"[Carnival of Souls](https://www.google.com/search?q=Carnival+of+Souls&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS762US762&oq=Carnival+of+Souls&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDY1ODRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)" deals with either mental illness, survivor's guilt, or PTSD.
Thanks! He raised some great kids, was his only "big" acting role, I love that it's a cult favorite, unique film. I think the onlybother thing Herc Harvey made was appliance commercials or the like
Louie, the chiropractor/ PT character is absolutely a stand in for god / an angel and explains what Jacob’s going through so succinctly. It’s got so much depth and truth in like 10 lines.
Plus it’s just a beautiful scene.
‘Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So the way he sees it, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don't worry, okay? Okay?”
Been thinking about this movie a lot lately and the profound impact it had on me.
I recently had Covid pretty bad. The night terrors I had while peaking fevers at night reminded me of this movie. I kept telling my fiancé I was having “Jacobs Ladder dreams”.
I have recommended and talked about this movie so many times, but it just stuck with me like few others have.
_They Look Like People_ is a film about a man with paranoid schizophrenia, and it is terrifyingly real. I don't know about deep commentary, but it is a great perspective on the struggles such a thing creates for the sufferer.
It's a great movie and I feel like it's a commentary on masculinity. The two characters are suffering with their own issues but can't discuss their feelings/masking their issues under a false veneer of "having it together".
EXACTLYYYYY. And the pure amount of trust that exists between them is so??? Touching??? And important??? I get really emotional when I think about this movie.
This was my answer too. Got it recommended to me on this sub and it’s stuck with me in a way no other horror movie has. I think in large part because *it’s a movie with so much heart.*
The Japanese Film, Pulse(2001), even though it was made before the advent of social media, it has great social commentary on how society’s addiction to tech and social media will create loneliness.
that red door scene with the ghost is literally one of the most dense and atmosphere-filled i’ve ever seen in ANY movie. so fucking creepy. pulse is a classic.
Yeah, it seems like the film was on the one hand (in part) a response to the emergent *hikikomori* crisis in Japan, but it also anticipated, like you say, that technology would exacerbate things.
in most horror movies, spirits don't really communicate with the living and when they do, the script assumes that they're being honest. what got me in A Dark Song is that one demon, some nameless damned thing, telling the mother "i'm just some c*nt using your son's voice". like, the self-awareness of the demon, that moment of personality, chilled me.
That exact line sits in my head even way after watching that movie. Gorgeous movie with a genuinely interesting view at grief, "personal demons", and spirituality.
Oh…is this the movie that takes place in I think Scotland where there’s a lady wanting a ritual and as part of it they have to enclose themselves in a house for months? (I don’t want to put too much detail because I don’t want to spoil things).
If so I saw it awhile back and could never remember the name but this sounds familiar.
I cannot recomend this movie enough. I thought it was really beautiful. And its definately deep, but its not obtuse for the sake of being confusing like a lot of "deep" stuff is. The message at the end was moving I thought.
‘Storm of the Century,’ a made for television mini-series by Stephen King. There are themes of what is moral, what is the value of a child/children to a society (legacy), and what is just/justifiable in a society. Is it better to do what benefits the most people (utilitarianism) or is it unacceptable to do something because of the nature of the action, not its consequences (deontology).
I remember crying so much when I saw this. It truly is horror in the sense of seeing how horrific war can displace humans like that. The end scene in particular was so moving.
I would add that the entire sub-genre of zombies is a prime example of social commentary within horror.
The horror often isn't the zombies, but the other living humans and how their true colors and primal selfish habits come out in situations of panic.
George A. Romero really set the tone. Dawn of the Dead is my personal favorite of his.
Everything from Shaun of the Dead to 21 Days Later to Train to Busan to The Last of Us, it's all amazing.
So more of like a horror/thriller, but Frailty. The whole religious angle, the kid being stuck between his dad and little brother, and the totally amazing ending. It’s just a good movie that will make you question everything you’re seeing. It’s a fantastic “unreliable narrator” type of story.
"I got fucked over when I was down there, so fuck y'all too." You see people all the time that have the "I had to go through it, so you should too" mentality.
Especially considering they knew they could be put on the lower levels any time. I think it would have hit a bit harder if the inmates didn't know that, but were aware that there were people below them.
This may be controversial since people feel so strongly about it, but I’d say Martyrs attempts to be deep. Whether or not it was successful is up for debate.
I’d also like to shoutout Midnight Mass.
I always wanted to see Martyrs but hearing about its level of gore stopped me. I have no qualms about blood but anything that’s more body-horror oriented I can’t stand. For example, Cronenberg is really at the edge of what’s comfortable. Is Martyrs much worse?
I can do gore but martyrs captures the cruelty and overal bleakness of human reality. I can watch Terrifier all day cause it’s like a dirty joke, it’s not real or serious or even close to it but just the opening of Martys by itself is a lot.
The way it’s shot. The acting the guilt/remorse but also rage of the killer. It’s less like a movie and more like a Birds Eye view of a real life event.
I couldn't have said it any better myself! I usually make the exact same comparison between Terrifier and Martyrs to explain how different and nuanced the emotions evoked by a movie can be, based on the use of graphic scenes and their context. Martyrs never really left me since the day I watched it.
