Subconscious Cruelty (2000) User Reviews

Interesting art-house horror with plenty of WTF moments.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 6 April 2007]

A gory, low budget, art-house horror with scenes of extreme nastiness, Subconscious Cruelty is not an easy film to watch for several reasons: it is extremely 'symbolic' (some might say pretentious); it has no standard narrative; and it features very unsettling imagery. It is, however, well directed and edited, and features some amazingly realistic effects and a pretty decent score.

Subconscious Cruelty starts as it means to go on, with a bizarre short segment entitled Ovarian Eyeball in which a naked woman on a table is sliced open; from her wound, an eyeball on an optic nerve is produced. It makes no sense (to me at least), but is certainly visually arresting.

And so the weirdness continues, with a second 'story', Human Larvae, about a guy who wishes to make a mockery of the miracle of birth by killing his sister's newborn child as it is leaving the womb. This one is without a doubt the vilest story I have ever seen committed to celluloid and should be seen only by those with a very strong stomach.

Part three, Rebirth, is less intense, with a bunch of naked people rolling around in mud, fellating tree branches and shagging pools of blood! I quite enjoyed this bit after the gruelling nature of Human Larvae.

The final segment, Right Brain/Martyrdom, fuses religious symbolism with female nekkidness and gore, and is a shocking slice of sacrilegious depravity guaranteed to upset Christians everywhere.

I can't say that I enjoyed director Karim Hussain's debut, and would hesitate recommending it to pretty much everyone I know, but I imagine that it will definitely have a cult following amongst those people who prefer to delve into cinema's weirder output, such as the films of Lynch, Jodorowsky or Miike.

Shocking, yes, but what else?

[marcopop · 5/10 · 20 November 2000]

This was definitely the most graphically disturbing film I've ever seen. Apparently, the sole purpose of the film is to shock and outrage people (according to the Stockholm Film Festival booklet), and I guess it does, but it doesn't really go any further than that. Or does it? I get the feeling that Karim Hussain has something to tell us, but it doesn't get through very well. I understand the reason for showing the things no-one dares to show, and I think that's good. But it is not presented very well, so people will not get the picture. The last section of the film is clearly a statement against American double standard of morality, and the modern mans loss of spirituality, and it is also the most intentionally apparent section.

The 'sound design' is great, very reminiscent to Lynch's Eraserhead. The music on the other hand, is most of the time inappropriate. The middle part of the film where people are indulging in an orgy with Mother Earth, is so badly scored the scene becomes silly, which is a shame. Hussain should have chosen music in the vein of Ligeti and Penderecki for a film like this (like Kubrick did).

If you want to see a shocking film that is dead serious all of the time, go for this one. Not for everyone, though. Or maybe it is?

Destroy The Left Side

[salemzin · 6/10 · 14 December 2023]

The intense experience provided by "Subconscious Cruelty" (2000) differs significantly from any other cinematographic production made in the 2000s, presenting notable similarities with David Lynch's "Eraserhead" (1977), however, raising the levels of disturbance and viscerality to a higher level. More distressing.

Exploring the format of an experimental anthology, the film reveals itself to be incessantly disconcerting and explicitly provocative with each new scene, imposing discomfort on the viewer. The narrative reveals several subtexts and instigates debates, the most evident of which are sexual and religious in nature. The numerous sequences notable for their violence are skillfully realized through practical effects, an attribute that contributed significantly to the film's popularity.

Although enigmatic and peculiar, "Subconscious Cruelty" (2000) seems to be the genuine expression of director Karim Hussain's morbid and restless thoughts, conveying social criticism and personal conceptions. The film is not intended for audiences looking for mere entertainment; on the contrary, its effectiveness is reserved for lovers of extreme cinema and aficionados of the aesthetics of art house cinema.

