Perhaps because of its niche nature, cosmic horror can both be a popular and difficult genre to attain its full richness. Example figureheads of the concept are works such as John Carpenter’s Apocalypse Trilogy, Mandy, Alien, and The Twilight Zone. On the other side of Hollywood filmmaking, independent features are particularly unpredictable in their subject matters, level of graphic imagery, and overall outcome. In the case of this sub-genre, it’s a particular type of horror in which the subjects are at the mercy of a great, existential doom.
Many films have tried at the theme, usually aiming for high concept delivery and memorable design. Those same works have since been scorned by critics and audiences alike, later praised as cult classics, or ultimately left in the dust.
Banshee Chapter (2013)
The 2013 found-footage drug-horror focuses on a filmmaker and journalist as she searches for the answer as to how her friend’s strange and violent end is related to government DMT testing. The pacing and scares are exciting, and the presence of some memorable characters and simple yet terrifying imagery helps cushion the nonsensical aspects of the plot and the filmmaking itself.
Although the film approaches itself as a “found-footage,” many times, a cameraman is never acknowledged, bringing up the question if one even diegetically exists. Nonetheless, the jump scares are for once deserved, and the ride is an enjoyably wild one.
Underwater (2020)
The recent 2020 release starring Kristen Stewart divided critics. From the audience’s standpoint, they seemed to either stay indifferent towards the flick or were momentarily entertained. Essentially Alien, but underwater, the plot takes place in a futuristic mining rig as it begins to break down due to external forces guarding the deep.
It’s not really a movie that will deliver scares nor unique design and ideas, but the kill scenes stand as both creative and disturbing as each cast member is plucked off one by one. While the viscera is nasty fun, the uneven tone forcing manufactured grandness over well-paced thrills ruins the film’s last moments altogether.
Color Out of Space (2019)
The Nicolas Cage film is a by-the-book love letter to Lovecraft. Audiences and critics both panned the story, leaving much to be desired, although they stayed for the gross-out special effects and creature design as well as Cage himself.
While the plot didn’t leave much of a good impression on anyone and resulted in a forgettable sort of iteration of In the Mouth of Madness, people still praise it for some of its performances and its effects despite otherwise bland and grating characters.
The Void (2016)
While the concept was strong and dedicated to the Lovecraftian image, The Void played on The Thing’s formula without providing a clear plot or characters.
A film about a group of people trapped within a small hospital by a strange masked cult and chased by mutated monsters, The Void seemed to want to showcase more of the elements of cosmic horror rather than polish their connections. Nonetheless entertaining to many, The Void has since garnered cult status.
Starfish (2018)
This film tackled too much style over what many felt was too little substance. A young woman is in angst after her friend’s death, and a recent scandal left her sidewinded. As a result, the world starts falling apart in a cosmic and ethereal spiral as she finds she can traverse time and space through cassette tapes left behind.
This is an art film, meaning it takes chances whether or not people will like it. While much of its aesthetic is gorgeous and striking, the story itself is thin and much less memorable. The pacing makes it feel more like a musical, with one song on the soundtrack playing after another and the film beginning to turn more and more into a string of music videos. While this may please some, it seemed to perturb many others.
Honeymoon (2014)
A picturesque couple stows themselves away for their honeymoon at a cabin in the woods. When one night, the bride is found outside by her husband, and she starts acting strangely, he begins to suspect she’s not the same woman he once knew.
At first, incredibly grating in the gratuitous gushiness and desperation to get the audience to see the characters as a ‘cute, relatable’ couple to the point of cringe, the film eventually gets better as it becomes more graphic and mysterious. It meanders on pace-wise, though the mystery keeps the audience hanging. Many found themselves unsatisfied with the ending but pleased by the gore and special effects. The acting gets better as it goes along, as well.
She Dies Tomorrow (2020)
In this psychological black comedy, a group of characters crosses into the existentialist as a contagious thought takes them over. Starting with one woman, the thought of death and/or the end coming on in the next day, and the mystery and awkwardness that comes with it causes much room for intrigue.
While the concept stands strong and invited viewers in (namely on behalf of the marketing taking steroids to the tone, despite it being much more deadpan), many felt the thin plot, repetitive scenes, and use of music left the mystery and existentialism much less desirable and more grating.
Spiral (2000)
The film adaptation of Junji Ito’s manga horror epic Uzumaki has grown a cult following since its release.
On the other end, its favorability amongst critics, Ito fans, and audience members has been less than affirming. Many felt that the story shortchanged the meaning and themes of the manga as a whole, namely in making the first chapter the entire film’s plot, resulting in some controversy among Uzumaki readers. The special effects and tone divided many, incredibly nauseating and purposely disgusting, consequently panned by some as “un-rewatchable.”
A new, short anime series based on the manga is set to air on Toonami in the near future.
YellowBrickRoad (2010)
A small town disappears into the forest after collectively watching The Wizard of Oz. A few hundred people’s bodies are found, and the state of their deaths indicate they went insane. Decades later, the legend of the “YellowBrickRoad” persists, promising whoever can get to the end of it will find personal treasure.
A group of hikers is determined to solve the mystery and bring with them cameras. Not surprisingly, things go array, though it isn’t until the second act they do. The first act tends to be slow and uninteresting for many. When things heat up, the special effects are on and off impressive or, at times, are entirely laughable. The plot itself offers nonsensical logic and a strange ending which left some confused and others indifferent. Nonetheless, it was deemed relatively entertaining by many as well.
The Endless (2017)
A film about two adult brothers, also former cult members, deciding to return to the cult for old time’s sake before moving on with their lives. This is an obviously naïve move considering the younger brother is still convinced cult life is a better one worth living. Upon their return, for whatever reason, strange things begin happening due to the location of the base.
The film left audiences empty as the ending left them with no room for imagination. The plot and devices are not scary and, while they can be interesting, the journey lead by characters, either bland or annoying, resulted in an anticlimactic end.