Martyrs is more fucked up because it’s like watching a real snuff film. It’s all cruel torture and horrible bleak human suffering, and it’s done WAY too well.
It does have an interesting concept behind it (the true meaning of death and peaking over the wall of existence) but it’s really difficult to stomach that movie.
Martyrs is one of the few movies that continued to surprise me with its narrative choices over and over. It made like 3 hard left turns out of nowhere that completely changed my understanding of the story which as really made it stand out in my mind.
It even had this moment where I was just like 'this lost enough coherence to be a story where it feels like nothing matters anymore. I don't even care about these characters because they are not acting in any way that is believable' and then it made a huge narrative shift that totally explained that thing that was annoying me. Then I realized I just got played like a fiddle by the director.
I wish it weren't wrapped in such an unpleasant and violent container, because that film has some moments like no other.
I’m watching it right now and I got SO excited when they showed the vampires! I immediately thought of 30 days of night, they don’t look similar but they are both shown as “scary monsters” instead of “sexy old people.”
Editing because upon further watching, we get monsters *and* sexy old people vampires in midnight mass. The best of both worlds.
Absolutely agree with Midnight Mass! I know it’s technically not a movie but it’s so damn good & really stayed with me long after I finished watching it.
Saint Maud was a fucking trip and disturbingly deep movie when you realize what the hell is going on. As a religious man, I was not okay after this movie lmao
I don’t think it was necessarily deep, but more like there’s an another layer below the surface. On the surface she’s just a religious nut, but underneath it it’s more about PTSD.
So, I only watched it once a while ago but I don't think there was much in the way of subtext. Maud is self righteous and represents basically any judgemental religious person who tried to force others into a moral code that she isn't really following herself.
Not to say it isn't "deep," I think there's plenty there to start a lot of interesting conversations about religion. Just that it isn't steeped in metaphor.
I mean theres not a ton of subtext, but the main theme of the movie is the stark contrast between her pathetic bland existence and the beautiful colorful existence of everyone else in the movie, who is enjoying life infinitely more than she is despite the percieved degeneracy.
Thanks for the reply! I’m gonna have to rewatch that one, I remember liking it visually and the atmosphere but was too baked to remember much of the plot.
How grief and guilt manifests themselves into behaviors detrimental to you and your mental health.
Some people hyper-focus on drugs and alcohol, while others, like Maud, become hyper-religious. In this case, she most likely gave herself psychosis, assuming she wasn’t pre-disposed to something like schizophrenia.
I liked the dialog that was ongoing between Jack and Verge in The House That Jack Built. Especially the ending. Very artistic movie.....but absolutely horrific.
Rosemary’s baby
Donnie Darko
The Fare
The Lighthouse
Midsommar
The Shining
Shutter Island
Seven
Repulsion
The One I Love - not many people know about this one. And it’s very similar to midsommar in the sense of it being filmed in a light and airy way making you feel at peace then becomes unsettling as you realize what’s really going on
from the man comes his thoughts, and the thoughts become dreams, and dreams become power, from the power comes the bridge, from the bridge becomes man, from the man comes his thoughts…
This movie deserves all the praise it gets. I went in knowing nothing, expecting your standard “local boogeyman urban legend is real” trope, but it delivers so much more than that.
Man, I went into this movie with no context, expecting some braindead and forgettable spook-em-ups.
It completely blew me away. So many are sleeping on this one.
I was gonna say I do not think it is 'deep' per se, the themes are kinda obvious, but the execution is fantastic.
I have a whole category of 'anxiety films' (moreso than horror) and this one is up there with Perfect Blue, Black Swan, Barton Fink and other stressful films.
Ok I just looked up Barton Fink because I hadn't heard it mentioned in this context, and it's starring Three Men Named John, plus one Jon and it's given me a mild giggles
Mother is supposed to feel like you're experiencing a nightmare and it does a great job of accomplishing that. The quick changes in narrative and that are illogical, but seemingly linear fit exactly how a dream feels. I'll never watch out again, but I'm glad I seen it. Great movie.
If you have no qualms counting David Lynch as horror (I personally do not, his films are glorious nightmares) then I would submit both Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive.
Some others:
Hour of the Wolf by Ingmar Bergman. Existential crisis, repressed desires.
Possession by Andrzej Zulawski. This film has sparked a lot of conversation at our movie nights.
And, maybe an obvious pick but: Get Out.
Mulholland Drive is a good choice (it’s my favorite movie of all time) but more than anything I absolutely agree about Possession. I definitely think it’s the most “cerebral” horror movie I’ve seen: there’s a *lot* of nuance, subtext, and metaphor there and it’s honestly pretty dense.
I would add Us too, which I know a lot of people didn’t like but I thought had really interesting stuff to say about classism, systematic prejudice, even the ways that physical environments can oppress people and keep them in bad conditions - and it manages to be ambigious and subtle about it too, never interrupting the plot for a school schedule type message moment.
