Cosmic Horror

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A community to discuss Cosmic Horror in it's many forms; books, films, comics, art, TV, music, RPGs, video games etc.

"cosmic horror... is a subgenre of horror fiction and weird fiction that emphasizes the horror of the unknowable and incomprehensible more than gore or other elements of shock... themes of cosmic dread, forbidden and dangerous knowledge, madness, non-human influences on humanity, religion and superstition, fate and inevitability, and the risks associated with scientific discoveries... the sense that ordinary life is a thin shell over a reality that is so alien and abstract in comparison that merely contemplating it would damage the sanity of the ordinary person, insignificance and powerlessness at the cosmic scale..."

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For more Lovecraft & Mythos-inspired Cosmic Horror:-[email protected]

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9 Greatest Cosmic Horror Movies of All Time (www.cbr.com)

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Cosmic horror has been established as one of the most chilling sub-genres in horror cinema. With a focus on the unknown, isolation, and the human mind, cosmic horror plays on the imaginations of audiences rather than going all out on gore and jump scares. Instead of ghosts, serial killers, or vampires, these stories focus on the endless possibilities of the universe's fictional horrors.

Early 20th-century author H.P. Lovecraft gave Cosmic horror prominence through stories like At the Mountain of Madness, The Hound, and The Call of Cthulhu. The genre can be challenging to pull off in cinema, but plenty of films have tried to capture the terror of the unknown and unimaginable. Everything from stories of paranoia to questions about reality itself has made up cosmic horror in cinema.

They are:

The Thing
In the Mouth of Madness
Event Horizon
The Lighthouse
Phantoms
The Void
The Mist
Bird Box
Color Out of Space

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

I'd add "Annihilation" to the mix. Its a newer movie inspired by "the color out of space", however the story goes a different way. Its a great atmospheric horror movie!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I highly recommend the books. This reminds me of how The Shining was adapted. Movie does its own thing but both the book and movie are solid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

I read the Annihilation books first and so was almost disappointed by the movie, but they did it differently in such a good way that I still really loved it in the end. Excellent stuff all around.