Why Cosmic Horror is Hard To Make

[@presto-pesto]

Saw something like "Fear is knowing you're in a monster-filled forest. Terror is seeing one run at you. Horror is realizing your feet are glued to the ground" and I think that applies pretty well here. Jumpscares and stuff would fit under the spike of terror, where true horror is more a constant realization that there's nothing you can do about the terror.

[@ansabalam8276]

Cant fuking believe no one replied to this comment bcz this is brilliantly put into words🙌

[@ctrl_x1770]

I think otherwise. While fear is only an emotion, terror and horror can be used to term concepts. Terror is the thought that a monster _can_ run at you. This means, the feeling of terror is felt not when you see a monster, but when you realize your hopeless situation and what may happen. Most of the fear felt during terror is from your imagination. Horror, on the other hand, is what you describe as terror. You are actively seeing the monster.

[@ctrl_x1770]

So basically you are correct but the terms should be switched.

[@landlockedcroat1554]

no

[@mikehunt4797]

@@ctrl_x1770 Horror is a shitty ass with no tp.

[@toluoyefisayo1881]

This video explains alot about the world's shortest horror story: " The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..." - Fredric Brown.

[@patrickdolan6]

I thought the worlds shortest horror story was "the sun set slowly in the east"

[@KateeAngel]

What if that was a very smart birb, which wanted some seed and knocked with its beak? )))

[@kestral63]

"It time Snu-Snu."

[@patrickdolan6]

Oh lord, you're right

[@lisaa4446]

It is one of the thousands of women still alive

[@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...

[@skink84]

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." -HP Lovecraft

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

The amygdala is responsible for fear. The amygdala is the reptilian part of the brain, making fear a primitive emotion all humans experience

[@heavenseeker2320]

Jim Wiklund I definitely fear the unknown future of life.

[@BrenoPonce]

@@heavenseeker2320 All fear comes from the unknown, if you know what is gonna happen. Thats why people dive with sharks and have no fear about it, bc they know what to do in the situation

[@thegrungegod7463]

Humans fear what they don't understand

[@AllOneVoice]

If you're a huge HP Lovecraft Fan, there's few more satisfying, beautiful, brilliant or terrifying reads you could do than Alan Moore's The Courtyard, The Neonomicon and finally the Providence series (in that order).

[@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

[@OldManDoom]

I love the idea that Lovecraft developed: The idea that something is so unnatural, hideous, and terrifying that a human mind can’t even perceive it. Something that couldn’t possibly be described because it is so far removed from anything the human mind could even imagine, that you can’t even describe it because there are no words for it or things to compare it to in our world. Now that is some scary shit

[@Nimbus3690]

the art of the outlandish

[@kosciuszko1944]

That's the feel I got from Annihilation- the book series, and the reason why I loved it. It was the concept that whatever it was was completely beyond human comprehension, that any form of communication would be Area X (the shimmer in the movie) at its most basic level. Here's the exact quote: "And even in that hurting somehow Control knew that pain was incidental, not the Crawler's intent, but nothing about language, about communication, could bridge the divide between humans and Area X. That anything approaching a similarity would be some subset of Area X functioning at its most primitive levels. A blade of grass. A blue heron. A velvet ant."

[@AllOneVoice]

If you're a huge HP Lovecraft Fan, there's few more satisfying, beautiful, brilliant or terrifying reads you could do than Alan Moore's The Courtyard, The Neonomicon and finally the Providence series (in that order).

[@Nimbus3690]

@@AllOneVoice thank you, good sir.

[@Kamil-nb1wo]

you should try some lsd

[@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?

[@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

[@RedwoodTheElf]

Ironically, Cthulhu, the most famous of Lovecraft's monsters, is one of the few that have a definable shape. Most of them are literally indescribable.

[@Herbert2892]

He have a defined shape? I thought it was exactly the opposite. Didn't read the story, tough.

[@davidls187]

@@Herbert2892 there is a vague description, but the actual form is more the product of a thousand representations eventually taking inspiration from each other until they converge into what we now accept as Cthulhu's image, because it's imbedded into pop culture's collective consciousness. But Lovecraft didn't draw him. He mentioned wings and tentacles, and shapes so primitive looking that no human culture could've drawn.

[@Herbert2892]

@@davidls187 A friend of mine who loves the author told me once that Cthulhu has no definite form because he is the sum of all demons capable of haunting a man's soul. I think this interpretation is a lot cooler than the idea of him being just a flesh and bone beast...

[@davidls187]

@@Herbert2892 well your friend seems eloquent but his description isn't too accurate. His form is represented in sculptures and bas-reliefs, either inspired by the nightmares put into the hearts of men by Cthulhu's spawn or the the ones found in the city of R'lyeh, often described as having wrong, incomprehensible geometry. Remember those are interpretations.People who have seen him have all gone violently insane and died soon after. I recommend you give The Call of Cthulhu a chance. It's only a 1 hour read and it's really worth it.

[@Rage_WinterchiIl]

@@davidls187 but lovecraft did draw cthulhu, well technically. he drew a sculpture of cthulhu that was made by a character in the book. although its also kind of implied that "a dragon body and cuttlefish head" is just kind of analogy, like those are the closest things that it resembles that we can understand

[@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?

[@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

[@Negligente5]

Cosmic horror is just more fascinating than scary to me

[@Melotaku]

I know right!

[@TrippyShasta]

It is both to me.

