Why Cosmic Horror is Hard To Make

In this video we take a look at why Cosmic Horror (or Lovecraftian Horror) is so hard to adapt onto the screen because of its visual complexity and abstraction.
Video essay made by Moises & Sergio Velasquez
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■ Music:
-The Old Ones by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au
■ Movie Clips From:
2001: A Space Odyssey (Debatably has Lovecraftian elements)
Alien
Annihilation
Bird Box
Cloverfield Paradox
In the Mouth of Madness
The Endless
The Mist
The Thing
The Unnamable
The Void
#Cosmichorror #Movies #Lovecraft

[@shadeymcbones6707]

I distinctly remember reading "the color from outer space" and not finding it all that scary at all, until i finished the story and started to think about it. And thats when i realised. Cosmic horror doesn't invoke the primal fear we have of darkness and scary skellies etc. It invokes fear when you start to try and grasp the concept of the implications its making.

[@jayt7178]

Shadey Mcbones exactly. Lovecraft never scared me while reading it. It was the feelings, ideas, and concepts that it invoked, and the whole process of coming to grasps with what the story was trying to convey. That’s what makes it scary.

[@jamesburk8145]

the first lovecraft story i read was "beyond the wall of sleep" and initially it wasn't scary at all. just confusing. the more i thought about it the more terrifying the concept of a reality so foreign and unknowable to us that we as a collective species had written it off as such a benign concept of dreams became. the imagery and descriptions used are all peaceful and largely of some kind of mystical sense (shimmering islands of light, dancing flashing things, balls of light) but the fact that no rational explanation or narrative could be derived from the sleeping man's descriptions because for us there simply wasn't any explanation was chilling. it really drove home for the first time why the concept of "unknowable" is scary. With most scary things we assume that we just don't understand it "yet" rather than with lovecraft where we will not ever be permitted to understand it. it will always be foreign no matter how long or hard you look at it.

[@Sykroid]

Thats the meteor one right? The horror kind of just sits with you on that one. So far its my favorite lovecraft story by far We live in a time where man has walked on the moon and we have hundreds of satellites in space, so we dont have the horror of space anymore. Imagine just how creepy that story wouldve been in the 30s to people that didnt know what crept behind the stars in the black night sky

[@bbbbbbb51]

It's veeeeeery psychological.

[@randomobserver8168]

@@Sykroid Good point. If you watch some of the space-themed episodes of the early Twilight Zone you can see that that horror lingered on into the 1960s, just enough to work.

[@chr821]

My favourite explanation of cosmic horror is the example with the ant: An ant doesn’t start babbling when they see a circuit board. They find it strange, to them it is a landscape of strange angles and humming monoliths. They may be scared, but that is not madness. Madness comes when the ant, for a moment, can see as a human does. It understands those markings are words, symbols with meaning, like a pheromone but infinitely more complex. It can travel unimaginable distances, to lands unlike anything it has seen before. It knows of mirth, embarrassment, love, concepts unimaginable before this moment, and then… It’s an ant again. Echoes of things it cannot comprehend swirl around its mind. It cannot make use of this knowledge, but it still remembers. How is it supposed to return to its life? The more the ant saw the harder it is for it to forget. It needs to see it again, understand again. It will do anything to show others, to show itself, nothing else in this tiny world matters. This is madness.

[@rinnegan6027]

thats one of the best explanations I've read so far

[@pumitriii6160]

I've always wondered why we're so resistant to drawing back the curtains on UFO secrecy. While maybe it's classified human technology or maybe nothing at all, I think this comment shows why it just might be for the best to not explore the subject too much if they are in fact ET.

[@stabb]

fr

[@chr821]

@@pumitriii6160 its not the same. We can grasp the concept of extraterrestrial life to some degree. If "they" land, have a somewhat physical form and speak, sure, it would seriously shatter one or two worldviews. But overall? We would see them either as threat, business-parters or as exploitable. Not as cosmic horror. Cosmic horror would be... Stars start disappearing and noone knows why or change position. Aliens start communicating to every person at the same time telepathically. Even if its just a simple "we come in peace". I guess there are many more example. But generally speaking everything that is outside our understanding.

[@completelynormalhuman9882]

Wow...

[@VoermanIdiot]

I don't remember who said it, but I find myself going back to this quote whenever Cosmic Horror is mentioned. "Typical Horror is meant to leave you afraid of the dark, or afraid of your nightmares to come. Cosmic Horror is meant to leave you afraid of your own mind, and your continued existence."

[@azmanabdula]

Well said Except i would say it like this Normal horror made you afraid of Earth and whats on it Cosmic horror made you afraid of whats to come Out there! Or... *Points to head* In here

[@mns5855]

@@azmanabdula Honestly, the original quote is much better. It seems poetic, instead of putting it in a very watered down version that instills no emotion whatsoever.

[@billdoh7]

I looked up the whole quote to see who made it but then i got, "100 best horror movies"

[@Tuxedosnake00]

Cosmic horror is on the go Movies like it or pet semetery are getting more famous

[@azmanabdula]

@@mns5855 Poetry is subjective

[@Entropy3ko]

The problem is that Hollywood usually does not understand psychological horror, and Cosmic Horror is at its core a form of psychological horror. It bases itself on the fear of the unknown we all share and of existential draed.

[@mr.dirtydan3338]

No movie, sadly has ever actually made me feel existential dread. People talk about it all the time but it is not something I have ever actually felt.

[@madelynhernandez7453]

​@@mr.dirtydan3338 you are lucky then. Existential horror is the worst. Its unbearable

[@mr.dirtydan3338]

@@madelynhernandez7453 by worst I'm guessing you mean best

[@അന്തസ്സുണ്ടല്ലോടാ]

​@@mr.dirtydan3338watch black mirror

[@dollytanwar4918]

​@@mr.dirtydan3338have you tried three body problem and annihilation?

[@ezekielbrockmann114]

Cosmic horror is finally receiving our first clear message from alien life that clearly states, *"Do be quiet. They'll hear you."*

[@colnz1233]

no then the sudden realization that all our other messages sent in every direction could have been received by them

[@nickkorkodylas5005]

*"We recieved your first EM transmission in space. Based!"*

[@nicolasmaltais7755]

that is genius. gave me chills

[@monsegeek]

One of the explanations for the Fermi Paradox says something just like that. It's called the Dark Forest Theory and says that the reason why we haven't met aliens yet might be because every civilization acts as an armed hunter in a dark forest trying not to reveal his presence to the other ones because if he does, the only safe thing for him to do would be to kill whoever he encounters, just by the fear of being killed himself.

[@lahasainaypayaso3386]

Is that from a story on Creepypasta?

[@didijunior971]

The closest we ever get of a good cosmic horror movie is Cats (2019). And that's saying something.

[@KostasMachete]

Yeah because if you watch it you go crazy

[@_BachDuyTan]

LMAO someone give this person a medal

[@Entity-dn1mc]

Well the Color Out of Space is coming out soon and hopefully that’ll be good. 🤷

[@Kaidantonio333]

Well, it was about a werecat death cult, so not that far off.

[@cuanchulainn]

Modern day King in Yellow i swear to fucking god

[@_lime.]

There is a reason why jump scares are "scares", and not horror. It's moment of fear, not a lasting terror.

[@ReelNinja1]

Agreed. Which is why I found it laughable when an article from Forbes recently claimed scientists proclaimed “Sinister” to be the scariest film of all time judging by the heart rate spikes from the audience due to jump scares. I seen Sinister on opening night & even though it had heart pulsing moments, they end shortly after & I forgot about the film within 5 minutes of leaving the theater. It didn’t make me stay up late or stick with me. Hereditary was a better example of a scary film

[@pontusnordin2343]

@@ReelNinja1 I was very dissapointed with Sinister, didn't find it scary at all. Hereditary on the other hand traumatized me lol

[@Liam-hm4de]

Wait a minute

[@_lime.]

@@Liam-hm4de There is an imposter among us...

[@MrNormalPerson]

Astute. Chapeau.

[@zamboozle3741]

I think junji Ito captures the visual aspect of cosmic horror extremely well through his manga and various illustrations, by first taking that which is deeply familiar, and then twisting and warping it into something completely unrecognizable, unexplainable, and sudden

[@mauruslateralus6687]

the end of uzumaki is cosmic horror in maximum expression

[@Tmtrnr22]

The manga with the cave holes designated for every person has one of the most terrifying page turns I have ever seen. Staring down into your own abyss with your perfect shape in a natural environment like a mountain… chilling. Once you turn that page you will never forget what full page panel you see on the othet side…

[@fleabaguette9699]

​@@Tmtrnr22the sound effect of "DRR DRR DRR" will forever give me the goosebumps thanks to that story 😬

[@darkolds9]

Hellstar Remina still one of my favorite cosmic horror

[@sb792079]

Indeed, maybe if you can’t illustrate the unknowable, the next closest thing is to warp knowable objects in a way that you have to imagine what made it that way.

[@airanator1212]

There’s an episode in the Netflix series “Love, Death and Robots” that centers around a crew of a freighter in space that accidentally jump millions of light years into the absolute unknown and the horrific realization of where they went actually made me jump out of my seat.

[@giulio1548]

i loved that series

[@carrie9299]

If it's the episode I'm thinking of, it's was disturbing as fuck and I loved it 😂

[@DerLandvogt.]

beyond the aquila rift or something? :D Its my favourite of them all.

[@papertigerworkshop1174]

Beyond the Aquila Rift's big reveal was beyond disturbing and I totally understand the protagonist's decision to live out the rest of his short, malnourished life in blissful spider-thing-fucking ignorance.

