the problem. unfortunately i had no teachers before you in this subject and you don't seem to like me. thanks for the tip about the Californian incident, i haven't heard about it before just a similar case where a bird swarm collided into a house. the explanation there was that they were trying to escape a bird of prey and since they flew in a swarm they couldn't handle maneuvering in panic. i've read the article now about the incident in California and it states that those birds suffered from neurotioxin poisoning, which caused "confusion, disorientation, scratching, seizures, coma, and even death". i see how the disaster was a great inspiration for the movie, even though the effect of the neurotoxin is not the same as what happens there. Hitchcock was great in blowing a small "what if" into such huge proportions. you said i'm latching onto a small piece of definition to justify my opinion. before that you wrote "If it has nothing to do with cosmos, it isn't cosmic horror". these two comments seem to do the same as my assumptions but on a surface level, the rest of what you said though was really instructive. thanks for sharing your thoughts, i enjoyed the conversation despite your attacking manner, you seem to be a rational, well-read person with funky social skills.
I love John Carpenter's The Thing. It's just a timeless classic. But man if I have to pick , Event Horizon is just one those movies that just caught you off guard and really spook you even after the credits roll. I still cover my eyes whenever I watch it XD
I would consider the Blob remake in the late 80s. Yes, it is a monster film and yes it is a remake, but that is a creature from outer space that pulls ZERO punches. Grotesque body horror? Check. More grotesque body horror? Check. Potential end of the world body horror? Check.
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What are your favorite Cosmic Horror movies?
the thing by far!
I absolutely enjoy Color out of space.
The Mist!! that ending is everything
the thing and in the mouth of madness, carpenter did such fun work with the genre
Shrek 2.
I think one of the most interesting aspects of cosmic horrors (that is often unique to them) is that they can still be unsettling and tense even if the main characters are in a crowd, because it shows that in our numbers we are still helpless.
Watch 'Spring' it's a totally different type of cosmic horror.
@@noheroespublishing1907 Yeah. I agree. Same guys that made The Endless and Resolution.
@@dclomg5 I know, but people still tell me that it's exclusively a body horror film; completely ignoring that the woman is a literal Eldridge horror who is self aware of being a different creature than humanity, but is self curious and wants to understand herself the world around her and it's various diversity of life. It's actually a very thoughtful portrayal of something that is usually only done without such an approach.
I actually feel the Lighthouse falls into elements of cosmic horror. A struggle to understand ones' place and identity in an unforgiving and vague setting, in which time and object permanence are in flux constantly, and the existence of any outside world becomes more and more obscure
The Lighthouse is amazing. And also severely fucked in the head.
Lighthouse has elements of a cosmic horror movie if you take it literally.
Apparently a "twist" doesn't equate to its genre but I agree
Yes. I like that it's kept ambiguous as to whether there actually was something beyond human ken happening or if they both just slowly fell into madness and were delirious.
@@paireon3419 I watched a video just a few weeks ago on the history of lighthouse keepers "going mad" and now i honestly believe the movie is far stronger when understood in a literal (as opposed to paranormal) sense
I just wish this subgenre would hit the mainstream and we could get some big budget lovecraft movies
I both agree and disagree. Absolutely want to see what a big budget cosmic horror film would look like, but also don't want studio executives to ruin the idea of the genre.
There’s an excellent low-budget film titled Out of Mind, well worth a watch if you can find it. Also there’s the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society’s vintage-style productions of The Call of Cthulhu and The Whisperer in Darkness. Both are well worth checking out for anyone who loves HPL’s fiction.
Mainly hoping del Toro's adaptation of In the Mountains of Madness but I don't think that'll ever happen at this point.
@@Gungshi could you tell me the year of that movie? Or the director? Cause I can’t find it but I’m interested
I would love to see a big budget at the mountains of madness
People tend to forget 1998's Sphere. Despite being set underwater it is cosmic horror and, while the delivery is far from perfect, the premice is dope as hell.
THANK. YOU.
I thought the film was pretty good. Of course the novel is great!
Dustin Hoffman is priceless in Sphere. Movie is so damn good.
I love Sphere! One of my favourite movies. When I look at some of the reviews it got, I think they're watching the wrong film! Think it gets more love now time has passed, as it rightly should!
I enjoyed Underwater more than I initially thought I would. From the listed entries, Annihilation is very enjoyable and thought provoking.
The one thing I'll credit Underwater for is getting the scale 'right'. I always imagine C'Thulu as inconceivably large, too big to take into one's scale of vision all at once, and in that movie he's definitely that. However, his focus on trying to kill these particular little people seems out of place. I'd see it more as you're going to die in his wake or be driven to madness at the sight of him, rather than him chasing you down with his mini-me's.
@@ShootMeMovieReviews didn’t he chase that ship down because the people on it woke him up? In the book I mean.
@@ShootMeMovieReviews well obviously if the characters went insane, then the movie would be over. But they do slightly go insane which i like
It would have been a fantastic movie if it had more build up. Still good tough.
I never got the hype around annihilation personally, see people talking it up all the time but to me it fell really flat
You know who should make a cosmic horror movie? Denis Villeneuve. It's so crazy hard to make cosmic horror, but if done right it's truly amazing.
No, please no. Enough of Villeneuve doing Villeneuve movies with the « Villeneuve touch » which switches off anything. So overhyped this guy.
