Ligottian Horror Flicks

[DeathfareDevil]

Hi all,
I want to get a formal discussion going, regarding those films with a certain Ligottian essence, and to which each of us can refer in the future. I recall seeing in the TLO Yahoo group some mention of movies like "Cure" and "Ringu," so forgive me any redundancy. I must admit, though, this is a bit self-serving. I've seen "Cure" at my local Borders, but (as is the case with most foreign dvds) don't feel like throwing gobs of money at something with which I'm not familiar. So if anyone could enlighten me, I'd be grateful.

I myself don't have any movies to contribute. However, I must thank all who recommended "Session 9" some time back (in the TLO mail-ring/message board). I caught it on IFC (the Independent Film Channel, for those not familiar), bought it the next day, and have been obsessed with it ever since -- incidentally, there's a commercial airing currently, for Major League Baseball, featuring (I think) Johnny Damon - I forget who he plays for -, and the background music, as he walks about an empty baseball field, is identical to that ultra-creepy ambience at the end of "Session 9." Very weird, to say the least.

Anyway, recommendations, insights, etc, are welcome. (Specifically, info on "Cure" -- I looked up some online reviews, but I'm more interested in what Ligottians would have to say, ya know?)

Thanks!

	TLO THOMAS LIGOTTI ONLINE

[Juan Borgia]

There is a very good movie from Spain, I like it alot. It is called "Los sin Nombre" (The Nameless) it is based in a story by Ramsey Campbel but in this particular case, the movie is better than the book.

A woman looses her only child in a terrible murder when she is only five or six years old. A few years latter, she receives a call from her child, telling her that she is alive.

The woman then goes on to investigate.

It is a very chilling story, but then again, Spain is well know for producing very good horror/suspense movies, so you can expect something really great out of this.

[damo]

Talking of spanish horror movies, theres a great film called 'la cabinet' about a bloke who gets stuck in a telephone box, and instead of just being let out when the engineers arrive, he is taken, inside the box, on a weird journey. wont say any more, cos if you do get to see it you wont be disappointed with the conclusion. also, if memory serves, theres no dialogue in it, so no need for subtitles.

[Trainwise]

I second the recommendation of "Pulse". I was actually introduced to it before I ever read Ligotti, and have been constantly reminded of its subtlety and understated nihilism as I've gradually made my way through Ligotti's fiction. And I second it as one of the great modern horror films. I actually think it might be the one horror movie that has frightened me the most, personally. So much is done to create mood with only lighting and subtle, almost hidden, effects. Sometimes you can't even put your finger on quite what's so WRONG about a scene...but you remember its key moments distinctly, and that feeling of otherness simply won't wash off. Quite a cinematic achievement.

I'm new to the network, so it's doubtlessly been discussed elsewhere, but the short films of The Brothers Quay also seem to me to be particularly Liggotian--so preoccupied with architecture, color, and the essentially puppet-like quality of all human animation. Lots of degenerated dolls in their short works, particularly in STREET OF CROCODILES.

I also recommend UZUMAKI, another Japanese horror film, this one rather humorous. It's also got a particularly Ligotti-an story at its center. The population of a small lakeside community in Japan gradually, citizen by citizen, develops an (eventually fatal) obsession with a certain shape: That of the spiral. People start by tracing the shape over and over, but eventually find a way to marry the obsession with their own demise--throwing themselves down spiral staircases, leaping into washing machines, etc. Despite the essential humor of the premise, however, there is a similar undercurrent here to that of PULSE--a creeping hopelessness with no discernible origin, a feeling of inevitability. A really upsetting film.

[Primordial Atom]

Quote Originally Posted by Trainwise

I second the recommendation of "Pulse". I was actually introduced to it before I ever read Ligotti, and have been constantly reminded of its subtlety and understated nihilism as I've gradually made my way through Ligotti's fiction. And I second it as one of the great modern horror films. I actually think it might be the one horror movie that has frightened me the most, personally. So much is done to create mood with only lighting and subtle, almost hidden, effects. Sometimes you can't even put your finger on quite what's so WRONG about a scene...but you remember its key moments distinctly, and that feeling of otherness simply won't wash off. Quite a cinematic achievement. I'm new to the network, so it's doubtlessly been discussed elsewhere, but the short films of The Brothers Quay also seem to me to be particularly Liggotian--so preoccupied with architecture, color, and the essentially puppet-like quality of all human animation. Lots of degenerated dolls in their short works, particularly in STREET OF CROCODILES. I also recommend UZUMAKI, another Japanese horror film, this one rather humorous. It's also got a particularly Ligotti-an story at its center. The population of a small lakeside community in Japan gradually, citizen by citizen, develops an (eventually fatal) obsession with a certain shape: That of the spiral. People start by tracing the shape over and over, but eventually find a way to marry the obsession with their own demise--throwing themselves down spiral staircases, leaping into washing machines, etc. Despite the essential humor of the premise, however, there is a similar undercurrent here to that of PULSE--a creeping hopelessness with no discernible origin, a feeling of inevitability. A really upsetting film.

Hello, Trainwise. Glad you mentioned the Brothers Quay, great material. Uzumaki is definitely an odd film, one that stuck with me for a while. It's pretty absurd, almost Lynch-like in it's approach. I have yet to see any of Kurosawa's films, but will do so eventually. Take care.

[Dr. Oddbody]

I rented "Begotten" recently, directed by Elias Merhige, very surreal and disturbing. It takes place in a non-descript wasteland with no dialogue or titles. It's in black and white, but it was overly processed to make it look ancient. Very strange - reminded me of the nightmare landscape of "Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech".

[The Silent One]

Hmm... Ligottian horror films... Not too many, unfortunately. Now that I think of it, "Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech" would make an excellent animated film (How else would it work? It would be impossible to find a human actor with Voke's figure). But that is but a dream...

[hlebboy]

hi guys,i'm new
does anyone remember pupi avati's "house with laughing windows"?except for typical trash-ending it' s almost pure ligottian movie.you got everything in it : mad visceral artist,degenerated little town,illicit practices and esotheric procedures,midgets,desolate places,grotesque...

[unknown]

never heard of it, but it does, indeed, sound ligottian

[Aetherwing]

What was that film set in Venice with Don Sutherland and some creepy dwarf in a red raincoat?