[@carrie9299]

That's the one! Such a brilliant concept. And yes, that reveal... *shudder*

[@ericad8616]

True cosmic horror is lying awake at night, staring up at the countless stars and wondering...what the hell happened to the ceiling?

[@rataflechera]

And you live in an apartment building, and not exactly in the top floor.

[@wither5673]

hol up

[@SM-qv2om]

true cosmic horror is when you're just about to fall asleep and then you suddenly realize that you forget to work on your assignment which is due tomorrow

[@imjustchillman]

Underrated af.

[@marcosrios1246]

True cosmic horror is realizing the only reason you haven't freed yourself from this prison and returned to the other place is not because of selfish attachment. It's the realization you're holding on to this endless cycle of death, rebirth, suffering, and hopelessness, just for faint glimmers of hope, joy, and hapiness, because deep down inside you know what's waiting for us in the next place. You know because you've already been there at least once and you don't wanna go back even if it means suffering indefinitely in this place.

[@bluekhalifatm9131]

What scares me is higher dimensional threats. Not exactly a ghost or something similar but basically like humans to ants. Ants live in their own world. They encounter other small beings. Build homes and search for food. Until a human comes along, then they realize they are tiny and helpless. And cannot communicate with us. Even if they could, our language is too complex for them. To something out there we are the ants, just waiting to be picked to realise we are not able to understand this threat. It would be so complex, probably enough to ruin our reality. It would collapse. Then what?

[@yevrahhipstar3902]

I think that is what the Cthulu Mythos is essentially about..

[@bluekhalifatm9131]

@@yevrahhipstar3902 it would be out of our own reality, on a higher dimension, probably wouldn't be able to see it

[@neegas3490]

😨

[@lolitaras22]

For historic reasons there are 5 ant species that kill humans

[@Funczar]

thats kinda what arrival is about. the heptopods show up. cant communicate. theyre massive compared to us and their language is more advanced than ours

[@Bella_Blood]

One of the main forms of media that got me into cosmic horror was FromSoftware's Bloodborne. While a bit easier to comprehend than the cosmic horrors explained, the characters and their attempts to understand the creatures are what are most interesting to me.

[@k.m.m.a81]

our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.

[@seogabonotjah6555]

yeah agreed. the lore is easy to understands yet amazing creature and arts as well . very appreciates more persons said cosmic horror not lovercraftian anymore these days caused yes even the lovecraft is popularized this genre, but this is kinda genre is not his "only" genre

[@ebake200]

@@k.m.m.a81 may the good blood guide your way

[@YataTheFifteenth]

Grant us eyes, grant us eyes

[@XxDeathxX509]

Same

[@landsquid1617]

How the hell did KZbin find out what I wanted

[@monmonstartv5159]

The algorithm is getting stronger, soon it will start making videos specially for us

[@darkshado124]

The eldritch abomination thing that is called, Google; see's all, hears all, knows all! We cannot live without it---for we are already absorbed in its collective consciousness.

[@peeblekitty5780]

Sorry for the off-topic but why to heck is this profile picture e v e r y w h e r e???

[@landsquid1617]

@@peeblekitty5780 OH YEA YEA

[@basedbattledroid3507]

@@landsquid1617 Yeah what the hell... the guy above you and the guy above him have the same profile picture, Even Jablinski has it, who is this guy?

[@Celestein]

I feel that the reason Junji Ito often strikes me as the best in cosmic horror is because he shows the horror coming from within: For instance, the most terrifying aspect of Amigara fault is that the holes themselves are unexplained but it is the people's own inexorable fascination and attraction to them that cause their demise. The holes can't do anything, they don't move, they're totally inert. Why would you go into them more than any other hole in the ground? Yet that's the terror, the mere thought that your mind COULD make you go in there, your own deadly curiosity, a terminal need to know and witness the unknown at all costs. You can't fight or resist the effects of a cosmic power when obeying it is ingrained within your own DNA. Your very purpose is to be undone by it.

[@chongus927]

Hellstar remina is one of my favorites by him as well

[@isaiescamilla550]

I thought this said Jumanji

[@spacex6997]

Its like he is HP Lovecraft but he is Japanese

[@TheMimiSard]

Junji Ito has quite a few stories that have that sense of not being able to resist, like Army of One and Splatter Film. But as for the cosmic horror of an unknown power, Uzumaki is amazing.

[@yoursoulismine7337]

Man, I would love to read junji ito for the story but his art style is so disgusting to me

[@JhoTerra]

This is some quality 3am content

[@lefaso590]

3 am here

[@hunni_dew]

3 am here bby

[@Enidwonders]

Is 3:19am for me... Shit.

[@h3llboyyy407]

3:54 ayeeeee

[@bo64625]

ma boi :) lol 3:14

[@breem2999]

I found that the soundtrack definitely enhanced the visuals in Annihilation to get the cosmic horror across. The discordant sounds at the end when she comes face to face with the being really gets the existential dread across.

[@maxgoldhirsch2043]

Yeah I completely agree. I feel like few people noticed how much it influenced the scene, and I've heard people say that scene should've been silent, but I think that bringing back that strange synthy theme was really what drove the true horror in the scene

[@nathangaspacio6128]

@@maxgoldhirsch2043 To be honest I only remember annihilaion becuase of this beautiful score, one of the best ones ever in horror if not the best

[@maxgoldhirsch2043]

@@nathangaspacio6128 I'm glad I'm not the only one to think this!

[@manaburn5585]

I think Interstellar could have been a cosmic horror movie, if it had ended when the main character was trapped in the other dimension, watching his daughter repeating the loop and unable to stop her.

[@Ritziey]

interstellar loop*😂

[@manaburn5585]

If the movie ends there, then we never get to know whether some thing lives inside this other dimension or not. Are you saying that in cosmic horror, there must be a higher intelligence that humans cannot interact with and the audience is aware of its existence?

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

@Disent Design I thought Interstellar was retarded because the benevolent beings that got him out of the loop are future humans. Not as dumb as that Chinese globalist propaganda Amy Adams film that has the Reapers from Mass Effect as good guys.

[@arnavs2306]

@@Sorakeyblademaster37 If that's what you took away from arrival, you are missing the backbone of the film

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

@@arnavs2306 “Reapers from Mass Effect” was a joke. Because the aliens look like them.

[@14fluffies]

The KZbin Algorithm did you a solid my dude.

[@salottin]

Yes

[@PhotonPnk]

It did US a solid, amazing content! subscribed.

[@vladimiradidas1945]

@@PhotonPnk "It did US a solid." *Communism intensifies*

[@aleksei5195]

KZbin algorithm is cosmic horror. We cannot understand it.

[@notinusesoon4975]

It was a couple of months late.

[@CelestialDraconis]

I always loved this quote: 'Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.' --Arthur C. Clarke

[@Dressyone223]

Personally I would hope we are alone in the universe. You can't get hurt by what isnt there.

[@Kenzirs]

Holy crap. That actually kinda creeped me out a bit.

[@Ryu99420]

it would be unrealistic if we are the only ones in existing

[@MyReligionIs2DoGood]

@@Dressyone223 Actually you _can_ get hurt by what isn't there, but it's mental rather than physical damage. Not sure what's worse.

[@MyReligionIs2DoGood]

@@Ryu99420 I wouldn't call it unrealistic, but improbable to a ridiculous degree.

[@normified]

When the Backrooms was a relatively new concept, it was the most interesting Cosmic horror experience I have ever had. Now it's ruined, not because there's a lot more content, but because people try and put meaning and scientific explanation where it doesn't belong.

[@dividedstatesofamerica2520]

Like what

[@yiik710]

that's what im sayin

[@bamers404]

and memes...you know, forced jokes

[@allyn6720]

i understand what you mean. i used to be obsessed with the idea of it at a younger age, it was eerie and didn’t **truly** try to be outright scary like other pieces of media. but like with slenderman, people have added far too much information, explanations, gadgets and trivial info about it - to the point where it loses its original thing. the thing that made it so intriguing in the first place.

[@stunted3377]

true

[@TaylorYorgason]

Years ago I was aboard a ship in the Pacific Ocean. It was late, a little after midnight, and I decided to go out on the balcony. The moon was full and yellow, and every star in the sky could be seen. The water itself was eerily placid, no waves, no foam, nothing to disturb the surface except a light breeze and the bow of our own ship. Beyond it there was nothing but an eternal mirror, stretching into the horizon, reflecting the entire night sky back into the ether. Most eerie of all was how quiet it was. All at once I felt a revelation come upon me that I had no idea what was beneath me, and no idea what was above me - all that I knew was that I was horribly unequipped to face either of them. No land in sight. No civilizations for perhaps hundreds of miles in every direction. We were alone, arrogantly treading the line between two cosmically horrific worlds, vulnerable and helpless, blind and deaf. It was a beautiful moment, and I basked in it for as long as I could. Edit: Holy cannoli, folks. I wasn’t expecting a response of this magnitude, but thank you so much for your awesome comments and encouragement! To answer some questions, Yes this was describing a real moment. It was aboard a cruise ship along the Pacific coast of Mexico, lasted all of 30 seconds, and, as you can see, it caused me some serious reflection. Haha Yes, I’d like to write a book, but I’ve never considered horror or fiction, since I’m most adept at describing my own personal experiences. Spinning fictional yarns was never my forte, but thanks so much for your support anyway! If I ever do publish a book, this thread will be the first to know. Thanks again! You are, all of you, beautiful people. ❤️

[@aponiviblair6638]

I thought I was reading a story 😅

[@catswellthecat7855]

Bruh you should write a novel. 10/10 comment

[@codybroadfoot7386]

Underrated comment

[@zombiecheri]

wow that sounds terrifying but very cool at the same time also your description was amazing are you a writer by any chance?