If there was a Mythos Cinematic Universe, I would get the Coen Brothers or David Fincher to do a Lovecraftian movie. The Coens could do Call of Cthulhu or Whisperer in the Darkness. Fincher could do something with a little more atmosphere like Cool Air or the Case of Charles Dexter Ward.
@@dgeci yeah you're completely wrong, he's one of the best active directors currently
@@dgeci Prisoners: Best Structured Crime Investigation Thriller Since David Fincher's Films.
Sicario: A Classic & Accurate Portrayal of War Action.
Arrival & Blade Runner: 2 of The Best Sci Fi Films, One Being Faithful & Artistic To Original.
Dune: A Great Adventure Epic Of Its Kind Since LOTR.
He Doesn't Need Hype Like Other Movies Today. His Movies Speak For Themselves.
@@mollywoodshots6503 how could you leave out Enemy
The thing is such a goddamn masterpiece
Yes it is 👍
its focus on pure body-horror and special effects when its premise provides ample opportunity for exploring a deeper existential horror prevents it from being a masterpiece. What do I mean? What's interesting about the idea of the Thing is that it replicates whomever it imitates - does that include their consciousness, their memories and personality? So any of the characters incl. the hero could in fact be the Thing *and not even know it*? Exploring that kind of territory would have really elevated the movie and is somewhere I feel a more sophisticated director than Carpenter, like a Cronenberg, would have gone with it
@@helvete_ingres4717 Nah it's a masterpiece, just because it didn't do what you would've liked it to doesn't make it any lesser.
The location, the music, the acting... Great movie! I wish they could do a new Thing with the same lead actor 40 years later.
@@helvete_ingres4717 it did do all of that but alr💀
Worth noting, “The Thing,” “Prince of Darkness”, and “In the Mouth of Madness” are all directed by Carpenter, and are collectively known as the Apocalypse Trilogy bc they all explore similar themes of encroaching cosmic terror :)
The Ritual
None of them are cosmic horror. They have elements of lovecraftian esthetics but that's about it.
Annihilation really drew me in. (like the shimmer)
Something about the dreamlike visuals and editing made the disturbing visuals feel... Calm? Almost welcoming? Something about the concept of trying to analyse and understand a cosmic entity really appeals to me because you see the women in the movie are smart and capable but like everyone who came before them they all eventually just... Succumb. No matter how prepared they are they just lose part of themselves bit by bit and that gradual degradation feels so hopeless and existential. Another layer I enjoy is the metaphorical nature of it. It really leaves you thinking for hours afterwards and makes you go "oh" on rewatch as you realise what you can read some of the unfortunate implications as.
I highly recommend reading the books!! The film takes a lot of ideas and mashes them together into an entirely new plot. I love it as a separate film but I don't think it's a good adaptation at all if that's even what they were going for
@@joocleary4576 I feel the same about adaptations of books I enjoyed where it's not necessarily faithful but plays with the concept in such an interesting way that you're glad it exists, you know? The books have been on my list for a while and I've been putting them off because I didn't have the time for reading but I just found the three book bundle for a reasonable price on Kindle so I've purchased them! I'll get to reading them tomorrow.
@@EverTheFractal Yeah, exactly! And I hope you enjoy them! :)
annhilation is a rip off of h.p lovecrafts story a color out of space i recommend you reading it is only 30 pages long
@@Hindustaniyoddha089... Uh... That's not how anything works. Stories can have similar themes or premise.
Stories can, shockingly, even be inspired by something and do its own thing with the idea. Even if the writer was inspired by that story it wouldn't be a rip off. It's like saying Evil Dead is a rip off because it has the necronomicon in it. Or that Alien or Hellboy or It are rip offs cause they took inspiration from Lovecraft.
You gotta love Sam Neill. He's the cosmic horror go-to guy, and he's been in the best films IMO. The Empty Man is one crazy good movie. It stayed with me for weeks.
And now he’s just chilling on his farm making videos of his lovely animals. 10/10 best guy.
The empty man getting recognition makes me irrationally happy. Such an interesting movie to end up dumped on streaming and never released physically.
Annihilation is my personal favorite. ‘“I don’t know what it wants…if it wants”. Oh, and the bear of course. Bone chilling and beautiful at the same time. Such an incredible mood piece.
That bear, in both design and the sounds it makes, is right up there with some of the most creepy and disturbing monsters I've seen in any movie.
Read the Southern Reach Trilogy. The Books are WAY better than the movie by miles. If you think the movie was creepy then you've seen NOTHING. The books are gonna freak you out, especially the bear scene that they got completely wrong in the movie.
@@Rocks_vs_Uzis Agreed on the books, especially the disturbing use of hypnosis, all the odd ambient sounds, lapses in time, and staying very vague as to what the shimmer really is/looks like. First book is fantastic and unsettling, second book isn't my favorite, but the third nails the ending.
It was extremely disappointing.
the bear scene from that movie is probably one of the most chilling scene ive ever seen in a horror movie.
Watched The Empty Man last night. It's a very impressive movie.
I highly, highly recommend it. It's one of the most suspenseful movies I've ever seen. There are many movies that try to do what The Empty Man does with tone and atmosphere, but most fall flat. The Empty Man is the only film that gives me confidence that Lovecraft can be done believably on the big screen.
It's also quite timid with regards to jump scares, preferring a slow-burn psychological eerie creepiness. I wasn't over impressed with the ending but I was very satisfied, and it's definitely one I'd enjoy re-watching. It has one of the best movie prologues I've ever seen too.
