Before tentacles and madness became shorthand for Lovecraftian terror, the roots of cosmic horror lay in the grotesque, the distorted, and the uncanny reflections of human fragility. This episode traces the evolution from Gothic decay and psychological distortion to the vast, indifferent universe of Lovecraft’s mythos. Across decades, horror cinema absorbed these ideas, transforming philosophical dread into a horrifying visual language. Ultimately, Grotesquerie and Cosmic Horror reveal that the most frightening truth is not what lurks beyond comprehension, but that comprehension itself may be the ultimate terror.

FILMS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Avenging Conscience (1914), The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), Cat People (1942), The Thing from Another World (1951), The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), House of Usher (1960), The Haunted Palace (1963), Die, Monster, Die! (1965), Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968), The Dunwich Horror (1970), Alien (1979), City of the Living Dead (1980), The Evil Dead (1981), The Beyond (1981), The House by the Cemetery (1981), The Thing (1982), Re-Animator (1985), Aliens (1986), From Beyond (1986), The Curse (1987), Evil Dead II (1987), Prince of Darkness (1987), The Resurrected (1991), Alien 3 (1992), Army of Darkness (1992), Necronomicon (1993), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), The Lurking Fear (1994), Castle Freak (1995), The Call of Cthulhu (2005), The Mist (2007), Prometheus (2012), Under the Skin (2013), The Endless (2017), Annihilation (2018), Color Out of Space (2019), The Lighthouse (2019)

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Music:

Twisting, Half Mystery, Exit The Premises

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

FILM RANKINGS UPDATE⁠⁠

Today we are going back to take another look at one of our all-time favorites. Night of the Living Dead (1968) isn’t just about zombies; it’s about fear, survival, and how the living can turn on one another faster than the dead. Romero served up biting social commentary with a side of entrails, and honestly, it still hits pretty hard today. This is one classic that refuses to stay dead.

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Our Film Rankings:

⁠⁠RV 3.02 - Film Rankings After Revisiting Frankenstein (1931)⁠

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NOTE: In case we failed to mention the end date for the secret word discount at the store when recording this episode, it is November 2, 2025.

Music:

Rocket, Exit The Premises, Loping Stings, Blue Ska

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Intro Remix 2 by Timbre Milton.

-- https://freesound.org/s/86862/ --

License: Attribution NonCommercial 3.0

Mumblegore represents the convergence of independent realism and horror, merging the introspective naturalism of Mumblecore with the psychological unease of genre cinema. Its horror arises from domestic disquiet, moral ambiguity, and the gradual collapse of trust, transforming everyday interactions into sources of dread. Mumblegore redefines realism as a site of horror, exposing the fragility of human connection within the intimacy of contemporary life.

FILMS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE:

Funny Ha Ha (2002), Mutual Appreciation (2005), The Puffy Chair (2005), Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), Home Sick (2007), Pop Skull (2007), Baghead (2008), Nights and Weekends (2008), The House of the Devil (2009), Hysterical Psycho (2009), A Horrible Way To Die (2010), Kill List (2011), The Innkeepers (2011), V/H/S (2012), Creep (2014), Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (2015), The Ritual (2017), I Trapped the Devil (2019), The Night House (2020)

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Music:

Twisting, Half Mystery, Exit The Premises

By Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/