[@cjgreen4331]

this dude can write, i pictured this super well just due to his wording

[@TheStoffl96]

"...Countless stars..." *looks up into night sky* one plane and lots of light pollution.

[@RatazanoMaldito]

My life in São Paulo ;_;

[@epg581]

It makes me sad. I always look for just one star.

[@jayangel1879]

Move to the South. I live here and shit, the stars and moon light the sky up themselves.

[@bigwoke5956]

country niggas be like 🕺🕺🕺

[@uglee6433]

Big Woke don’t say the n word man

[@coalescence3835]

"I missed the part where that's my problem." Best cosmic horror ever.

[@scodiscodi8775]

which one os that

[@coalescence3835]

@@scodiscodi8775 lol it's Tobey Maguire as spider-man. It's a meme

[@scodiscodi8775]

i figured lol

[@redyosh9811]

Give me rent.

[@coalescence3835]

@@redyosh9811 I'll give you your rent when you FIX THIS DAMN DOOR

[@blacktigerpaw1]

This reminds me of the original script for Mass Effect (so it goes). Originally the Reapers were not the primary antagonists but were created as a means to combat Dark Energy that was devouring the universe. The mortal Leviathans couldn't live long enough to solve it, so they made the Reapers in the hope they'd harvest enough knowledge to stop it. Likewise, Dead Space's Brethren Moons acted as a barrier to a greater cosmic horror.

[@shadowlord1418]

I kinda like how it ended up the leviathans stating "its time for the reapers to pay their tibute of blood" gives me chills like the reapers as terrifying and powerful as they are aren't the only ones

[@TheMrExemplar]

Why did anybody not mention that this review is the masterpiece itself?

[@quanang2548]

True!

[@harrybyaqussamprayuga1756]

Someone finally said it.

[@meek981]

@Daniel okay, Daniel

[@contacthome1066]

Well said. If I ever saw this comment on r/lovecraft I would give it an upvote and reddit gold. Well said sir!

[@router9717]

Yeah!

[@romannoodl5]

I like to think that cosmic horror is like a black hole. We've tried to explain it, draw it, but in the end we just dont understand it completely. In the end its still an unknown.

[@Stusel]

Black holes are the ultimate cosmic horror for me since they are exactly what the definition of cosmic horror dictates: Incrompehensible, impossible to explain as they are the embodiement of human knowledge and understanding. The last time I felt the existential dread that stems from cosmic horror was while using space engine and taking a closer look at a black hole. The closer I inched to it's event horizon, the more the universe around it got distorted, like a corruption taking over everything we know to be true, while the void grew and threatened to swallow me hole with no chance of ever escaping it's grasp again. Black holes scare me beyond comprehension and I think that's reasonable.

[@Dylanfrias24]

@@Stusel and some make bullshit theories that with light speed you can go through a black hole.

[@bagelboi4321]

@@Dylanfrias24 ok mr party pooper

[@pedrogheventer2566]

@@Stusel Man, i totally feel just like you. I remember seeing videos of the game Elite:dangerous where people would approach black holes, it gave me so much anxiety it was even hard to look lol.

[@FRISHR]

How to beat Cosmic Horror: Get a kid with a watch that can transform into at least 10 different aliens.

[@Commanderhurtz1]

And his name is Ben 10! *Theme song plays*

[@peterjamesgabinete5346]

FRISHR Why ben 10?

[@FRISHR]

PeterJames Gabinete because Alien X

[@beyblademoses5379]

Is that a joke about the antagonist in that show (I forget his name) looking like cthulhu (Im probably spelling that wrong)

[@finiket5436]

Board _ vilgax was his name and I don’t think that’s what he was referencing

[@darkwoods7]

Agreed. My #1 complaint about horror movies is that try to show you the most scary monster the creators can think up. That will never be as creepy as what is lurking in the shadows of your own imagination.

[@multisverse]

H.P. Lovecraft's horror is basically just "It was so scary you can't even imagine it. Like it was so horrifying it wasn't able to be described, it was really scary, bro, like ultra scary"

[@rosco3516]

Not all. He wrote a string of short stories in the first person. So it's more like coming to the realization that I am a shit stain on unwashed panties.

[@yeetskeet1581]

@@rosco3516 pff really? some greater being would complain about a shitstain. in Lovecraft's horror we're not nearly as important enough to evoke emotions in the Powers That Be. Lovecraft's scale likens us to a speck of dust on the side of those panties, so small you couldn't care if there were a billion of them, and so numerous that getting rid of billions wouldn't even cross your mind.

[@BruceWayne-zj1kw]

🤣

[@zichithefox4781]

The fear comes our primal need to understand what we perceive. And when we can't, we fear it. Lovecraftian horror takes this idea and blows it up to epic proportions.

[@thesmallraptor4316]

and it w o r k e d

[@Storment]

“Show the readers everything, tell them nothing.” ― Ernest Hemingway

[@bojnebojnebojne]

Wich u cant do with cosmic horror^^

[@nickmagrick7702]

hm... good advice. I wonder if I can use it in philosophy writing too

[@Sky_TEC_Illustraition_Systems]

Hmm

[@Scallycowell]

Just drop the audience into the world. They don’t had to know the hows and whys, just that it simply is.

[@feyisthey]

Death stranding

[@porrimmaryam101]

How is it that KZbin found something I wasn't thinking about watching, but would be extremely interested in?

[@taurusdragon4763]

For me I've been binge watching HP Lovecraft related videos. Cthulhu, Azathoth and so on. It doesn't surprised me if this video goes up in my recomendation

[@cruzofficial1]

because google spies us

[@nickmagrick7702]

its a mystery *they look at all of your private information and habits* Ah well man, its a good thing people can't predict this type of stuff with the same technology. Imagine how outa hand that could get *nervous laughter* hahaha haha ha haaa haaha HA HAHAHA haaaaa

[@gliderchucker9644]

Judging by your name and profile pick alone, perhaps the concept of horrorterrors was an influence?

[@notTheXDer]

Google.

[@surreal9558]

Cosmic horror is truly some of the most terrifying horror in the genre, if done correctly. It teaches you that horror doesn't need jump scares to be scary. It's fueled by that dread, and if done right, can be scarier than anything in the genre. H.P Lovecraft was a genius in creating the idea of constant dread over jump scares. The man is a pioneer of what makes horror, well, horror. Hollywood never gets it quite right, and it's why the indie scene continuously feels so better. @Moon Prod does this extremely well. He creates that perfect sense of dread, with a mix of anxiety. The idea that these beings are things we shouldnt understand, and he's just 16 or so and has had it mastered. I just hope triple A film studios in Hollywood will get Lovecraftian/Cosmic Horror right at some point. It would change the game.

[@commentingaccount1383]

Man, I love annihilation. The bear scene is one of the creepiest things ive seen in the past few years

[@brianpan6453]

Really fills you with dread!

[@Shmyrk]

The screams!

[@wishiwassleeping8382]

Amazing film

[@Legendary_Detective-Wobbuffet]

I don't get people who call it boring. It was the first adult movie I've seen America make in a long time.

[@Tennethums1]

Yeah, that part was pretty messed up. The plants that grew in the shape of people was a little disturbing too. I need to watch that movie again...

[@rapidreaders7741]

Maybe in the future, when VR movies are a thing, cosmic horror might be easier to make. Cuz it's all about immersing the viewer into a vague vastness; it's about letting the viewers directly experience the abstract, rather than having the abstract explained to them with limiting words.

[@user-cc2fm4vu2x]

Probably, eagerly waiting for vr age.

[@crystalbreaker947]

You...My Man, have made me excited for the ~Future~ moment when VR has become so mainstream and accesible on the market that even movies can be made in that medium

[@AztecResistance]

This is something I never even thought about! There’s no way VR movies won’t be a thing in the future

[@piemaniac9410]

how about VR movie theatre? now you dont have to leave your house to be in a crowded room with a bunch of people talking over your movie!

[@ccchefccheffchefff]

Limiting words? Bruh read some books

[@crozonzarto9023]

Melancholia, a movie without any monster, just humans... Was able to put me into an existential crisis for days.

[@BeastLT]

I love that movie. Also Another Earth is a very similar movie not only thematically, but also the eerie feeling it creates. Weird thing is, both movies were released in the same year.

[@crestfallen821]

Such a great movie, I wouldn't have thought of it as a pure, classic horror but more as a feeling of hopelessness and total resignation.

[@MrArtVein]

Crozonzarto where can I watch this

[@crestfallen821]

@@MrArtVein buy it, its worth it.

[@laur-unstagenameactuallyca1587]

what is it about

[@Lapeno456]

Sometimes i look into the night sky hoping there is a cute alien bae staring back

[@STEP6192]

That's 'Lamu the invader girl' 😄

[@thememer8855]

Maybe there is an alien staring back, but it may not be very cute 😬

[@j.r.2674]

The Memer a person can only imagine huh, guess we’ll never know if the alien is cute or not.

[@raidingsieg6206]

gamora

[@jumpman2346]

@@thememer8855 ay bruh as long as they're THICC it's all good lmao

[@emerosky9899]

I once heard the three rules for creating a true monster: 1- *it cant be seen* : having a form makes it recognizable. 2- *it cant talk* : if you can talk to it, you can try understand it. 3- *it cant be beaten* : if you can kill it, fear goes away. The Thing follows these rules....