It was the only one on this list I haven't seen yet so I'm definitely checking it out today 😊
Great movie
One i recommend watching at least twice, because of the extra things you pickup on second and extra viewings
Its amazing to think that when The Thing originally came out, everyone hated it, but now its considered an all time classic.
Really? What'd they say about it? Too gory?
Everyone I knew loved it when it came out.
everyone hated it to the point that Carpenter never really recovered from it
They hated it cuz I tried to compare it to aliens which was stupid you can't compare those two movies they're both classics
@@adams13245 people thought it was just a mindless gorefest. a boring movie with nothing good to it.
it basically pretty much killed carpenters career
Birdbox for the concept. Trying to imagine something that would make you lose your mind by just trying to comprehend its appearance makes it so good for me. Since the creatures are never truly shown. I imagined them to be similair to the Alien in the shimmer from Annihilationm extradimentional and formless yet having every form known. I know IT is horror and all, but ITs true form also fals into this category. The deadlights.
They designed a monster. It was a pale greenish baby faced thing. The cast laughed when they first saw it on set so they decide to reshoot and keep the monster ambiguous.
@@brianlauderdale214 that was for the best. The movie probably wouldve flopped if they kept the creatures
@cool dude +1 for the Cthulhu idea. In the story it is said when he rises Cthulhu will teach us “new ways to kill” and the crazies that survive outside are only intent on killing.
Birdbox is based on HP lovecraft. The drawings the mad man made show HP lovecraft creatures.
Too bad that movie sucked
"The Endless" is truly underrated. Amazing movie.
10/10 on this.
I agree
What about Resolution and Spring? They both line up great in that genre too, also made by the same directing crew.
I have to say, was very interested in "The Endless", and it took me a while until I could finaly watch it, but after that I was quite disapointed, pretty lackluster, though it still has some good aspects
@@noheroespublishing1907 Spring's body horror not cosmic horror.
The Thing may be the greatest movie ever made. The blood test scene is my favourite scene of all time in cinema. It reached so deeply within my sympathies, never felt so connected to art. That helplessness, immobility, testing testing testing, the need to know and the fear of discovery, the unknown possibility it could be me- or you. Isolation, coldness, gathering bits of information with no real end, no women, no pleasure, no comfort, alone in the void. The mute indifference of a totally meaningless world based on biology, strength, weakness, drives. No evil, no goodness just isness. The constant not knowing. This film has it all. I saw it at the cinema when I was 11? Walked out in a daze of awe.
Yeah that movie is a masterpiece of isolation and paranoia
Agreed, but its a shame the sequel eschewed practical effects for lousy CGI. It would have been a good movie if they just fleshed out the 'origin' more.
Yes, it is the greatest piece of cinema ever created I concur.
Dude, if I had watched that film aged 11yo I would have been frightened out of my wits! 😆
I get what you're saying for the most part, but what on earth do you mean by "no women" in this context? If its because you think women exist to provide comfort and pleasure then you really need to reexamine some things
Event Horizon, in the Mouth of Madness, and the Thing, are three of my comfort movies 🥰
Check out triangle (2009)
@@jordanthomas4379
Thanks! I'll check it.
Imagine if Sam Neill was in The Thing.
@@daweller
I would have love the movie even more!
Have you seen the extended cut?
The Ritual was hard to classify. Perhaps a creature feature, but it definitely had some cosmic horror elements.
Enjoyed that movie quite a bit! I don't see it get as much attention as I expected.
I liked the movie and understand your point. Ultimately we can still understand where the creature came from and what it wants. Because of those reasons I would exclude it from this genre.
Yea, I got cosmic horror vibes from that movie too. The creature seemed to me like some kind of Lovecraftian old one.
The Ritual is Folk horror.
Yes! Great movie! Not really cosmic horror, but definitely worth a watch if you like the genre.
Not movies but I loved Beyond the Aquila Rift and The Tall Grass in Love, Death and Robots.
They were great Cosmic Horror stories.
Author?
@@thingfish000 Love, Death and Robots is a Netflix series, but Beyond the Aquila Rift is based on a short story I think.
@@thingfish000 Beyond the Aquila Rift is based on the short novel of the same name by Alistair Reynolds.
Good choices. Beyond the Aquila Rift is stunning nightmare.
BTAR , imo is not a cosmic horror , well yes we got some alien abomination that feeds sweet dreams into Lost astronaut , but other than that it doesnt really stick the "something is out there , and its evil" kind of thing
One movie that scratches that cosmic horror itch, at least a bit for me, is The Sphere. It is never truly understood what it is, if it's sentient and if so, what it's motivations are.
It's not horror in the traditional sense, but it is a very suspenseful film that shows what might go wrong if you trust your own mind too much.
And The abyss
I loved the sphere. I was shocked to see a low ratings for it
Triangle (2009), is a great lesser known cosmic horror film, the very real sense of dread is palpable and very realistic, check it out.
iirc it's not cosmic horror, altho the protagonist does go through the same hopeless & inexplicable horror & confusion. triangle's true story is actually more down to earth (spolier: it's about guilt, trauma, & self-persecution) presented in an absurd way. triangle's main antagonist doesnt come from any eldritch monstrosity from space or the netherworld, it's here on earth inside every human.
tldr: triangle is not cosmic horror
@@ivanav.3136 I disagree, it certainly is cosmic horror, so what that it doesn’t have eldritch monsters in it or characters from HPL books, it evokes the same imaginative feelings of dread and hopelessness everyone comes to expect from cosmic horror films.