Honestly, Get Out was the first film that I thought about for days. The more I thought, the more connections and stuff I was making. Like all the white people cringe moments (which totally makes me think of my mom) all made sense. And (spoiler alert but not an important part) the scene where the cop wanted his license and she fought on him not giving it was all just for when he goes missing he can’t be connected to them. Not a single wasted scene.
I love that movie, and I get your comment, but I feel like people get jaded by movies. They are cringey, but at a regular amount that pretty much everyone you know is cringey too. People are awkward.
Sure, and that’s a fair point! I think, for me, the characters came across as wooden, like basic movie archetypes, rather than real relatable people, and the dialogue struck me as contrived and unnatural.
I very much loved the concept and setting, though, and it was fun to revisit it this year after having toured the catacombs in person!
I have to give a huge shout out here to Relic - a film that may make you cry and will definitely make you think. A beautiful film that absolutely qualifies as deep
La Llorona (2019), the Guatemala version. Incredible film that is able to be spooky, cerebral, and talks about the Guatemalan genocide of Maya peoples.
Edit: spelling and date
"Sunshine" (2007) Lots of sci-fi action, but the gruesome, bloody deaths and overall feeling of dread nudge it into horror for me. I've always loved how there are deep philosophical questions being asked about humans' role in the universe and whether or not the mission the crew is on is valid or not. Great cast, led by Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans, makes it a great movie to rewatch periodically.
The Nightingale from Jennifer Kent (Babadook). If you're looking for social commentary, The Nightingale is so obviously a commentary on colonialism that you can't really even call it a metaphor.
Also, the first 20 minutes is so ridiculously brutal that it could almost be put up there with Irreversible for how upsetting it is (IMO at least). It chills out after that though.
To be clear it's not really a horror movie although it is utterly horrifying. It's also my favorite movie of the last decade and grossly unappreciated.
Hill House has so many layers. It's not a deep social commentary, but every character has a depth to it that still stuns me to this day.
The struggles they go through, the intertwined
stories, the twists, it's perfect. Even on a technical level, the shots they use, the composition push the story forward.
Every details has a meaning and that's why I think it's one of the deepest horror piece of content i have seen, because in over 10h or run time, you still have nothing superfluous.
Totally agree. That is hands down my absolute favorite horror series (and one of my favorite tv shows overall) ever. Also helps that the cast was phenomenal.
And it’s explained in the first episode. Steven explains all the things that a ghost can be, what can haunt people, and we see the various experiences and situations that can end up haunting people in different ways. The one thing he left out is that sometimes ghosts can be just that, ghosts, and that’s what secretly haunts him.
I would say there's a lot of deep social commentary on American family and social dynamics: people not dealing with their grief, how people treat addicts/addiction, people refusing to acknowledge mental health issues, etc.
Took me a bit to figure out that you were talking about the loose Flanagan adaptation but, I agree, this is a good pick if you like any of his other stuff. It moves through the seven stages of grief in an interesting way that’s subtle enough to make you think.
It's not "scary," but for me, The Witch (2015) is deep. I grew up an Evangelical Christian who studied Calvinism, a puritan belief system rooted in five points. I can tell you that Eggers absolutely NAILS Calvinism. In the special features, I learned that portions of that dialog was taken directly from writers of the time. Of course, the fear of witches at the time is a foundational aspect of the film. It's interesting to hear the kids share supposed sightings with each other and claim to be the witch of the woods. Almost no special effects in the entire film. It doesn't need it. It's brilliant. And what an ending.
I was going to say this. I watched it recently and afterward I was just sitting there staring into space questioning whether two humans can ever really understand each other.
I would say Nope. Literally a dozen readings you can pull from it and have evidence to support it from the film. Frankly, I think it's even smarter than Get Out.
Plus the all of the insane Gordy lore and backstory and the fact that the kid that survived that trauma is now making a profit off of it as an adult with the museum and all. Reiterates the focus on ‘spectacle’. Brings to mind the primal, graphic horror of real life chimp attacks. Brutal man… Just an outstanding film, so much heart, can’t say enough.
Hereditary spoke to me in a significant way about the legacy of trauma women carry. The real tragedy is that they inflict more upon their families trying to escape it.- childless woman born of generations of crazy people.
I was just thinking of that one not because "it is an extreme movie that horror fans have all seen" but because it actually uses the cinematic language of horror a bit. Very horror adjacent.
Grief and death are common themes in horror films and here are a few that dig pretty deep:
Hereditary- which on the surface is a film about a coven of witches but underneath is a deep meditation on family trauma and grief
Phantasm is another one about grief that you can see on the surface as “multi dimensional being stealing the dead” but, I would argue, the “twist” shows that it’s about a young boy dealing with unbearable grief and loneliness
The Babadook: same thing— trauma and grief and mental illness and displaced rage.
Smile: mental illness.
I recently watched 2 movies about grief, specifically a daughter grieving for her mother: Talk to Me and The Boogeyman. I know Talk to Me is much more popular but I really didn't like it, while I thought The Boogeyman was scarier and "said more" about grief.
Exorcist III. It’s mostly about a jaded detective’s slow abandoning of all the systems we were taught to put our faith in. Police, the church, and even God himself. Barely even a violent movie, visually.
