Style over substance is often a difficult thing to appreciate in cinema--particularly
when it comes to the bare bones, visceral approach of horror cinema--where the best
of the best are separated by the lingering effects that their terrifying tales can leave
upon us.
Traditionally, experimental cinema has been left for the upper echelons of the art form--with
the majority of us left behind scratching our heads saying, yeah--cool, looks crazy,
but I don’t get it.
For horror though, there are a few of those same experimental works that have slipped
through the cracks--and instead of scratching our heads, we’ve been -- tearing out our
souls… or something.
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Experimental Horror Movies.
Roll the clip.
In Heaven, everything is fine.
You got your good things, and I got mine.
For the curious amongst you, that clip--of course, was from David Lynch’s phenomenal
mind-bending mashup, Eraserhead.
And--thankfully for us, we’re letting it hum it’s bizarre little heartstrings as
today’s most honorable of honorable mentions, down to the fact that we’ve covered this
classic of experimental horror time and time again on this channel--and damnit, we’ve
got some experimental horror movies to talk about!
So yeah, as per usual, we’ll be keeping it fresh.
Let’s begin.
Kicking off at Number 5 - Under The Skin, 2013
This film pissed a few people off.
And I can see why.
It was also a box office disaster--but come on, name an experimental piece of cinema that’s
commercially successful.
That’s not the point of it, is it?
You see--I can understand why this film got--for lack of a better term--under people’s skin.
It’s not a narrative piece whatsoever, although it appears like it *should* have a narrative.
It’s billed as a sort of surreal, sci-fi experience in line with more contemporary
audiences--but instead, you’re left wandering through the depths of its story like a lost
hiker in a forest, not sure which way to go--as darkness is descending and you can hear footsteps
moving toward you from the darkness.
That’s what this film is meant to do.
It’s not meant to lead you by the hand anywhere.
And in that sense--you’re not sure whether you should be watching it, but then--we get
to the allure of it’s visuals--and then we can’t stop watching.
Therein, I believe.
Lies the point of it.
Written and directed by Jonathan Glazer, based upon the fantastic 2000 novel by Michel Faber,
Under The Skin tells the tale of a strange, extraterrestrial being that takes on the form
of a young woman--played by none other than Scarlett Johansson, whose performance in this
film is phenomenal, may I add.
Set in central Glasgow, and then meandering its way through to the Scottish Highlands--the
film itself is a visual exploration of Johansson’s character, as she seduces men in bizarre sequences--before
trapping them in her strange, liquid, alien abyss.
You won’t find a lot of sense in this film.
But then that same senselessness is juxtaposed by some outright bleak working class cinema,
that almost plays out like the works of some British directors like Ken Loach or Shane
Meadows--hand-held camera work that then becomes a sort of social commentary.
Which bizarrely, doesn’t really have any place in a film of this kind--but that’s
why, I think, it’s worthy of its accolades.
This film is confusing--but it was *made* to be confusing, and although it begrudged
most audiences--it definitely deserves its place as a film that leaves you disturbed
for the better.
Swinging in at Number 4 - The Strange Colour Of Your Body’s Tears, 2013
A long name, for a long movie.
Although, it’s not long in length at all--there’s just so much going on throughout this film
that it’s like being tied to a chair for 100 minutes and sprayed with a water cannon
of giallo horror, whilst being trapped in a maze.
We briefly spoke about style over substance--and no other subgenre of horror exemplifies that,
than Italian Giallo horror, pioneered by the likes of Mario Bava and Dario Argento.
Now, whilst Giallo Horror is experimental in nature anyway--this modern retelling of
the form takes that formula--and then blasts it to oblivion.
This film is weird.
Really, really weird.
It will make you feel weird--and the impact of that is only served by the way it seamlessly
descends into chaos.
This film starts like a run of the mill European arthouse film--but by the end of it?
Holy moly.
It’s something else entirely.
Written and directed by filmmaking duo Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani--who also made the
phenomenal 2017 film, Let The Corpses Tan--which if you like Westerns, you will love that film
and it’s awesome--Strange Colour tells the tale of a run of the mill middle-aged suit
named Dan--who returns home to his apartment to find that his wife is nowhere to be found.
And what begins as a typical, intriguing mystery--soon descends into utter chaos.
This entire film is shot in a single apartment complex, as Dan goes from door to door, trying
to find where his wife has gone--on the way encountering a series of strangers that swiftly
become more and more bizarre, and like a rat trapped in a maze--we the audience spiral
down into this strange, complicated web of lies and deceit, whilst Dan is none the wiser.
Now, listen--the narrative sounds better than what it is.
Because there is no narrative.
If there was, this film wouldn’t be experimental in its nature.
But visually speaking--this film is horrific.
If you want to be weirded out, whilst also witnessed some of the most obscenely beautiful
scenes of recent cinema--then watch this film.
Next up at Number 3 -- Begotten, 1990
Do you know the videotape in The Ring?
Do you want to watch it?
Yeah.
It’s this.
But, of course--I’m only joking, because I’d never implore any Top 5 Scary viewer
to watch Samara’s Haunted Videotape--but instead, watch 1990’s Begotten.
If you dare, that is--because this film is a *literal* nightmare captured on film.
And if we’re talking about *pure* experimental horror--this one is perhaps the definition
of the term, although strangely enough--it also has one of the most end-depths narratives.
If you can call it a narrative, that is.
Let me explain.
Written, directed and produced by Edmund Elias Merhige--Begotten is essentially a retelling
of the Book of Genesis--and yeah, whilst that might sound like a pretty bold form to tackle--if
you’re willing to be horrified throughout the hour and a bit running time of this film,
there are actually some weighty philosophical lessons to be learned.
