Wondering if most suicidal people are into “dark” movies? Sure I’ll watch all types of genres but I’ve always gravitated to the more “dark” movies ever since I was a kid. Sci-fi, horror, murder, death, etc.
Hell, would be interesting to see a study as who who watches what kind of movies. Do happier people watch happy-go-lucky movies? Comedies? Do depressed ppl watch more morbid movies? Who watches true crime? Loads of middle aged women are glued to true crime shows. What does it say about middle age women lol
What dark movies/shows do you recommend?
Sigh, movies not really doing it for me anymore. Nothing feels good anymore -_-
11 comments
Dark comedies work for me, Being John Malkovich, Brazil, etc. Most of the Mel Brooks flicks fall in that category, Young Frankenstein, Dracula Dead & Loving It. Best dark comedy ever: Better Off Dead, a movie every suicidal person needs to watch before they top themselves. Or while they’re topping themselves.
Dark scifi is da bomb. The original Alien movies 10/10
But I definitely don’t go for dark drama, crime or war movies. You know, where the point of the story is “life sucks then you die”. Been there, boring.
So I guess my fave movies are dark & twisted but there’s a light hearted way of looking at it (again, Better Off Dead), or there’s an intelligent happy ending that surprises me. I like movies that challenge my view of the world, and the best way to challenge my view of the world is to point out something good that I missed.
I’m a fan of Lars Von Trier. His movies are very artsy, but also very fucked up. Beautiful and ugly at the same time. They tend to be long though, and slow. The pay offs at the end is worth it if you bear through it, however.
“Melancholia” & “Nymphomaniac” are my favorites of his.
Melancholia in particular is a cool concept. A woman struggles to take care of her depressed sister. Meanwhile, a new planet named Melancholia is discovered, and they find our that it’s going to crash into earth and destroy everything. The roles reverse–the depressed sister becomes happy, and has to take care of her panicking sister.
Melancholia is really good, in a depressing way. Science fiction with an emphasis in human drama. Very surreal-ish.
Black mirror is a series about dark negative side of new tech as it grows. Quite realistic. I have watched a lot of dark movies but tend to forget their name.
Saw series is a famous one.
The ABCs of Death.
Aniara movie I would highly recommend. Very nihilistic and depressive movie. Shows bleakness of future of humanity in sensible and logical way.
Bends beat me to it on Malkovich and Brazil, both stellar choices.
I watch a lot of dark stuff, but I tend to do a pallet cleanser of either extremely calm or moderately happy. I’m watching Evolution right now, because I watched edutainment on drug addiction for most of the morning. Moral of that story is don’t screw up your kidneys and liver and you’ll most likely be fine.
For series I like Haunting of Hill House, Supernatural, Midnight Mass, Happy! (ironically named, one of the darkest shows I’ve found), Criminal Minds, Evil, Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, Twilight Zone, I watch a lot of stuff about social science stuff which is dark depending on how you look at it. Buried in the backyard (that’s a fun one), pretty much anything about obscure history, recently looking at North and South Korea. The things humans have done to other humans is often way worse than anything film makers can think up.
Movies though, I have quite a collection. Lumberjack Man is my favorite horror/comedy about a church camp torn to shreds by an undead lumberjack, and why you may wonder? to make syrup for his pancakes *kissy chef gesture* perfection.
Beyond the Gates is another hidden gem, though if you watch it I also recommend you find a Youtube film called “Mr. Basement”, both kind of in the same vein, melodramatic, low budget, hilarious.
Odd Thomas, John Dies at the End, Bubba Hotep, Pitch Black, Riddick, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, Dr. Sleep, Pet Semetary (both original and the remake, never saw 2), 1408, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Population 468, any of the Robert the Doll films, Island of the Dead, Existenz, Sweeney Todd, Jeepers Creepers 1 &2, Suburban Gothic, It (miniseries) & pt. 1/2, The Ice Harvest, Pumpkinhead, Silence of the Lambs, Seven, 12 Monkeys, Urban Legend, Possum, Walled In, Red Dragon, Solace, Secret Window, 13 Ghosts, The Happening (though more comedy), Secret Window, and Creepshow.
Almost anything with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee or Vincent Price is worth watching. Price is my personal favorite, his best movies being House of Usher, Pit and the Pendulum and Masque of Red Death.
Don’t know whether or not to recommend Dead Silence, the Saw films and the Conjuring films. They aren’t entirely well made movies, but they’re fun.
wow awesome list, I forgot to mention campy horror flicks are the best. I haven’t seen Lumberjack Man but it sounds like it’s right up my alley. I love horror that pokes fun at horror. You named a couple Coscarelli films which I haven’t seen yet (Bubba Ho Tep, John Dies).. I’m a fan of his Phantasm series with Reggie the badass balding ice cream man as the hero. You can never quite tell when Coscarelli is being serious or making a joke of the whole thing. That’s the best kind of dark comedy.
sounds like I’m working through them in reverse order, I still need to watch all of the Phantasm movies, but I agree he’s a master story teller and knows how to get more out of his actors.
Oh I LOVED Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. I wish he made more of those episodes.
The Road. Love the scene where the dad finds the soon to be cannibalized hostages locked in the basement. That movie sucks the hope right out of my dusty, dying soul.
lol, you have a way with words. the best review of a horror movie if there ever was one 😛