Friday, June 22, 2012

Horror Movies~ Fearnet.com's Top 10 Art-House Shockers


 Hello lovelies! Remember that little spiel about not having any scary horror movies to watch? Well I read an old article on Fearnet.com with some suggestions and I'm here to share! Now, like I said, I'm not one for blood and gore. However I'm willing to overlook it if the movies are honestly good psychologically as well. So without further ado, here are their top 10 art-house shockers.

1) Aftermath (1994)



One of three short (30 minute) films focusing on the themes of birth, death and rebirth. Two morticians are working on gruesome autopsies. When one of them leaves for the night the other continues to work and has free reign with a corpse. Warnings: necrophilia, mutilation, disturbing themes. (I'm afraid I'm going to have to skip this one. Some things make even me queasy.)


2) Antichrist (2009)



 When a couple loses their son they decide to take a break and head to a cabin in the woods. While there the husband has bizarre and gruesome visions while his wife exhibits increasingly violent and strange behavior. Warnings: nudity, torture, genital mutilation. (That last one makes me hesitant to tackle this one too. There's a reason I avoid films like Hostel.)


3) Audition (1999)



 Shigeharu, a widower, is encouraged to start dating again by his son. His friend, a film producer, suggests they hold a series of mock auditions to find him a new significant other. Shigeharu is captivated by Asami and starts to pursue her despite his friend's uneasy feelings and her apparent lack of a past. It's a bit slow in the beginning, you almost forget that it's a horror movie, but it doesn't disappoint later. This is more my type of film. There are some graphic scenes, but not an excessive amount of gore and it's primarily a psychological film. (Yes!) Warnings: torture, disturbing themes.


4) The Beast (1975)



 A noblewoman's dream of an affair with a werewolf like creature seep into reality.  Warnings: Bestiality (through weird dreams) and apparently two horses 'get intimate'. (Yeah, I'm not too sure about this. Come on, you ask for creepy films and then you reject them? Shame on you brain!)


5) In a Glass Cage (1987)



A Nazi doctor and child molester tries to suicide. His efforts are unsuccessful and he ends up confined to an iron lung. He requires 24/7 attention to remain alive and his wife, tired of the work, hires a nurse. The boy was a prisoner in a concentration camp and one of the doctor's former victim's. What follows is a twisted mind game as the boy is determined to show the doctor how he suffered. Another extreme psychological film. Warnings: Nazism, hints at pedophilia and homosexuality, and torture.


6) Irreversible (2002)



A film told in reverse chronological order about two friends plan for vengeance. The story being revealed backwards, without you knowing the motive for the revenge will shock and change your perspective in the first half of the film. Later, you'll have time to see how it started and reflect on how your actions can affect your life. Warnings: Violence, rape, homosexuality.


7) Little Deaths (2011)



A British film containing trio of stories. In the first one an unhappy couple finds pleasure only through a ritual. The type you invite guests to. The second one deals with a homeless girl who's trying to deal with her problems by taking a pill given to her. After some strange side effects she decides to uncover just what is in that pill with some unnerving results. In the third one the guy has a girlfriend who treats him like a dog. Literally. One day, he just snaps. Warnings: Nudity, torture, extremely disturbing themes.


8) Martyrs (2008)



Anne finds a tortured woman and attempts to help her, but is captured. She learns that the group is trying to create 'martyrs' through pain in order to discover what comes after death. So far, they have been unsuccessful and Anne becomes their new test subject. Warnings: torture, nudity


9) Possession (1981)




I'm not going to try and create a summary for this one. Fearnet.com says it "explores the shattered mind of a young woman whose mental collapse may be manifesting itself in the physical world – including an apparent miscarriage. When her secret-agent husband begins an affair with her doppelganger and a strange detective begins snooping around her apartment, she turns increasingly violent – leading to self-mutilation, a little nookie with a Lovecraftian monster (are you keeping up with this?) and finally what appears to be World War III." Warnings: Disturbing images and themes.



10) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)




The article claims this one is the ultimate test. Eighteen teenagers are kidnapped by wealthy faschists and put through four months of extreme physical, sexual, and mental torture. It explores themes of political corruption, abuse of power, sadism, perversion, sexuality, and fascism. Warning: torture, sadism, nudity.

 Some of these films are very graphic and you might want to do a bit of research before watching them. You should know your limits when it comes to movies. Please don't blame me for sharing! I don't know how many I'm going to watch. Probably not all of them. I looked for disturbing movies. Here they are, and well...they're shockers. Plus, I'm a bit uncomfortable when it comes to movies with a sexual theme. (Which seems to be the case in many of these.)

Why would you want to watch any of these? I like the way the article put it.

"Great art is not meant to make you comfortable; it's supposed to make you think and feel. Sometimes it has to shock us, smack us in the face and break through our defenses in order to poke at the soft, unprotected parts of our brains... which we don't always want to see. but isn't that one of the definitions of horror?"

 If any of you decide to see one let me know how it is! I think I'll be seeing Audition, Martyrs, Possession, and In a Glass Cage and I might do some reviews.

 Here's the link to the original article.


2 comments:

  1. I considered going to film school; I took a course in film and was very interested in filmmaking as well as film writing.

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    1. Go for it! (unless it's too late? I hold to the opinion that it's never too late.) I love films too, but I'm not sure I would pursue a career in them. But who knows? I've got time to decide :)

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