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Extreme cinema (or "hardcore horror" [1]) is a subgenre used for films distinguished by its use of excessive sex and violence, and depiction of extreme acts such as mutilation and torture.
Extreme cinema is a film genre that pushes the boundaries of conventional storytelling and content. It’s known for presenting audiences with challenging subject matter, often including graphic violence, explicit sex, or intense emotional experiences.
- Pink Flamingos
- Salò, Or The 120 Days of Sodom
- In The Realm of The Senses
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Funny Games
- Audition
- Irréversible
- Oldboy
- Dogtooth
- A Serbian Film
John Waters’ 1972 magnum opus is a unique visual journey that takes us on a wild ride as we witness the worst of humanity, ranging from incest to poop-eating. It is a counter-culture masterpiece that successfully constructs its own aesthetic principles in order to create truly surreal art. “My intention was to have a hit, and Pink Flamingoswas a hi...
Salòoften finds its way onto lists that discuss some of the most controversial films of all time and that can be attributed to the bizarre spectacle constructed by Pasolini with humanity’s cruelty on full display. However, it is also one of the finest critiques of capitalist power relations because it reduces those complex interactions to their fun...
Among the most iconic films from the Japanese New Wave, Nagisa Ōshima’s chronicles the explicit affair between a former sex worker and her new employer who is already married. In the Realm of the Senseswas subjected to a lot of censorship but is now recognised as a truly masterful work by the Japanese auteur. Ōshima reflected, “I found, several yea...
Through the use of found footage visual and narrative techniques, Cannibal Holocaust tells us about what happened to a documentary crew who ventured into the Amazon rainforest. The film’s found-footage style has been vastly influential and has been used by other popular productions like The Blair Witch Project. In an interview, Deodato claimed, “Pe...
Michael Haneke’s celebrated psychological thriller is an examination of human depravity, told through the unique case of two deranged men who capture and torture a family in their holiday home. When it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, a significant portion of the audience had left by the time it ended due to its visceral violence. Haneke reca...
Based on Ryu Murakami’s novel, Auditionrevolves around a psychopathic serial killer who cannot tolerate being neglected by the men in her life. Miike’s work has not only inspired other horror films of the same subgenre but has also been influential for filmmakers working in the torture porn category. While talking about the antagonist, Miike said, ...
Told in reverse, Gaspar Noé‘s shocking 2002 psychological thriller traces its way back through ominous events as two men seek to avenge the brutal rape of a girlfriend (played by Monica Bellucci). Irréversibleis the filmmaker’s attempt to paint humanity at its most grotesque. “Seventies cinema — Taxi Driver, Deliverance— that was the best period of...
Park Chan-wook’s immensely popular neo-noir thriller Oldboy is a Kafkaesque tale about a man who breaks out of a 15-year imprisonment to seek revenge but finds himself in much deeper trouble. It received the Grand Prix at Cannes among several other accolades, including high praise from Quentin Tarantino. The filmmaker explained, “Just like that eve...
Dogtooth is an essential experience that belongs to the special oeuvre of the Greek Weird Wave. With the use of his uncanny ability to construct bizarre atmospheres, Yorgos Lanthimos creates an unforgettable political allegory involving psychotic parents who will go to any lengths to control their children and prevent them from exposure to the outs...
A relatively recent example of the contemporary evolution of Extreme Cinema, A Serbian Film follows a fading porn actor who gets tricked into participating in a truly disgusting snuff film. While many called for the film to be permanently banned when it was first released, others changed their opinions after taking the time to understand the politi...
What is extreme cinema? That is the question we intend to explore. In the decade leading up to the millennium, and in the years since then, we have witnessed the emergence of films that have pushed against, if not breached, conventions regarding the treatment of sex and violence in the cinema.
Mar 21, 2020 · This isn’t just cinema for people sick of Marvel. This is extreme cinema, endurance viewing for audiences keen on experiences that are viscerally unsettling.
- Francesca Steele
Extreme cinema (or "hardcore horror" [1]) is a subgenre used for films distinguished by its use of excessive sex and violence, and depiction of extreme acts such as mutilation and torture.
Nov 12, 2017 · Extreme cinema is a challenge on all fronts: the difficult-to-stomach content, the play with formal and aesthetic codes, and the refusal of many filmmakers to craft films within a pre-established generic category or categories.
