Extreme cinema 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. It recently specializes in genre film, mostly both horror and drama. [1]
Extreme cinema 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. It recently specializes in genre film, mostly both horror and drama. [1]
The rising popularity of Asian films in the 21st century has contributed to the growth of extreme cinema, although extreme cinema is still considered to be a horror film-based genre. [2] Being a relatively recent genre, extreme cinema is controversial and widely unaccepted by the mainstream media. [3] Extreme cinema films target a specific and small audience group. [4]
The prehistory of extreme cinema can be traced back to censorship of art films and advertising tactics for classical exploitation films to Anglophone markets alongside later liberal representations of sex in the first half of the 20th century onwards. [5]
The name "extreme cinema" originated from a "line of Asian films that share a combination of sensational features, such as extreme violence, horror and shocking plots". [6] Extreme cinema can be rooted as "Asian Extreme", the term for Japanese and other Asian films used to its excessive nature. Early examples of Asian Extreme such as Ring (1998) and Battle Royale (2000). [7]
Extreme cinema is highly criticized and debated by film critics and the general public. There have been debates over the hypersexualization that makes these films a threat to the ‘mainstream’ community standards. [8]
There has also been criticism over the increasing use of violence in modern-day films. Ever since the emergence of slasher-gore films in the ’70s, the rising popularity of extreme cinema has contributed to the casual violence in popular media. [9] Some criticize the easy exposure and unintended targeting of adolescence by extreme cinema films. [10]
Pink Flamingos was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2021. [83]
Requiem for a Dream and Oldboy were named on the BBC's 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century. [84]
The behind-the-scenes look at Cannibal Holocaust was the subject of a Season 2 episode of the documentary series Cursed Films . [85]
A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated viewings, dialogue-quoting, and audience participation. Inclusive definitions allow for major studio productions, especially box-office bombs, while exclusive definitions focus more on obscure, transgressive films shunned by the mainstream. The difficulty in defining the term and subjectivity of what qualifies as a cult film mirror classificatory disputes about art. The term cult film itself was first used in the 1970s to describe the culture that surrounded underground films and midnight movies, though cult was in common use in film analysis for decades prior to that.
A snuff film, snuff movie or snuff video is a type of film, often explicit, that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide.
A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools such as knives, chainsaws, scalpels, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic term for any horror film involving murder, film analysts cite an established set of characteristics which set slasher films apart from other horror subgenres, such as monster movies, splatter films, supernatural and psychological horror films.
Cannibal Holocaust is a 1980 Italian cannibal film directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Gianfranco Clerici. It stars Robert Kerman as Harold Monroe, an anthropologist who leads a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to locate a crew of filmmakers that have gone missing while filming a documentary on local cannibal tribes.
A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the human body and the theatricality of its mutilation. The term "splatter cinema" was coined by George A. Romero to describe his film Dawn of the Dead, though Dawn of the Dead is generally considered by critics to have higher aspirations, such as social commentary, than to be simply exploitative for its own sake.
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become historically important, and even gain a cult following.
Ruggero Deodato was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor.
Aftermath is a 1994 Spanish horror short film written and directed by Nacho Cerdà. It stars Pep Tosar, Jordi Tarrida, Ángel Tarris, and Xevi Collellmir. The film contains no spoken dialogue, and follows an unnamed morgue worker, played by Tosar, as he mutilates and has sex with the dead body of a woman named Marta. It is the middle installment in a thematic trilogy of short films by Cerdà, being preceded by The Awakening in 1991 and proceeded by Genesis in 1998.
Zombie Holocaust is a 1980 Italian horror film directed by Marino Girolami. The film is about a team of scientists who follow a trail of corpses in New York to a remote Indonesian island where they meet a mad doctor who performs experiments on both the living and dead in his laboratory. The team face both zombies and cannibals in an attempt to stop the doctor. The film was re-edited and released theatrically in the United States in 1982 under the title Doctor Butcher M.D.
Martyrs is a 2008 psychological horror film written and directed by Pascal Laugier, and starring Mylène Jampanoï, Morjana Alaoui, and Catherine Bégin. It follows a young woman's quest to seek revenge against individuals who abducted and tortured her as a child, and her friend, also a victim of abuse.
New Extreme Films describes a range of transgressive films made at the turn of the 21st century that sparked controversy, and provoked significant debate and discussion. They were notable for including graphic images of violence, especially sexual violence and rape, as well as explicit sexual imagery.
Forced Entry is a 2002 adult horror film written and directed by Lizzy Borden, produced by Rob Zicari, and released by Extreme Associates. The film is loosely based on the crimes of California serial killer Richard Ramirez.
A Serbian Film is a 2010 Serbian exploitation horror film produced and directed by Srđan Spasojević in his feature directorial debut, with Aleksandar Radivojević co-writing. It tells the experience of a financially struggling pornstar who agrees to participate in an "art film", only to discover that he has been drafted into a snuff film with pedophilic and necrophilic themes. The film stars Serbian actors Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović, and Jelena Gavrilović.
The arthouse action genre is an emerging film genre in contemporary cinema that traces its roots back to Asian and European films. Characteristics of arthouse action films include stylized action, an arthouse atmosphere, metaphysical subtext, psychological characterisation and a disjointed, fragmented narrative with more complexity than the typical action film. These come together to create a sense of "dreamy surrealism."
August Underground is a 2001 American exploitation horror film directed by Fred Vogel, and written by Vogel and Allen Peters. The film stars Vogel as a serial killer named Peter, who kidnaps and kills several innocent people, while his unnamed accomplice, played by Peters, films and documents the murders.
Maniac is a 2012 psychological slasher film directed by Franck Khalfoun, written by Alexandre Aja and Grégory Levasseur, and starring Elijah Wood and Nora Arnezeder. It is a remake of the 1980 film of the same name, and follows the violent exploits of a brutal serial killer.
Terror Trap, is a 2010 American horror film. It was written and directed by Dan Garcia. Filming took place in Louisiana. The film stars David James Elliott, Michael Madsen and Jeff Fahey. Movie tagline is "Once you check in, there's no escape...". The film is similar to the 2008 film, Vacancy which also features a couple being terrorized by a motel's owner and his employees while being recorded.
Cannibalism is a 2002 pornographic horror film written and directed by Lizzy Borden.
Art horror or arthouse horror is a sub-genre of both horror films and art-films. It explores and experiments with the artistic uses of horror.
Butcher Boys is a 2012 American horror cannibal film written and produced by Kim Henkel, who co-created 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre with Tobe Hooper. The film was directed by Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. It was originally titled Boneboys.
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