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
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Dammit, was hoping for some good new recommendations, but I’ve already seen all of them!
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.
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.
Thank you, Spring was very good.
I own them all - highly recommended.
Do not read this article if you don’t want spoilers for any of these movies. Most of the blurbs contain some pretty massive ones and a few of the images do too.
Shame they didn’t end up doing the gone world. If you haven’t read the book I highly recommend it.
The Void is one of my favorite movies. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn’t seen it.
