Grotesque films

just about every romantic comedy, ever.

True. They're almost as gut-wrenching as anything Disney.

Faces of Death, i forgot which number... i guess all of them.

Is that the film which has genuine (human/animal) death-scene footage in?

yep. I remember a pig being torched to death. it's been a while

It sounds delightful. I'm surprised that hasn't been banned!

nope it hasn't been banned.
and it has at least four sequels and even a couple more that go by the name facez of death or something like that.

That's absurd. Then again, nothing could be more absurd than the trailer I saw at the cinema last week for... ANOTHER 'Final Destination' ´-`

90% of the "deaths" in those films are staged.

Salo is by far on the top of this list.

Then somewhere further down is Cannibal Holocaust.

it depends on which one. At least the animals that are killed i remember where real. Human deaths well.. could be.

After just watching it, I'm going to have to go and add Transamerica to that list; for the simple reason I had to witness a scene in which Felicity Huffman is naked. Ugh.. If only you could erase images from your mind.

Salo is still worse than all of those.

I haven't watched it yet, but Peter Jackson's Bad Taste I've been told is quite grotesque.

That chick in Reanimator has great hair!

Not that Pet Sematary was all that gross but the part where the little boy hiding under the bed cuts his dad's achilles tendon with the scalpal ... gross, visceral.

The blow torched pig in the Faces of Death I saw as a teen was real and was part of a military experiment to figure out something useful, you know, like how long a pig will live after you blow torch it. I believe I saw footage in a medical class later on? Does that sound right to anyone?

Martyrs.
I won't watch it again.

Oh baby, those images went down nicely with my breakfast!
Un Chien Andalou is the only one I've seen out of those. Didn't they use a real (cow's) eye for the opening scene?

yes, they did.

Yeah, I'd say Cannibal Holocaust was the most grotesque film I've seen. The turtle death scene was quite sickening and unforgettable.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Gaspar Noe's Irreversible or Alexandre Aja's Haute Tension.

I've seen that quite a few times. At first I found it really gory but I think I've since become desensitized to it. The bit with the mother and the girl in the closet still gets me though.

Also, seen Martyrs since I last posted. I really didn't see what all the fuss was about. I liked the fact My Neighborhood by Goldmund was used in the soundtrack though!

Have you seen Frontier(s)? That's another grotesque French film. Probably not as bad as High Tension and Martyrs, but still extremely gory nevertheless.

No, I haven't seen that. I'll check it out though. Thanks for the recommendation!

I'm amazed no one's said Lars Von Trier's Antichrist. Mmm, take that genitals! Blood ejaculation. Lovely.

Somebody mentioned Gaspar Noe without picking I Stand Alone? That's suprising. That movie was....wow.

I know these wouldn't be the grossest ever, but they are pretty disturbing and are both good movies:

Ichi the Killer
Audition

Personally, I still have a hard time with Hostel. Both of them. *shudder*

Mum and Dad was pretty horrible. Really wish I hadn't watched it with my father =/
That bit where the guy is masturbating into some chunk of a person was the final straw. Luckily it made us both laugh because it was just so awkward and horrible.

Mum and dad is definitely wrong. That scene is disgusting, not only does he have his way with a human organ, when he puts it down you see his love juice dribbling out.

The August Underground trilogy is very wrong and disturbing. Only stomached viewing some of the first one but some of it leaves you thinking that it is an actual snuff film. Simulated snuff films containing graphic depictions of sexual deviancy (including necrophilia and pedophilia) and murder (including a fleeting depiction of infanticide).

What is the appeal of a grotesque film?

What is the appeal of a romantic comedy?

Romance: every human, young and old, looks for romance.
Comedy: we enjoy finding the humor in life.

I mean, really, the words that make up the genre imply positive emotions. What's not to like?

But i'll explicate a bit.

Romantic comedy doesn't mean a Drew Barrymore or Cameron Diaz movie, but those tend to dominate the genre. However, there are many great romantic comedies, such as 500 Days of Summer, The Seven Year Itch, The Princess Bride, Groundhog Day, 10 Things I Hate About You, Love Actually, Wedding Crashers, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and so on.

The romantic comedies stretch as far back as theatre. Their appeal is universal and timeless.

This fixation on mutilation, i think, is a fairly new phenomena, and i don't really understand the appeal. It's different than horror, which is made to elicit dread and fear. The grotesque elicits only shock and revulsion.

forgetting sarah marshall is not one of the greats. sorry bub.

I forgot i was naming greats and just started naming ones off the top of my head. The last three aren't great, but they are quite enjoyable.

Grotesque films are a type of horror. It's like - the boogey man no longer scares us. Vampires no longer scare us... especially now. Monsters in general do not scare. Serial killers do not scare either. We need realism because we have been desensitized. We need stuff that could happen to spark that rush that a good old fashion horror movie used to spark.

Have you read/seen American Psycho? It's basically the same as the Psycho of the past.

