10 Great Horror Movies That Are Ugly On Purpose

Begotten is far from your typical horror movie. It's a strange and experimental flick that focuses primarily on a horror experience as opposed to a traditional story. You've probably seen more of it than you realise, as footage from the project is constantly spliced into YouTube horror compilations.

The film (which depicts the death and rebirth of Mother Nature and her Son) looks like a gross and grainy silent movie. But, while you may fall for its antique look, it actually came out the same year as Dead Poet's Society, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Tim Burton's Batman. That should come as a testament to how vital the disturbing visuals are to this flick.

The director (E. Elias Merhige) wanted the film to look as old as possible, in his own words, "as if it were from the time of Christ, as if it were a cinematic Dead Sea Scroll". He achieved this through rephotography, using an optical printer to remove all the mid-tones from the footage, leaving only extremely contrasting black and white colours. These post-production VFX made the movie look like a decaying parchment.

It might be a little slow and nonsensical for many viewers' tastes, but it's a masterclass in making your movie ugly on purpose.