It’s not perfect, and the acting is lacking in places, but it works, and it’s very scary.
Triangle is such a great movie. Probably the movie that made me fall in love with psychological horror movies.
YEEAAHH!!! For a while this was my favorite crazy movie, I used to show all my mates this during movie nights, and it messed up every single one of them without fail...hahaha
Just watched Colour Out of Space. What can I say, it completely exceeded my expectations. Great take on the Lovecraftian genre.
I watched Mandy and Beyond the Black Rainbow. I haven't got around to Color out of Space yet. Based on the other two, I'm a little nervous. I really wanted to like Mandy and Rainbow, but they just asked a little too much of me. I was fairly bored by them. I'm afraid Color out of Space is going to have a similar result.
@@markbrowning4334 Color out of Space isn't paced like the previous two movies you mentioned, so I think you do stand a decent chance of enjoying it. I also wanted to really like BTBRainbow and Mandy but I just couldn't get in to them due to the slow pace of the films.
@@dtsyt82 Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into Color out of Space.
@@markbrowning4334 Just interested if you got around to watch Color Out Of Space. I feel like you do about Mandy (haven't watched Rainbow) and I'm feeling apprehensive about Color mainly because of that. If you've watched it, do you recommend it?
@@Ink129 I haven't yet. I need to get around to seeing it.
I could see watching something like Beyond the Black Rainbow again, but I think Mandy was probably a one and done viewing.
Not that this one is made by the same people, but if you want another pretty cool stylish and atmospheric movie with a little stronger story, give Under the Skin a try.
Its still really vague, but it does have a little more grounded narrative.
The Empty Man having that skeleton modeled after Bekskinski's 'The Trumpeter' got me to watch it lol
That feeling when you get hyped by the title to find new good cosmic horror to watch... but you watched all of them.
Prometheus should have been renamed "Dude, Don't Do That!" It had so many characters holding the Idiot Ball that it distracted from anything positive the movie may have had.
That's a running theme through a few of these movies. They mention paper thin characters in more than one of the movies listed and I think it's important to note that not everything is written to be just about character. Sometimes the characters are vehicles for an idea. If there's one thing people have taught me it's that they're always going to do human shit. That is to say...some folks can't help but let their curiosity bleed in with stupidity. But I'm rarely ever offended by people making dumb decisions in movies. Gives that element of interactivity because now I can lament at their dumb decisions out loud...and that's the case here. It's a literal "curiosity killed the cat" story. Some folks, obviously, don't want their science filled with bad decision making. Personally, I just think it's a shame how many people let the deeper shit get overshadowed by stereotypical characters.
Amen to that. Alien did it already like 40 years ago and much better.
@@foxross4468 ehhh, disagree. You can have smart characters making mostly good decisions and still end up in trouble (Alien, The Mist, The Thing...) and while humans gonna human, characters in Prometheus are criminally stupid. You'd think they'd get better or even best people in their respective fields than what they got - I've been to the university, I know a few scientists... and while there's an occasional Fifield that would get lost even tho he has the mapping device most of them are rather smart and careful people... that wouldn't really try to pet alien donger snake worm thingie... That movie is pretentious and very poorly written, and any attempt at 'deeper themes' is just obstructed by how bad the characters are.
@@benjimlem1284 I know a few biologist that would have tried to pet the alien snake if they were in a protection suit. Scientist are humans. They often act stupid.
@@Infiny92 eh, I guess, still - taking off helmets on an alien planet? Reminds me of that scene from Galaxy Quest I think it was - "DONT OPEN THAT! IT'S AN ALIEN PLANET! IS THERE AIR?! YOU DONT KNOW!"
I watched the movie Coherence around the same time as I saw The Endless and The Void, and I liked it a fair bit more than the latter. It’s about a house full of friends being enveloped by darkness following a comet flyby. Having no phone service, they go to a neighbouring house whose lights are still on, only to find that the house is occupied by copies of themselves, but with very minor differences. Loved it so much, really played into the whole idea of iterations and alternate realities well
Great film. Surprised it wasn't mentioned here.
I have no idea why, but Coherence really got under my skin. I thought it created a brilliant atmosphere.
Coherence is one of my favorite movies today. I love how it takes a while until we start to andestand something
@@arturcarreira8595 Another of my favourites! The "What the hell is going on!" factor perfectly done!
Coherence is indeed a little masterpiece. Creepy as hell without any effect, neither visual nor story wise.
Event Horizon was my introduction to cosmic horror. It creeped me out the first times I saw it in the late 90's. It ranks amongst my favourite cosmic horror movies along with Annihiliation and The Void.
And don't forget Invasion of the Body Snatchers from the 70s with Donald Sutherland. That was AWESOME cosmic horror. Another remake, but vastly superior to the original, like the Thing was vastly superior to the original.
I'd say the 70s version is much more hokey and not nearly as good as the original, but in the case of The Thing I'd agree.
Different but not superior.The Thing from Another World started the alien invasion subgenre.The remake is a fx freakshow
Are you saying that the newest remake of the thing is better than the Kurt Russell one?
@@brian6391 No, youre thinking of the 2011 prequel. The Thing starring Kurt Russel is a remake.
No way in hell would anyone believe the prequel is better
Robert Eggers The lighthouse 2019 should be mentioned on the list.
instead of Shitmetheus
@@MrJerichoPumpkin Exactly.