It’s probably best to get that out of the way first and foremost--because let’s be
real, the only reason you’ll watch this film is because you’ve been told how disturbing
it is.
And believe me.
Is it disturbing.
The film itself is black and white in its entirety.
It’s silent.
And it’s visuals very much conjure that same uneasiness as depicted in Samara’s
Haunted Videotape--but also much more than that.
In many ways, it is reminiscent of 1929s’s Un Chien Andalou--although less dreamlike
and much more visceral.
The film itself opens with a strange robed man, who is profusely bleeding--the allegorical
god--who slowly disembowels itself.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Let that sink in for a moment.
That’s the opening scene.
This film is not for the lighthearted--and if you’re of a squeamish disposition, you
should probably avoid it.
It’s a disturbing experience--which only serves to be seen once.
This isn’t for repeat viewing, because it’s in the grotesque witness that you can behold
its horror.
And if you can slip past the visual carnage of what Begotten presents, you also might
find a little bit of sense.
Oh, and the whole thing is on YouTube--so yeah, give it a watch.
Coming in at Number 2 - Santa Sangre, 1989
Alejandro Jodorowsky--a genius of cinema.
A man responsible for the likes of 1973’s The Holy Mountain, Dune, the film that was
never made--and countless others that exemplify the term avant garde.
Truth be told, Jodorowsky is perhaps one of the most accessible experimental filmmakers
of all time--but that isn’t down to the fact that he’s commercial in any way--far
from it in fact, it’s because this guy is so damn good at portraying experimental themes
and ideas and somehow making them palatable for the human mind.
Which, believe me, is a difficult thing to do--given the fact that everyone’s perspective
is unique.
Perhaps the peak of this whole motif, is with his 1989 horror film, Santa Sangre--a film
that we’ve briefly mentioned over here on this channel, but one that I’ve wanted to
cover in depth for quite a while.
If you’ve seen this film, you’ll know how much of a visual onslaught it is--but
like most others on this list, Santa Sangre actually has an incredibly compelling plot--so
I’ll try my hardest not to spoil anything.
Written and directed by Jodorowsky, alongside Claudio Argento--as in yes, the brother of
Dario--Santa Sangre tells the tale of a man named Fenix--who grew up in a travelling circus
as a child magician, alongside his father Orgo--a famed and fearsome knife-thrower,
and his mother, Concha--a trapeze artist.
Gradually, throughout the events of the film, as it slips between the past and the present--we
understand the horrors and misfortune that have shaped Fenix’s life into manhood--and
like a drunk in a hall of mirrors, we slowly get to witness the surrealist vision of a
strange, yet oddly familiar world.
There is a lot to this film--and for a horror, it’s length is pretty weighty--but Jodorowsky
manages to never once make this film boring.
With every twist and turn--we’re equal parts intrigued, and equal parts entertained--which
also serves to make the truly shocking moments of this film all the more impactful.
Honestly, horror cinema--and experimental cinema aside, Santa Sangra is one of the most
bewildering yet entertaining pieces of cinema I’ve ever seen.
It’s as much a fantasy as it is a horror.
It’s like if Baz Luhrmann chose to direct City of Lost Children.
It’s beautiful.
It’s weird--and it’s wonderful.
Give it a watch.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot -- A Field In England, 2013
Colour me bias, but I think that this may be the greatest experimental horror film ever
made.
And yeah, I am bias--because in a way this film has everything that I love.
History, horror, folklore, the psychoanalysis of the human mind.
But it destroys all of those things in a bizarre, psychedelic deluge of pure traumatic fear.
And I guess--that’s exactly why it’s damn good.
Listen, this is a list about experimental horror--not everyone is going to find something
that peaks their interest here, but if you watch this film with the right mindset.
You’ll be truly horrified.
Also, please, please don’t be under the influence whilst watching A Field In England--because
it’s already a mind-melter.
Now, I know I say this often, but Ben Wheately is a genius of filmmaking--and he also hates
exposition.
So if you want this film to make any sense.
It won’t.
You’ll be literally dropped into A Field In England, and you’ll slowly have to figure
out just what the hell is going on all by yourself.
It doesn’t lead you by the hand in any way--and that, I think, is incredibly important as
to why it’s so impactful.
I remember first seeing this film on FilmFour back when I was in my early twenties.
It was late at night--and I wasn’t entirely sure what I was watching.
And slowly, as it made less and less sense--that’s when the real moments of disturbing cinema
began.
A Field In England creeps up on you like a strange man in the countryside with a jar
of wonders and untold secrets.
To be entirely honest, it’s not a complicated film at all.
Three soldiers in the English Civil War--dessert during a battle, and field themselves retreating
through a strange hedge row, where they discover a mysterious man who tells them that they
can drink together in an alehouse.
That’s it.
That’s all you need to know.
Because this film is like a 17th century car crash--and if that sounds insane--that’s
the point of it.
Your reception of A Field In England may be entirely different from my own.
You might not want to prod it in all the ways that experimental cinema can be prodded, and
just leave it be as a weird trip through a specific period in history.
I mean, either way--that sounds good to me.
Also, please--please, watch this film whilst you’re sober.
Trust me.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Experimental Horror
Movies.
What did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well as any choice picks
of your own.
Hey, I really enjoyed that list.
Let’s do more like it.
Before we depart from today’s video, if you’d like to continue on with your horror
movie recommendation binge--then please, feel free to take a peek at our neatly compiled
playlist, expertly arranged for your viewing enjoyment.
Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got time for in today’s video--cheers for sticking
around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general, then please be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button--as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.