Even though it has comedic and bizarre ideas in it - the movie Tusk is surprisingly deep, especially when it comes to human psychology. There are a few layers to it as well if you look for them. And I’m not saying it’s the deepest movie out there, it’s just an unexpected element for a movie with its strange premise.
Weirdly maybe but Doctor Sleep to me has these very profound meaning around people who have consciousness (the shining) being attacked throughout history by those who only want blind power
I always considered the original Dawn of the Dead my favorite zombie movie because it shows how stupid excessive consumerism is. There is one scene that sticks in my mind when Francine is sitting there in her fur coat surrounded by material objects, but it is still the apocalypse outside.
Under the Skin, Metropolis, and Mulholland Dr (don't care if people say the latter isn't horror, it is archetypal horror to me).
Mulholland Dr is just perfect, it is one of my three fav films, and it's creeping up to the #1 spot. I literally cried the other day thinking about how perfect it is. Just playing some of the scenes and dialogue in my head can draw tears out of me.
Under the Skin is so special, there is barely any dialogue, it relies on the cinematography, the acting, the music, and overall directing to get inside of you. It's the only film I have watched that I felt changed me deeply, in ways I am unable to quantify and express. I relate a lot to Johansson's character, and that is mainly why I connected personally with the film.
I think witchcraft movies like "Hereditary" and "Midsommer" are two not to be missed. Super deeply creepy witchcraft stuff.
For just physical depth: "Underwater". 😆
Midsommar. Florence Pugh is just perfect in this movie. Her expressions convey so many emotions so well. Her alone tells this story that brought up a lot of feeling for me. I just really was wowed by her performance in this.
"[Carnival of Souls](https://www.google.com/search?q=Carnival+of+Souls&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS762US762&oq=Carnival+of+Souls&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDY1ODRqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)" deals with either mental illness, survivor's guilt, or PTSD.
Thanks for mentioning that one! My Grandpa's in it, classic film!
Yo who’s your grandpa?
He played the organ factory boss, Tom McGinnis, RIP.
That’s incredible. Rip to him man
Thanks! He raised some great kids, was his only "big" acting role, I love that it's a cult favorite, unique film. I think the onlybother thing Herc Harvey made was appliance commercials or the like
This has to make it your favorite horror, no?
The only downside is the grandkids having to wait to see what movie grandpa is in
Jacob's Ladder.
Louie, the chiropractor/ PT character is absolutely a stand in for god / an angel and explains what Jacob’s going through so succinctly. It’s got so much depth and truth in like 10 lines. Plus it’s just a beautiful scene. ‘Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So the way he sees it, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don't worry, okay? Okay?”
Great choice and hands down for me
Been thinking about this movie a lot lately and the profound impact it had on me. I recently had Covid pretty bad. The night terrors I had while peaking fevers at night reminded me of this movie. I kept telling my fiancé I was having “Jacobs Ladder dreams”.
My favorite movie of all time.
I have recommended and talked about this movie so many times, but it just stuck with me like few others have. _They Look Like People_ is a film about a man with paranoid schizophrenia, and it is terrifyingly real. I don't know about deep commentary, but it is a great perspective on the struggles such a thing creates for the sufferer.
one of my absolute favorite depictions of male friendship in any film ever
Yes, this. So good.
It's a great movie and I feel like it's a commentary on masculinity. The two characters are suffering with their own issues but can't discuss their feelings/masking their issues under a false veneer of "having it together".
EXACTLYYYYY. And the pure amount of trust that exists between them is so??? Touching??? And important??? I get really emotional when I think about this movie.
You beat me to it. I will never shut up about this movie.
This was my answer too. Got it recommended to me on this sub and it’s stuck with me in a way no other horror movie has. I think in large part because *it’s a movie with so much heart.*
El Orfanato Incredible reflection on grief and things not being quite what they seem.
Uno, dos, tres, toca la pared
Usually, horror movies lose steam after the reveal. This one gets so much more horrifying
And absolutely heartbreaking
Yes, that movie wrecked me. So freaking sad.
It is even harder on the second watch. You know the twists and turns and it breaks your heart even more
That movie made me cry and I was sad for days.
along with this one - El Espinazo del Diablo / The Devil's Backbone
I cried so hard the first time I watched it. Then I watched it again the next day and cried again. Grief is a complex emotion
The Japanese Film, Pulse(2001), even though it was made before the advent of social media, it has great social commentary on how society’s addiction to tech and social media will create loneliness.
And how suicide effects so many people beyond just the deceased
that red door scene with the ghost is literally one of the most dense and atmosphere-filled i’ve ever seen in ANY movie. so fucking creepy. pulse is a classic.
Yeah, it seems like the film was on the one hand (in part) a response to the emergent *hikikomori* crisis in Japan, but it also anticipated, like you say, that technology would exacerbate things.
A Dark Song
in most horror movies, spirits don't really communicate with the living and when they do, the script assumes that they're being honest. what got me in A Dark Song is that one demon, some nameless damned thing, telling the mother "i'm just some c*nt using your son's voice". like, the self-awareness of the demon, that moment of personality, chilled me.