Boring... self-indulgent crap

[cmorris21 · 1/10 · 18 January 2009]

Looking for something shocking? Okay fine... the imagery is that. That's about it. This film attempts to make deep connections with the audience through various symbolism and just ends up being annoying. I am not quite sure if the director's purpose was to truly portray some sort of deep message to his audience, or if he just sought to shock the hell out of them with gore, sex and violence. I am thinking that it was probably the first...but in the failed attempt..it simply ended up to be a piece of artsy garbage with lots of blood, some obnoxious characters, and an over reliance on religious symbolism. If you're looking for some independent film to critique for its attempted use of metaphor...have at it. If you are looking for a gore flick that will make you queasy and uncomfortable... here you go... If you are looking for a film that will irritate you to no end because you realize that in the end, the message was stupid...the movie was stupid... and you will never get those minutes of your life back..this is surely the film for you!

Gruesome, Gory, Sick and Disturbing

[claudio_carvalho · 3/10 · 29 July 2011]

A couple of days ago, the censorship did not allow the exhibition of "A Serbian Film" in Rio Fan Festival 2011 in Rio de Janeiro. A friend of mine mentioned that "Subconscious Cruelty" was another polemic film and I decided to watch it.

"Subconscious Cruelty" is indeed gruesome, gory, sick and disturbing, and one of the nastiest and pointless films I have ever seen. The film is divided is segments and it seems that the only intention of the director is to shock the audiences with a confused narrative and disconcerting impressive images. Paradoxically, the music score is very tender and beautiful.

Ovarian Eyeball - In the first segment, a naked woman is sliced by a sharp blade and an eyeball is removed from her belly. This surrealistic short is absolutely senseless.

Human Larvae – in this second segment, a deranged man that hates his sister that is pregnant kills her newborn offspring and she during the delivery. This short is one of the sickliest films I have ever seen.

Rebirth – in this third segment, a group of naked people rolls around mud and blood in another pointless segment.

Right Brain/Martyrdom – in this last incomprehensible segment, there are the visible intention to offend the Christians with religious symbolism associated with gore and sex.

Considering that I did not understand three out four segments, I really did not like this film. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

what a waste of time and money

[HasiHasenberg · 1/10 · 10 August 2001]

you know, i always fancy disturbing or strange movies, especially when they get shown at the fantasy film festival in hamburg, germany. but subconscious cruelty was probably the worst film i saw this year. will this comment contain any spoilers?

no, because i just did not understand this movie. but well, what can you expect from a flick that was introduced to a festival crowd "we (the guys from the festival) know that not all of you will watch this one until the very end"...

i like splatter movies and i also like movies with a strong graphical language. but this? there are a lot of bloody scenes in this one, but why? what is the director trying to tell us? is he saying that we lost all morality and all religious feelings? or is he saying that incest will always end in a disaster? who knows - i do not.

if you want to watch a movie that keeps you thinking for quite some time - watch it. but don´t expect to think "wow, i got the message" - i did not get it...

Desecration & Demoralization from a poet.

[itrevorallen · 7/10 · 7 May 2020]

The movie is poetic. Much of the scenery is cleverly chosen and represents imagery related to creation and the mockery of this world (or more so human nature). Opinions will vary, but to me this justifies the brutal "extreme" nature of the film, something many others lack. It helps that the imagination is not all which is utilized to find purpose in the atrocities taking place On screen, instead your offered a guide who narrates his own thoughts and concepts has he creates these acts of desecration. His acts of self perceived ultimate trauma.

Cons: there is a major lack of plot going on. Also quite boring at certain points (ie 15+ minutes of people having sex with the bleeding earth) Pros: this lack of plot is further depiction of human nature. Also the gore was very high quality and believable.

Going With a 7, but it can be easily understood how many are tempted to rate this a 3 or lower. Not the genre for everyone.

Piece of crap

[Funk Doctor · 1/10 · 9 August 2001]

I´ve seen this at the Fantasy Filmfest in Cologne and left the cinema halfway through this "movie" (with a bunch of other people), so maybe I´m not the right one to comment on it, but I think the fact of leaving "S.C." is reason enough to do so. "S.C." is a different film. People who need a coherent narration, characters or a plotline won´t find anything in this one. It´s supposed to be an experimental film, relying on the power of images. But these images have no power. They are so forced in their intention of simply grossing people out, that they have nothing else to say. The gibberish of the off-narrator is simply boring, the visuals are cheap. OK, the effects are good, but if that´s the only thing, why care? Husseins film wants to be shocking and thought-provoking - instead it is boring and annoying in its non-creativity. Note: Not every movie without a story is art and there is absolutely no creativity in breaking taboos anymore - especially not if everything is executed as bad as in "S.C.". I´d suggest director Hussein should either visit a psychiatrist or a filmschool, before he mistakes crap for art again. Note: I never want to see a baby getting slashed during birth again.