[@gabrieldantas1179]

Yep

[@juniperrodley9843]

Username checks out

[@sourlemon4196]

Right it’s so interesting I don’t get why people are scared by the infinite unknown It just means more to discover and explore

[@fullmetalpsyche7755]

Lovecraftian Horror (Fear of something beyond our understanding, glimpse of the ugly truth constantly suppressed by denial) - Avant-Garde/Lynchian Horror (Fear of something understandable but incongruous) - Elevated Horror (Psychological terror brought upon by understanding the full extent of reality) - Hitchcockian Horror (Fear caused by mystery and tension, a knot in the stomach) - Supernatural Horror (Fear of the bizarre, until further research establishes supernaturalism) Even with all these genres, my social anxiety's the scariest thing.

[@acarnivorouscat4549]

Hahaha last part was real

[@ahabduennschitz7670]

People who try to frightening me: "booo im a demon from another universe of pain boooo you see me in the mirror but you dont notice me boooo im terrifying boooo" People who try to frighten you: "Hi im Greg, wanna hang out?"

[@Yoyozlitt20]

@@ahabduennschitz7670 I’d honestly be terrified if a random man whom I’ve never met just came up to me and told me his name, asking to hangout. I’d probably be so confused as to what his intentions may be due to the “don’t talk to strangers” talk.

[@adenowirus]

@@Yoyozlitt20 I imagine it would play out like that first scene with Mystery Man from Lost Highway.

[@adenowirus]

@person person I believe that's called "open mystery" or "howcatchem".

[@nonamehours6428]

Try this Go stargazing at night, as you look up into the expense of sky don't think of it as looking up (because that is just a concept you can't possibly be on top of the planet) instead think of yourself as on the bottom of the planet looking down into a yawning abyss. It will give you a feeling of cosmic anxiety

[@michaellee7308]

This made me think of a time in high school when my girlfriend at the time and I went out to look at the stars together. Of course supposed to be this nice romantic thing, but laying there, for the briefest moment, I had that feeling and nearly jumped of fright, fearing I would fall into that star filled void.

[@gab8142]

yall should watch the animated movie "patema inverted" its basically this

[@jameshewitt684]

whoah. You just blew my mind...

[@cursedraj]

@@michaellee7308 i always have this feeling whenever I lie down and look into the sky... Like what if somehow I'd fall into that great void of space... The thought of it gives me goosebumps

[@tanyaaa2590]

Wow

[@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.

[@andrewrainey4192]

The Thing's effects are still really cool today. Who ever did them should feel proud.

[@arthas640]

Those 1980s practical effects are better than most modern CGI effects and modern practical effects

[@petesmith9475]

Rob Bottin is the man.

[@duncan279]

Arthas Menethil tangible effects will always age better than CGI, just because they’re tangible :o)

[@knightatyourservice7512]

I think in modern age we can make the CGI almost unnoticeable. But we need practical effects. I think the best rule is: if you need your characters to interact with something, use practical effects so it wouldn't look off, and if you want to make something that can't be replicated in real life, use CGI. That way you can make realistic scenes, but also keep the budget for the CGI so it could look even better. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom movie did that and the effects are great!

[@fulgenzio89]

Yeah right, go tell this to a Marvel fanboy

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@bungerroyale112]

Maybe it's just me but the best bit of cosmic horror I've ever seen was most likely accidental. It's the end scene from Men in Black, with the alien playing marbles with galaxies. I think, whilst it's relatively harmless, it perfectly encapsulated the feeling of insignificance Cosmic Horror wants to achieve, the thought of feeling so small and helpless to grand cosmic deities. That still freaks me out to this day

[@dereenaldoambun9158]

Oh goodness, the ending scene truly freaked me out as a kid. Back then, I always thought we're inside of something or we're being monitored.

[@debianlasmana8794]

@@dereenaldoambun9158 Turn out the thought that NO ONE ever monitoring us far more dread...since we are insignificant.

[@tjoseph5474]

Because you are White?

[@toastytoast9800]

@@dereenaldoambun9158we are still monitored

[@no3ironman11100]

@@toastytoast9800 You're crazy bro we are not monitoring you.

[@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*

[@tommurphy2836]

A good way to show cosmic horror would be to not show what's causing the horror. There's an scp story (i can't remember the name) and its about some guy going through a cave to a dimensional universe thats exactly the same but every living thing is dead with no reason. The first dead body he sees his him by the entrance of the cave with a gun in his hand and a gunshot wound to the head. As he explored more he notices that all the other dead bodys have no wounds or stench to them like his own body. All the last known signs of human contact through radios and media date back two days from his original dimension. The guy goes back through the cave to his dimension to find it exactly the same At first he thinks he's not able to escape the dimension but he soon realises that he is in fact back in his dimension because the dates and time of all known human contact are two days ahead of the dead dimension indicating he is back in his very own dimension. Everything is dead like the other dimension and yet still there is no clue to how everything died. The main character comes to the conclusion that something sinister was in that cave. He feels it was death, not like comical old death with the scythe but more like an omnipotent being. He realises whatever it was it needed help to jump from one dimension to the next. He realises he himself is death and if anyone else waked through it they themselves would be death. He lays down by the entrance and records himself stating what he has discovered so if he or anyone else from another dimension sees him theyll know not to return to their dimension. After this he picks up a gun he found earlier and kills himself by the entrance of the cave. I think this story could easily be implemented into a movie and there would be no need to show a scary monster or anything like that. It could just be an easy journey of the man in this story trying to make sense of things.

[@klab9024]

You don't know the name?

[@penta_noir]

That story sounds so awesome

[@WackyKillerBee]

id love to read more of this

[@Death_Korps_Officer]

@@klab9024 Found it. SCP-2935 O'Death. One of the best dreadful ones.

