Cosmic Horror

428 readers

67 users here now

A community to discuss Cosmic Horror in it's many forms; books, films, comics, art, TV, music, RPGs, video games etc.

"cosmic horror... is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock... themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries... the sense that ordinary life is a thin shell over a reality that is so alien and abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person, insignificance and powerlessness at the cosmic scale..."

Wikipedia

For more Lovecraft & Mythos-inspired Cosmic Horror:-!lovecraft_mythos@lemmy.world

founded 2 months ago

MODERATORS

9 Greatest Cosmic Horror Movies of All Time (www.cbr.com)

submitted 2 months ago by Emperor@feddit.uk to c/cosmichorror@lemm.ee

12 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Cosmic horror has been established as one of the most chilling sub-genres in horror cinema. With a focus on the unknown, isolation, and the human mind, cosmic horror plays on the imaginations of audiences rather than going all out on gore and jump scares. Instead of ghosts, serial killers, or vampires, these stories focus on the endless possibilities of the universe's fictional horrors.

Early 20th-century author H.P. Lovecraft gave Cosmic horror prominence through stories like At the Mountain of Madness, The Hound, and The Call of Cthulhu. The genre can be challenging to pull off in cinema, but plenty of films have tried to capture the terror of the unknown and unimaginable. Everything from stories of paranoia to questions about reality itself has made up cosmic horror in cinema.

They are:

The Thing
In the Mouth of Madness
Event Horizon
The Lighthouse
Phantoms
The Void
The Mist
Bird Box
Color Out of Space

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Dammit, was hoping for some good new recommendations, but I've already seen all of them!

[–] chemical_cutthroat@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

If you haven't seen Spring, I'd say give that a shot. It's a genre-bender, so don't go in expecting straight up horror, but it has its moments. The directing duo specialize in cosmic horror, and you could do worse than watching all of their flicks. Resolution and The Endless are two other great ones from them.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 2 points 2 months ago

I own them all - highly recommended.

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Thank you, Spring was very good.

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 3 points 2 months ago

That kind of list is always going to be a greatest hits starter. I have a list of Lovecraftian films that might have something new to you.