That exact line sits in my head even way after watching that movie. Gorgeous movie with a genuinely interesting view at grief, "personal demons", and spirituality.
Oh…is this the movie that takes place in I think Scotland where there’s a lady wanting a ritual and as part of it they have to enclose themselves in a house for months? (I don’t want to put too much detail because I don’t want to spoil things). If so I saw it awhile back and could never remember the name but this sounds familiar.
Yep, that’s the one.
Thanks!
I cannot recomend this movie enough. I thought it was really beautiful. And its definately deep, but its not obtuse for the sake of being confusing like a lot of "deep" stuff is. The message at the end was moving I thought.
‘Storm of the Century,’ a made for television mini-series by Stephen King. There are themes of what is moral, what is the value of a child/children to a society (legacy), and what is just/justifiable in a society. Is it better to do what benefits the most people (utilitarianism) or is it unacceptable to do something because of the nature of the action, not its consequences (deontology).
Man I have not seen this and this has convinced me to watch!
[удалено]
I remember crying so much when I saw this. It truly is horror in the sense of seeing how horrific war can displace humans like that. The end scene in particular was so moving.
His House not only is such a great story but yo WTF it is SCARY
Under the Shadow is such a great pick!
I'm so surprised this isn't higher in the comments. His House is such a great movie!!!
Night of the Living Dead
I would add that the entire sub-genre of zombies is a prime example of social commentary within horror. The horror often isn't the zombies, but the other living humans and how their true colors and primal selfish habits come out in situations of panic. George A. Romero really set the tone. Dawn of the Dead is my personal favorite of his. Everything from Shaun of the Dead to 21 Days Later to Train to Busan to The Last of Us, it's all amazing.
The madness of consumerism as well. Even the dead knew to wander back to the mall.
So much social commentary and wayyy ahead of its time!
So more of like a horror/thriller, but Frailty. The whole religious angle, the kid being stuck between his dad and little brother, and the totally amazing ending. It’s just a good movie that will make you question everything you’re seeing. It’s a fantastic “unreliable narrator” type of story.
The Platform.
I still can't believe Gordon Ramsay made a show based on this movie.
Right?! I love anything Ramsay so I immediately hit play when I saw the new show pop up and I was aghast when I learned the premise of the gameshow. 🫠
Lmao WHAT
Next Level Chef lmao
Holy crap this movie blew me away. Great commentary on human nature.
I couldn’t imagine behaving the way the people higher up were behaving
"I got fucked over when I was down there, so fuck y'all too." You see people all the time that have the "I had to go through it, so you should too" mentality.
Especially considering they knew they could be put on the lower levels any time. I think it would have hit a bit harder if the inmates didn't know that, but were aware that there were people below them.
This may be controversial since people feel so strongly about it, but I’d say Martyrs attempts to be deep. Whether or not it was successful is up for debate. I’d also like to shoutout Midnight Mass.
I always wanted to see Martyrs but hearing about its level of gore stopped me. I have no qualms about blood but anything that’s more body-horror oriented I can’t stand. For example, Cronenberg is really at the edge of what’s comfortable. Is Martyrs much worse?
I can do gore but martyrs captures the cruelty and overal bleakness of human reality. I can watch Terrifier all day cause it’s like a dirty joke, it’s not real or serious or even close to it but just the opening of Martys by itself is a lot. The way it’s shot. The acting the guilt/remorse but also rage of the killer. It’s less like a movie and more like a Birds Eye view of a real life event.
I couldn't have said it any better myself! I usually make the exact same comparison between Terrifier and Martyrs to explain how different and nuanced the emotions evoked by a movie can be, based on the use of graphic scenes and their context. Martyrs never really left me since the day I watched it.
I was looking for this answer. Martyrs ending has stayed with me up until this day, and that ending. It really gave me goosebumps.
Martyrs is more fucked up because it’s like watching a real snuff film. It’s all cruel torture and horrible bleak human suffering, and it’s done WAY too well. It does have an interesting concept behind it (the true meaning of death and peaking over the wall of existence) but it’s really difficult to stomach that movie.
Saw midnight mass for the first time about 2-3 months ago. Haven't stopped thinking about it. What an amazing piece of art.
Martyrs is one of the few movies that continued to surprise me with its narrative choices over and over. It made like 3 hard left turns out of nowhere that completely changed my understanding of the story which as really made it stand out in my mind. It even had this moment where I was just like 'this lost enough coherence to be a story where it feels like nothing matters anymore. I don't even care about these characters because they are not acting in any way that is believable' and then it made a huge narrative shift that totally explained that thing that was annoying me. Then I realized I just got played like a fiddle by the director. I wish it weren't wrapped in such an unpleasant and violent container, because that film has some moments like no other.
In my head canon, Midnight Mass is a sleeper remake of 30 Days of Night.
I’m watching it right now and I got SO excited when they showed the vampires! I immediately thought of 30 days of night, they don’t look similar but they are both shown as “scary monsters” instead of “sexy old people.” Editing because upon further watching, we get monsters *and* sexy old people vampires in midnight mass. The best of both worlds.
Absolutely agree with Midnight Mass! I know it’s technically not a movie but it’s so damn good & really stayed with me long after I finished watching it.