[@cyllxx9112]

Making the monster unbeatable is a great way to ruin all tension

[@emerosky9899]

@@cyllxx9112 it is not. If you know you can beat something, it suddenly give you hope, and hope destroys crippling fear. When the the ''fight'' instinct is out of question....all there is left is run...

[@cyllxx9112]

@@emerosky9899 it is best to leave whether it is beatable unknown but if I know that the protagonists can't win I get bored immediately

[@emerosky9899]

@@cyllxx9112 i was speaking about ourselves. First hand encounter. Seeing everything through a glass window takes the experience and feelings away. Ive seen so much zombies that they bore me to death now.

[@CrashSable]

@@emerosky9899 Giving a character hope and then crushing it is a much better way to scare them than to try never giving hope to begin with.

[@dj0rdje._]

Nothing is more scary than a story that your mind can create, I sometimes lay in my bed and I just imagine these horrific scenarios in which I am powerless, I get so into the story that I get scared so much that my heart rate gets faster, that is true horror only understandable by the creator.

[@victuz]

Do you mind to give us an example of those scenarios?

[@SgtFunBun]

"Staring at the countless stars..." (weeps in countable suburban stars)

[@mercymessi7115]

🤣🤣🤣

[@fulana_de_tal]

* cries in between 0 and 20 (in a very good night) visible stars of a big and foggy city *

[@heywhat6676]

Its a really good night if I can see like 3 of them ;_;

[@notalex2042]

I can relate

[@Liusila]

That image from Annihilation though. Jesus the visuals were amazing in that movie.

[@davidadams2395]

The book's description was difficult to comprehend, making the entity more frightening to me.

[@JuanG2020]

Too bad every actor apparently took acting lessons from Kristen Stewart.

[@commandershepard9312]

i literally just watched the movie, omg what a ride. an amazing movie

[@Crochetems]

Saint Ukraine How very 2009 of you. You know she’s a good actor right? If you judge her based on how she played Bella from Twilight, then you’re really just judging the poor characterization of Bella, because she played her completely accurately. How is the acting even bad (or stiff or boring - don’t know what you mean by referencing a 10 year old insult) in Annihilation? Is the acting itself bad or the characters just making choices you don’t like? Or did you just not get the context and why they were acting the way they were directed to?

[@Zer0Gunner]

Very true, everythings so familiar yet alien at the same time. The last scene with the floating orb really freaked me out, like goosebumps and hair standing up on the back of my neck scared.

[@paulgibbon5991]

My favourite Lovecraft story is "At The Mountains of Madness". It's quite unlike most of his other work in that it's refreshingly devoid of xenophobia, with the human narrator coming to feel a kinship with the aliens he finds frozen in Antarctica, and the records of their struggles to survive. But that in turn amplifies the horror--these creatures, though mortal, were far more advanced than humans. They created an interstellar empire, they reshaped the world and its creatures to their whims and endured for millions of years...but in the end, it didn't matter. Relentless time and entropy wore them away to a handful of blighted survivors trying to survive in a strange age. But there's one final malicious joke being played on these creatures--the only other creature to survive from their age is a malicious slave-turned-predator that had waited for millions of years for a last chance at revenge. The universe isn't just apathetic towards these creatures and their aspirations, it actively hates them.

[@prospectbay123]

"The Thing succeeds in representing cosmic horror not because of the use of tentacles, a calling card of the genre..." does that mean tentacle porn is a subgenre of cosmic horror?

[@marzipancutter8144]

Yes and also the other way around sometimes

[@ineverreply6372]

Depends

[@masicbemester]

Brain says Cthulhu Hentai and now I regret saying it

[@elijahbuettel5107]

Absolutely

[@dalehayden3830]

Well... it's presence *does* invoke existential dread, so...

[@mylamename14]

Annihilation was one of the best cosmic horror films I’ve seen in years. I couldn’t really put my finger on why I loved it so much, but this video gave me a whole new perspective on the entire film.

[@1Fresh_Water]

It was so unsettling! The bear was actually scary, but the music at the end, and the choreography was just incredible, my skin was crawling.

[@s.n.2359]

i loved annihilation too! the part that was most unsettling for me was the part when the humanoid thing was mirroring natalie portman; the sound whenever it moved and the lack of dialogue gives me chills

[@mylamename14]

@@1Fresh_Water ​Absolutely! I think what sticks with me the most is how *beautiful* the entire movie looks, but underneath that beauty is something so unsettling and ominous. The cinematography and special effects are incredible. That skeleton growing out of the wall covered in flowers is both haunting and gorgeous.

[@RevellAndRepend]

The bear imitating the death moans of its last victim genuinely gave me chills.

[@bbbbbbb51]

It will be a cult classic for sure. It's being heavily slept on right now & that's okay. It'll have it's time.

[@NinjaDude0807]

one of the greatest examples of this is the lore of Destiny 2 the video game, in which an early lore tab describes what a character named Callus saw looking into the void at the end of the universe "At the edge of the universe, I stared into the infinite deep. It stared back" and it irked players as an unknowable force for a long time until 4 years and many dlcs later the character was shown in a trailer and with a face the character suddenly wasn't horrifying at all, it was just like any of the other bad guys you beat as the main character.

[@Menfiz]

"Don't show the creatures and let people's imagination do the work" This made me think about "The Blair Witch" (1999) wich is still criticized because the main antagonist (the witch) never is showed, even until the end. And I always think that it is perfect because when you think about a witch, you have the image of an ugly old woman. But the movie doesn't give you any hint of how the witch looks, there is even a scene where the main characters starts running in the forest during night and Heather Donahue (the woman) scream "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!". That scene is just too perfect because the actors where supposed to look at one specific point where one of the directors was dressed as a witch, but the actors were so scared that they couldn't stop running. I know it's not THAT kind of cosmic horror but I think it is a perfect example of how create a "monster" without showing it.

[@theintrovertguy4337]

Yes, I have watched that movie recently. Honestly I didn't sleep that night. Fun Fact is I didn't witness any ghost or witches in that movie

[@justinchalifoux4424]

Wait what do you mean they were too scared? They weren’t ACTUALLY getting hunted down were they? Lol

[@woegarden]

@@justinchalifoux4424 yes actually, they were. during the production of TBWP the directors only gave the actors very miniscule and vague detail. what you saw on the screen was their genuine reactions to the tricks the directors and crew were playing on them

[@justinchalifoux4424]

woegarden that’s fuxking sick man. If every horror movie had that level of passion in it, my life would be made

[@mannequinman5638]

Agreed! In my opinion, its way creepier if they either don't show the monster or make it very brief. Sometimes, I'm watching a movie and its super suspenseful and eerie with only very brief scenes of the ghost or whatever. Often so brief you might not spot it if you didn't look hard but then at the end the ghost runs around all over the place and you see it really well and by the time the film is over I'm like "hm, wasn't scary" and sleep soundly. People are scared of the unknown, I think directors should utilize that more to make horror that sticks with you and keeps people up at night. By the way, check out the shudder original film Z. It was pretty creepy

[@Thisispow]

A reason why I liked the movie Cloverfield so much is how insignificantly meaningless were the characters to the threat/monster itself. We were seeing the story of civilians just trying to survive, they didn't plan on eliminating the threat or be necessarily a hero, they were just trying to escape and get to a safe place. While the monster just keeps on strolling destroying they have no say on what it does.

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

That's more of a kaiju movie though

[@AuzzieArtyst]

Monday Green Yes and no. We now know that they are some sort of alien so in a way it’s cosmic horror. Since the one at the end of the Cloverfield Paradox is higher than the clouds, humanity is definitely insignificant in comparison

[@fulldisclosureiamamonster2786]

@@AuzzieArtyst I was referring to just the first movie, which the original comment was also referring to I think

[@007999999999999999]

I hate that movie just because all the actions and decision the people make are so fucking dumb and lack any kind of logical approach to everyday problems, it makes me mad just thinking about how badly (imo) that movie was written.

[@blessmysoles]

Shout out to Mike Falzone and Steve Zaragoza for their podcast Cloverfeels which brought to light the genius of that universe and made me a super fan of the films for life

[@Pathologiques]

I feel like The Lighthouse was a near perfect modern day take on cosmic horror, and was just a flat out good movie in general.

[@auroradlg154]

Agreed! The fact it was mostly focused on the dire atmosphere and the descend into madness makes it one of the closest things I've watched whose experience feels similar to reading Lovecraft. The fact the language is often very literary helps too.

[@Alder41]

Absolutely! One of the best "lovecraftian" movies ever.

[@swiftlymurmurs]

The strange thing about the Lighthouse is that it just as well could he cosmic horror as nonfiction, as every strange concept could either be explained by the supernatural, or just human madness and unreliable narration

[@auroradlg154]

@@swiftlymurmurs This is is true and a very interesting point! I do interpret the film as having no real monsters or supernatural events at all, and everything weird being just in their heads. So probably we cannot call it cosmic horror, technically, but a thriller. Yet the feeling of the film hits closer to the one in cosmic horror literature than most movies that are actually made to be cosmic horror do. Which is ironic but still amazing.

[@Smokin_Choochang]

Just watched it. The symbolism is fucking insane; another stellar film by Robert Eggers.

[@algoenespanol]

A show that gave me the described sense of “cosmic horror” was True Detective. The nihilism of Rustin captured a threadbare tightrope balance of character that questioned what matters and if self destruction is a valid path. I think something of cosmic horror lies in that.

