MovieChat Forums > Tras el cristal (1986) Discussion > Similarly effective horror films?

Similarly effective horror films?

posted 13 years ago by elephantsinamsterdam
18 replies | jump to latest

The endless parade of comedies, comedies in disguise (slashers et al), torture-a-tourist films, ghost movies, zombie movies, remakes, and other such similar fare in the genre gets really tiring to the point where you wonder why you even bother anymore.

Then - you stumble onto something special, like In A Glass Cage, which deals with truly horrific material in an exquisite, deeply felt way. It's so incredible but so dark and difficult I'm not sure I'd watch it again let alone recommend it to someone else, but such is what horror SHOULD be, to be perfectly honest.

Can anyone recommend something like that? Something legitimately dark and disturbing, but because of the horrible truths and real emotions it contains and not because of the kind of childish bloodletting you'd find in a faux-snuff film. Although, gore itself is fine and not the problem here, because the only other film I can think of that similarly stuck with me was Martyrs (2008) which has a crucial emotional component which complements and intensifies the portrayal of the violence, hence the reason it is affecting.

(For the record, I did not much like Requiem for a Dream, Salo, and Irreversible, as I found the first over-the-top, the second lacking in empathy and excessive in sleaze with pretentions to art, and the third schematic and tedious. All three rather shallow. To pick a couple random well-known 'extreme', 'disturbing' films out of a hat.)

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[–] danielrothschild 13 years ago

In a Glass Cage is a pretty unique film and I agree with you that there aren't many films like it. Here are some films either somewhat similar in style and/or theme. i will just list the titles and you can research more about the films. let me know what you think. enjoy:

1) The Child I Never Was

2) Mysterious Skin

3) The Death and the Maiden (this is directed by Roman Polanski and somewhat more mainstream than the other films on the list, but very tense and well worth watching.)

4) Seven Beauties (if you like this film, I also recommend seeing the film, "Underground" directed by Emir Kusturica)

5) Underground (like I referenced in number 4)

6) The Tin Drum

7) Night and Fog

8) The Pawnbroker (okay, this isn't really that similar to In a Glass Cage, but it is a classic film about how living through traumatic events leaves one cold and indifferent to the daily struggles of others, since the heartbreak other's feels seems just like bickering over quibbles in comparison)

9) 3 Women (not really that violent but psychologically dark and a good companion piece for In a Glass Cage, due to both films themes of transference of power and loss of identity).

10) The Girl Next Door (based on the novel by Jack Ketchum. Personally I didn't really care for this film since the characters were caricaturish, but I'm a pretty harsh critic and perhaps you might like it).

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[–] GeneticSugarKane 12 years ago

The british films Paperhouse and Afraid of the Dark fit the bill nicely I think. Although neither are as graphic as In a Glass Cage.

[–] sybil_vane31 12 years ago

I think Antichrist fit the type of disturbing movie that you are looking for http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870984/ you might wanna check my list of disturbing movies.
http://www.imdb.com/list/-0BIEVncVNc/

[–] ofumalow 12 years ago

If actual horror films aren't too cheesy for you, check out the Australian "Wolf Creek." And English "Eden Lake."

[–] sypherdivine 12 years ago

I agree with two of the above posts on:

1. Eden Lake
2. The Girl Next Door (Jake Ketchum, not the comedy)

Some other mentions that have a strong effect like Martys or In a Glass Cage include:

3. Inside (I always think of this when I think of Martys for some reason)

4. Come and See (Idi I Smotri)

5. I Saw The Devil

[–] PizoDeMadera 11 years ago

I would recommend south korean 'MOTHER' 2009 I believe.

[–] boramaster 11 years ago

I'll have to disagree with you on Salo. It is a profoundly political film and it simply IS art. Give it another go. It is not the sleaze you should pay attention to, but the dialogue.

[–] PostmortemG 11 years ago

To the O.P.:

I can understand why Salo wasn't your cup of tea, but it's honestly the closest film I can think of, in relation to In A Glass Cage~ while both are certainly different in tone and technique, I.A.G.C. plays out like the perfect sequel to Salo; to me, Klaus functions like one of the 4 aristocrats, who eventually faces the consequences of the horrors he inflicted upon vulnerable, defenseless children. I.A.G.C. takes Salo's same themes (sexual/physical cruelty as forms of power rituals, Nazism, the nurturing of evil in minors through desensitization, etc.) into emotional realms that Pasolini never touched~ it's nothing if not an emotionally shattering experience, as opposed to the cold sadism of Salo; therefore, I see it as the best sequel that Salo could ever have. That's just my point of view, of course. As for Salo being too "sleazy"... well, I think that film also serves as a vehicle of condemnation for its director. I feel that it's just as much an expose of the "rituals of the elite" as it is an ugly self-portrait of Pasolini's own subconscious desires, if not his actual behaviors.

Salo also had a huge impact on me because I went into the experience with erroneous expectations. Somehow, I assumed that it would be similar to Fellini's Satyricon, in the sense that both are bizarre satires of society~ however, I had *NO IDEA* how drastically different each movie would be! Satyricon is dreamlike absurdity that I found amusing, while Salo is stone-cold evil that shocked me to my core. Every scene is drenched in Pasolini's death-obsessed insanity.

On the subject of the "rituals of the elite", I highly suggest A Serbian Film. It's even more sleazy (and outright pornographic at times) than Salo, but I think that it's every bit as important as I.A.G.C.~ it's nothing less than *THE* extreme film of our time, and its themes are nothing less than mind-blowing (in my opinion, anyway). Check it out! =D

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[–] Staycation 11 years ago

Snowtown left me upset for a week. I dont do upset at movies but Snowtown's fact driven realism and cold steel brutality with no redemptive themes left no room for a light at the end of a tunnel. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1680114/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[–] disinter 11 years ago

A Serbian Film above all.

[–] cbnspanky2 10 years ago

Ok so my suggestion is not really horror , well maybe gothic horror. For some reason the first time I saw it as a child I got the same creeping feeling I did with IAGC. It's called The Beguiled. A young Clint Eastwood during the Civil War. The ending will make your skin crawl.