the cinema of terrorIn addition to sound, and just like food, it enters through the eyes. The immense possibilities for experimentation and departures from the norm offered by the genre make it one of the most grateful for directors and directors of photography that can unleash their instincts to shape some of the most suggestive images that we can imagine.
To celebrate the work of these professionals within the framework of cinematographic horror, below I bring you a selection with 21 horror movies —presented in no particular order of preference— with an impeccable, impressive and worthy cinematography.
‘Last night in Soho’
We start with this visual wonder with which the veteran DoP Chung Chung-hoon, a regular with master Park Chan-wook, once again claimed to be one of the greats, this time together with Edgar Wright. Impossible games of mirrors, brilliant movements, chiaroscuro typical of noir and an enviable use of primaries for one of the great photographs of the decade so far, all in glorious 35mm.
‘The invisible man’
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises that studio horror has given us in recent years has been Leigh Whannell’s ‘The Invisible Man’; a very intelligent reinvention of the classic that, focusing on the strictly photographic, dazzles with its embrace of the canons of the genre, with its intelligent use of short focal lengths to capture the empty spaces of the rooms and with the embrace of movement thanks to the technology that already we could see in ‘Upgrade’.
‘sigh’
With his ‘Suspiria’, Luca Guadagnino not only had the challenge of trying to look Dario Argento’s classic in the eye, but also charged director of photography Sayombhu Mukdeeprom with tremendous responsibility, who avoided trying to replicate the incredible orgy of saturated colors of the original to capture in 35mm some of the most disturbing passages of its year of release.
‘hereditary’
Despite having a long career, especially in the world of short films, the name of Pawel Pogorzelski began to sound strong thanks to his work in Ari Aster’s ‘Hereditary’. It is not for less, because the treatment of darkness that the feature film boasts not only enhances the terror that some of its scenes cause; they also place it as one of the best photographed horror films of recent times.
‘Midsummer’
On the other side of the coin, Pawel Pogorzelski repeated on set alongside Ari Aster in the fantastic ‘Midsommar’, escaping from the shadows of ‘Hereditary’ to shape an atypical terror in broad daylight. Once again, the Pole perfectly complements Aster’s imagery and vision, showing that you don’t have to be in the dark to be scared.
‘The witch’
Along with Pogorzelski, Jarin Blaschke may be the other big name emerging in current cinematography. The first work that made him stand out was none other than the magnificent folk horror film ‘The Witch’, in which naturalism and expressionism came together under the baton of Robert Eggers, extracting gold from the 1.66:1 aspect ratio. .
‘The lighthouse’
Of course, the Blaschke-Eggers duo had to appear again in this list, since four years after ‘The Witch’, they joined forces again in the fantastic ‘The Lighthouse’. A claustrophobic monochrome nightmare in which they projected their love of German Expressionism capturing on 35mm the odyssey of two lighthouse keepers trapped on an islet and in the suffocating frames of the 1.19:1 aspect ratio.
‘Under the Skin’
On the more experimental side of horror —in this case, science fiction— we find the unclassifiable ‘Under the skin’ by Jonathan Glazer. A story set in some Scottish urban and natural landscapes that, despite being captured with a decadent appeal by Dan Landin, are not up to the most abstract passages, which give us shots that are as suggestive as they are captivating.
‘Mandy’
And, of course, if we talk about experimentation, we can’t ignore this madness by Panos Cosmatos entitled ‘Mandy’. Those of us who knew his ‘Beyond the Black Rainbow’ should have been scared to death, but what he cooked up with DoP Benjamin Loeb is at a new level. Rampant terror loaded with color and saturation, a dirty and vibrant image, and that trademark dreamlike look for a visual experience close to an acid trip.
‘The Neon Demon’
Equally free, although more polished and refined, is this contact with esthete Nicolas Winding Refn together with director of photography Natasha Braier entitled ‘The Neon Demon’. An audiovisual delight that could be defined as a violent, ultra-stylized, kaleidoscopic and almost hypnotic perfume ad. Overrage.