I can't believe The Block Island Sound wasn't listed here. The best and most Lovecraftian film i've seen in a while.
I'd never heard of it until your comment. Googled it and it sounds really cool. Definitely going to watch it.
Excellent movie!
Watched it last night. Loved it. It felt like a true Lovecraft story; really heavy on atmosphere, a brilliantly paced slow build, and an ending that felt like a perfect climax to how the film told its story. Also it had fantastic character writing. Everyone reacted believably, and that just made it all the scarier.
lol I just watched the first few minutes, really good conversation those guys are having, lol
Block Island Sound is an excellent movie. Brilliantly captures the isolation, confusion, and dread associated with cosmic horror.
Event Horizon is honestly one of my guilty pleasures, I genuinely enjoy this movie.
there have been many days where I can't find anything interesting to watch on any of the streaming services and I just queue up Event Horizon again
I first watched John Carpenter's The Thing as a preteen. 30 years later, after an all-night horror movie binge, and after I'd already seen this a hundred times at least, I had some truly horrifying nightmares because of it. IMO, John Carpenter's The Thing is THE BEST HORROR FILM OF ALL TIME!
I'm ok with horror movies where the characters backstory aren't as defined or flesh out as much before horror is, looking from a far pov looking at a fish tank. The little fish present action and reaction against the bigger fish that'll eat it, sooner or later.
Though not cosmic horror but related in a way, I want to see weird horror/literature adaptation or inspired movies. Alot of weird fiction/horror writers are inspired by Lovecraft but theirs aren't strictly cosmic horror but the same existential dread and atmosphere are still the driving force of the stories. Thomas Ligotti, Paul Tremblay and John Lagan novels. Would be great.
The empty man was awesome, I’ve rewatched it three times and got something newer and deeper every time
What? I guess i need to see it again. Had a great beginning then when the time jump happens its just terrible.
I’m a huge fan of HP Lovecraft and I think that, when it comes to the written words, he is the best. But here we are talking about movies so my favourite cosmic horrors are The Thing (I love the original B&W film, but the 1982 version is great too) and Alien. But of course there are so many great films belonging to this genre
possession (1981) is one of the best horror movies (and movies in general) tha i've ever seen, i can't even explain what i felt while whatching it, and the entire cast was absolutely amazing, especially Isabelle Adjani.
I like to hangout with a buddy of mine & watch campy/cheesy sci-fy or horror. We’ll critique throughout the entire film (Mystery Science Theatre- style) One day he picks The Thing because he’s never seen it and i believe he thought it was going to be bad, being made in the early 80’s. I tell him “Bro, i’ve seen it but i’ll definitely watch it again and i’ll bet you’re not going to find very much to mock.” He was pretty much mute, leaning towards the tv the entire time. He said trying to guess who “it” is really reels you in.
Very happy you included annihilation, it was do beautiful yet horrifying. I saw it in theaters with no clue as to what I was about to witness and to this day it's one of those movies I'd recommend without thinking about it
Annihilation is one of the best cosmic Horror movies of all Time. The Soundtrack is legendary.
The thing about Cosmic horror for me is that it needs to walk such a razor sharp edge. Slip to either side just a fraction and you get something like Event Horizon or The Void. Films I feel I should enjoy based on their superficial characteristics. But when I watch them I struggle to stay awake as the predictable transformations of bodies and space take place.
But then there are those films like Annihilation, In the Mouth of Madness or even Cabin in the Woods that I just can't get enough of. Where there's more to the horrors than just icky morphings of forms. Where you can question reality at its core and us humans place in it. And without watching the movie, it is impossible to predict where it will fall on that edge. So I have to continue to wade through the tons of tons of films that bore me to the bone to get those few nuggets of excellence.
So. In short, I can say that I love the genre, but I paradoxically can't really stand 99.9% of the films that make up its indescribable tentacled mass.
Totally agree, totally agree. That's why I'm skeptical of Del Toro making The Mountains of Madness. However, cosmic horror is also one of my favourite genres, but there's a love hate relationship. You know who I want to pull off a cosmic horror movie in the future? I think Villeneuve can do it.
@@sk8shred
Yeah, del Toro is one of those directors where I see he does great stuff. But when I sit down to actually watch the films I tend to leave very underwhelmed.
I thought everyone had existential dread. I’ve had it since highschool. Not something that happens everyday but once in a while it just hits you.
Honestly, one of the best cosmic horror is actually Stephen King's IT. It technically fits "cosmic horror" more than most of these movies you mentioned on this list. It's just that mainstream public just sees the clown and thinks "oh creepy killer clown", not realizing that Pennywise is an interdimensional entity that's billions of years old, who's real form cannot be comprehended by humans. He even says to Bill, "You'll never see me, you'll see only what your little mind can allow! For if you stay, you'll lose your little mind...".
The book is VERY much cosmic horror
Sunshine (2007) would have been an excellent addition. It's a Danny Boyle film and the cinematography is beautiful! Check it out if you haven't. 10/10 IMO.
Loved that movie.
I love Annihilation!!!
The Thing is my favorite horror movie!
Coherence (2013) is pretty good, and id say it fits the bill of cosmic horror.
Yeah I love that movie! And to think it was made over a couple of days.
@@winterwolf211 wait, really? Thats crazy. Its sooo good for having that short a turn around.
@@Oyster_Man Yeah! Heard they didn't have much of a script and the budget was very small too.