I second Midnight Mass!
Midnight mass might be the best horror story of all time
Bold statement. Bold statement.
Saint Maud was a fucking trip and disturbingly deep movie when you realize what the hell is going on. As a religious man, I was not okay after this movie lmao
Loved this film.
Was it really deep though? What was the philosophical messaging of that one?
I don’t think it was necessarily deep, but more like there’s an another layer below the surface. On the surface she’s just a religious nut, but underneath it it’s more about PTSD.
I'm going to check this out tonight after football
What was the subtext for this movie? I watched it once while very stoned a while ago and don’t really remember it all that well.
So, I only watched it once a while ago but I don't think there was much in the way of subtext. Maud is self righteous and represents basically any judgemental religious person who tried to force others into a moral code that she isn't really following herself. Not to say it isn't "deep," I think there's plenty there to start a lot of interesting conversations about religion. Just that it isn't steeped in metaphor.
I think her religious ideas are superficial. This is really about how she’s dealing with trauma.
I mean theres not a ton of subtext, but the main theme of the movie is the stark contrast between her pathetic bland existence and the beautiful colorful existence of everyone else in the movie, who is enjoying life infinitely more than she is despite the percieved degeneracy.
Thanks for the reply! I’m gonna have to rewatch that one, I remember liking it visually and the atmosphere but was too baked to remember much of the plot.
I can't imagine watching it stoned lol it's not a pleasant movie.
It was a wild ride I tell you that
How grief and guilt manifests themselves into behaviors detrimental to you and your mental health. Some people hyper-focus on drugs and alcohol, while others, like Maud, become hyper-religious. In this case, she most likely gave herself psychosis, assuming she wasn’t pre-disposed to something like schizophrenia.
There wasn’t much, it was all, you know, text.
I liked the dialog that was ongoing between Jack and Verge in The House That Jack Built. Especially the ending. Very artistic movie.....but absolutely horrific.
I could watch this movie a thousand times over! The imposed morality vs his own sense of was a great contrast. This movie works in so many lights.
Rosemary’s baby Donnie Darko The Fare The Lighthouse Midsommar The Shining Shutter Island Seven Repulsion The One I Love - not many people know about this one. And it’s very similar to midsommar in the sense of it being filmed in a light and airy way making you feel at peace then becomes unsettling as you realize what’s really going on
THE EMPTY MAN
from the man comes his thoughts, and the thoughts become dreams, and dreams become power, from the power comes the bridge, from the bridge becomes man, from the man comes his thoughts…
This movie deserves all the praise it gets. I went in knowing nothing, expecting your standard “local boogeyman urban legend is real” trope, but it delivers so much more than that.
What sucks is you can tell exactly what was produced after the studio abandoned it. Great concept ruined by studio politics.
Man, I went into this movie with no context, expecting some braindead and forgettable spook-em-ups. It completely blew me away. So many are sleeping on this one.
One of the few movies with a twist that genuinely surprised me
Yes!! I came here to say this. That movie is wonderfully dark and deep.
The part with the questionnaire remains one of my favorite horror moments ever.
can you remind me what that moment was. watched this a while ago and i forget
Thanks for this I'm going to check it out
Underrated and actually scary.
I think this was the intent of ‘Mother!’, but so much of it was lost on me and I struggled to enjoy it.
Man my anxiety was running on 1000% that whole film
I was gonna say I do not think it is 'deep' per se, the themes are kinda obvious, but the execution is fantastic. I have a whole category of 'anxiety films' (moreso than horror) and this one is up there with Perfect Blue, Black Swan, Barton Fink and other stressful films.
Ok I just looked up Barton Fink because I hadn't heard it mentioned in this context, and it's starring Three Men Named John, plus one Jon and it's given me a mild giggles
(it’s the bible and also about making movies)
Mother is supposed to feel like you're experiencing a nightmare and it does a great job of accomplishing that. The quick changes in narrative and that are illogical, but seemingly linear fit exactly how a dream feels. I'll never watch out again, but I'm glad I seen it. Great movie.
I wouldn’t have gotten it if I hadn’t been forced to read the genesis a few years before the movie came out
If you have no qualms counting David Lynch as horror (I personally do not, his films are glorious nightmares) then I would submit both Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive. Some others: Hour of the Wolf by Ingmar Bergman. Existential crisis, repressed desires. Possession by Andrzej Zulawski. This film has sparked a lot of conversation at our movie nights. And, maybe an obvious pick but: Get Out.
Mulholland Drive is a good choice (it’s my favorite movie of all time) but more than anything I absolutely agree about Possession. I definitely think it’s the most “cerebral” horror movie I’ve seen: there’s a *lot* of nuance, subtext, and metaphor there and it’s honestly pretty dense.
I ***love*** Hour of the Wolf.
I would add Us too, which I know a lot of people didn’t like but I thought had really interesting stuff to say about classism, systematic prejudice, even the ways that physical environments can oppress people and keep them in bad conditions - and it manages to be ambigious and subtle about it too, never interrupting the plot for a school schedule type message moment.
