Special Feature: The Exterminating Angel (El ángel exterminador, 1962)
The reason for the distinction on this one is that, arguably, it wasn’t even meant to be a horror film. Sure, it’s director Luis Buñuel was a surrealist responsible for the infamous Un Chien Andalou (1929) along with Salvador Dalí, yet as such the concerns of his filmography were far from being primarily scary. However, the argument that this Mexican production qualifies in the genre isn’t hard to make, as well as the evident influence it has had on it for decades since.
After an opera show, a group of rich people are trapped in a dinning room for mysterious reasons. The doors aren’t locked or anything, they just seem unable to leave. At first it's just a few hours, but hours turn into days. And as time passes, their demeanor starts becoming more hostile when supplies start to run out. And as the tensions escalate, so does the threat of violence and tribalism.
It's a bizarre setup for sure, but the film's strength doesn't lie there. No, the true brilliance of the movie lies in Buñuel’s direction. What would feel like a nonsensical and dreamlike situation suddenly becomes strangely believable and captivating, dragging you along to see a group of people become increasingly hostile and showing their dark side for no truly tangible reason. And for all the etiquette the rich show, that goes out of the window the moment they face anything resembling real hardship.
Along with this so subtle jab at class inequality, conformity and a playful approach to our sense of reality are explored as well. With a compelling satirical edge, it's mind screw of an ending raises questions without easy answers.
I happened to came across some randoms clips of this movie that itched the part of my brain that actives every time it sees something that is not poto related, but it could be, if I try hard enough
So, proposing, Silvia Pinal in Viridiana (1961) as a semi-accurate book!Christine