@@winterwolf211 huh. Makes it all the more impressive then!
Whew.. finally.. im really looking for this comment..
Going off the audience recommendation of The Endless, I would also recommend another film by the directors (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead) of it called Spring (2014). To borrow from it's wikipedia page, it's a '..romantic body horror film..'. Yeah. It's cosmic horror but used to explore personal relationships and love. I adore it, and its really bizarre genre mix. Everything those two have been involved in has been a big hit with me.
The short film Zygote by Oats Studios is a good example for cosmic horror too. I would watch a full lenght version of it.
Absolutely! People would actually need to watch it for that to happen, though!
The Hollow Man was just a Lovecraftian version of Angel Heart.
well, one is 'you got chosen with no fault of your own' vs 'you made a deal and you try to skip town without paying' ; but the movies do have a similar feel to them.
Beyond the Black Rainbow may not be for everyone, but it's one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen. It stuck with me for weeks.
I saw it a few years ago. I can't remember a movie that good in recent memory. Just outstanding.
In addition to the already mentioned i recommend "superdeep" and the fan made SCP short-movies OVERLORD and DOLLHOUSE.
Interesting, thanks
Strongly recommend The Empty Man - very underrated movie and it had horrible marketing at release. It's very eerie and it takes its time to slowly creep under your skin. I'll have to re-watch again soon.
I feel like I'm the only person in the world who has seen Sphere (1998). A star-studded cast set in a underutilized setting that matches perfectly with Lovecraftian/Cosmic horror. I don't want to say anything else about it to avoid spoiling anything, just go watch it if you want a good existential horror/mystery film.
Loved it so much when I watched it in high school I decided to read the novel. Funny story, I was dropped a reading assignment at the time and wrote about it. The 60+ year old teacher had some trouble with my report and brought me in to clarify a few things.
Fun fact about The Mist, the creatures that invade are actually from an alternate dimension, the same dimension that the creature from Stephen Kings IT is from.
You should add John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness. It was part of his trilogy, along with Mouth of Madness and The Thing!
Beyond the Black Rainbow is my fave, a bit arty and doesn’t explain itself at all but it’s great for atmosphere and full of style.
I think this is a defining feature: cosmic horror is very like sci-fi, but unlike sci-fi it doesn’t have to explain itself.
For true cosmic horror, I don’t think you can avoid mentioning 2001: A Space Odyssey, a U-certificate movie which has lonely existential dread and powerful unseen forces in every frame.
Cosmic horror doesn’t have to mean ‘Lovecraft’ - it can refer to H G Wells or Olaf Stapleton or John Wyndham - the Village of the Damned and The Day of the Triffids both have that vibe. Then there is Quatermass and the Pit, and here in the UK growing up in in the 1970s I was lucky enough to be terrified by some great cosmic horror TV: Children of the Stones traumatised a generation, but we also had The Stone Tapes, Sapphire and Steel, The Changes and the late 70s Quatermass. Even sci-if shows like Star Trek and Space 1999 sometimes dropped their reliance on scientific explanation to focus on stories of unseen manipulative gods and their familiars.
I'm a big cosmic horror fan, so you can only imagine how surprised I am that ALIEN (1979) didn't make this list! After all, that one pretty much triggered the modern space horror genre. Same said for Clive Barker's HELLRAISER (1987).
That said, I also heartily recommend Stuart Gordon's FROM BEYOND (1986), loosely adapted from a Lovecraft story, and a personal favorite of mine, Tobe Hooper's LIFEFORCE (1985), a throwback to Hammer horror and Quatermass, with space vampires, full frontal nudity, an epic explosive apocalyptic climax in London with zombies, an awesome bloody set piece in a helicopter, and a great Henry Mancini score!
Thank you for mentioning From Beyond. A travesty it doesn't get mentioned much if at all for lists like this.
Thanks for including The Empty Man. The first 20 minutes or so, the prologue in the mountains, is just mindblowing.
Agree the beginning is incredible, but tbh the whole thing is amazing. Truly a masterpiece that will get its due in time
I've seen half of these and now I have the other half to look forward to! Thanks for for touching on this small subset of horror!
Definitely check out 'Resolution' and 'Spring' both were made by the same people who made The Endless and both are unique takes on cosmic horror.
I think the Horror Korean movie called “The Wailing” is one of the best cosmic horror film I’ve seen in a while.
THANK YOU - I watched this movie a while back and couldn't remember the name 10/10
“Await Further Instructions” is a brilliant British cosmic horror movie. You never find out what the real evil is and the ending is harrowing. It also has a lot of King tropes.
The acting is shocking though
I would put Mandy on this list alongside Colour Out Of Space. Also Hellraiser 2 and even Hereditary has elements of Cosmic Horror and are both brilliant. One I saw recently was In The Earth which was solid if not amazing.
Mandy is a revenge movie not cosmic horror. Lol
Love this list.
My favorites:
1. The Thing
2. In The Mouth Of Madness
3. Annihilation
4. Event Horizon
4 movies I would like to add, in my honest opinion, honorable mention list.
1.) The Blob 1988
2.) From Beyond 1986
3.) Phantoms 1998
4.) Beneath Still Waters 2005
I hope you enjoy my selections, they are worth a view to really appreciate the cosmic horror concepts. They are true gems.
In the mouth of madness. Hell yea man. That’s number one on my halloween movies to watch
"Threads" (1984)'s realistic depiction of the post-nuclear nightmare is the best example of "mundane" (more likely to happen to you) cosmic horror.
