This is a well-written article, but your list seems culled from an insufficient pool of movies. I mean, horror flicks have been around for nearly 100 years and have been and continue to be a global phenomenon. The majority of the movies here are less than 5 years old and the oldest on the list is from 1997. It would have been impressive to see included any number of films by people like Jess Franco, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and several others whose film cannon are stuffed with movies far weirder/puzzling/abstract/cognitive than most of the movies on this list (though many of these are cool flicks, no doubt). Even newer movies such as Martyrs and, to a lesser extent, The Cube fit this mold. Early David Cronenberg? How about Jacob’s Ladder? Anyway, such is the nature of lists, I suppose. But your list, while well-written and full of interesting movies, seems a little narrow regarding weird, mind-rending horror cinema. Respectfully, Jason Thorson
Jason, you’ve discovered that my area of expertise is 21st Century horror; it’s rare to find any film pre-1990 on my lists. And, as you stated, the nature of lists always seems to exclude worthy additions. I loved Martyrs, but (except for Anna’s final words to Mademoiselle) nothing about it felt unknown or unknowable. Same with Jacob’s Ladder: While initially perplexing, I eventually saw the film as a re-imagining of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. Cube was a contender, as was Dead Ringers. I appreciate all your input. Thanks for some great suggestions!
Fair enough. Although, I’d argue that An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Jacob’s Ladder (the movie) will always be linked because they share the “dying man’s dream trope” from the idea of Jacob’s Ladder as described in the Old Testament. I’d also argue that Cube, while high-concept, is far more conventional, less ambiguous, and less allegorical than Martyrs is, Cube’s final shot notwithstanding. Anyway, different strokes and all that. Good work and here’s hoping you dive past that 1990 firewall sometime. 🙂
Nice one, Josh! I’ve been meaning to watch Beyond the Black Rainbow for awhile now. Hopefully, with a week and a half off work coming up, I’ll be able to fit it in.
Oh, and I wanted to say, in general I find that the type of person who flat-out dismisses the horror genre as lacking depth tends to be the kind of person who has little to no real ability to look below the surface of a text, and rely instead on superficial indicators. I mean, thinking that literal statements of theme constitute “depth” fundamentally misunderstands what the word “depth” means. When people say that they only like things that make them think, I have to wonder, why do they need to be MADE to think? Most people are perfectly capable of CHOOSING to think.
