Hey ERA! I've been working on a project lately that incorporates some strong elements of cosmic horror, especially inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, and I got to thinking about how relatively little cosmic horror I've seen in movies. I thought I'd start a thread to see what everyone's favorites were and maybe find a few new recommendations to add to my watch list.
First thing's first: What is Cosmic Horror?
Cosmic Horror is horror that derives its power to frighten from the unknown. It is a quintessentially post-enlightenment type of horror based around the concept that the universe is vast and unknowable and the more we attempt to discover about it through scientific inquiry, the more alien and terrible it becomes. Because of this, Cosmic Horror often has strong elements of science fiction though those elements are certainly not a necessity. Cosmic Horror often deals with themes of madness or altered perception, as the protagonists of the story encounter things which logic cannot explain and which test their understanding of the universe and their place in it.
I think there is an important key to deciding if something is Cosmic Horror:
A vast and uncaring universe. Cosmic Horror depicts a universe where humans are unimportant and all of our attempts to understand or control that universe are futile. Whatever the threat in a Cosmic Horror story is, it is usually unconcerned with humans, and may regard us as insects or take no notice of us at all.
The creation of the Cosmic Horror genre is generally credited to the works of H.P. Lovecraft and a few of his direct literary descendants writing pulp horror. A lot of Cosmic Horror shares the popular trappings of his work with cults, alien gods, and secrets that will drive you mad, but a work does not need to be directly Lovecraftian in order to be good Cosmic Horror.
Here are the Cosmic Horror movies that I have seen and enjoyed. Do you like Cosmic Horror, and is so, what are your favorite movie examples?
1. Alien
The first Alien movie is pretty much perfect cosmic horror (as well as being a nearly perfectly constructed thriller).
A crew of people land on a hostile planet and discover a derelict spaceship of unknown origin. Inside they discover a massive corpse and hundreds of alien eggs. Soon enough they are being hunted through their own ship by a nightmarish creature which picks them off one by one...
I love how alien everything is in Alien, from the almost organic designs of the derelict ship to the design of the Space Jockey itself. It all hints at a huge universe that does not care about humanity at all.
2. Event Horizon
This is another space themed movie and it's likely to be a more controversial pick. An experimental FTL ship vanishes during it's maiden voyage and is discovered years later floating in the far reaches of the solar system. A salvage crew goes to recover the ship and discovers the terrible fate of the original crew.
Event Horizon makes my list because it's central plot is built on the idea of circumventing natural law leading to horror. The Event Horizon traveled through another dimension and when it came back changed. Bonus points for also having a lot of the horror be tied to characters struggling to understand if what is happening to them is real or not. I enjoy Event Horizon despite its cheesier parts, but I know that it's kind of a love it or hate it movie.
3. In the Mouth of Madness
Oh hi again, Sam Neill! In the Mouth of Madness is the second in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy and sits between The Thing and The Prince of Darkness. In the Mouth of Madness might just be the most "Lovecraftian" movie on this list. It's clear that Carpenter wanted to pay specific homage to Lovecraft's work so you have a small New England town with terrible secrets, tentacled beasts, books which drive people mad, people who can't tell if books they are reading are real... It's all pretty great and John Carpenter swings for the fences with bringing out as much weird from the concept as he can manage while Sam Neill devours scenery in order to sell the increasing instability of his character.
If you are interested, try to watch this without learning too much about it, even some of the posters have annoying spoilers.
4. The Thing
The first of the aforementioned Apocalypse Trilogy and one of the greatest practical effect horror films ever made. An antarctic research station is infiltrated by an alien creature that was dug up from beneath the ice. The crew realizes that they cannot trust anyone or anything as the creature can assume the form of any one of them.
I think The Thing is a good example of Cosmic Horror because, again, the creature has no interest in humans for our own sake. It's simply trying to survive and escape, and the humans it encounters are simply threats or disguises to be avoided or used and consumed. It also hearkened back to the trope of an expedition finding something they shouldn't have disturbed which Lovecraft used so much.
5. The Void
The Void is a recent indie horror movie currently available on Netflix and, much like In the Mouth of Madness, it is pretty much a direct Lovecraftian story. A small group of people are trapped in a rural hospital as strange cultists close in and they learn that not everyone inside is who they seem. The movie is pulpy and fun and moves at a decent pace. It does a good job balancing the tense claustrophobia of its premise with some more large scale stakes and visuals.
A good use of Lovecraftian tropes that keeps escalating until the end.
So what say you ERA? Do you like Cosmic Horror? Do you think these movies are good examples of it? What are your favorite Cosmic Horror movies?
EDIT: ERA responds! Here is the list of movies (and a few books) that received several recommendations through the course of the thread:
Thanks to astro for creating the original version of this list
First thing's first: What is Cosmic Horror?