[@cursedraj]

@@Death_Korps_Officer thanks!

[@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!

[@_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.

[@happyhammer1]

H.P. Lovecraft works can't be translated to visual media because the readers imagination is what defines the horror. That was his brilliance, he described the horror abstractly but paradoxically tangible.

[@ISaaCi521]

Travis Hammer assuming you can actually read it

[@AltimeFAILS]

it can, look up deep dream.

[@happyhammer1]

@@AltimeFAILS is that inspired by Lovecraft or an adaptation of his work? There's plenty of movies that are thematically inspired by his work. In the mouth of Madness and Jacobs Ladder are good examples.

[@gregormcscrungus9727]

The only way you'd do it is if you NEVER showed what he was talking about

[@ShreyakK96]

Although I agree, I believe the videogame Bloodborne did this very well

[@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

[@Abraxas1212]

Cosmic horror in a single sentence is such: "A man stares up into the stars, and the stars stared back."

[@bigtongo7633]

And the abyss gazed back…

[@Abraxas1212]

@@bigtongo7633 I put my spin on the original quote, sheesh.

[@ethancook5390]

what if "A man stares up into the stars, but the stars never existed"? This is probably terrible but i like the sound of it

[@aeho7496]

@@ethancook5390 that's kinda true tbh, considering light takes a long time to travel, those stars might be already dead when the light arrived

[@runningwithscissors1524]

@@aeho7496 And the stars weren’t just dead, but they had been killed.

[@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.

[@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

[@BoiFluffyFurry21]

I remember that one time when I was young and learning about 8 planets and stars in class. I sleep at night and I had thoughts about entire universe. It made feel uneasy and I can't really explain why it scary. As I grow older I started realizing why its scary and that's because I felt our existence as human being are small compared to the large universe, something we can not understand and the fear of discovering something that is far beyond our perception. This is what cosmic horror is like and its more scarier than supernatural, sci-fi and natural earth disasters.

[@Intrafacial86]

I feel ya. The idea of cosmic scale natural disasters used to freak me out as a kid, even though I was absolutely fascinated with science as a subject. Like, just the idea of black holes upset me because I couldn't help but imagine our sun suddenly collapsing in on itself and drawing us inward into its crushing gravity. I think the last thing to freak me out was an article discussing the collision of two galaxies, and I couldn't even conceive what that would be like. Is it something so fast that the relativistic speeds of two stars colliding would create cosmic phenomena beyond our comprehension?

[@slamdunkasaur69]

@@Intrafacial86 when i was in middle school, i had the same thing happen to me, also there was CERN and their experiments and i read somewhere that they might end up creating a black hole anyways, ever since then i feel that revelations like these are just ungraspable for human brain and it's better not to think about it if you want to avoid living on the verge of a panic attack. unfortunately you can not unthink that once you've tried to comprehend it

[@tainicon4639]

8 planets… good I am old…

[@anthonynixon3706]

Seeing those classic images of planets in an inky, black abyss freaks the shit out of me

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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?

[@hauntedmushroomsasmr7716]

To me, cosmic horror can be summed up in the quote/ “There are two options: either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

[@hush7359]

@American Patriot yeah to me honestly being completely alone is the scariest... Some might say the opposite but both ? Idk

[@elaineabuedo9259]

@American Patriot imagine, of all of the galaxies we are just alone, living in this whole universe.

[@yammoto148]

@American Patriot If something is out there its terrifying. And due to human nature and the need to connect finding out we are alone in the universe is the same as finding out that when we die out, nothing will know that we were there

[@metalxner5411]

Ye it's crazy

[@diaco3798]

nah if aliens as smart as advanced as us exist (which they do) then they'd have had to be civil and intelligent enough not to torn eachother apart and attack everything to be able to make progress, so they wouldnt just attack another planet for no reason like wild animals

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@Midnight-Starfish]

When I describe cosmic horror to people, I tell them to think of a horror movie about stepping on a bug from the bug's perspective. A being so ungodly powerful and that is impossible to understand its reasons for its actions. Then if imagine our planet, our species or existence itself, was the bug to a being that we could never comprehend. To me, that is a core idea of what cosmic horror is: the complete and utter apathy.

[@mantistoboggan5171]

very simple and succinct way of describing it. nice.

[@thor30013]

Your comment reminded me of this scene from season 1 of Babylon 5: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5m8f4yNaZ1njMU Though, admittedly, G'Kar's response is probably more optimistic than you'd get from cosmic horror.

[@ziglaus]

So Thanos? Or better yet, Dormmamu? And, conveying "impossible to understand" reasons is super hard. You can either end up with a villain people will criticize was "poorly written" because its motive wasn't clear, or people will simply make up their own motives. Is something attacking us? It must hate us or it wants something we possess.

[@digiquo8143]

ziglaus Dormamu in the comics is actually a fairly fleshed out character with relatable motives. However, they could have taken a more cosmic horror route if they'd really wanted to, wouldn't be the first time they'd changed a major character. They sort of did hit on it with Ego from Guaradians of the Galaxy 2, but because he wasn't unstoppable it never reached point. Ironically, Thanos is probably the closest thing to existential horror in the MCU, because he not only proved he was almost impossible for any of the heroes to defeat, he won and killed half of the entire universe for near incomprehensible reasons.

