Happy Goat Horror

*Guest post by Alex Davis*

Let’s face it – horror as a genre has always been at the cutting edge of cinema, pushing the limits in ways other genres daren’t do. That has resulted in much that has been terrifying, dark, confronting or even flat out sickening. But horror has also gone in directions that would have seemed pretty much unguessable, and for today – in association with Paracinema Cult Festival – I’ll be serving up my choices for the five strangest horror films ever made.

Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977)

Putting aside the weirdness on screen for a moment, Death Bed: The Bed That Eats has a pretty unusual story behind the scenes. The film was shot in the early 1970s, spent a remarkable four years in post-production, and was never distributed when completed. It owes its reputation largely to bootleg VHS copies that spread in the 80s and 90s, and only received a theatrical premiere in 2003 and a first official release in 2013.

We see the story here largely through the eyes of character trapped in a painting, as the demonic bed consumes various victims, all shot on a surrealistic arthouse style. I almost can’t do justice to the pure oddness of this one on the page – but if you like things off the wall then Death Bed is certainly for you!

Begotten (1989)

Originally conceived as a theatre piece, Begotten tells the story of the death of a suicidal god and the dark events that occur in the wasteland in the aftermath. A silent movie, the look of Begotten is highly distinctive – and not by accident, with director Elias Merhige going to great pains to produce a specific degraded look and stark black and white colour palette – almost all the grey is taken out of the film, making it look quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. My summary of the plot it also sort
of loose because the story eschews anything we’d recognise as traditional
storytelling, giving you an impressionistic dream – or nightmare – to enjoy or endure depending on your tastes.

Society (1989)

Maybe this one is inspired by my first experience watching this movie – in the middle of a horror all-nighter and not quite sure if I was awake or asleep for its near- legendary finale – but Society has always had a special place in my heart among the weirder end of horror. Directed by cult horror legend Brian Yuzna, this film feels weird on a quiet level from the get-go before exploding into one of the most memorable horror endings of all time – though whether you actual want to remember it is another matter entirely…

Bad Biology (2008)

So when I say this is the weirdest film from Frank Henenlotter – who also brought us Brain Damage, the Basket Case trilogy and Frankenhooker – you might get a feeling where we are coming from here. Our protagonist Jennifer and Batz both have, shall we say, a very overactive sexual appetite, with their individual struggles with their hyperactive genitalia depicted throughout. But when the two meet, things reach a pinnacle of strangeness – this is pure B-movie madness and absolutely revels in its
gloriously bizarre nature. If you’ve enjoyed any of Henelotter’s earlier work, you’re bound to get something out of this one.

Rubber (2010)

Many of the movies above have divided opinion, which I suppose is the cost of doing business if you are making a movie that leans into the surreal and the unusual. But I feel like Rubber possibly divides opinion most of all, but is a movie I unapologetically love. With our focus on a killer tyre (yes, really), the story sees a cast of characters watching the antics of our rubber psychopath with increasingly meta flourishes that break the fourth wall virtually to rubble. You might know within ten minutes if this one
is for you!

As always, Paracinema Film Festival will be embracing the weird in 2025, with a series of cult movie classic, preview screenings, new features, short films and more.

The event runs at Derby QUAD from the 2 nd -5 th May, and you can find out more at:

https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/season-festival/paracinema-film-festival/