Four morbid tales of mutilation, incest, rape and sacrilege!

[The_Void · 7/10 · 13 February 2007]

Well, it's safe to say that Subconscious Cruelty is one weird film! Supposedly an insight into the human mind, Subconscious Cruelty is comprises four macabre and bizarre tales of the extreme. The first segment, entitled 'Ovarian Eyeball' is really just a warm up, but it's good in that it gives the viewer an idea of what to expect from the next three segments. It simply sees a naked woman laid out on a table, while another woman cuts into her abdomen and pulls out a human eyeball! I've got no idea what the point is, but it certainly makes for visceral viewing. The following story is the best of the bunch, and takes in the "old favourite" sick movie theme of incest. The segment follows a man who lives alone with his pregnant sister. He's repulsed by her pregnancy - yet he wants to have sex with her anyway, and naturally he gets his way. This story stands out because of the monotonous and 'matter of fact' narration, as well as the ending - which doesn't fail to deliver the shocks. This segment is well acted, well filmed and easily the highlight of Subconscious Cruelty.

Naturally, the next two sections aren't as good as the second one; so the only way from there is down, but director Karim Hussain still manages to pull something out of the bag before the film ends. He doesn't do it right away, however, as the third segment is the weakest of the film, and simply sees a lot of people have sex with the ground. It's very surreal, and therefore memorable for that same reason; but there doesn't seem to be a lot of point to it, and I was in the mood for something a bit more morbid after the second section. The film ends on a high, however, as while I'm not entirely sure what the point was - the final segment features the film's best imagery. This segment focuses on religion, and certainly isn't for anyone that values it! Director Karim Hussain has achieved something here - as while this collection of four 'extreme' stories doesn't come together as a complete whole, the film almost feels tasteful as it's shot in such an eloquent and eye catching manner. The director would seem to have been imitating the highly respected surreal director Luis Buñuel, albeit with gore, rape and incest; and if you ask me, he hasn't done a bad job at all. Not for everyone, but certainly worth a look for extreme fanatics!

There are movies that shouldn't be made

[filipemanuelneto · 1/10 · 25 June 2016]

When the surrealist art came it shocked people. Salvador Dali is one of the most controversial painters ever thanks to this. But, nevertheless, its beautiful, its art. This film, which pretentiously tries to be Surrealist, or Dadaist, don't get it and is absolutely condemnable in its basic intention: to shock people because, period. Directed and written by Karim Hussain, has some actors too, but who cares?

The film is divided into four parts, each one more sickening than the other, in a reflection of the twisted mind of its director, who seems to have the sensitivity of a rock and the mental health of a Roman emperor. The film mixes, without apparent reason or sense, extremely graphic violence, explicit blood, sex, profanity, religious symbology being desecrated, killings and other things like that. The only explicit and latent purpose throughout the film is the shock, the clear and stated intention to intimidate the public and revolting people. And when this is done without any explicit positive intention behind, its always bad, is doing the opposite of what cinema should be: Art that tells you a story. Yes, cinema may shock and go against what people consider normal. But it should serve to change them, to improve them, to change mentalities for good. Offending people shouldn't be an end in itself, or in the movies or in anything else. The Seventh Art didn't need that.

This movie has repeatedly censored and banned in several countries. A measure that many persons will find punitive and dictatorial, but that is, in this case, very reasonable. This film will serve as a beacon of bad example for ever.