[@bobbob5541]

Both Thanos and Dormammu have nothing to do with space horror. They are antagonists, even formidable ones at that, but they can be opposed and fought against - effectively or not. It's a nice coincidence that you brought up Marvel's villains. In original Avengers Loki brings up the idea of a bug vs shoe scenario. When he arrives on earth he says to Fury "an ant has no quarrel with a boot" (though obviously Loki isn't an example of cosmic horror either). Shoe isn't the bug's antagonist, there is no rivalry between them. The reason behind the foot's movement is incomprehensible for the insect and entirely beyond its control. There are hardly any examples of this motive in superhero universes, since they mostly revolve around battles of ideas. Usually the villain's goal simply conflicts the safety of humanity/universe (Thanos's utilitarianism, Dormammu's lust of conquest etc.). When you write a cosmic horror you don't show a motive behind it at all. That would completely spoil it. You show how characters react to something completely beyond their grasp - a measurable against immeasurable.

[@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.

[@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!

[@Uroste]

I just wanna see, in my lifetime, a cthulhu movie. With the people behind it that understand the source material, pick the right actors and deliver the Great dreamer in all of his glory.

[@N3r0ThlHeavyMetal]

To be honest, i always thought The call of Cthulhu is overrated. Lovecraft wrote so much better stories.

[@Uroste]

@Elliot Rodger Hah, almost forgot about those episodes.

[@janusha2253]

I think the entire Cthulhu universe is too abstract and dreamy to be made into a movie franchise. I think no matter what Hollywood would make these creatures into, it would appear wrong to the fans.

[@JMarchel]

Have you ever seen waking life? It's a movie that was filmed, then had cell shading done over it - it allows for a lot of stylistic flair for mood/atmosphere, such as a character talking about tigers and the wall behind her melting into tiger stripes. I always thought something like that would be interesting for a cthulu movie. It looks fairly consistent with reality but can easily bleed into horrific and uncanny imagery. A similar example to above is a character getting more distraught/paranoid as they talk and the wall pattern buzzing into blinking eyes.

[@finiket5436]

Janusha it could be made into games though

[@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

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@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.

[@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.

[@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...

[@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.

[@maxsimes]

4:31 That lovecraft quote sends shivers down my spine. One hell of a way to start a book..

[@hippieschmutz5484]

the dude was literally 500 years ahead of his time without even knowing - remember the time he lived in, they had ww1 and on the brink of ww2 with all their horrors and he still managed to figure out an even way worse possible outcome for mankind - in a very literate and accurate way. He had more on his mind on one day as many in their entire life, it seems.

[@badlaamaurukehu]

That's how prophecy works.

[@beatthegreat7020]

“The worst thing we will ever learn is that we are but an empire of ants.”

[@LucasBernardodeSousa]

Loved the quote, and always wanted to get into H.P. Lovecraft - but decided to wait for the right moment, when my mind wouldn't be too much into sci-fi on fantasy literature (which I have been for the last 5 years or so). I feel like the time is coming, and I think that quote at 4:31 is what made me take the first step towards lovecraftian literature. If this really is the start of a book, I'd like to start from that one. Amazing quote!

[@maxsimes]

@@LucasBernardodeSousa it is literally the first sentence. You can read the first few pages or even the first chapter for free on the internet. Though i have to admit it is rather difficult to read because of the high level of english. (Im no native speaker)

[@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.

[@sunzothered1543]

This is probably the reason why Nightmares are more terrifying than horror films anyway, and why "nightmare fuel" is basically the highest praise you can give to something trying to scare you. By the end of a nightmare, you've forgotten the contents, but you remember the contents made you so terrified that it stuck in your head.

[@samreeve9738]

The worst nightmares are the onces in which there is no obvious fear, nothing chasing you, nothing to picture. I have a recurring nightmare that I can never remember. All I remember is a hall like the fibonacci sequence and an indescribable feeling of scale and distance that I only feel when watching fractal zooms

[@idot3331]

I remember when I was little I'd often have these really long dreams that spanned across several different familiar and unfamiliar settings, with various real people and made up people. They'd be these weird but fun adventures, and all these wildly different settings would inexplicably merge into one another throughout the dream. I don't remember the "main" parts of these dreams well at all, just vague snapshots of them, but I vividly remember that these dreams always ended in the same utterly terrifying way. I'd somehow end up in an empty place, usually a bedroom in a house, and suddenly collapse and not be able to move my body. I'd struggle to move, but feel like my body was encased in solid concrete. At this point, I'd realise I'm dreaming - I could feel that my eyes where shut, but they felt like they where sealed shut with glue, and the dream would continue. Then something - I have no idea what it was - would appear and approach me, while I struggled helplessly on the floor in a state of sheer terror, unable to even attempt to escape. Then I'd finally force my eyes open and wake up, but would usually get sleep paralysis and not be able to move _in real life_ for several seconds, with the sense that this thing was still there in my room, just out of my field of view. Probably the most horrifying nightmares I've ever had, yet I never saw this thing, I could just sense that it was there. It seemed to be the same thing that appeared in several dreams on several different occasions.

[@majinraptor]

I have never found my nightmares to be scary. While reading up about this I found that there was a study which proclaimed that people who are hardcore gamers tend to be this way. They look at their dreams as another virtual reality. Another "level" that has to be conquered.

[@sunzothered1543]

@@majinraptor Dude. I'm a hardcore gamer. And that sounds like some straight up "look at me, I'm so special" shit right there. Gaming is fun. Don't sully it with this "we're special" bullshit.

[@idot3331]

majinraptor Gamers rise up, amirite??? We’re a minority oppressed by the government and mainstream media, but we’re clearly the superior race 😎😎😎😎

[@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.

[@andrelintner9150]

You’re not scared of being alone in the dark. You’re afraid that you aren’t alone.