So glad to see that you picked to cover 'The Void'; super original and underrated gem, cosmic horror paradoxically thrives on practical effects. I loved the feeling of total madness in this movie, like reality was having a nervous breakdown in slow motion.
It’s barley cosmic horror. Flirts with the idea of cosmic horror for sure. The fact it’s just a monster movie was disappointing.
@@RickySteels You're missing the forest for the trees, my friend.
@@KajiCarson It's not that deep my man. Nor does it address that the movie is largely a monster movie.
@@RickySteels Perhaps you're right. I noticed the few monsters but to me they were only the surface, I kept wondering about whatever unknown forces had sent them, molded them, the deathly motivations laying behind. It had a strong hold on me as a viewer, the same hold that 'The Thing' and 'The Mist' have had. It's all subjective, of course. Have a beautiful day.
@@KajiCarson I do like it, just consider it very light on the cosmic horror. Implications can only get me so excited lol.
You as well, sir.
Would Under The Skin count as cosmic horror? It gives me the same vibes anyway.
If you've not had the chance, pick up the book it's based off. Deeper story and very creepy.
I would say it does. We are helpless to resist the alien. Even if we are shown what happens we still don't understand what's going on. (the lake and the runoff) Maybe the book explains this more. i recently saw the movie and got the same vibes as well.
Well, however its classified, its an arthouse film done right. Under the skin uses its score, lighting, and silences so well.
I saw Event Horizon as a teenager at the Virgin Trocadero in London. It fits very well into the aesthetic of late '90s British cinema. It's a film susceptible to many criticisms, yet arguably fewer genuine faults. It's almost improved by its apparent imperfections...
I miss Trocadero 😢
The Ritual is criminally underrated.
I'm pretty sure you cant call it a horror movie but the movie "stalker" directed by andrei tarkovsky is probably the best movie with cosmic element sprinkled in ive ever seen. The absolute mystery of the zone is extremely intriguing and the philosophical dilemmas presented in the movie are not pretentious like in some other movies
Was hoping someone would mention this, especially as one of the films listed sounded very like it. Also Solaris.
0:19 I do want to know more...and I will watch the video. And I appreciate that you called me ese. Makes me feel all warm inside.
Annihilation has a specific and brilliant kind of aesthetic that doesn’t come around very often, a lot of people i’ve talked to didn’t like this movie but i really felt like it was one big, horrifying work of art, cosmic horror never fails to draw me in though..
I am surprised no one mentioned Twin Peaks: the Return. Particularly Episode 8.
Yeah after The Return, Twin Peaks qualifiese
11:00 "We take _things_ as they come" - Yes, literally.
Sam Neil loves his cosmic horror.
I love this man’s voice. It’s smooth but direct. Would keep me watching videos without end
DUDE. When I was a kid I saw a horror movie that I was definitely too young for, and there are images from it that have stuck with me my entire life, but since I was only like 8 or 9 when I watched it, I had no idea what it was called so I could never find it again. Google and friends who watch horror movies all failed me. IT WAS PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)!!! I am SO EXCITED that some random recommendation in a youtube video has helped me find it!! I hope it's just as horrifying when I finally watch it as an adult :D
Glad it was helpful 👍
If ppl are hungry for more I would also nominate “They Remain”(2018), “Southbound”(2015) & “Gaia”(2021). Also it’s a little debatable but I’ve always loved Thomas Jane’s “Dark Country”(2009) of which he directs and stars in.
I LOVED the endless. Easily one of the best cosmic horror films of the last decade
Yes!! The empty man is so underrated, I could watch it again and again
Carpenter's *Apocalypse* sequence (i.e., The Thing, Prince of Darkness, and In the Mouth of Madness) really are the cornerstones of cosmic horror cinema... in North America. However, I'd also be interested in an exploration of European and Asian cinema's forays into cosmic horror.
@otterpoet check out Noroi, it's a Japanese found footage film that dealt something akin to cosmic horror
@@mesmeran296 Not at all, it's folklore horror. Witches, curses, spirits and such kind, long present in any culture. The genre gives very different and distinct feel.
@@mesmeran296 Thank you. I've heard of this one and been quite intrigued.
"Prometheus" is the classical "undoing cosmic horror"-movie: everything that could be slightly eerie is quickly explained away (the elefant-astronaut is just wearing a hybrid helmet, everything comes done to a banal toxic goo etc.).
I loved Event Horizon and personally found it absolutely terrifying until they, at least for me, broke that one cosmic horror rule... as soon as they started revealing what was on the other side of the portal and it was just torture and gore, I just sort of checked out. It went from making my imagination run wild with all the unfathomable stuff those people could have been seeing to ultimately being a Hellraiser rip-off. I guess it was more about the ride than the destination.
Agree. Quite a lame outcome.
Its always about the ride. Write that down and quote me.
Exactly. It was great until they lamed it up with “we opened a portal to a biblical hell” also yeah good point about the hell raiser knock off interpretation
The Thing by default takes this cake, but both Beyond the Black Rainbow and The Void were my go-to's a while back.
The Thing is the best, love J Carpenter.
Event Horizon is literally my favorite MOVIE, horror movie and sci-fi movie of all time. HIGHLY recomment!
The Empty Man is super underrated
One movie I didn't see on here is Black Mountain (or Black Mountainside). In the same vein as The Thing, but lower budget. A lot of fun.