Ambitious and Intriguing "Art-House/Gore" Film

[EVOL666 · 9/10 · 27 January 2006]

First off - this film will not be for everybody. There are scenes of extreme graphic violence and "disturbing" images that by their nature alone will turn off many possible potential viewers. Obviously from the reviews on this board - SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY has divided those that have seen it. I'm among the ones who liked it very much for several different reasons. I feel this was a very ambitious (and quite competently pulled off...) undertaking for a bunch of 18/19 year olds with no budget and little experience. I think that each aspect of the film - the direction, the acting (though the character's performances are more likened to stage or free-form performance because of the nature of the film...) the production, the FX, the score/sound design - all are far superior to many films I've seen that exceed these kids budget and experience ten-fold. I honestly haven't been this impressed with an "art-house" style horror film since Nacho Cerda's GENESIS...

First off - I'm not going to pretend to understand and/or grasp all of the graphical content in this film - but knowing that this wasn't a straight-narrative type of film when I went into it, I wasn't disappointed with how it played out. SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY is 4 relatively short vignettes that all sort of revolve around the theory of right brain/left brain lust/anger/psychosis vs. restraint/compassion/"normalcy". To very briefly give a synopsis of each "chapter":

OVARIAN EYEBALL basically just has a naked girl who has an eyeball cut out of her abdomen. I'm sure it's symbolic of something - I don't think I was paying that much attention at that point and this one blows by pretty quick.

The next "episode" - HUMAN LARVAE - is a nihilistic, horrific, genuinely creepy story of a guy who's both in love with and repulsed by his pregnant sister, who gives into his growing psychosis which leads up to the shocking conclusion of that particular chapter. HUMAN LARVAE is the best of the bunch in my book, and will probably get under your skin. The dead-pan narrative dialog accentuates the growing tension as you know something horrible is going to happen - but you're not quite sure what it is. Do yourself a favor and if you are interested in seeing this film - don't do too much research on it. Come into it with an open mind and an iron stomach and I think you be pleasantly surprised, especially with this particular episode.

REBIRTH has a bunch of people in a field screwing the ground and blowing trees and stuff. Apparently an "arty" interpretation of the rape of the earth or something to that effect. Not bad, but this one is pretty short too and I sorta missed the point on it...

And RIGHT BRAIN/MARTYRDOM seems to be about religion and religious hypocrisy and also along with HUMAN LARVAE, has some of the "hardest" images/messages of the whole feature...

OVARIAN EYEBALL isn't anything to write home about, mainly because of it's very short running time but does make a decent segue into the insanity to come...and REBIRTH is also kind of short and not quite as thought provoking, but HUMAN LARVAE (especially) and RIGHT BRAIN/MARTYRDOM are so off-the-wall and well done that they more than make up for the other parts. I think the main reason that I liked this one so much is that as "shocking", "repulsive", "violent" and "excessive" as it is, it is also done very beautifully and you can tell this was a real labor-of-love from those involved. Nothing about the film feels cheap or rushed, and even if the content isn't completely decipherable, it's undeniably original - and that alone up's the points some in my book. Not that every "weird art-house" film that has an unintelligible plot should be praised for it's "originality", but SUBCONSCIOUS CRUELTY is the type of film that I do think I'll watch a few more times in the near future to see what other interpretations I may gain from it. Again, this film is ABSOLUTELY not for everyone - with some VERY extreme scenes of gore, murder, rape, incest, sacrilegious imagery, etc...that is definitely there to shock the viewer into taking a harder look at this film. I have to say it worked for me, and I'm anxiously awaiting the Hussain/Cerda collaboration that is rumored to come next. Check this one out if you have the stomach for it - 9.5/10

Bizarre and unique

[jway-65757 · 7/10 · 16 November 2020]

Nothing else like it. Check it out. Pretty wild. Segment 3 is by far my favorite

Nocturnal perfection!!

[glyptoteque · 27 June 2004]

Now,this is something else indeed!!This is a masterpiece that is so vicious,dark,wondrous,unique,and truly poetic,that it left me completely flabbergasted!!The theme underlying the various images we are presented to,are as follows:The human brain is divided into two hemispheres,right and left.The left hemisphere represent logic and rational thought,whereas in the right hemisphere,dwells passion,creativity,intuition,and irrationality.The interesting question that are being asked,are;what if the right hemisphere were to completely dominate the thought-process?What if our internal "demons"were to be given free reign?What if we could kick little Mr.Logic to death?It is such a joy then,to see that the brilliant Karim Hussain and co.have constructed a satanic-dream-come-true,as an unflinching and blasphemous reply!!