[@carso1500]

Well yeah, this is actually an ancient instinct, just think how easy our ancestors could be jumped by lions or tigers or wolves or other animals in the middle of the night, this is specially true with felines because they can see clearly in the dark while you can't and they use this to attack you silently and kill you in a instant So we evolved a fear to the darkness because of what could be hiding in it, usually predators, of course we have long surpassed all of our natural predators, so we have to come up with something that can still challenge us

[@alexmurphy3049]

No one evolved

[@vasily3127]

@@carso1500 that's why we build guns with flashlight

[@marcosrios1246]

@@carso1500 Our ancestors and predecessors possessed better night vision that we did.

[@doug2555]

@@carso1500 Does that mean that over millions of years, humans will stop fearing the dark since there isn't a need to anymore?

[@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.

[@dano.o]

Dead space is a good example of something if done right on the big screen, being downright terrifying while also being interesting.

[@spiralbones]

Dead Space 3 straight gave me an anxiety attack once.

[@jordanboyd5587]

Same goes for games like Bloodborne, which obviously takes heavy inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's work.

[@unholymalformationoffisto2131]

While Dead Space 3 gets a bad wrap it ultimately tied a perfect bow around it's nightmarish universe while still not explaining everything. The Brethren moons being these hyper-intelligent celestial beings that may or may not be an origin point of the markers gave everything you'd seen through the games so much more horror. That all the death, pain and suffering, convergence, culminated in a giant meat moon hive mind and the cycle continues really captures that feeling of insignificance. You're just another farm to be cultivated and harvested, with the true intentions and origins still completely unknown, reasoning that you likely couldn't even comprehend. It leads to different thoughts, maybe the markers insanity was a Bloodborne situation. Madness being a thoughtful mind that failed to reach a proper conclusion and so falls to insanity. The information the markers bestow being too much for the human mind to grasp, too world shattering, deconstructing everything you've ever come to understand. Dead Space and Bloodborne are easily some of the best games out there for how they tackle cosmic horror and its place in their respective universes.

[@soulsbourne]

*Bloodborne? Has none of you played. Bloodborne, the beast b example of this* ?

[@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!

[@Tounushi]

I wonder what Lovecraft would have said if he'd have known what we do now about radioactivity... That's the closest thing to cosmic horror on this planet: a natural force that changes the very matter around it, it's dangerous just by existing, it can be lethal when dispersed or when concentrated, we can extract power from it, it opens our eyes to many things otherwise unseen, it can render cities to ash, it can close whole regions from us for generations, it can turn people and animals into writhing monstrosities begging for an end and the only way to resolve its problems it is to seal it away for eons, hoping it will lie dormant and its prison unchanging for the millennia it's meant to hold its contents...

[@Screened]

Yes radiation is it's own cosmic horror

[@Pomme843]

On top of that, radiation cannot itself be seen or heard or touched. We can only see its effects on the world and on ourselves.

[@CorrosiveColin]

My face when you just made me realize HBO's "Chernobyl" is actually a cosmic horror story/ biopic.

[@vikramkrishnan6414]

Twin Peaks Season 3 Episode 8: watch it, trust me it has the best half hour I have ever seen on TV

[@shadowninja958]

Try Chernobyl. It's horrifying...

[@ev3rything533]

I think one of the scariest things I've seen in pop culture was actually from a video game called Metro 2033. In it there is a scene where hands are clumped together trying to grab you. They only want to grab you because they are scared and alone, and will be forever. The concept of forever is I think scary for most people. Forever is never good.

[@togiielectricboogaloo6875]

Correction: (yes i am being that guy) the scene you are talking about is actually in metro last light, not 2033

[@TheBlueLynxx]

Honestly whenever I look up at the sky and see all the stars, I’m AMAZED and in awe. I don’t think it’s scary how small we are. I think it’s amazing, and just comes to show the possibilities are literally endless.

[@benkimbell2487]

now imagine you're looking down into a hole instead of up

[@jkincaid582]

I have always felt the exact same way , there's so much out there, so much we only get a glimmer of and how disappointing it is to be aware of all this and never get to actually experience it. Of course I'm perhaps the kind of person in a Lovecraftian story who dies first.

[@v.l.h.9193]

@@jkincaid582 can relate

[@dtkedtyjrtyj]

@@benkimbell2487 So "cosmic horror" is fear of heights? I think there is a substantial portion of people today who grew up with concepts like aliens, space, science, AI:s et cetera; that just aren't susceptible to cosmic horror. To us the unknown, unknowable, limits of humanity stuff isn't "horror". It's "cool" or "neat" or "boring". I had no idea The Thing was supposed to be horror, I thought it was a thriller.

[@benkimbell2487]

@@dtkedtyjrtyj I like what you said about unknowable not being horror for people nowadays. I think that's insightful for the insane amount of advancements we've had in many scientific fields that are normalized today. As a note though, saying "is a fear of heights" about pretending space is a hole doesn't feel like a good-faith argument. I'm not referring to the height of a hole, which I feel like is pretty self-evident. I'm referring to a visualization, sure, but also the connotation of a hole. Things hide in holes. They're dark. We don't stick our hands in holes (unprotected) for fear of what we'll find. That's why there are games that have people stick their hand into a dark space to feel something "gross" that's actually normal. The unknown factor is what disturbs us. That's what I mean about space. It's a dark place full of unknown. That doesn't have to be horrific. I love learning about space, but the concept for cosmic horror isn't things that can be understood. The premise is that they cannot. So stars, comets, pulsars, gravitational waves - all the stuff we observe and can understand aren't the fear. It's more of "we foolishly think we can categorize everything, but reality is beyond comprehension." Hence people going mad instead of gaining insight.

