In this Movie Memory Machine: Five For mini-episode, Landen and Truman descend deeper into the forest of offbeat horror, dark fantasy, and ghostly dread. Building on the vibes of Gretel & Hansel, they recommend five strange, stylish, and haunting films that blend folklore, surrealism, and atmospheric isolation. From haunting governesses to cursed love stories and meth gators, this list is a strange brew—equal parts eerie, elegant, and Eastern European.
Films Discussed:
Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural (1973)
Beauty and the Beast (1946, dir. Jean Cocteau)
Beauty and the Beast (1978, Czechoslovakia)
The Innocents (1961)
Midsommar (2019)
Topics Covered:
Fairy tale logic vs. narrative logic
Why dark fantasy works best through a child’s eyes (or a governess’s)
Jean Cocteau’s uncanny elegance and Gothic surrealism
When the Beast is genuinely beastly—and not just “hot with fur”
Czechoslovakian castles, tetanus aesthetics, and the horror of 70s Euro cinema
The Innocents as peak atmospheric ghost story
Ari Aster’s sunlit dread and the isolation of folk horror
Key Takeaways:
The scariest horror films don’t shout—they quietly watch from across the river
Folk tales and fairy tales don’t need happy endings—they need strange rules
Isolation creates its own morality
Black licorice is the defining visual metaphor for Osgood Perkins’s career
Listener Prompt:
What’s your favorite surreal or atmospheric horror film? Let us know using #MovieMemoryMachine—or join the Discord to drop your weirdest recommendations.
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