It is stated somewhere that this film is meant to be pro-religious.What does this imply exactly?Certainly this statement rings true,if we take a closer look at the basis of all religions,which is exactly passion and irrationality!!And we all know the great "passion" that have been injected into the despicable witch/heretichunts and the crusades throughout the history of man.But which is it?Is it really a warning against letting our religious/irrational emotions get the better of us?And telling us to return to morality and dogma?If that's the case,then this is a blatant contradiction.If religion represent one aspect of irrationality,and as I've said irrationality is to be avoided,one would have thought that man's safe-haven would have been the right hemisphere,where logic and rationality resides.But then a return to morality and dogma is ridiculous,because that is religion for you,and religion is in it's very nature irrational.The result is that one has been going in circles,from avoiding passion and irrationality,to fully accepting them,in the dangerous and horrible form of morality and dogma,which is when you think of it only more commonly accepted.

As long as one have a religion to back up your violence and mad rantings,then it's justified isn't it?(Just take a closer look at what seemingly "logical" acts have been perpetrated in the moral-name of religion,the list is endless!!)In the end you are fooling yourself,in the end you are being just as irrational as the demon or the murderer.The major difference being;one has the guise of hypochrisy,the other is naked.I personally prefer the naked shape.As I said,I prefer to view this piece of art with the outlook of a free and passionate being(religious people would call this satanic,I guess),without the subconscious need to deceive myself.I viewed this film as a nocturnal perfection,wonderful darkness on celluloid,if you will.Everything is simply intelligent artistry;from the truly somber and ferocious "Human Larvae",the beautiful opener "Ovarian Eyeball",the surreal "Rebirth",to the profanating brilliance of "Right Brain/Martyrdom".The musical score is excellent,the same goes for filming/editing,special effects,and last but not least,the dialogue.You must all believe me,when I say that you have never seen anything like it,and most likely never will!!

One of the most boring films I've ever seen

[vampirbg · 1/10 · 12 August 2007]

This film has to be one of the most boring films ever made. The only thing I liked is using Argento-esquire lighting in most of the scenes. The music is awful and the pace is so slow that you can watch it at 2x the speed and even then it would be slow. The story doesn't exist. It doesn't even have any shocking scenes.

It is classified (on this site at least) as a horror, but it's not. It's a sort of an art film exploring the dark side of the human nature. If you are into that kind of thing and can stand the slow pace, then watch it, but I'd rather recommend you something Japanese (e.g. Ichi the Killer) I think that the only reason this film was never in theaters is a fear of audience committing collective suicide caused by the huge amount of boredom generated by this movie. These 80 minutes of it's length would've been better spent watching the paint dry.

I gave it 1/10 simply because there is no 0 in the pull down menu

Boring, pointless garbage

[Groverdox · 3/10 · 25 June 2019]

"Subconscious Cruelty" is a tedious little splatter flick with aspirations both to shock and to the avant-garde. It fails on both counts.

I admit, it is pretty gruesome and disgusting, and there's plenty of sex in it for those interested in that sort of thing. But what is the point of it? It's just not that interesting.

The movie is an anthology of short films. The first one shows a naked woman lying on a slab while titles on screen explain about left-brain and right-brain theory, and we get shots of a brain intercut with the woman. A scalpel slices open the woman's abdomen and a hand reaches inside her and pulls out an eyeball. Segment over.

Wow! Symbolism! That's some heavy stuff there, man. Too bad I can't be bothered trying to think what it might mean - I don't care, and chances are, nor would you.

The next segment is possibly the most memorable. A naked man peeks through a keyhole at a naked woman while she has sex and he masturbates watching her. An endless, tedious monologue on the soundtrack explains his state-of-mind in a tone of voice that seems better suited to an instructional video for printer cartridge installation. The woman gets pregnant and gives birth in perhaps the most nauseating childbirth scene ever committed to celluloid. The young man apparently murders the baby and drips its blood into the mother's mouth, who then also dies.