[@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

[@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.”

[@danihatton9535]

Weirdly my favourite example of cosmic horror is the episode 'Midnight' from Doctor Who. It is just characters in a shuttle, confronting an invisible entity that shouldn't exist, that is never explained.

[@paulgibbon5991]

Indeed, and it's also unsettling because we're used to the idea of the Doctor as someone who can reason with anything, or at least intimidate or understand it. Even uncommunicative, implacably hostile beings like the Weeping Angels can be UNDERSTOOD. They have rules they must operate by. Indeed, the Doctor is kind of an anti-cosmic horror character, because he can tame these incomprehensible forces and think on their level while still being reasonably human himself. But then the thing in "Midnight" is not just immune to talking, it uses talking to attack, and the Doctor himself is caught completely off-guard, with no way to deal with it. It's essentially immune to the premise of the show up until this point!

[@trash.j]

I never realized that the episode was cosmic horror, but that makes so much sense now as to why I enjoy it so much, cosmic horror is my favorite!

[@alabaster_bullet]

@paulgibbon5991 from a certain view point, the Doctor can be seen as a cosmic horror. One could kill his companions but he'll find a special kind of hell for you in retaliation.

[@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

[@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.

[@YinzerAnson]

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

[@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

[@maxgoldhirsch2043]

Annihilation is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I claimed it was part of an extremely rare genre, but I didn't know it really existed. Thank you so much for this video!

[@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.

[@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

[@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

[@thebeetbandit1732]

4:05 this moment in Annihilation was perfect in every way, loved the soundtrack so much

[@rhesareeves5]

My grandmother once told me this: "Be careful when you pray, baby. God is not the only one that can hear you."

[@woobacksupremacy2462]

I woulda been traumatized

[@wolfthornnholtzklau4913]

That's awesome and terrifying

[@moon8520]

May I use this line for a book? it's terrifying

[@asiyihcdm]

Damn. As a person who loves horror and never gets scared by one-sentenced scary stories, this one sent chills. Especially since I'm quite religious and pray everyday.

[@brainscrub7976]

How does one pray carefully?

[@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...

[@kingginger3335]

The Void nailed the visual effects of what I would want a Lovecraftian horror movie to show. I would love it if the film industry went deeper into Lovecraftian-style world-building. The Void is probably my favorite horror movie of all time.

[@CommanderCodyChipless]

I got this feeling when the game Alien: Isolation came out. Many times I had a sense of cosmic dread. There were times where, travelling on an abandoned spacecraft, I would find a bedroom, or a small corner where someone had been staying, and I wondered to myself, if I were actually in this situation, would I sit in a corner, looking out the window of empty space , all alone, hoping that nothing kills me... I cannot describe it fully. Its harrowing. Another example was when I once put on the game late at night, all alone, and it was on the start screen. I went into this wierd observation of just staring at the screen for a long time, if you dont know the start screen, look it up.

[@FayeLawnKrack3d]

Same goes for me with other games that involve defeating some enemies. Like, if I were actually in the game, like in flesh and blood, what would I actually do when faced with the enemies? Just sit and cry? Wait for the sweet release of death? Fight the way my character does when I control him or her? It's scary when you actually think about it.

[@nosferatu9303]

I love alien isolation. It makes me shit my pants a ton of times. I would always freeze whenever I heard the monster get out of the vents and hear it’s loud footsteps. One time I decided I didn’t want to restart the game again when the alien found me and started bolting. I would freak out whenever it would find me and it’s footsteps became louder and faster. Because I knew I couldn’t be able to outrun the alien. Sometimes when I have to kill someone or people, I do it very quickly because of the alien. Or I just shoot and let him kill them. It’s just scary walking all over the ship hearing the alien in the vents. Because at any given time it could come out. It’s just terrible knowing the alien is following me.

[@nosferatu9303]

But I love seeing the gas giant and looking outside the windows. I am in love with space and Sci-fi.

[@nothanks8128]

@@FayeLawnKrack3d I've thought about this many times, and I've concluded that I'd probably kill myself.

[@Bronsons]

Thanks for not cutting out your dialog to slip in a jumpscare. A lot of people who cover horror in videos do that and I hate them for it.

[@Sm0k3turt]

Kyle A without the jumpscare it is a worse experience

[@carlweathers5714]

I usually kill them, have sex with their corpses and then inhabit them, until I'm complete.

[@MerjiKei]

As if it was needed... got the goosebumps nevertheless :(

[@milesarroyo8404]

Jumpscares get me more annoyed than startled or scared and 90% of the time wether they’re on a KZbin video or a movie they’re corny and immediately get a dislike

[@andyroobrick-a-brack9355]

@Exodus N If used rightly, it can he great, but they typically abused a lot.

[@IAmTheStig32]

Someone else said this and I think it really makes sense: Modern audiences are just too optimistic for cosmic horror to be effective. Modern fiction is saturated with stories of humanity either learning to peacefully co-exist with aliens or defeating the ones we can't. When you think about what people have lived through since Lovecraft's time - the Holocaust, the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis - you realise that people have been living in a cosmic horror story for the past four generations. And they have actually grown used to that horror. People already know they don't matter, that their lives are controlled by things that at best don't give a toss about them, and that the world could end at any moment, that they could all perish horribly and have all the things they have done and all the things they have ever known and loved rendered into dust, and they have lived with that knowledge for seventy years now. The human race had to change mindset dramatically to keep us going in a world that would have driven Lovecraft himself to madness, in fact we may all be mad already. I think John Carpenter's The Thing is one of the best modern cosmic horror works because it attacks peoples' individuality rather than their sense of their place in the universe.

