Cosmic horror is perhaps the single most creatively daunting subgenre to ever exist, matched only by its equally pervasive sense of dread that only it could ever capture. The subgenre was first masterminded by the author H.P. Lovecraft, of The Call of Cthulhu fame, during the early 1900s, and despite cosmic horror having once been fueled by Lovecraft’s heinous (and deeply racist) ideology, the subgenre has seen a hearty resurgence time and time again, having been reclaimed from its disgraceful origins in the form of many a book and film.
The latter medium is an especially curious case: how does one visually capture that which is said to be incomprehensible? There have been plenty of answers over the years, and the gang over at r/horror have taken to naming the best of cinema’s most tantalizingly Lovecraftian tales.
Storied horror director John Carpenter has tackled the aesthetic more than once over the course of his career; the Halloween gaffer is responsible for a trilogy of flicks that he’s dubbed the “Apocalypse Trilogy,” consisting of such Lovecraftian pieces as Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness, and, of course, the beloved The Thing.
One of the more recent attempts at cosmic horror was 2019’s Color Out of Space, itself based on the similarly-titled H.P. Lovecraft short story. Despite a trademark gutsy performance from none other than Nicolas Cage, the film tends to split opinion. One user, however, was all too happy to sing all the praises for it.
Several other responders went all in on the task, serving up some incredibly diverse lists for anyone looking to sink their teeth into the deliciously incomprehensible.
It seems cosmic horror has been firmly pried away from Lovecraft’s hateful hands, now safe with the likes of John Carpenter, Alex Garland, and other commendable names in the horror business. So, for those of you looking to open your minds to the horrors of the universe, whether it’s for your first or fiftieth time, look no further than here.