[@ghost_the_system]

That's because it's based on Robert William Chambers' the King in Yellow, which Lovecraft drew inspiration from. The full audio book of the King in Yellow is here on KZbin, it's awesome and I recommend giving it a listen. If you really want to deep dive check out the works of Ambrose Bierce too, he pretty much started it all. Bierce influenced Chambers, Chambers influenced Lovecraft, and Lovecraft.... well we all know who Lovecraft is. The crazy thing about Bierce is he became obsessed with portals to other world, so much so that he traveled the world looking for them and ultimately vanished in South America. If you're a fan of the twilight zone there are two episodes the were NOT written and directed by Sterling; An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Chickamauga. Both are stories by Ambrose Bierce.

[@algoenespanol]

@@ghost_the_system so cool to see the literary genealogy. Any Bierce stories/books you recommend?

Archive 81 was excellent also.

[@Pablo-zx6ki]

The scene in the monolith on the moon from 2001: A space Odyssey is my favourite cosmic horror-related scene ever

[@NoKOzKamui]

Mine too. I don't necessarily like 2001, but that scene is done so well. You never see what put it there, or know anything about what put it there, only that it is beyond our understanding.

[@WillTheBills]

Fuck yeah. Mine too. That scene just gives me chills. It implies an intelligence, but doesn't explain intention.

[@barrylyndon5552]

It does a fantastic job, especially for the effects of the day, showing us something spectacular and exciting but also utterly incomprehensible. Kubrick was a master

[@choo_choo_]

That whole scene is perfect. The real icing on the cake for that scene is the "music". Nothing quite nails it home more than that dissonant choir going "eeeeEEEEEeeeeEeeEeeeeEEEEE" slowly gaining more and more voices at different volumes, tones and timings. The whole scene just sends chills down my spine in a way that no other movie quite captures. It's brilliant.

[@mangomariel]

Yeah, and the ending!

[@JustSpectre]

"...if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Nietzsche

[@j0an-07-arc6]

Ahhh good old Nietzsche

[@bluderferd877]

@Disent Design he's the one who said it first, so i guess it is.

[@jbeeyes]

megumin

[@fatalos6855]

Wink at the abyss

[@TimmyTurner421]

@Disent Design You didn't get it...

[@txisbest2010]

KZbin Algorithm's been recommending some good channels recently.

[@jeromealday614]

Yeah. I'm currently binge watching thru these channel

[@plista8997]

Same

[@detumus]

Bro foreal!

[@kantyDarius]

Totally agree! I'd just discovered this

[@at0micl0bster]

that's nice, it keeps recommending me shit i've watched already

[@grandion7404]

Something I always think about is that when we imagine something huge, we see it moving slowly in our perspective. Do the ants and small insects see us moving slowly, or super fast just as we see ourselves? Because imagining something that's big and can also move super fast would be sooooo scary.

[@YouOnlyIiveTwice]

'Annihilation' is one of my favorite movies because of this genre. The Shimmer could be nightmarish, but also beautiful.

[@sionnachdensolas9787]

The character's plot and meedless side story of her affair with a black guy that was also married ruined it for me. It felt out of place and i have no idea why it was necessary to insert. I felt less connection with the character after the scenes than before. The movie was very good otherwise, atleast the Concepts and feeling if existential dread within the shimmer were there and thats what I went to see.

[@lucasrobin2788]

@@sionnachdensolas9787 there's a Lessons from the Screenplay video about that, and how the 3 pillars of Annihilation are Mutation, Replication and Self Destruction, the last of which is shown through the characters. Lena (Natalie Portman's character) is self destructive because she destroys her own relationship by having an affair, and it's suggested that part of the reason why Oscar Isaac's character left on the mission is because he found out about the affair. The affair was a really important part of the story and themes of the film, but it's honestly better explained by Lessons from the Screenplay. If you like the film, I'd thoroughly recommend it.

[@Gadget-Walkmen]

@@sionnachdensolas9787 The whole point of the side plot was to have another layer of the theme of destruction. She was destroying her own marriage from the act.

[@voittolehti2432]

@@sionnachdensolas9787 Oh yeah I almost forgot about her husband, oh my god that was some shit tier commercial acting by him. I agree, the side story wasn't really helping the movie, I see how it was kind of necesary (not really, but it was one way and could have been implemented better) for the ending. This movie had sub par acting, some really silly writing, but on the idea level and audiovisual level, it was enough for me to forgive those shortcomings, the idea was tingled my brain and the audios and visuals really brought it alive nicely.

[@satellite_anomaly]

Vess TheFox It was absolutely necessary. Every character in the movie suffered from some kind of past trauma. The affair that pushed her husband into going into the shimmer was her entire motivation, as well as her own damage. The movie isn’t perfect, but it would be less so without that “side story.”

[@sleepyburr]

Any time an attempt at cosmic horror "shows the monster", it *generally* takes a turn for the worse. The whole point is that it plays on our fear of the unknown and the way our imagination runs wild when confronted with the bizarre. Written horror has an advantage here because its limitations as a non-visual medium make it easier to play our imaginations against us via omission of anything definite. Anything you can put on a screen, though, is almost inherently counter to the goal because it's pretty much impossible by definition for a human to create something legitimately beyond our understanding since it comes from our own minds in the first place. Giving it a shape - aliens, tentacles, fleshy whatevers - no matter how gross or bizarre, gives us at least a small way to get a handle on it, which defeats its own purpose.

[@Cooom]

Except with "The Thing" which is just what is this fleshy bit

[@hardcoreking52]

There's also "It" this thing that can take on multiple forms and takes on the form a person fears most. Although it chooses to be a clown, it's actually form is just lights which leaves people dazed because they can't comprehend what they're seeing.

[@_Fuscous]

I guess I don't like "real" cosmic horror, then.

[@DreamwalkerFilms]

Can you say "Cloverfield"?

[@michaeltan7625]

I used to think the same, but then I read Uzumaki. It's very visual-based, but still conveys the fear of the unknown because you get the unsettling feeling that there is something bigger and more sinister behind what you can see. In the story, it's said that the abstract idea of a spiral is haunting the town. Each self-contained chapter just shows one baizzare and horrible spiral-related event, but you never forget that you are only seeing one facet/manifestation of the bigger, unknown horror. You can wrap your head around the individual events, but you can also see that there is some underlying cause/connection that is much bigger than you, and completely incomprehensible.

[@Johnston212]

I came up with my own kind of creature to play with in my writing. When I picture it, you rarely see most of its body. For the most part, you see a shrouded face which turns out to be your face, but the voice that talks back isn't exactly your voice. Something is off about it. You occasionally see something out of the corner of your eye, but it's too quick and it's gone.

[@oompalumpus699]

I think that when Lovecraft spoke about madness, he didn't mean people just going insane. He probably meant people accepting insanity as a measure of sanity, of accepting the lack of common sense as common sense itself. What we thought as wrong, being accepted as right.

[@TheSleepLes]

Well on it’s way towards that goal humanity is-PseudoYoda.

[@Cooom]

which would definitely fit into a majority of the themes of the time of most of his writing

[@mattpace1026]

Accepting insanity as sanity? Sounds about right for a paranoid schitzo.

[@strictlydonotcare2421]

@@mattpace1026 H.P. was indeed mentally ill, a textbook example of racist, and a recluse with no social life, and his upbringing didn’t help that either. However that is precisely why he managed to craft such a specific idea, to the point where he is considered to be the father of Cosmic Horror. After all, a person so far invested in their delusions would be able to craft such a clear interpretation of horror that a regular person would struggle to do. He wasn’t a good person, but damn was he a marvelous writer

[@mattpace1026]

@@strictlydonotcare2421 You realize I was trying to make fun of his awful writing, right? Dude was NOT a good writer. I don't give a damn how "deep" his horror was. The continuity was atrocious and that automatically makes his writing bad. And don't try convincing me that "his mythos is intentionally inconsistent so it's realistic." First off, it wasn't intentional, it was because Lovecraft just wrote about his delusions, which obviously wouldn't have been consistent. I doubt he had any real self-awareness of the continuity. Second, yeah there are real myths and legends that are inconsistent in the real world, but I've never heard a single person say that they are well put together stories. Like it or not, our own universe is consistent with its rules, and thus normal people expect a consistent universe when consuming fiction. Especially when the fiction takes place in an alternate version of our world, as most of Lovecraft's works do.

[@franklynsmith6968]

This was a solid breakdown, should be shown in High School/College English courses. I feel as if new readers and thinkers of our upcoming generations can have another way to capture the relationship between emotion and content with videos like this.

[@barrylyndon5552]

Most scary movies appeal to the fear of losing life and all its joys. Cosmic horror appeals to the idea that life is an illusion of insignificance and joys mean nothing. True cosmic horror sticks with you so damn much because that fear is real. Vampires and slashers and rabid dogs and what not we dont encounter but the idea that our subjective universe is infinitesimal insignificant and fleeting on such a scale it barely could be said to exist is not only ever prevalent but the FEAR may well be TRUTH and rather than tempting us with hypotheticals it horrifies us with something primordial; bringing our inner dread to the conscious surface and making us expend effort just to push it back down to forgotten ignorance buried beneath hope and denial that may not even exist. Also the Thing is scary af and those dog tongues are just a masterpiece.

[@BruceVieiraLopes_is_awesome]

We tend to fear that which we do not understand, is a conclusion I came to realise after thinking much about fear. So for me, Encounters of the Third kind is the only horror film I will admit to have made me question it's very real possibility. The unknown for it's motivation for being here. What it could do. How it did what it did. The element is not simply held onto the truth of the monster. Because you may not be sure what that truth is to begin with. A rabid dog is scary to those who never encountered it. But to those who do understand it, may see it as a pitiful unlucky being. They understand it's limitations. Thus why fear and phobia control therapy relies on exposing the patient to the fear, until the patient learns that their fear is not all encompassing.