I think beach house would be another good cosmic horror film.
watch "take shelter" for sure, not exactly cosmic horror but kinda close
thanks for the movie suggestions! just watched The Empty Man and I quite enjoyed it!
The Mist was really well done. Love the ending.
Honestly, I would consider Alien (1979) to be a cosmic horror movie. The atmosphere, amazing set design, and concept combine to make a hostile universe with horrible realities that are best left undiscovered.
Annihilation is one of my fav movies of all time! Bought it last year and I watch it like every couple months.
Saw all these apart from the Empty Man. Thanks for biringing this to my attention. From what little clips you included of the creature (or whatever the skeletal remains are) the design reminds me of the artwork of Zdzislaw Beksinski. Can't wait to give that one a watch!
Good list. HOWEVER From Beyond is one of the most criminally underrated 80s cosmic horror.
And absentia remains underrated
For a moment I thought you would've left out The Thing, I was ready to write a huge text complaining. But you're a man of culture. Good job
I guess it's an unpopular opinion, but I always considered Hitchcock's Birds a great Cosmic Horror. All the birds on the face of the planet snap at the exact same moment and they get extremely violent and work together against humanity without anyone knowing what caused it. I didn't even want to watch it for many years because the concept itself sounded so silly, but once I've seen it, my mind was absolutely blown to pieces. Hitchcock did not disappoint, the movie is pure terror.
Also The Happening is not a great movie, but it no doubt deserves a honorable mention here.
We don't know what made the birds go crazy. If it has nothing to do with cosmos, it isn't cosmic horror.
I think some people aren't understanding the concept.
@@shawnhoelscher1440
I disagree. Cosmic horror is Lovecraftian horror.
Lovecraft emphasized the horror of unknowable and incomprehensible. Most of his stories worked so well because the reader doesn't know the why and the how. There's an unknown driving force lurking in the background, just as in Birds. In The Mouth of Madness is a globally accepted as one of the greatest cosmic horror movies of all times, just as shown in this video but there's no mention in that movie that the writer who's stories come to life or the region where they take place came from the cosmos as far as I remember.
The only other category where Birds would fit as far as horror subgenres go is psychological horror but those are usually connected to mental health, where's what happens in Birds is caused by an unknown global phenomena.
My personal fan theory would be a disturbance in the earth's magnetic field which could've been caused by cosmic radiation or some sort of change in the planet's rotational speed caused by something, since birds are sensitive to magnetism, such an event could possibly turn them crazy I guess. It's highly unlikely though, it's probably something funnier behind it, keeping Hitchcock in mind, but since it's unexplained in the movie, we can assume anything and that's exactly what makes cosmic horror great.
@@dns5280 great, I'm talking to a person who can't let go of their fan theories, this should be fun. Fear of the unknown is one a common fear that drives lots of horror, you realize that right? Just because something is unknown doesn't automatically make it cosmic/Lovecraftian horror. We never see The Witch in "The Blair Witch Project" nor know her motivations, so I guess that's cosmic horror too, high? No it isn't. The unknown factor in cosmic horror is tied to our stance in the universe and existentialism. You can't just disagree with a definition. Man your teachers must have liked you in school.
There was an event that actually happened where some birds in a California town snapped, and that's how they knew this idea could work as a horror movie according to Hitchcock's daughter.
"The Birds," like "The Blair Witch Project" is no cosmic horror movie and there is more to the definition than just what's unknown. You're latching onto a small piece of the definition to justify your opinion. Not how that works
@@shawnhoelscher1440 not sure how did you presume I can't let go of my theory, i even wrote that my idea is unlikely and there's probably a funnier explanation to it. i really don't mind to be proven wrong. i like to learn.
yes i realize that fear of the unknown drives lots of horror and as far as i've seen at some point we learn about the phenomena during the plot. in the blair witch project for example they say that the witch is the ghost of a woman who is hunting the forest, so i assumed that's happening.
while watching birds i felt that humanity as we know it is on the edge of the abyss, being outnumbered and helpless, with no solution to the problem.
unfortunately i had no teachers before you in this subject and you don't seem to like me.
thanks for the tip about the Californian incident, i haven't heard about it before just a similar case where a bird swarm collided into a house. the explanation there was that they were trying to escape a bird of prey and since they flew in a swarm they couldn't handle maneuvering in panic. i've read the article now about the incident in California and it states that those birds suffered from neurotioxin poisoning, which caused "confusion, disorientation, scratching, seizures, coma, and even death". i see how the disaster was a great inspiration for the movie, even though the effect of the neurotoxin is not the same as what happens there. Hitchcock was great in blowing a small "what if" into such huge proportions.
you said i'm latching onto a small piece of definition to justify my opinion. before that you wrote "If it has nothing to do with cosmos, it isn't cosmic horror". these two comments seem to do the same as my assumptions but on a surface level, the rest of what you said though was really instructive. thanks for sharing your thoughts, i enjoyed the conversation despite your attacking manner, you seem to be a rational, well-read person with funky social skills.
I love John Carpenter's The Thing. It's just a timeless classic. But man if I have to pick , Event Horizon is just one those movies that just caught you off guard and really spook you even after the credits roll. I still cover my eyes whenever I watch it XD
I would consider the Blob remake in the late 80s. Yes, it is a monster film and yes it is a remake, but that is a creature from outer space that pulls ZERO punches. Grotesque body horror? Check. More grotesque body horror? Check. Potential end of the world body horror? Check.