Horror
The House That Jack Built/2018/English
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Lars von Trier
Why FiC recommends?
1) Polarizing views on Lars Von Trier films isn’t something new; this film isn’t an exception too. Most of his films have revolved around human psych and here the protagonist is a homicide.
2) The house that jack builds (I just avoided a spoiler here!) is very symbolic, in fact the whole movie symbolic and feels like a mirror to the undiscovered inner human psych which is so difficult to accept.
3) The portrayal of ‘hell’ in the final chapter is dreamlike and gives a lot of room for the audience to ponder upon, which simply is a big win.
Tous les dieux du ciel (All the Gods in the Sky) /2018/ French
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Quarxx
Why FiC recommends?
1) Visually the film is one of the most stunning in recent memory, we are seized from these first moments by its aesthetic which evokes the scenes close to that of David Lynch films, the cinematography of Antoine Carpentier is simply sublime. The idea of insidious contamination of body and mind is at the heart of the film.
2) If you like horror films to be clear and unambiguous, you won’t have much fun here, as ” All the Gods in the Sky ” reveals a different result to almost every viewer. This French gem fits many genres into one film, and it pays off in the end.
Antichrist/2009/English(Denmark)
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Lars von Trier
Why FiC recommends?
1)’Transgressive’ themed films have a special seat in the history of cinema and director Lars Von Trier (LVT) has contributed a lot in this area. Antichrist is probably the best film to get introduced to LVT filmography.
2) Apart from being deeply philosophical (which is the inherent nature of all transgressive films) Antichrist has a very strange pace and vivid color tone which in its all capacity has the ability to make the viewer uncomfortable yet absorbed throughout its runtime.
Note: This is the first movie of LVT’s ‘Depression Trilogy’.
Zirneklis (Spider) / 1992 / Latvian
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Vasili Mass
Setting: Town
Why FiC recommends?
1) The images that director Vasili Mass packs into the frame will stick with you long afterwards, dreamlike and meaningful and sinister and beautiful all at the same time. Aurelija Anuzhite as Vita is absolutely perfect, playful and childlike while at the same time achingly, sexually gorgeous. Highly recommended for the fans of Jaromil Jires, Jean Rollins, Walerian Borowczyk, Frantisek Vlacil, and Juraj Herz.
Jigureul jikyeora!(Save the Green Planet!) /2003/
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Joon Hwan Jang
Why FiC recommends?
1) A very original genre hoping Experimental Sci-fi, Black comedy which slowly dissolves into chilling Horror. Bizarre and captivating, completely defies any genre. Highly underrated when compared films of Bong joon ho,Park Chan-wook and Im Sang-soo.
2) This is a film that invites numerous interpretations, as all great art does – however, this film is also very entertaining, making it a rare film experience.
Combat Shock / 1984 / English
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Buddy Giovinazzo
Setting: Suburban/Small-town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Buddy Giovinazzo’s Combat Shock, an unsettling cross between Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant (1992) and David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977) as far from the tone of your typical Troma movie in the offering.
2) It’s a must watch for fans of the genre, a lo-fi borderline horror film with a mutant baby that tops even the baby in Eraserhead for sheer creepiness.
Cuadecuc, vampir / 1971 / English / Spanish
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Pere Portabella
Why FiC recommends?
1) Cuadecuc, Vampir feels a lot like an ancestor of E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten (1990), blurring the worlds of horror and the Avant-garde.
2) ‘Cuadecuc, vampir’ is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Not only does it show how ‘The Count Dracula’ by Jesús Franco was made, but it hypnotizes, like you have landed yourself on the set and forces you to take advantage of it. It is also one of the favourite films of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin.
Orozco The Embalmer (Orozco el embalsamador) / 2001 / Spanish
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Tsurisaki Kiyotaka
Setting: Suburban/Small-town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Orozco the Embalmer’ is one of the most unrelentingly grim works in existence, the haunting evocation of the rigor mortis and its cadaverous expression ever made on film. This is an essential watch for the fans of Mondo films and Shockumentaries.