[@nathanspain5455]

That feeling that our lives are controlled by outside forces that don't care about us and will happily chew us up and spit us out if we let them is still alive and well today. It's called late-stage capitalism, lol.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

And that sadly is one of the reasons for the increasing prevalence of religious beliefs as opposed to rational ideas.

[@downsjmmyjones101]

Dr. Manhattan is a man who becomes a Great Old One. In 2001: A Space Odyssey the main character becomes some kind of Great Old One. In Bloodborne you can become a Great Old One. Humanity does really fancy itself to be capable of withstanding the knowledge and power of a Lovecraftian god. We've managed space travel and have come quite far since Lovecraft's time but there are certainly some things that elude our comprehension.

[@goncaloferreira6429]

your post reminds me of those old discussions about classic gothic horror( vampires, mimmies and ghouls) not being effective anymore since humanity through science and enlightenenment KNOWS that those things are absurd adn dont exist. That is a kind of hubrys that makes good cosmicism even better because the shock of being wrong enhances the characters breakdown. About the modern world and the last 70 years: the knowledge you speak about is on such a low scale.One thing is to know other is to actually know, see and experience.

[@rafael3893]

My hot take is that many people who "know they don't matter" actually don't really KNOW that. The way I see it Cosmic Horror is not a mainstream movie theme simply cause we just still haven't got a great popular movie about it. The Thing is actually my favorite movie at the moment, but it was not a popular movie at the time it released. I bet that if movies like The Colour Out Of Space adaptation with Nicolas Cage ends up being a big hit, and Hollywood uses Cosmic Horror as a slogan of "hype culture" (meaning: what the cool kids watch, like marvel movies at the moment), we will start seeing great Lovecraftian films. Obviously, is not easy to make Cosmic Horror, but so is any other genre. Remember that superhero movies before Iron Man were not high quality as they became after it. There were good ones, but Marvel was the one that made the superhero genre profitable. (Nolan's Batman is also part of this). I bet all it needs is the right visionary at the right time with the right people behind the project. My point? It is hard to make any kind of movie. Some more than others, sure. What is the deciding factor: Can you make it appeal to a larger audience? PS: Get #Number1PopularActor, someone with a vision to direct and write(cough *hit me up* cough) and take some liberties to translate it to popular format.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@AGlTA]

Not a movie but Bloodborne nailed the whole cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vibe. Truly a masterpiece

[@BirdieImagineeBCH]

And it achieved it in the form of a videogame which I argue is harder. Definitely a masterpiece

[@MogekoMagica]

Too bad most people have 0% respect for games as an artform.

[@DanteGTX]

Don't forget about Dead Space

[@peasg9839]

Yeah.The whole souls series actually.You really have to go deep in order to know what you are fighting with.

[@collier6794]

Hoping for bloodborne 2

[@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.

[@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

[@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...

[@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

[@JustAHevel]

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

[@carlpeng2580]

"The Lighthouse" is something that exhibits some Lovecraftian qualities. It really evokes the fear of the unknown.

[@demagagegigogu]

It's more Poe style than Lovecraft

[@wiinterflowers4277]

@@demagagegigogu It's got a couple of homages to Lovecraft but it also references Greek Mythology in a few scenes (ex: the ending scene).

[@coltongates7397]

I can't wait to watch it

[@gustavostehling3836]

Love, Death + Robots episode 7, "Beyond the Aquila Rift", is a very good example of cosmic horror for me. Truly jaw dropping and mind blowing. And lets not forget Event Horizon. They did a pretty good job too.

[@Kings_Crossing]

Yup that episode was great

[@MountainTomb]

Event Horizon only did cosmic in the sense it took place in space. Event Horizon honestly is letdown most by the premise it's a ghost movie on a spaceship, in place of a haunted house. I say this as a huge fan of the movie but I wouldn't call it lovecraft.

[@jessikapiche6097]

@@MountainTomb In my opinion, Event Horizon is lovecraftian because it make you realize the horror goes beyond the ship, it is only a vessel to hell dimension... that's why, in essence, the movie is. But that only became clear at the very end of the movie. Well, that's how i see it at least. The ship became something else than just a ship. it became 'an actor', the link to another dimension, bringing eveyone within it to hell itself.

[@zz7073]

@@MountainTomb No, it's also about the unknown. They don't even know the extent of the ship or if it was something from beyond. It's about a concept they didn't understand and still don't.

[@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.

[@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

[@Meuduso1]

One way I like to think of cosmic horror is that it's peaking behind the curtains, over the edge of the cliff, throwing a lit torch into a endless hole. You never fully realize or formalize it even though your brain is trying to. It manages glimpses, moments of clarit where you think you've grasped something but your mind slips again almost immediately. It's not like light, atoms or anything we can put into models and interact with even though we can't see it. Cosmic horror is just beyond that hill, beyond that horizon where you can't give it form but can understand that it's there. This is the terrifying aspect of cosmic horror to me since when you're fully immersed into a story, you can almost feel your brain running hot and breaking, after which you are caught by a primal kind of fear that just tells you "This is not good." but you want to continue to explore it since it's new, completely different. Cosmic horror beckons your mind to explore it but you just can't ever be certain if you've caught it.

[@steady6088]

Reminds me of Doctor Who's Satan Pit quote: Doc "...Doesn't feel like such a good idea now" Doc "Hmm, there it is again. That itch. Go down, go down, go down, go down, go down." Ida "The urge to jump..." Doc "...It's not the urge to jump. It's deeper than that. It's the urge to fall!"