[@PanSangex]

And most peolple don't want to even think about that!

[@Sanquinity]

Or you can go the opposite route, like I did. I accepted that fear. Took me a few weeks of existential crisis and depression...but luckily I got over that. Now I live my life on the basis that in the grand scheme of things, I don't matter. Heck, the entire planet, or even the entire galaxy doesn't matter. We're not even a little insignificant speck in an existence too impossibly huge for us to comprehend. So all I can do is just try to enjoy my brief existence to the best of my abilities, trying to let others do the same with theirs. All while hoping the universe won't "decide" to obliterate us during my lifetime through hundreds, maybe thousands of possible methods.

[@barrylyndon5552]

@Zenothys noone understands quantum mechanics lol and most theories tend toward it never being understood. But interstellar raises more questions than it answers If you can create 5d black holes and intergalactic wormholes why cant you create a cure for the blight? Why not just write down the reconcilation of gravity and fundamental physics and spam it everywhere in time? How tf does love transcend light time and possibly gravity? And even more basically who are they and why do they care about humantiy? Excellent movie but there were alot of terrifying horror elements. We are shown to be at the mercy of even the tinest cosmic event; a blight thats just a bit too strong for us to control dooms the world and every living thing We are guided away by creatures we think are helping but are utterly at their whims, they are our only chance and they could have done whatever they want with us. Chances are 99.9% of life and humanity died anyway and theres no definate answer if there even was a 'good' planet at all. And even this outcome, which was by far the best available, cost Coop his daughters and sons entire history and left him detached from humanity. We attempt to idealise the cosmic and its power in terms we can relate to like love trancends time and hope can always triumph but deep down we will always be aware how utterly helpless we are in the face of the Truth of nature and the universe, one galactic blink away from being forgotten along woth our ideals

[@barrylyndon5552]

@Zenothys There is no real evidence the higher dimension beings were humans. There is speculation by one character that they are what we evolve into. That's it. Kinda hard to see how given what it would require. Or that they even exist since they are never shown in the movie. For all we know it was the Judeo-Christian God that orchestrated the events. There's no evidence here or there. Trying to be a little succinct here as you threw in alot of random terms thats dont really seem relevant to anything. Perhaps we are talking about different fictions in fact you almost seem to be describing the plot of the Manifold trilogy rather than Interstellar. They arent related as far as I know although it would be interesting if they were. As for Buddhism I dont see how that's relevant nor do I need every possibility explained. Just a few basic logical conundrums which, given the hyper speculative nature and the possibly infinite abilities of the high-dimension beings, logic may be the only means of cross communication. Their 'help' was very skewed and their motivation remains unknown. Classic tropes of cosmic horror though of course the reason was that it made a good movie. As for understanding quantum mechanics (again, no-one does and that is one of the largest scale questions to the scientific community) and neuroscience (what? Not sure why that is in anyway relevant) I dont see why understanding those topics is needed to comment on the cosmic horror trope nor the logical shortfalls of the actions of fictional unknowable beings. And since you quoted two words I used I certainly dont know why understanding quantum mechanics is relevant to correctly using grammar...

[@prkycck4445]

One time sitting under stars, vacationing at a remote island with no alchohol or drugs involved, and for a moment I grew panicky. I felt so unsheltered and vulnerable, that Earth was not suitable enough to protect me from what was out there. This feeling literally lasted only two seconds, but I remember it clearly.

[@cheeseboi588]

No alcohol sounds boring.

[@coloredfox3463]

Felt that once... Still remember it to this day

[@rory6852]

Existential dread is one of the hardest things to explain At one moment your in your shower panicking as the thought of life where we come from and what will happen after we die overcomes you then the next your thinking about kung fu panda 2 and how hard the last scene goes

[@liammeyers6725]

Annihilation is one of my all time favourite movies. I saw it it an empty theatre with just my SO, and it was an insane experience.

[@liammeyers6725]

@Jeff C I agree

[@DonutGuy640]

I absolutely LOVE Annihilation! Rock on!

[@ivann9924]

*sometimes KZbin recommendations give us good things, for example this video*

[@Screened]

Glad you liked it!

[@Dalziel45]

Meanwhile "Shrek runs through a dog race" sit just below this video in my recommended

[@williamstark9568]

You mostly convinced me that Cosmic Horror is a genre that shines in a book.

[@clouds3215]

Subnautica nailed this for 90% of the game. Up until the very end where you're beyond worrying about smaller predators, the fear of the deep ocean was extreme and anxiety inducing every step of the way for me.

[@Beastinvader]

You're right. This fear of the unknown, aliens structures long forgotten, the deep abyss, and your mortality. The only thing I have against Subnautica is that the deeps have too much light. It should have been darker.

[@katatonikbliss]

Kinda understandable why they didn't make the depths of the ocean very dark, they put a lot of effort into visuals and making it darker would seem counter-intuitive.

[@Beastinvader]

@@katatonikbliss Also true... But they could have made *some* areas dark with only lumiscent monsters shining light

[@LeDomge]

That's why I'm still scared swimming in the ocean beyond continental shelf, the dark opened nothingness is just terryfing

[@hoxtalicous8986]

I don't know why but i found most monsters laughable, mainly because all the jump scares and aesthetics mean nothing when you can just swim away and ignore them.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Criminally underrated channel. I'm posting this video everywhere. :)

[@Screened]

Thank You!

[@anti0918]

Wow, only 8000 subscribers?!

[@KacperPpp]

@@anti0918 2000 more overnight tho damn

[@Skittenmeow]

I'm so glad I clicked on this video, it's a rare gem in a mountain of shiny plastic baubles. Looking forward to all that's to come!

[@aaronspersonaluploads7553]

Never thought I'd find you here! Still waiting for the video in which you further detail where the soul of a video game is what makes gamers remember it and come back to play it

[@PS4sos21]

HP Lovecraft had some of the most far out crazy stories that I've read or seen in movies and games. He really knew how to stir the imagination. He lets our own minds freak us out.

[@gradyh.7359]

The game bloodborne actually shows a great image of what lovecraftian beings are, but still it's hard to explain, and the game is fairly cheap and worth the price

[@yaboyjosh3023]

Bloodborne was two of everyone's favorite things. Gothic punk and cosmic horror.

[@ASmartNameForMe]

Yeah, BloodBorne is an outright masterpeice

[@Wakari_]

Still waiting for BB 2...

[@Chibistic]

Bloodborne is a masterpiece but it's not that "Lovecraftian". It has the visual aesthetics / tentacles and the "madness" theme but the Great Ones, while strange and incomprehensible, are really just

[@CMTechnica]

@@Chibistic meaning it's not cosmic, it's just... horror. Monsters with tentacles and... darkness. Doesn't really set them apart from Dark Souls' Abyss

[@colonelkenpachi5009]

Cosmic horror is the fear of the unknown, the fear of not understanding, the fear of the unnormal, the fear beyond man and are logical understanding, you can even say it is the fear of death and what lies after death.

[@beaverincisor]

i imagine myself screaming at the halls of time, unaware if i could move, or if i am aware at all. is that cosmic horror or i just need a girlfriend?

[@GoldenPantaloons]

Isn't it the opposite of the fear of not understanding? Like, probably THE major recurring theme of Lovecraft's stuff is forbidden knowledge. The idea that understanding something can itself be dangerous, because there are concepts the human mind is incapable of safely comprehending. (although personally I think the idea of "forbidden knowledge" is ridiculous in real life, it's a great backdrop for psychological horror)

[@Nobody-pv9jt]

@@beaverincisor lmfao

[@zucc9944]

I absolutely understand why our cripplingly low knowledge of existence is terrifying. When I was younger, I grappled with this indescribable terror in the form of a reoccurring nightmare. It started with a dot I subconsciously understood to be myself in the dream. The dot would line up with a grid, my surroundings. The grid would zoom out slowly as me, the dot, shrank and I could feel the sensations of the dot shrinking and the grid expanding. It made my mind hurt. Soon, another layer would be added to the grid, and another, making it three dimensional, which made me feel the stressful sensation even more. Grids would pile on one another, and there was soon so many lines, so much squeezing and stretching sensations going all at once that I would wake up with my parents comforting me while I was screaming. If someone could encapsulate that experience I dreamt of in a work of fiction, they deserve all the praise they can get.

[@IronShocker77]

I had similar nightmares! I was small and the things around me grew little by little. getting progressively rougher and more menacing, assuming different shapes. When i touched them they were hard and cold like a hard floor of concrete, but still felt alive somehow. Sometimes there were sounds too, increasing in intensity and lowing to a bass tone. I felt opressed and hopeless. It was terrifying for little me. i think it has something to do with our growth and development as we sleep. Like growing pains, but for the mind.

[@im19ice3]

that sounds soo creepy :S gives me a similar feeling to Escher's work

[@lovemyanimals7433]

I had a similar "dream". I was in a weird state of being half asleep and half awake one night. The whole time I was lying down, I felt giant compared to everything else in my room and next second, I was tiny. All furnitures in the room felt as big as a building. Every few seconds I wake up, I'd either wake up feeling really tiny as a dot or giant as a building. It felt like something else was controlling the space around me. No matter what I tried to do, I couldn't get myself to become normal human size again in my dream. It was such an unexplainable and strange feeling. I woke up feeling so stressed out the next day. Then another time, I was dreaming that I was walking next to a pond. All of a sudden, I shrank and the pond became the size of an ocean and I woke up "drowning" in that sea/pond. Since then, every now and then, when I lay on my bed to sleep, I'd get this overwhelming anxiety that I'd feel tiny/giant again.