The next segment is perhaps the weakest of all. Naked people roll around in a field, and take clumps of earth in their hands, which fill with blood. Segment over.

The last segment is possibly the most offensive of all, for those of us who have religious leanings... and of course, if we did, we wouldn't be watching it anyway. So who is it going to offend? Anyway, there's a pointless introduction with a guy in a bar somewhere, who then goes someplace else and fantasizes about women raping Christ on the cross while other women rip the skin of his legs, tearing it off and exposing the bone underneath.

About the only people I can imagine this appealing to are edgy teenagers going through their "I hate religious sheeple" phase, which usually comes one or two phases before they become born again. For the rest of us? It's no big whoop.

And that's it. The movie has been described as "gory, gruesome, shocking and disturbing" on IMDB. I'll grant the first couple, and maybe the last one in a pinch, though I wasn't particularly shocked. I wasn't disturbed at all either, though. The movie didn't change how I felt, and now that I've watched it, I'll probably never think about it again.

It won't get any worse than Subconcius Cruelty.

[Stefanowich · 1/10 · 4 July 2008]

Critics are a strange kind of people. Some of them are common people like you and me. Some of them are not. When a critic say Subconscius Cruelty is beautiful I wonder where they did grow up? What's beautiful with filming a field, some clouds or a tree with an old camera if you can't do it with style and capture the mood of the environments. Karim Hussain for sure can't. I've seen kids do better footage than Karim manage to do in Subconscius Cruelty. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is the whole recording, I refuse to call this a film, is just a bad excuse to picture nudity and extreme torture, rapes of both sexes, masturbation, sperm, pissing, cannibalism, child-murder and much much more. I love gore/splatter and I love horror. This ain't neither of those. This is utter crap and if my comments make just one single person skip Subconscius Cruelty it's been worth it. Always remember that your life won't last forever, don't waste two hours of precious time on Subconscius Cruelty. You've been warned.

Fast forward fast forward fast forward

[hishamalokaili · 1/10 · 4 March 2019]

No substance or style just boring and dependent on shock value

a daring, angry picture

[fred-83 · 7/10 · 20 July 2005]

I finally got hold of the excellent Sazuma DVD of this film which is loaded with interesting extras. I have read quite a lot about it, and I unfortunately missed it at the Stockholm Film Festival. It doesn't quite deliver as I thought it would but it is still worth watching if you like strange and unique movies. I much rather watch this again than any of the recent so-called horror films vomited out of Hollywood these days. What detracts from the experience for me, is certain music cues which sound dated and rely too much on cheap synth sounds. For me, all these tonal/harmonic elements of the score could have been lifted out, and replaced by David Kristians excellent sound design. But that is just my opinion. Otherwise this is a daring, angry picture with welcome meditative and poetic parts, like the fading of the photograph sequence which is beautiful. I look forward to seeing Ascension, and I applaud Mitch and Karim for their efforts in producing non-mainstream cinema. They are a great inspiration as I soon embark on my own short film production.

lol...k then

[Der_Schnibbler · 1/10 · 7 February 2019]

Looks like someone set out to write the most disturbing thing they could possibly come up with. Sure, it's gross. But nothing else.

This is not a horror movie. For that matter, neither is it crime or drama. Call it "art house" if you will. I call it boring and pointless.

Do watch this if you enjoy looking at guys staring at their own bespooged hands, though. Plenty of that.

Warning, review contains details of movie.

[horizon2008 · 7/10 · 19 September 2013]

I watched this during the day but I must give it another go in the early hours of the morning to see how freaky it might be. As others have said, the first segment has a naked woman with her abdomen cut open (actually a darn good effect without any noticeable CGI) and an eyeball fished out to signify... I haven't a clue lol. Before this happens some words flash up about the functionality of the brain etc. The movie plays like some nightmare you may have, and doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm all for originality, I found it very interesting, but I don't shock much at all with things that are fabricated, so it could be a bit disturbing for some.

