Throughout film history there have always been directors willing to push the limits of what can be endured from an audience. Horror films are typically the genre to welcome extreme violence and surreal imagery with open arms, though some of those types of scenes are hidden within other genres. In these blog series I will be discussing all types of extreme cinema, sprinkling in film reviews, cultural impacts, director filmographies, and much more that may only be brushed upon during our AHH podcast episodes.
Listeners may know that I joined the podcast full time in May of 2022 and have brought my own brand of extreme and abstract taste to the bunch, proudly I may add. This year I will be taking on the adventure of enduring some of the most brutal and horrific films to have ever been released and bring them here for your reading and researching pleasure. I welcome you all to follow along in The Brutality Series.
A fair warning to readers that these films will certainly not be for everyone, but those who dare to follow along on this journey are more than welcome and are encouraged to follow up with feedback and insight on some of your favorite films that went “too far”.
The age-old question is always “What makes you want to watch these movies?” or some sort of variation of it. But there really is never a concrete answer other than perhaps it is a test. Extreme horror fans often try their endurance in seeing just how far they can go when it comes to being subjected to brutal and horrific violence or subject matter. Much like most horror fans, there is even a catharsis in seeing things happen to other people who are not real, almost like a perspective check when it seems like real life may be going horribly. Through each entry we will dive into what makes these movies so intense and hard to watch, but also what makes them admirable to those brave enough to stomach them.
There will be a broad range of coverage through the series from some of the original Video Nasties entries, to foreign films around the world including but not limited to New French Extremity, a more popular era of extreme horror cinema, and stretching across to Italian gore and cannibal exploitation, all the way to deep cuts that may be beneath the “extreme” radar. Certain films certainly proving to be harsher and more fiercethan others while some may have subtleties that leave the viewer thinking for days until something clicks that truly leaves its brand on the mind.
Loads of fun to be had in this series and I look forward to getting down and dirty in the grittiest of the gritty as we go into every deep dive of the depraved, the blood soaked, and the outright horrific. This will hopefully broaden some horizons and introduce some of the craziest movies, and their even crazier and creative writers and directors. Enjoy and welcome aboard the crazy train.
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