2) Tsurisaki Kiyotaka, one of Japan’s most infamous Pinku Eiga director/ death photographers, ventured into the Rue Morgue neighborhood of Bogota, which is one of the most dangerous areas of the Colombia’s capital.
Dr. Lamb (Goh yeung yi sang)/ 1992 / Cantonese
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Danny Lee, Billy Tang
Setting: Suburban/Small-town
Why FiC recommends?
The movie is quite different also one of most notorious films from the golden age of Hong Kong horror than trying to be a “Taxi Driver”-wannabe/rip-off.
2) For those interested to check out Category III rating, which is equivalent to the old X’s or current NC-17’s in the U.S, then Dr. Lamb is a good start followed by 2 of my favourites Untold Story (1993) and Ebola Syndrome (1996).
Through Eyes of the Dead /1999 / English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Jim Van Bebber
Why FiC recommends?
1) Killjoy vocalist of the band, hardcore gorehound when it comes to extreme metal and his love for the genre got him associated with Fred Vogel (August Underground) of Toetag pictures and Cult filmmaker Jim Van Bebber to create Through Eyes of the Dead.
2). Any Necrophagia will appreciate this documentary, each song has its story, and you hear all of them with tribute to Lucio Fulci featuring clips from The Beyond and also from Cannibal Holocaust, a wet dream for death metal fans and gorehounds!
Subconscious Cruelty /2000 / English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Karim Hussain
Why FiC recommends?
1) Breath-taking from start to finish, creators Karim Hussain and Mitch Davis Arthouse Horror anthology ‘Subconscious Cruelty’ is an experience which, of course, will not be supported by many people, but which, and that was the goal, turns out to be honest, generous and of extreme quality.
2) Subconscious Cruelty” stomps its boot on the throat of representability, pushing the envelope of the New Extremism further than almost any other film, and opening a whole new can of worms when it comes to the uses and abuses of extreme content.
Decoder/1984/Gemran
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Muscha
Why FiC recommends?
Muscha’s Decoder is sort of Zeitgeist of the Berlin 1980s counterculture, a criminally under-seen masterpiece of German weirdness, before the Internet and cyber warfare shot
2) It should be considered required watching for anyone who love Shinya Tsukamoto’s classic cyberpunks, Sogo Ishii’s Electric Dragon 80.000 V and films such as They Live, Vortex (1982) and Liquid Sky. The film is battered in 80s industrial/electronica culture by intense soundtrack from the likes of Einsturzende Neubauten, Soft Cell, The The, and Psychic Tv.
Vampires in Havana (Vampiros en La Habana) /1985/ Spanish
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Juan Padrón
Why FiC recommends?
1) Juan Padrón who passed away during the coronavirus pandemic, was more than a master, he was a pioneer in the field of animation in Latin America. Now that you are all on a streaming binge, you should seek out his work.
2) Fans of Ralp Bakshi, Michael Schaak (Felidae), Rene Laloux and 70’s euro horror will be entertained and amused as the plot is so fresh.
Nadja (1994)
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Michael Almereyda
Why FiC recommends?
1) Produced by David Lynch
2) Think Guy Maddin, Jim Jarmusch, and Hal Hartley meets David Lynch- deadpan noir-ish ode to Vampire films shot in PixelVision with possible Lynchiest cameo ever as a Morgue Attendant. It also features songs from My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, The Verve on the soundtrack.
Viva La Muerte (1971)
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Fernando Arrabal
Why FiC recommends?
1) The story paints a surreal portrait of the Spanish Civil war criticizing the brutality of Catholicism, with a strong oedipal undertone, enormously violent and erotic scenes accompanied by macabre visuals.
2) I can say it’s one of the most powerful cinematic milestone, Not something I’d recommend for entertainment.