The second scene has a guy who's impregnated his sister planning to kill the unborn baby. He plays with the sperm on his hands as he masturbates later watching her lying in her room. I must say, there is some wonderful music in this section, a lot of it reminiscent of the old Italian horror flicks I've seen. And some of the imagery is quite beautiful, the dialogue also makes some (very dark) sense. The entire act is driven by the incest which took place, and the pregnancy afterwards. There was something very enthralling about it all. Eventually the brother brews a hatred for his sister after experiencing her bleeding. There's certainly some very mature film- making here and Hollywood could never, ever, make something like this. The birth scene is intercut with that of a caught fish and her brother murders the baby as it emerges pulling it out and dripping it's blood in his sister's face. The brother rejoices at his killing a baby "during the process of creation" although given that a baby is created long before this, that point is a little lost. He then puts the dead baby on a shelf and his sister dies. Some mention of necrophilia then is inferred.

I didn't really find any of it shocking. I'm not sure why. It certainly held my attention, but I can see why many would be freaked by this second part. Luckily, not many will ever witness this movie however so not too much to worry about.

Act three has some nude folk seemingly making love to a field (yeah really). The field bleeds too when it's pulled open. Nope, I dunno what that was about. The life within nature maybe? Nothing wrong with a bit of environmentalism, but I'll draw the line at earth sex lol. Some twigs even bleed when broken, while the people lick it up. Maybe it's saying we are vampires sucking the life blood from the planet? Is that what it meant? Duh, I dunno.

Next part opens with a hardcore sex scene (real and in close up) on a screen. Some guy sits masturbating to it. He orgasms, then goes to bed. Here he dreams that his penis is getting pulled apart by fish hooks and blood is flying out with reams of religious imagery and a cross melted down for drugs and injected in his head (yeah I got that bit, religion sure is some people's opium). There's then some jebus like character getting licked and bitten/ cut by naked women (if you believe in this myth you might be insulted) finishing with him getting his entrails ripped out and a naked woman rubbing herself with them. Again, I'm an atheist so water off a ducks back to me. He then seems to come back (like in the other tale) and gets a big stick shoved up his bloody bum. Yeah, I guess they were trying to shock here lol.

Finally the original guy appears bathing in a river which might indicate some kind of rebirth, but the movie finishes with him lying (dead?) in bed with two faces and fangs demonstrating the first concept of the movie about the right and left hemispheres of the brain and their function. Phew, and that's it.

Was it pretentious? Just a little. But it had some fine gore so I might forgive it. Art-Horror, whatever next?

Disgust and brutality

[olcayozfirat · 2/10 · 7 December 2022]

2000 horror movie. It's a seriously perverted brain product. Cutting, mowing, shredding, blood, whatever you look for is there. It competes with its counterparts (see Serbian Film), (see Salo o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) and (see: Gini Piggu). The movie is made up of two separate parts. The first contains incestuous dreams. The second is a mania of a different size. There is a lot of masturbation in both episodes. It is extremely disturbing in two episodes, but especially the first episode is the summit.

There is a lot of sex and nudity in the movie. There is more brutality. Not even a single watch with the family.

Very extreme film.

[HumanoidOfFlesh · 8/10 · 14 November 2004]

"Subconscious Cruelty" has to be one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.Still it's extremely grim and gory at times,so fans of politically correct mainstream horror garbage shouldn't bother.The film mixes many wonderful visuals with plenty of sleaze and gore.It is extremely odd,vicious and disturbing,so fans of bizarre cinema won't be disappointed. My favourite segment from "Subconscious Cruelty" is "Human Larvae" which shows us a twisted relationship between a young man and his pregnant sister.The birthing scene is particularly nasty and not easily forgotten.The last segment "Right Brain/Martyrdom" has to be seen to be believed.It's incredibly harsh and blasphemous with scenes of genital mutilation and grisly torture.We see Jesus Christ captured by three naked females who mutilate him,ripping flesh from his chest,licking a wound on his knee and pissing on him.There is also a Jesus statue with a projection of a swastika on it."Subconscious Cruelty" is a truly memorable film that should be seen by fans of extreme cinema.Check it out.

