Editorials
How To Start Getting Into Horror Part 13: Gore
While it’s easy to find horror subgenre films that don’t show tons of gore, there’s this expectation that a horror film should/will bring viscera, often by the bucketload. And, to be fair, this is not an unrealistic expectation in the slightest. Horror, for decades now, has always pushed the boundaries in terms of seeing just how much an audience could stomach without going too far, although there are times when, in my opinion, they blew past that line and never looked back.
We’ve gone through a great many subgenres in my How To Start Getting Into Horror series but this is one that many of you were waiting for, wondering how I’d tackle such a topic. I’ll admit that it’s not easy, not because of the wide variety of offerings but rather because I’m always thinking how to introduce someone who is just getting started with the concept. If it’s too much, it’ll just push them away, which is the last thing I want to do. I want them to love what they see, I want them to appreciate it, and I want them to ask for more.
That’s always been the goal here, to foster and nurture a newfound passion. And from the conversations I’ve had with people about their distaste of horror, it’s almost certain that the blood and gore is going to have a strong impact on their reasoning.
So let’s try and change that, shall we? Let’s submit a few movie ideas that bring the gore but don’t make it the focus.
Okay, so I know that I already mentioned Se7en in the “Psychological“, but it was brief and, let’s be honest, this film deserves a lot more attention than it was given.
Yes, Se7en is a psychological thriller. That is undeniable. But if you want to tell me that it’s not a horror film, I’m going to argue that with you until I’m blue in the face. You simply can’t convince me otherwise. And when it comes to gore, this is a perfect entry point for many people.
Firstly, the film has several really acclaimed stars, which makes it appealing for non-horror fans to enjoy. You’ve got Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Each of those stars have fans from their diverse filmography, so viewers can immediately feel a connection to these familiar faces.
Secondly, it’s not a film that bases itself off of the gore. Rather, the gore is meant to amplify the terror of the situation. Just think of the film and how it plays out. Yes, there are dead bodies but the majority of the gore is hidden, obscured, or out of focus, leaving it to the imagination (which, incidentally, makes it far, far worse). By avoiding showing the gore, the viewer doesn’t have to feel physically squeamish, just emotionally affected, which makes it all the more powerful .
Thirdly, it’s simply a great movie. It’s well written, wonderfully directed, beautifully shot, and it stays with you. And once that last shot goes into the credits, it haunts you for the rest of your life, the world having broken Detective Mills and, in a way, our own belief.
After that, it’s easy to get into something like Dead Alive, which is COMPLETELY over-the-top in the gore department. But that’s what makes it so entertaining! You go from the subtlety of Se7en to the sheer carnage of this film and it makes sense. It’s a transition from seriousness to humor, from sadness to levity. In fact, as weird of a pairing as this is, it’d make a great double feature if you want to get someone interested in the gorier films that horror has to offer.
After those, we all know that there are several great horror films that have a ton of gore and are extremely enjoyable. Think of titles like 30 Days Of Night and the Evil Dead sequel/remake/reboot/whatever and the vast amount of fake blood that’s used throughout. Plus, the latter is such an exciting film with TONS of gory moments.
Once you make it through films that are fun and exciting, then you can move onto ones that test the stomachs of viewers, movies like Hostel, Cannibal Holocaust, Martyrs, Videodrome, etc… These are still great movies but they have a certain…perverse approach to them. These aren’t truly meant to be films to pop on for entertainment. These are meant to assault the senses, to leave you feeling changed and different once the credits roll. And while that certainly has a place in our genre, it shouldn’t be the way to get people started.
Alright readers, that’s a quick recommendation on how to get into gory horror movies. If you have some movies or recommendations yourself, let me know in the comments!
Check out the rest of our How To Start Getting Into Horror series.
I first heard about The Mandela Catalogue through a couple of nephews who were obsessed with the ARG’s sinister mythology. It was only after watching Wendigoon’s in-depth analysis of the series that I realized just how deep this rabbit hole goes.
In fact, I’d already been exposed to the nightmarish visuals of Alex Kister’s YouTube creation for years at that point without even realizing that it was the origin of several viral “cursed images” and spooky memes that had leaked into the wider internet – with this viral element actually being a part of the Catalogue’s overarching narrative.
Flash-forward to 2026 and the unprecedented success of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms has led to Hollywood betting on horrific internet properties with existing fanbases, which means that Kister’s unique hybrid of both religious and analog horror is finally headed to the big screen with a script written by Kister himself alongside Tyler Clifton.
While this news shouldn’t be too surprising if you’ve been keeping up with the ongoing success of The Mandela Catalogue (both myself and Wendigoon having previously predicted that the series would inevitably make the jump to theaters one day), plenty of horror fans are likely confused as to why so many folks are excited for what appears to be a Hollywood adaptation of a series of creepy .jpeg images under a VHS filter.
