I realized that the most recent Art House Asshole review will probably be considered the super spooky Art House Asshole because it comes out close to Halloween. Unfortunately, the film in question is I, Daniel Blake which isn’t very scary unless your biggest fear is financial instability. So I feel like spreading the spooky cheer and recommend you some Horror Films that also happen to be cool Art House Films. If you are into that kind of thing. These films might not be for everyone, like every Art House Asshole Review, but I’ll throw them up as something that you can pop in on Halloween as most of them you might not be aware of. These films might pop up later with their own Art House Asshole article. But for now, these are some of my favorite Obscure Horror films around.
DARLING (2015)
As a heads up with this film, this one is the most “pretentious” of the bunch. If you hate Art House cinema, maybe consider this the least likely of the ones to watch. That being said, I do really enjoy parts of this film. Darling, directed by Mickey Keating, is a super-stylized horror film. The entire film is in Black and White and is more for the methodical horror fan rather than the slasher horror fan. It is under 90 minutes but is still a slow burning psychological horror. It follows this young woman who is pretty insane, and she then is hired to house-sit the oldest home in Manhattan. There was also a suicide in the home. As you can imagine, some spooky stuff is going to happen in this home. I recommend it if you want a more creeping and uncomfortable horror film, but if you want a faster pace and standard horror, I might pass on this one.
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (2014)
Recently talked about on the podcast, Ryan talked about how he had an interest in the film but was hesitant for a couple different reasons. So with that I will say this, I recommend Ryan watches this film. Not only because I really enjoy this film, but because I genuinely think he would like it. Yes, the film is in black and white. Yes, the film is in a different language. But here’s the catch about that. Firstly, the film is in black and white but I wouldn’t call any of the shots super artsy fartsy. I don’t think it would take you out of the film ever with you thinking about how great the director thinks she is. The film is beautifully shot, and the black and white is just something that was thrown in. Secondly, the film is in a different language, but it’s an American Film. The director is American, the film was shot in Los Angeles, hell the main producer was Elijah Wood. The only reason that it’s in another language is that it takes place in Iran so it would make sense for that to be the language. It’s a spaghetti western about vampires in the Middle East. It’s surprisingly fun. I’ve heard some compare the pacing of it with Drive, so with this information maybe check the film out. If even this sounds too artsy, I have a film for you as well.
The House of the Devil (2009)
Of the films on this list, this is probably the most fun while still being a straight up horror film. The film has a campy 80s feel to it, and I absolutely love that. It is a similar plot to Darling but much less pretentious. This is a film that you can watch with friends who aren’t into film and have fun with it. The film stars a bunch of indie darlings and the director is Ti West who is a cool stylized and messed up mind kind of director. I recommend it if you want a solid middle-ground horror film. This is also probably the most mainstream of the films I’m recommending here. Not a lot to say, if none of the other films here call to you, this is probably your safest bet.
DUDE BRO PARTY MASSACRE 3 (2015)
I’ve probably recommended this film on the podcast before, but I will continue to recommend this film until people actually start seeing it. This is my favorite horror comedy of all time. I can re-watch this film multiple times and still laugh and love this film. It’s made by the same people who make 5 Second Films on Youtube, who are some of the funniest people out there. This is a parody of all slasher films from the 70s, 80s, 90s, etc. It really tackles so much of this genre in a really smart and hilarious way. Please watch this film if you want a horror comedy film. You will not regret it. The only issue is that this was a Kickstarter film. Which means there isn’t easy access to it (Netflix, Prime), the easiest way that I know of to watch it is that you can rent/buy it from their website. But it is completely worth it, it is also touring all the time so you might be able to see it in theaters at some point which is a ton of fun.
JIGOKU or THE SINNERS OF HELL (1960)
Do you want and older horror film? Is the Criterion Collection more your taste? Well, this is one of the best Horror films the Criterion has. This is a Japanese film about a guy who accidentally kills someone and then in one way or another ends up in Hell. If you want an interesting look at what Hell might look like, this is something to definitely check out. It’s gross. It’s disturbing. It’s messed up. But that’s what you want, it’s hard to go wrong with this one.