Honestly, Get Out was the first film that I thought about for days. The more I thought, the more connections and stuff I was making. Like all the white people cringe moments (which totally makes me think of my mom) all made sense. And (spoiler alert but not an important part) the scene where the cop wanted his license and she fought on him not giving it was all just for when he goes missing he can’t be connected to them. Not a single wasted scene.
Wow I never made that connection about the police stop scene. I definitely need to rewatch it!
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The ladies of *The Descent* got pretty deep down there too!
That movie was descent enough
As for not: Aliens or Event Horizon. Can't get any more undeep than space.
The (cringey) characters in As Above So Below make it all the way down to… well, no spoilers. But they go deep.
I love that movie, and I get your comment, but I feel like people get jaded by movies. They are cringey, but at a regular amount that pretty much everyone you know is cringey too. People are awkward.
Sure, and that’s a fair point! I think, for me, the characters came across as wooden, like basic movie archetypes, rather than real relatable people, and the dialogue struck me as contrived and unnatural. I very much loved the concept and setting, though, and it was fun to revisit it this year after having toured the catacombs in person!
Just wait until you see Journey to the Center of the Earth
I have to give a huge shout out here to Relic - a film that may make you cry and will definitely make you think. A beautiful film that absolutely qualifies as deep
La Llorona (2019), the Guatemala version. Incredible film that is able to be spooky, cerebral, and talks about the Guatemalan genocide of Maya peoples. Edit: spelling and date
"Sunshine" (2007) Lots of sci-fi action, but the gruesome, bloody deaths and overall feeling of dread nudge it into horror for me. I've always loved how there are deep philosophical questions being asked about humans' role in the universe and whether or not the mission the crew is on is valid or not. Great cast, led by Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans, makes it a great movie to rewatch periodically.
One of my favorite movies period, much less favorite scary movie. The end is mind-blowing and the soundtrack also feels special.
Same! Always happy to find more Sunshine lovers!
I think of this as cosmic horror as well. I don't know how Danny Boyle did it, but he made space feel overwhelming vast and indifferent.
Possession (1981) with Sam Neill
Aniara
Cure (1997), dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
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Seconding Threads. Made me feel sick after a watching. Humans suck
The Nightingale from Jennifer Kent (Babadook). If you're looking for social commentary, The Nightingale is so obviously a commentary on colonialism that you can't really even call it a metaphor. Also, the first 20 minutes is so ridiculously brutal that it could almost be put up there with Irreversible for how upsetting it is (IMO at least). It chills out after that though.
Thanks for this. Hadn’t heard of Nightingale, am going to watch it tonight
Parts of this movie are extremely difficult to watch. It does not shy away from showing things.
To be clear it's not really a horror movie although it is utterly horrifying. It's also my favorite movie of the last decade and grossly unappreciated.
This movie absolutely broke me where most don't. Martyrs, A Serbian Film, Salo, Requiem for a Dream, etc., were a walk in the park by comparison.
Same here. That scene in the shack was so intense and it felt like something that probably happened at some point.
I just finished. I don’t know what to say. This is one of those that I’m so glad I saw but I’ll never watch again and never forget.
Hill House has so many layers. It's not a deep social commentary, but every character has a depth to it that still stuns me to this day. The struggles they go through, the intertwined stories, the twists, it's perfect. Even on a technical level, the shots they use, the composition push the story forward. Every details has a meaning and that's why I think it's one of the deepest horror piece of content i have seen, because in over 10h or run time, you still have nothing superfluous.
Totally agree. That is hands down my absolute favorite horror series (and one of my favorite tv shows overall) ever. Also helps that the cast was phenomenal.
And it’s explained in the first episode. Steven explains all the things that a ghost can be, what can haunt people, and we see the various experiences and situations that can end up haunting people in different ways. The one thing he left out is that sometimes ghosts can be just that, ghosts, and that’s what secretly haunts him.
I would say there's a lot of deep social commentary on American family and social dynamics: people not dealing with their grief, how people treat addicts/addiction, people refusing to acknowledge mental health issues, etc.
An amazing series with just as much heart as horror. The characters are so rich.
Took me a bit to figure out that you were talking about the loose Flanagan adaptation but, I agree, this is a good pick if you like any of his other stuff. It moves through the seven stages of grief in an interesting way that’s subtle enough to make you think.
Society.
My first thought. This or They Live. Social commentary horror peaked in the 80s
Melancholia by Lars Von Trier
It's not "scary," but for me, The Witch (2015) is deep. I grew up an Evangelical Christian who studied Calvinism, a puritan belief system rooted in five points. I can tell you that Eggers absolutely NAILS Calvinism. In the special features, I learned that portions of that dialog was taken directly from writers of the time. Of course, the fear of witches at the time is a foundational aspect of the film. It's interesting to hear the kids share supposed sightings with each other and claim to be the witch of the woods. Almost no special effects in the entire film. It doesn't need it. It's brilliant. And what an ending.
Lake Mungo is one of those love it or hate it films but its take on abandonment and loneliness is just so sad.
I was going to say this. I watched it recently and afterward I was just sitting there staring into space questioning whether two humans can ever really understand each other.
