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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I’d add “Annihilation” to the mix. Its a newer movie inspired by “the color out of space”, however the story goes a different way. Its a great atmospheric horror movie!
I highly recommend the books. This reminds me of how The Shining was adapted. Movie does its own thing but both the book and movie are solid.
I read the Annihilation books first and so was almost disappointed by the movie, but they did it differently in such a good way that I still really loved it in the end. Excellent stuff all around.
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.
I own them all - highly recommended.
Thank you, Spring was very good.
Empty Man
Malum
Autopsy of Jane Doe
The Void is one of my favorite movies. Highly recommended to anyone who hasn’t seen it.
Shame they didn’t end up doing the gone world. If you haven’t read the book I highly recommend it.
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.