[@criskp6861]

That sounds amazing

[@crystalbreaker947]

@@criskp6861 "When" (srry for shitty meme ""When"") you want to study Physics but also Astronomy and AstroPhysics...

[@RonaldCounterman]

Nice job. Cosmic horror emphasizes how an overwhelming horror makes one feel very small and insignificant.

[@odiemodie1]

"If it bleeds, we can kill it." -Major Alan 'Dutch' Schafer

[@lpsglamourgirl2988]

“So you cooked up a story and dropped the six of us into a meat grinder!” - Major Alan ‘Dutch’s Schafer’s grandma playing bingo

[@charleswinters9567]

Black holes are basically wounds in space. KILL SPACE!

[@Alex-iu7dl]

What if something doesn't bleed? That's more horrifying. Or what if you're true enemy is yourself?

[@Ignirium]

@@lpsglamourgirl2988 You're an expendable asset i expect you to get the job done, got it!

[@samsonglennon3823]

@@Alex-iu7dl oh I know I bleed

[@StellarCosmic1]

Insanely great hard-hitting quote: “The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."

[@countiblis1246]

"I've come to tell you what I see. There are great darknesses, farther than time itself. And beyond the darkness, a light that glows and changes. And in the center of the universe, the eye that sees us all." The man with the X-ray eyes (1963).

[@wowisntitanamazinglyamazin9550]

That's interesting

[@Vakkitah]

I honestly really liked Annihilation, it left me with that existential dread weird feeling in my stomach, the visuals, the music, I thought it was brilliant. I gotta watch it again sometime.

[@A.Izquierdo]

This was such a spot on incredibly articulated description of why good cosmic horror is so rare. That balance 👌🏼 The lovecraft , void and iohn carpenter references were spot on. Really enjoyed this👏🙌💀

[@Uncleson97]

The backround music made me feel so uncomfortable ... I love it

[@stevepittman3770]

The best succinct description I've come across of cosmic/existential horror: You know how when you're a kid you think blind people must see blackness because that's what you see when you close your eyes? Remember when you realized one day that you don't see blackness behind your head for example, just nothing? Translate that revelation to the idea of being alive/dead.

[@itdogodownbruh6094]

I am drawing cosmic horror in my art class and most of it is different yet similar creatures, something which I have never drawn in full, this video has made quite a help in drawing the shape or showing the effects of this creature

[@wp2746]

Seems like cosmic horrors are almost a perfect description of Angels mentioned in the Old Testament, but as fallen Angels.

[@bondrewdthelordofdawn3744]

Bible accurate angel ?

[@KateeAngel]

The whole old testament is one giant horror

[@SirBlackReeds]

Devils too. Both are considered formless by some scholars.

[@arte0021]

To be honest, God is the biggest cosmic horror

[@Sorakeyblademaster37]

@@Rand0mPeon That’s incredibly inaccurate. God is anti-Eldritch un-Abomination. The Bible is essentially Cthulhu Lite because God wills that evil loses.

[@drunkenhowler22]

I'd say Annihilation does a crazy good job at cosmic horror, its not apparent if the entity is even aware the character is there and is simply reacting to her like it reacted to the plant and wildlife, mixing and contorting everything around it, probably not even actively doing so either. Not to mention its indescribable form, is it the bubble it created? is it the entity we saw? is the room they ended up in? Is it all of them? Personally its my favourite lovecraftian film because it actually fucked with everyone there on an existential level and didn't need a monster hunting them to have made its point. The presence of the entity already did enough damage. But I do find it interesting that bird box is in this, didn't think of it as a lovecraftian flick but in this context it does fit. Its like something got pulled through and they got a situation similar to introducing predators into foreign eco systems, I wander if they'll ever starve out since they dried up their food supply. If the people are even food. Gah, I love these topics.

[@GordonSeal]

I agree, what I loved most about Annihilation was how beautiful and mesmerizing the horror in the move was, you almost want to experience it yourself even though you know it would probably break you.

[@WAX1138]

I would somewhat disagree and without going into a long explanation i'll just say that most of the focus in Annihilation was on the dramatic relationship element. There are other films and stories that address the subject as the central theme. One film that comes to mind is Under the Skin.

[@brucebloot]

@@WAX1138 yeah, yeah but on the surface level. That creature thing with the shriek and that scene was terrifying haha in annihilation

[@WAX1138]

Are you trying to sound immature and like you don't grasp the topic here?

[@brucebloot]

@@WAX1138 wot

[@aniruddhakashyap6906]

Interstellar depicted cosmic horror with its abstract BGM and visual effects like no other movie and is also one of the most accurate ones.

[@zanwild1]

"The world is indeed comic, but the joke is on mankind" H.P. Lovecraft

[@dillonowens3604]

Good quote

[@thunderblood6603]

Another quote of him is, "Ayo, where's my cat?"

[@auslander1776]

“HEY NIG-“ -H.P. Lovecraft

[@luminoustorus548]

Lol everyone going on about that incomplete cat tidbit as though it somehow affirms he hated all non white people cracks me up. Anyone who bothered to actually learn about him and read his works would understand that was his mother’s cat which _she_ named, and it was a common name at the time. One would also learn of his Jewish wife. His hate of the white Irish. And the way his non white/native characters were often portrayed as the wise, insightful, magickal and compassionate ones, attempting to warn the arrogant and ignorant white scholars and scientists off the path of seeking destructive knowledge, which ends up leading to their inevitable doom. Proving these side characters moral and also correct. This was not true in every case, but often enough to be taken into account. He does not paint the white man well in many of his stories, but as filled with conceit and folly caused by his removal from the older and more natural ways. Though certain aspects of modern culture are addicted to “canceling” popular living persons over even the most trivial of matters, and seem to have run low on the supply of drama and hate which they feed upon and can direct towards others. So they have moved on to trying to cancel the long dead from many generations ago when the world was a very different place. It’s as though they had never picked up a book older than a couple decades and bothered to educate themselves. Or their targeting is selective. Any perceived prejudice in his stories serves as no indication of personal fault but more as a reflection for the reader, on the beliefs and understandings of the reader and their own time. Nor does it in any way diminish the uniqueness and power of his writings. He has inspired countless great works and will continue to do so, his immense relevance and influence in pop culture speaks for itself. Go find another Roseanne to torture. Or better yet, do some self reflecting and work on the one in the mirror before maliciously judging others completely upon their minor/non violent perceived offenses.

[@auslander1776]

@@luminoustorus548 What? I was making a joke, I know about the nature of Lovecrafts views, and I know that he didn’t name the cat. I don’t care about his political/racial/religious views, I just like his stories.

[@jivetalk2884]

interstellar is another film that filled me with unexplainable existential dread.. i guess it’s not very “horrorlike” but it’s more literal about something we cannot possibly comprehend ... i cried watching that film and thinking about it always puts my mind in a twist... gonna check out annihilation and bird box now

[@samnangpoe]

oh my god i totally agree! i can't explain it but i got scared for some reason. I think u explained it perfectly. I also feel the same way with 2001 a space odyssey

[@soups102]

Yeah Interstellar is one of my favorite movies of all time because of what you said and I'm a big fan of sci-fi

[@natebit8130]

It is

[@2MuchSwag4Funzies]

I feel the same way and this just reminded me of the uncanny valley. It's basically the reproduction of something so similar to things that we know, like say a teddy bear and human teeth, but a teddy bear with actual human teeth is straight up freaky. The scene in interstellar where the planet was one big ocean but the waves were high as the clouds still messes me up to this day

[@alexmercer2743]

Interstellar was an interesting case. It hinted at a largely incomprehensible existence, but in a way it was the opposite of cosmic horror. The core theme wasn't the futility of human existence, but how love an compassion, uniquely human emotions, transcend time and space to ultimately be what protects humanity from extinction. Scary implications about the exact nature of the universe, but ultimately a humanistic message and somewhat comforting message.

[@Starlesslemon]

I think everyone's first time feeling existential dread is being a 5th grader learning the sun will die in 5 billion years.

[@stijnvandevyver7958]

I get easily startled by horror movies in general, but cosmic horror is the only kind of horror that truly terrifies me. It's fascinating yet unnerving at the same time. Maybe that's why i write so many stories involving one or more elements of existential dread.

[@dr.livesey5157]

Can I see your stories?

[@stijnvandevyver7958]

@@dr.livesey5157 @qwerty123 I'd have to translate them to English first. But i appreciate the interest. I've been thinking of putting them out there though.

[@HeilRay]

Imagine seeing signs of life on another planets in the form of a space ship....Only to find no survivors and the implication that space zombies ala Dead Space May be real.

[@dry7560]

@Dazidan last night I was in the shower and that hopeless feeling you get from this type of horror hit me and it stuck with me all night

[@thegreatnihil7854]

@Dazidan Wow man, did you know that like... you can't escape the Egocentric Predicament and stuff? man so deep and scary... I really don't get what's so scary about cosmic horror... Boo fucking hoo, epistemological nihilism, so scary.

[@miguelpereira9859]

Junji Ito's mangas brilliantly execute cosmic horror in an interesting new take compared to Lovecraft IMO

[@abecharles7652]

Agreed

[@madratter7031]

I think the hell star was more scarier then cuthulu. The way the hellstar toyed with the planet, and how it licked it was just goosebump inducing

[@virenrana6459]

Which mangas? Please mention names

[@nash11392]

@@virenrana6459 Hellstar Remina is the title you're looking for.