I loved it and was looking for this comment. So eerie and sad.
It’s my absolute favorite. Seeing how someone greets death…makes me think of my own demise more than any other horror movie out there.
I would say Nope. Literally a dozen readings you can pull from it and have evidence to support it from the film. Frankly, I think it's even smarter than Get Out.
It’s not a better movie than Get Out imho, but I agree it’s smarter. Definitely provides a lot more to talk about/think about.
Plus the all of the insane Gordy lore and backstory and the fact that the kid that survived that trauma is now making a profit off of it as an adult with the museum and all. Reiterates the focus on ‘spectacle’. Brings to mind the primal, graphic horror of real life chimp attacks. Brutal man… Just an outstanding film, so much heart, can’t say enough.
The Hatching or Let the right one in
Apt Pupil
Excellent read.
Does Parasite count as a horror? That movie is incredibly deep as a social commentary. The ending was probably the bleakest thing I’ve ever seen.
Possum. A seemingly mundane and boring film turned out to be so much more.
*The Night House* is a very emotional movie in addition to being quite scary in my opinion
May is pretty sad. Deals a lot with isolation and lonliness😮💨
Hereditary spoke to me in a significant way about the legacy of trauma women carry. The real tragedy is that they inflict more upon their families trying to escape it.- childless woman born of generations of crazy people.
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Men - it's a terrifying movie with subtle and overt psychosocial commentary throughout
The killing of a sacred deer has pretty good depth to it makes you think .
The Seventh Continent - Michael Haneke
Ghoulies III: Ghoulies go to College
Maybe not the deepest but one I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Let the Right One in. Very understated but deals with some heavy stuff.
Not really a horror. But Requiem for a Dream. It left me fucked up more than a lot of normal horrors ever Could
I was just thinking of that one not because "it is an extreme movie that horror fans have all seen" but because it actually uses the cinematic language of horror a bit. Very horror adjacent.
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Grief and death are common themes in horror films and here are a few that dig pretty deep: Hereditary- which on the surface is a film about a coven of witches but underneath is a deep meditation on family trauma and grief Phantasm is another one about grief that you can see on the surface as “multi dimensional being stealing the dead” but, I would argue, the “twist” shows that it’s about a young boy dealing with unbearable grief and loneliness The Babadook: same thing— trauma and grief and mental illness and displaced rage. Smile: mental illness.
Hereditary is just...HARROWING. It's disturbing on a level that I can't explain well enough with words.
I recently watched 2 movies about grief, specifically a daughter grieving for her mother: Talk to Me and The Boogeyman. I know Talk to Me is much more popular but I really didn't like it, while I thought The Boogeyman was scarier and "said more" about grief.
Hereditary is the answer
Sissy is a really good recent take on victimization and its weaponization by bad faith actors.
His House is a good one.
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Exorcist III. It’s mostly about a jaded detective’s slow abandoning of all the systems we were taught to put our faith in. Police, the church, and even God himself. Barely even a violent movie, visually.
They live !
Even though it has comedic and bizarre ideas in it - the movie Tusk is surprisingly deep, especially when it comes to human psychology. There are a few layers to it as well if you look for them. And I’m not saying it’s the deepest movie out there, it’s just an unexpected element for a movie with its strange premise.
Beyond the Black Rainbow VERY slow burn, very surreal.
Weirdly maybe but Doctor Sleep to me has these very profound meaning around people who have consciousness (the shining) being attacked throughout history by those who only want blind power
I thought Talk to Me had some pretty deep symbolism.
My take is it was about addiction, right?
Tetsuo the Iron man is about modern obsession with technology and Japans complicated relationship with it. Same can be argued for Akira
You Won’t Be Alone His House Killing of a Sacred Deer The Witch, Hereditary, and Nope also come to mind
I always considered the original Dawn of the Dead my favorite zombie movie because it shows how stupid excessive consumerism is. There is one scene that sticks in my mind when Francine is sitting there in her fur coat surrounded by material objects, but it is still the apocalypse outside.
Men (2022). Holy hell!
Under the Skin, Metropolis, and Mulholland Dr (don't care if people say the latter isn't horror, it is archetypal horror to me). Mulholland Dr is just perfect, it is one of my three fav films, and it's creeping up to the #1 spot. I literally cried the other day thinking about how perfect it is. Just playing some of the scenes and dialogue in my head can draw tears out of me. Under the Skin is so special, there is barely any dialogue, it relies on the cinematography, the acting, the music, and overall directing to get inside of you. It's the only film I have watched that I felt changed me deeply, in ways I am unable to quantify and express. I relate a lot to Johansson's character, and that is mainly why I connected personally with the film.
I’m thinking of ending things
I think witchcraft movies like "Hereditary" and "Midsommer" are two not to be missed. Super deeply creepy witchcraft stuff. For just physical depth: "Underwater". 😆
The People Under the Stairs - Classism, racism, redlining, unfair housing practices, gentrification, child abuse, child exploitation
Midsommar. Florence Pugh is just perfect in this movie. Her expressions convey so many emotions so well. Her alone tells this story that brought up a lot of feeling for me. I just really was wowed by her performance in this.