Or we have to push the boundaries because we are constantly being desensitized from everything that has passed.

We no longer find the same stuff funny. We no longer cry for the same reasons. And we are no longer horrified when a "monster" grabs somebody. We need realism in our ghost and in our violence.

Also look at the action movies now. We use to think that Rambo and Terminator were great action flicks. Now they are nothing.

I know this was a rant and I don't really even think I said what I meant to. Oh well it's late and I'm tired. I really don't think I see the need for Grotesque movies... Maybe it's just another type of pornography. I can't believe what I'm seeing but I can't turn away.

P.S. - I like most of the movies you named. I was just being sarcastic with the Romantic Comedies post.

Haunted is going to be one hell of a grotesque film when it's finally adapted. If you've seen Koen Mortier's Ex Drummer, you'll know it won't be nothing for the faint-hearted.

I don't think I could watch any of these movies.

Old fashioned scary still scares me (The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, old Wes Craven stuff, etc.).

No need to apologise. I didn't think you were ranting or out of line at all, but i want to address a few points.
See, i disagree with Grotesque being a type of horror. Rather, i'd say, it's a type of pornography, which has recently been implemented to horror. Horror has always dwelt on things that could happen as well as the supranatural or fantastical. Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are good examples of things that could and do happen. Same for Hitchcock's Psycho. The Exorcist, even, could be called more or less possible, depending on what you believe.
American Psycho, while having grotesque moments, does not revel in its own revulsion. The extreme violence and sex scenes are a critique of american culture and even the genre itself.

Meh, not so sure about these ones. Granted, there's a learning curve. If you've been raised on horror, you're probably less squeamish when it comes to watching Saw or Hostel. However, i don't think that the grotesque elements are scary. They're just revolting. Yeah, i guess it can be argued that horror is meant to revolt you, but it's meant to do it on a fundamental level, i think. Making me vomit isn't the same as keeping me up all night for fear of Krueger killing me in my sleep.
I still think Terminator's a great movie. I think action movies really need realism, or some semblance of reality, to transcend their genre. Like the Bourne movies, which hit on a lot of nifty levels.

There are times a film calls for the grotesque, such as Irreversible or Requiem for a Dream. But i prefer to have the kills in horror off screen, because nothing is as terrifying as what you imagine. Showing a person ripped apart and mangled will likely make me vomit, but it'll also make the horror concrete and manageable. But if you take that off screen and only let me hear what's happening, you've planted a seed deep in me that won't go away once the movie ends.

In some way I agree with you. You said that when the Grotesque is necessary. Now some movies have gross disturbing scenes just to have them. I think this is stupid.

But movies like Martyrs - I think it's absolutely necessary for the premise of pushing someone beyond that point while also pushing you, the viewer. You are experiencing the movie then.

And, in my example, Psycho was a very bad example. The killing scenes where you don't see anything at all really were pure brilliant. That's why the violence in Audition is so perfect - it's disturbing, but it's more to your imagination. You rarely see exactly what is happening.

I still hold to the fact that we aren't going to have a successful horror monster any time soon though. Monsters no longer scare us. Look at what became of that new werewolf movie...

And remember - towards the end of my first response I did say that maybe the Grotesque is just a form of pornography. Which is what you also stated. So at least we're in agreement there.

This is why Funny Games (the original) was so disturbing to me.

I've never seen the original. But the American one had the exact same director and I read in Esquire that he did the remake shot for shot. They are exactly alike.

Am I wrong?

If I am - I would like to see the original too.

And yeah that's another great example of your imagination making it worse then what they could have showed you.

No, you're right. I should've mentioned that I haven't seen the remake all the way through, so I specified the original, that's all.

Yeh I agree with this. Things you don't see are so much scarier as your imagination runs wild. Many horror films are ruined when the actual killer/monster is revealed, quick examples are Signs and Jeepers Creepers.

I think a lot of directors nowadays can't be bothered with trying to make a film actually psychologically scary or disturbing so will just try and use the shock factor of lots of gore to "scare" the audience.

I can't believe no one has mentioned the classic, Showgirls. The dialogue, the dancing, rival dancers, boat shows, icing the nipples, Elizabeth Berkley saying she's on the rag. Ugh! I always watch it when it is on TV.

I have the showgirls box set. It comes with pin the tassels on the show girl game! I always watch it when it is on tv though because it's edited and it's funny how they try to cover up the nudity with these drawn on pieces of clothing. So in one scene when Nomi is kicking this guy's ass the drawn on clothing is moving as she moves. It's funny.

As for grotesque films I don't think anything is worse than Salo or Aftermath.

I love movies like this. Almost everything in theatres nowadays is a remake or just idiotic, nothing original or exciting.
movies like these, they might not be conventional, but damnit they arent boring.

the girl next door --the horror one, not the one with elisha cuthbert

This guy! Every thread, the same thing!

sorry. I don't get out much, my social skills are withering rapidly.