Religion won't save you, nor will your own family.

[JohnnyG-4 · 7/10 · 14 March 2001]

The dreams of Karim Hussain are to be feared. When the right hemisphere of his characters overpowers the left, shocking images of blood, dismemberment, and various abominations are released. Religion won't save you, nor will mother nature or your own family. Hussain's dark poetry, because that's what this film really is, destabalizes all institutions of sanctuary.

`Subconcious Cruelty' is a current crowd pleaser on the horror\fantasy festival circuit. The film's opening meditation on madness is both well written and profound. The protagonist's desire to profane the birthing process which brought him into the hell he inhabits unfolds with horrific and credible illogic. From here the film continues deeper into the subconcious and tackles mother nature. Hussain offers depictions of lusty pagan fertility and writhing mushroom madness. Nature is exposed as blood-drenched and violent in Hussain's frightening enlightenment.

`Subconcious Cruelty' is disturbing to all and rewarding to those who see past the shock into the mature themes of life, lust and madness this very worthy film explores. CJ Goldman deserves kudos for his special make-up, as do David Kristian for unnerving sound design and Teruhiko Suzuki for score.

Pathetic Amateur Hour

[Dar_Sargent · 1/10 · 2 November 2019]

I came to this film hoping for an atmospheric, dark movie along the lines of Nekromantik and other twisted films. "Subconscious Cruelty" tries hard to be such a film, but it tries way, way too hard and fails pathetically.

"Subconscious Cruelty" is like a 15-year-old boy's concept of a dark movie. The entire film is a montage of scenes that are supposed to be disturbing or gory. Every moment is so in-your-face and trying so desperately hard to impress you that it all feels godawfully phony and amateurish. The ABSOLUTE WORST aspect, however, is the downright dorky and embarrassing narration that doesn't shut up until halfway through the film. Every single line feels like something from a goth teen's deviantart page. The film opens with the line "Reality. (dramatic pause) It traps us in a monotonous deadening cycle." A later scene features a man mugging at the camera as he narrates "Imagery is built on a constant thread of depravity and horror." With the constant droning of these laughably stupid lines, the film is more likely to torment you with secondhand embarrassment instead of horror.

Even if you ignore the narration, everything else is amateurish and eye-rolling too. The filmmakers couldn't come up with any actually-creepy camera shots, so they try to compensate for this in various ways that all fail. The lighting throughout uses garish primary reds & blues, making the film feel like Creepshow or some other uber-campy flick instead of a gritty horror piece. The later parts of the film use spastic MTV-style editing that will annoy you more than anything else. You get lots of extreme closeups to hit you over the head with how spooooky the imagery is supposed to be, when really a more naturalistic approach would be way more impactful. The fourth segment of the film has loads of static and industrial noise screaming over the soundtrack, idiotically ruining any chance of being scary or disturbing.

The film's sexual imagery also just feels like "edgy" teenagers' performance art. The creators seem to think that the sight of phallic objects, some guy blandly doing it, and missionary position sex are totally shocking and mind-blowing. Some moments throw fake blood on the so-called actors, which isn't exactly impressive. It's all too clear that this movie was made by very naive people awkwardly trying to be edgy and dark.

Do yourself a favor and skip this movie. It isn't hit-or-miss, it isn't a cult movie, it isn't shocking, and if you're a gore hound it isn't fun. It's just plain stupid, and it fails on every level. You have better things to do.

The new face of cinema

[jace167 · 27 December 2002]

For all those people who think they have seen it all....boy you will be suprized...Original, daring, brave and intense...this movie delivers....This is art, this is horror, this is reality...this my friends is something that every major picture fears...a smart movie that is new and totally unlike anything before it or in the nature of this movie, nothing after it either. This movie is not for everyone, but the people who want to really criticize this movie, well make a movie of your own!!!! This movie is by far the best movie I have seen in a long while. Fans of David Lynch's earlier works, Nick Zedd, Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch, and Todd Solenz, you have to see this movie...What to say, this movie is awesome....we should all bow down and thank the Infliction Film gods for putting out this awesome film.....we hail your hard work and art...you rule