‘The wellness cure’
Although it reaches this point in the list —which is conceived without following a specific order of preference—, it may be that Bojan Bazelli’s photography for this jewel of modern gothic terror that is ‘The cure for well-being’; a perfect example to illustrate the miracles that can materialize from uniting a production design and a top-level cinematography.
‘Babadook’
Much more sober, but no less effective and praiseworthy for that, is Radosław Ładczuk’s cinematography for Jennifer Kent’s breathtaking ‘Babadook’. A title worthy of study to learn about the treatment of chiaroscuro, camera movement and the use of framing and composition to unsettle the respectable.
‘antichrist’
Despite the fact that works like ‘Dancing in the dark’ have a huge job behind in terms of the visual, ‘Antichrist’ welcomed a much more refined Lars Von Trier aesthetically. With truly amazing sequences, neat and with an almost commercial finish combined with others in which dirt and raw texture reign, Anthony Dod Mantle put the grotesque finishing touch to one of the most stomach-churning experiences of modern horror.
‘Let me in’
In a distant 2006, Tomas Alfredson fell in love with half the world with this tender, terrifying and brilliant story in a vampire key entitled ‘Let me in’. A superb feature film photographed in 35mm by the master Hoyte Van Hoytema, who gives us a master class on composition —the use of spherical lenses and obtaining straight lines to give verticality to the planes is impeccable— and that many will remember for his games with shallow depths of field.
‘The Devil’s Rejects’
Rob Zombie’s early filmography as a director —let’s ignore aesthetic attacks like ’31’, ‘The Munsters’ or ‘3 From Hell’— left us visual gems like ‘Lords of Salem’, ‘Halloween II’ —which, by the way, deserves lots of love—and this ‘The Devil’s Rejects’, photographed on a filthy 16mm film blown up to 35 with an arid, dusty, almost nauseating texture that elevates this little masterpiece of the genre to a new level.
‘Mother!’
The dream team made up of DoP Matthew Libatique and Darren Aronofsky deserve two places in this selection, and the first of them is awarded thanks to ‘Mother!’. Shot combining photochemical in 35mm and 16mm, the film is an ode to excess and economy, squeezing only three types of shot to show how the point of view works. The experience is, to say the least, electrifying.
‘Black Swan’
The second mention of the Libatique-Aronofsky duo is probably their most experimental work if we leave aside their collaboration on the sickly ‘Pi, faith in chaos’. This overwhelming story of paranoia and identity is conceived photographically speaking to an impossible cocktail of 16mm photochemical and Canon 1D and 7D digital DSLR cameras, resulting in an unrelenting feverish nightmare.
‘bliss’
Continuing with the most experimental view of the trade and with the photochemical in 16mm, it is essential to stop at the masterpiece of Joe Begos; a ‘Bliss’ in which art and vampirism merge in 80 of the most amazing minutes that have been seen recently, and that throw us in our faces an orgy of color, textures and stroboscopic lights that looks face to face at Gaspar’s cinema Noah.
‘The House of the Devil’
Also shot in 16mm, but with a much more classic treatment of the format, we have ‘The House of the Devil’; The second feature film of a Ti West that is sweeping the hand of A24 with its franchise born with ‘X’ and extended with its fantastic sequel ‘Pearl’, and which articulates a heartfelt tribute to the cinema of five or six decades ago with a splendid finish .
‘Light’
Despite the fact that it went through the 2018 edition of the Sitges Festival, this German feature film of just over an hour has gone unfairly unnoticed. It may not revolutionize the medium on a narrative level, but its inherent strangeness is reflected in a magnificent cinematography, also in 16mm, that devours the whole based on style and love of retro. Essential.
’28 days later’
And, finally, Danny Boyle’s great zombie-or-infected revolution. A ’28 days later’ that drew gold from its intentionally digital look, combined with material shot in 8mm and 35mm, and the engine of one of the most intense and overwhelming experiences that the subgenre has given us in a long, long time.