[@tueduc782]

yeah when I first saw the mind flayer in seri stranger thing, it really haunted, not scary, but beyond that

[@willmungas8964]

@@tueduc782 yeah it’s kinda like that. To me cosmic horror is the realization that what you’ve seen, which seems infinite, unstoppable or all powerful, is only part of something far vaster than you can think of. It’s like looking as far as you can out over the rolling ocean and then realizing that everything within sight is barely an insignificant fraction of the whole thing.

[@willmungas8964]

@@tueduc782 the mindflayer was scary in the sense that you see peeks of it here and there but you have no idea what it truly is or what it wants. It doesn’t necessarily even think on a human scale. It’s a massive shadow, highlighted by flashes of lightning, that represents a primal shape of fear. This is also why I disliked season 3. Turning something immaterial and vast like the flayer in season 2 into a tangible squishy monster loosens the intrigue. So far like where season 4 is going; even though it’s a different kind of horror it’s very dark and disturbing, and it’s building intrigue well. Only on episode 5 but I’ve heard and expect good things from the rest

[@willmungas8964]

Hell the demogorgon in season 1 did this very well. Stranger things, and this style of horror, work best when they build intrigue slowly by revealing flashes of something totally alien, but rarely showing more. We only see the demogorgon in its entirety a few times, and we only see a portion of the Upside Down

[@wiseguy01]

*Cosmic Horror is supposed to show us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion. Good cosmic horror should make you feel hopeless in the face of something you cannot possibly comprehend. It is not something you can truly fight against and have a tangible chance of coming out the victor. Two films I think that capture the heart of Cosmic Horror are In The Mouth of Madness and Event Horizon. Both take normal people and place them in truly horrifying situations wherein they cannot hope to win and at the end of these films the surviving protagonists are all scarred mentally from what they have had to endure. They didn't win. They did not "overcome" the foe. There was literally no way they possibly could do so. They simply survived.*

[@tyfenrir]

Yes. This. P.S. Had no clue they made a film out of A Mountain of Madness. One of my favorite stories.

[@fullmonsoon9467]

ѕanтanιco dιaвolιcal but wait... the Americans will save us right? Like in the majority of galactic threat movies! ... right?

[@omegastar19]

ѕanтanιco dιaвolιcal John Carpenters The Thing (already showcased in the video) is also a good example of this: the characters in the movie act, for the most part, intelligently and rationally. They utilize their skills to the best of their abilities, band together as much as possible and make few unjustified mistakes. They quickly and continuously analyze their foe and the situation they are in, and are constantly trying to find ways to defeat The Thing. But in the end, despite doing the best they could possibly do (in contrast to moronic actions you see in the vast majority of horror movies from the last 25 years) they all end up dying anyway (ambiguous ending aside). If your best wasnt good enough, what hope was there to begin with?

[@yunikage]

Yeah, uhm...remember that scene in Event Horizon where a black man mugged to the camera and said "Aww, helllll no!" C O S M I C

[@haniffat]

Event Horizon could've been much better, but still that movie fkd me up as a kid.

[@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

[@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.

[@Keransi]

When I was a kid and had just learned about the Solar System and how it worked, there was this old VHS film that was very educational and went into a lot of detail about each planet. I forget the title, but for a good long time after it, despite the fact that I loved that movie, there were certain musical cues in it and parts of it that I couldn't actually think about for long periods of time because it would fill my child brain with this paralyzing anxiety and sense of helplessness at the vast vast scale of something so simple as "Jupiter's a thousand and more times the size of Earth" because it would paint this disturbingly vivid image in my head of some cosmic flick of the switch, accident, or whatever sending something like that plummeting toward our Earth. And how if it happened there would be nothing any one or anything on our planet could do to stop from just being.. snuffed out by something so unliving and unfeeling as the universe just moving around in itself. That's the closest and most raw I've ever felt to true existential dread myself, even to this day. This feeling that no matter who I am, or my family is, or anyone around me is. What all we do with our lives, or what all our ancestors led to to get us to this point. One little blip on the cosmic radar and we'd all just be gone without so much as a whisper. Not that we didn't matter, but that the universe itself absolutely did not /care/ if we felt we mattered. And it's not some overbearing malevolence out to destroy our world, or some cosmic force out to erase anything specific out of spite or hate or any emotion. It's just how things are. Fuck man this video's right about how hard this shit is to verbalize.

[@joehoey22]

"And it's not some overbearing malevolence out to destroy our world, or some cosmic force out to erase anything specific out of spite or hate or any emotion. It's just how things are." That's my EXACT shit. If you are interested in exploring that feeling a little more, you should read the Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer. It's the only thing that I've ever consumed that accurately captures that feeling. Alex Garland adapted the first book - Annihilation - into a movie that's featured in this vid. The movie is amazing but the books are just out of this world. I had goosebumps almost continuously hahaha. Everyone throughout is constantly toiling and trying so hard to figure out *why* things are happening, *why* would any supernatural force *want* to cause so much harm???? But by the end... well let's just say the last book is called "Acceptance"

[@amyboo2765]

I know that feeling, when I was a kid, probably about 7, Sam Neil narrated an educational series about space and it literally terrified me. Especially the concept of black holes, which still fills me with dread whenever I think about it.

[@michaels7001]

Same.

[@maliciousintruder3010]

Yeah, i played elite dangerous (a spaceship flying game) with a vr headset. In vr everything is correctly scaled, and let me tell you, flying towards a planet sized planet at speed is the most terrifying thing i have ever experienced.

[@riyokar6159]

@@maliciousintruder3010 Or accidentally getting close to a star or jumping to a huge star