[@virenrana6459]

@@nash11392 thank you

[@zicrog7701]

The most horrible nightmare I ever had was one of sheer cosmic horror, no monster was involved. I was just, in an endless plane of grass, with trees verging on the edge of infinity, as reality fell into a schism that can only be likened to a black hole, but more akin to the end of reality, seeing all things come to an end, with no way for anyone or anything to ever stop it, that all things come crashing down, and to be in a nightmare where this knowledge is being pummeled into me, I woke up screaming from nothing more than simple imagery.

[@Theunderpriviledged2004]

.....no words

[@vesicapiscis9717]

I had a very similar dream as a child

[@zarreff]

You can seek comfort and find it in the acceptance of Jesus Christ as being your lord and savior. He died for our sins, to save us from death. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world he gave his one ns only son, and whoever shall believe in him shall not die but be given eternal life".

[@zicrog7701]

@@zarreff nah, I'm gnostic so fuck right off this comment chain with your Christianity bullshit, Paul ruined the church and Christ would hate what it's become.

[@yalu2]

I read a book about precisely this scenario. It was... eerily boring.

[@GarlicMuncha]

Am i the only one who thought about Stranger Things first season (if we can call this horror). There was something about the unknown, so fascinating and yet so bland now it's revealed...

[@notspiderman4158]

Yes the first season is heavy inspired by Stephen King who is heavily inspired by mystery, cosmic horror stories. The first season is really good.

[@kyros1283]

I liked the Mind Flayer a lot more before I saw it’s physical form, it wasn’t as scary or threatening once you see it in a tangible appearance

[@danyyilbun6736]

Yeah, agree, plus KIDS, it's like a spoiler, they don't have balls to kill kids

[@brolyonsome3963]

@@danyyilbun6736 AHS killed kids.

[@joaoalmeida8549]

Kyros the mindflayer never showed its physical form cause it really never had one. It just arranged itself a body so it could kill the protagonists

[@MindrapeJr]

this actually might be why Earthbounds final boss, Giygas is terrifying for the time. its never properly described and is just a vague evil threat for most of the game. the game is happy go lucky for most of it. then it takes a sharp 90 degree turn near the end. becoming somewhat depressing and the very end becomes horrifying. in the first form of Giygas you fight just a face. the face of the protaganist. metal music plays in the background. beating this form reveals that Giygas was actually being contained by something called a devil's machine. a small part of it was only showing. once the machine is turned off, Giygas is no longer called a wielder of evil, but the embodyment of evil itself. Giygas is formless. and when it attacks the game tells you that "you cannot grasp the true form of its attack". no music plays during the battle. just an eerie humming sound and static. Giygas whispers during the battle ....it hurts... ...i...feel...good... eventually screaming the protaganists name repeatedly. that was cosmic horror in my opinion. on the fucking SUPER NINTENDO!

[@GarryDKing]

And all that done with just the repeating image of a human embryo as well

[@アドリアン-d3o]

OP, you will love Berserk.

[@MarcAlcatraz]

To sum it up, it would be like adapting Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space" into a movie, it would be near impossible as you would have to show a color that cannot be described and does not exist in nature.

[@Screened]

I'm hoping it will work out somehow...

[@3liisdabomdiggitydaw]

Annihilation was pretty much an adaptation of The Colour. I know it was already adapting the book Annihilation but the director opted not to follow the original story of the book because he didn't want it to be another wannabe sci-fi franchise, and was instead interested in creating his own exploration of some of the key themes. He stated it was very much influenced by Lovecraft's short story. Still excited to see how the next interpretation tries to pull it off.

[@dhmc45]

What about that German movie "Die Farbe"?

[@zedthefatone2864]

They're making that into a movie i hear. With Nicolas Cage. But they made a movie based off the book in 2010, with a vintage camera.

[@davidsirmons]

Annihilation was very close to that story.

[@spark9_]

"we don't experience cosmic horror as often..." bruh speak for yourself I've had existential dread since I was *9*

[@xMckingwill]

we don't but try to just think about the nature of the universe that we live in, our universe is expanding and is unimaginably big, cold and in some cases dark.

[@elitereaper916]

You idiot don't even understand what cosmic means

[@philosopher_sage_07]

I dread night because that is all I can think about... the cause of existence being a coincidence, and the aftermath of death being... nothing.

[@pointcuration1278]

I feel this dread dealing with large organizations, which I'd often thought of as enormous beasts. I'd just never thought to think of them as *Lovecraftian* beasts.

[@treetheenderhyena1880]

sameeee

[@nikitaspsimitis]

As an aspiring director and a huge fan of "The Thing", "Annihilation" and the whole cosmic horror genre I have just one thing to say.Congratulations for making such an amazing video!You managed to explain every point so well.Bravo man,from a new fan of your content just bravo!

[@Screened]

Glad you liked it and good luck in your work!

[@nikitaspsimitis]

@@Screened thank you very much man,it really means a lot.Keep uploading awesome content!

[@JustAHevel]

Oh my gosh, Annihilation was absolutely amazing! So well done! Easily one of my favorite movies.

[@jmalmsten]

Suddenly, I realized that I have read a perfect illustration of what cosmic horror is like. Edwin Abbott Abbott's Flatland. A book who's first half is basically just a long description of a strictly 2D world, its inhabitants and customs. Then, in the second half, the protagonist/in world narrator, happens to encounter a 3D sphere. And he then also meets a civilization of 1 dimensional beings. It is quite a trippy read, to say the least. And surprisingly modern.

[@nuryashifainsyiraah663]

There is a ted-ed video about it (the title is something about 4D) and honestly thinking that we COULD be like the little 2D square's fate is just....mind blowing. Imagine a life form visits Earth who comes from a 4D dimension. Equally terrifying and interesting

[@jmalmsten]

@@nuryashifainsyiraah663 could it be Matt Parkers Things to do in the 4th Dimension?

[@budfoon]

Guillermo del Toro should *still* try to make "At the Mountains of Madness"

[@gonzalogutierrez510]

Hell yeah

[@benjaminperez6756]

I've read up somewhere that Del Toro's scrapped version of AtMoM was pure, "americanazed" garbage (I know Lovecraft is American but you get my point)

[@Moss_and_Such]

Probably the most adaptable story for sure! Also a great director!

[@corriban]

The movie was planned to star Tom Cruise and the script was pure crap. They would have to overhaul that whole thing.

[@MioRaem]

I read the script, it's pretty bad. All boils down to another "crazy monsters kill everyone except the hero". And that just wasn't enough, del Toro's plethora of jump scares in his movie script are not what the original short story is about (although there is such a scene in it). The movie was, I believe, mere days from starting filming, before it was iced. I remember being super disappointed about it, but that was before I read the script. It was bad. Maybe there's a chance in the future though. We'll see

[@alibobobaba1337]

John carpenters the thing is in my opinion one of the freakiest movies out there. Everything about that movie is crazy weird. The setting, the 1 note beating back ground noise, the ending, the actual "thing." If you haven't watched it I highly recommend you watch it.

[@anchorage9562]

I hope the Three-body problem series truly displays the scale of cosmic horror that the books depicted.

[@FilthyGaijin]

I'm glad this showed up in my recommendations

[@shiroyasha7324]

Same. :)

[@ajakks6551]

Yes me too

[@melaniec.t7709]

Same

[@xXaltowolfXxmp3]

One movie that probably hit me the hardest with a sense of existential dread was actually Interstellar. I saw it in IMAX when it came out (The ONLY way you should watch good movies imo), and that scene where he enters the black hole hit me really suddenly with a sense of feeling so small and vulnerable in the massive presence of the unknown and the dangers it implied. It had a ton of great shots and scenes that really built up to this climax, and when it was finally happening I was honestly scared shitless lmao probably my favorite movie watching experience I've ever had!

[@sign543]

This is precisely why certain films never get a good treatment from the original book...like Stephen King’s IT. You just can’t visually represent the cosmic “monster” of It. The dead lights are literally an intangible that humans cannot comprehend.

[@jeffwalker6815]

Everything involving the deadlights and the void is so abstract that explaining it to people who never read the book becomes an exercise in the limits of your vocabulary and their patience.

[@sign543]

Jeff Walker Patience, Yes! I usually wind up saying: read the book. Anything I say will diminish how horrific it is.

[@Icewind007]

Absolutely. It's like trying to explain 4D in a 3D world. We are missing a dimension of the story when it is converted to visual/audio. Not all words can be conveyed on the screen.

[@sign543]

Icewind007 Yes. I remember the first few times I was in neck-deep in the Ritual and Bill was hurling towards the deadlights...which were...some kind of scaffolding out in the darkness where...something bad would happen that is like REALLY bad, because you don’t die, but you live insane for eternity....and it can’t be shown, because how do you show that?? There’s the turtle who sicked up the universe, he had a stomach ache, so he is technically more powerful than IT...but is like a Jewish uncle Rabbi who is useless aside from giving sideways advice that makes no sense unless you’re a really gifted 11-year-old boy with a stutter who can work out the riddle while sliding at the speed of sound on a marbled floor towards the outer where the deadlights live. Yeah...how are we going to build that set again?? 😂

[@Dredgen_Bantai]

@@sign543 after seeing doctor strange I kinda think they can manage that (leaving aside the usual marvel one liners and quips) because I used to think they could not ever potray him correctly because some of his lore literally go into cosmic horror and dormammu is said to be something which cannot be shown correctly he even changes form just to appear humanoid and even also dr strange also have a very cthullu esque villain( villain might be understating). So I think industry can now pull it off all those scene you stated.