With that in mind, today I’d like to invite fellow readers to accompany me as I explore the origins of Alex Kister’s viral hit and attempt to explain exactly why we should all be excited about the Mandela Catalogue adaptation!
From High School Writing Project to Internet Horror Phenomenon
The first seeds of The Mandela Catalogue were sown when Kister was still in high school and developed a writing project subverting religious tropes in a world where biblical history had been altered by demonic forces. A little while later, Kister came across an analog horror contest on Reddit and decided to adapt his ideas into a standalone video where he would edit a religious kids’ cartoon –The Beginner’s Bible: The Nativity, to be specific- into something far creepier. This is how the iconic Overthrone video was born, with this viral short film taking on a life of its own as fans demanded more eerie content from Kister.
Though the video was originally meant to be a one-and-done sort of affair, with Kister actually regretting some of its primitive visuals and considering the editing amateurish and “YouTube-Poop-like” when compared to his current standards, fan reaction and free time during the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the (then) seventeen-year-old filmmaker to continue producing content set in this same world. The Mandela Catalogue name was inspired by the Mandela Effect conspiracy theory, as the series would slowly begin to explore the subtle horror of alternate histories.
Inspired by existential dread brought on by extended periods of quarantine as well as a personal crisis of faith, Kister continued to expand his alternate timeline where the rise of Christianity had been prevented by what was presumably the Devil disguised as the Archangel Gabriel. This alternate course of fictional events led to the existence of certain paranormal anomalies that had come to be accepted as “normal” by the 1990s, which is why most of the series’ supernatural horror is presented in such a matter-of-fact manner.
Most of this background information and religious lore is delivered by increasingly cryptic broadcasts and in-universe PSAs, as well as the occasional found footage video, that often have to be decoded by clever viewers. Of course, it’s the consistently disturbing imagery that made the series so popular – much of which was originally created by Kister on a smartphone!
The Alternates: Horror’s Most Unsettling Modern Monsters
The show’s early episodes mostly take place within the fictional Mandela County in Wisconsin and depict life in a world where demonic entities are capable of using media to enter our reality. This process usually involves scaring victims into killing themselves and then repurposing their bodies as horrific doppelgangers referred to as “Alternates”. This terrifying phenomenon has become so common that local police already have specialized procedures in place to deal with the issue, though this usually consists of simply ignoring calls for help so as to avoid spreading so-called “Metaphysical Awareness Disorder” any further.
Over time, Kister would expand this mythology and incorporate different kinds of Alternates into the mix, though the story never stopped deconstructing religious concepts. The series’ second volume exponentially increased both video quality and the overall narrative scope as we began to follow the lives of characters who had already grown up in this dystopian hellscape where the government is forced to prohibit religion, television, and even mirrors in the hopes of mitigating the damage done by the ongoing invasion of otherworldly entities.
The really interesting part comes into play when you realize exactly how the Alternates make use of scary media in order to spread their demonic influence, with the analog horror of it all being a diegetic part of the story and something of a memetic trap orchestrated by the false Gabriel.
I particularly appreciate how some characters begin to suspect that there’s something wrong with their version of reality and that things weren’t meant to play out this way, especially when Mark utters the haunting line “who have I been praying to all this time?” That’s why I think The Mandela Catalogue is an effective piece of religious horror even if you don’t subscribe to the Christian worldview, as the mere idea of a world where evil has already won is a universally terrifying concept in and of itself. Not only that, but the series’ uncanny analog imagery alone is already worth the price of admission, as you’ve likely already noticed by looking at the pictures accompanying this article.
Why The Feature Adaptation Could Be Horror’s Next Big Success
It’s actually been a whole year since Kister first announced that he had been working on a feature-length screenplay for a Mandela Catalogue movie since 2022, with his proposed story following an ensemble of high-school graduates who uncover a supernatural conspiracy after the mysterious disappearance of a fellow student. This premise sounds similar to narrative elements present in the series’ second volume, but I’m pretty sure that Kister is going to go the Kane Parsons route and make the movie more of a spin-off than a re-imagining of its source material.
While notable Hollywood producers like Aaron B. Koontz, Scott Stuber, and Steven Spielberg himself are backing the upcoming project, I feel like there’s no one better to adapt this deeply personal exploration of faith and the dark side of communication than the person who first came up with it. That’s why I can’t wait to see Kister’s work on the big screen, as I have a feeling that this young filmmaker is the next one on the list about to make cinematic history – especially since this is clearly a passion project that has been in the works for years at this point!
That being said, there’s always a chance that the film could end up unleashing a fresh wave of Alternate incursions, but I guess that’s just a risk we’ll have to take.
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