Cosmic Horror is horror that derives its power to frighten from the unknown. It is a quintessentially post-enlightenment type of horror based around the concept that the universe is vast and unknowable and the more we attempt to discover about it through scientific inquiry, the more alien and terrible it becomes. Because of this, Cosmic Horror often has strong elements of science fiction though those elements are certainly not a necessity. Cosmic Horror often deals with themes of madness or altered perception, as the protagonists of the story encounter things which logic cannot explain and which test their understanding of the universe and their place in it.
I think there is an important key to deciding if something is Cosmic Horror:
A vast and uncaring universe. Cosmic Horror depicts a universe where humans are unimportant and all of our attempts to understand or control that universe are futile. Whatever the threat in a Cosmic Horror story is, it is usually unconcerned with humans, and may regard us as insects or take no notice of us at all.
The creation of the Cosmic Horror genre is generally credited to the works of H.P. Lovecraft and a few of his direct literary descendants writing pulp horror. A lot of Cosmic Horror shares the popular trappings of his work with cults, alien gods, and secrets that will drive you mad, but a work does not need to be directly Lovecraftian in order to be good Cosmic Horror.
Here are the Cosmic Horror movies that I have seen and enjoyed. Do you like Cosmic Horror, and is so, what are your favorite movie examples?
1. Alien
The first Alien movie is pretty much perfect cosmic horror (as well as being a nearly perfectly constructed thriller).
A crew of people land on a hostile planet and discover a derelict spaceship of unknown origin. Inside they discover a massive corpse and hundreds of alien eggs. Soon enough they are being hunted through their own ship by a nightmarish creature which picks them off one by one...
I love how alien everything is in Alien, from the almost organic designs of the derelict ship to the design of the Space Jockey itself. It all hints at a huge universe that does not care about humanity at all.
Yes, all of this goes out the window with the most recent movies. Covenant itself fully transitions from Cosmic Horror to Gothic Horror of all things. That being said, if you take the original Alien as its own film, I think it still deserves to be lauded as extremely effective Cosmic Horror.
2. Event Horizon
This is another space themed movie and it's likely to be a more controversial pick. An experimental FTL ship vanishes during it's maiden voyage and is discovered years later floating in the far reaches of the solar system. A salvage crew goes to recover the ship and discovers the terrible fate of the original crew.
Event Horizon makes my list because it's central plot is built on the idea of circumventing natural law leading to horror. The Event Horizon traveled through another dimension and when it came back changed. Bonus points for also having a lot of the horror be tied to characters struggling to understand if what is happening to them is real or not. I enjoy Event Horizon despite its cheesier parts, but I know that it's kind of a love it or hate it movie.
3. In the Mouth of Madness
Oh hi again, Sam Neill! In the Mouth of Madness is the second in John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy and sits between The Thing and The Prince of Darkness. In the Mouth of Madness might just be the most "Lovecraftian" movie on this list. It's clear that Carpenter wanted to pay specific homage to Lovecraft's work so you have a small New England town with terrible secrets, tentacled beasts, books which drive people mad, people who can't tell if books they are reading are real... It's all pretty great and John Carpenter swings for the fences with bringing out as much weird from the concept as he can manage while Sam Neill devours scenery in order to sell the increasing instability of his character.
If you are interested, try to watch this without learning too much about it, even some of the posters have annoying spoilers.
4. The Thing
The first of the aforementioned Apocalypse Trilogy and one of the greatest practical effect horror films ever made. An antarctic research station is infiltrated by an alien creature that was dug up from beneath the ice. The crew realizes that they cannot trust anyone or anything as the creature can assume the form of any one of them.
I think The Thing is a good example of Cosmic Horror because, again, the creature has no interest in humans for our own sake. It's simply trying to survive and escape, and the humans it encounters are simply threats or disguises to be avoided or used and consumed. It also hearkened back to the trope of an expedition finding something they shouldn't have disturbed which Lovecraft used so much.
5. The Void
The Void is a recent indie horror movie currently available on Netflix and, much like In the Mouth of Madness, it is pretty much a direct Lovecraftian story. A small group of people are trapped in a rural hospital as strange cultists close in and they learn that not everyone inside is who they seem. The movie is pulpy and fun and moves at a decent pace. It does a good job balancing the tense claustrophobia of its premise with some more large scale stakes and visuals.
A good use of Lovecraftian tropes that keeps escalating until the end.
So what say you ERA? Do you like Cosmic Horror? Do you think these movies are good examples of it? What are your favorite Cosmic Horror movies?
EDIT: ERA responds! Here is the list of movies (and a few books) that received several recommendations through the course of the thread:
Thanks to astro for creating the original version of this list
Last edited:
