Subconscious Cruelty
Encyclopedia
Subconscious Cruelty is an independent film written and directed by Karim Hussain
and produced by Mitch Davis. It was filmed over a long period of time, from February 1994 to December 1999, and debuted at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
in Sitges
, Spain
on October 12, 2000. The film went on to screen at several other festivals, including the Stockholm International Film Festival
and Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival before being released on DVD on April 18, 2005.
of the mid-1990s, a time when heroin usage was prevalent and nihilism
was gaining acceptance in the art world, would be accepting of his film. Influences for the film include works by Alexandro Jodorowsky, Luis Buñuel
, Dušan Makavejev
, David Lynch
, David Cronenberg
and others.
The filmmaking process was beset by various problems, including the disappearance of the film negative
in a financial dispute, forcing Hussain to hand-cut the positive
of the film without knowing if he would ever re-gain the negative. Another setback occurred when Hussain was stopped at the Canadian
border after a business trip to the United States. Canadian customs
officials inspected the film, and, appalled by its content, confiscated it as illegally obscene
material. As a result, the original stock had to be hidden for a long period of time.
As the film toured various festivals, it gained a cult following that led to Davis and Hussain seeking out a DVD distributor. The film was first produced on DVD in Japan in 2001, and later in several European countries and Canada in 2006.
considered it "a film suffused with images that incite thoughts, many of which would be considered unhealthy in any artistic medium", while some other independent critics considered it "the most amateurish cinematic junk I have ever seen...".
is available in PAL
format, notable since it is a Canadian-made film and NTSC
format is traditionally used in North America. It includes an hour-long "making of" documentary
, as well as the short film Divided Into Zero, directed by Mitch Davis.
Karim Hussain
Karim Hussain is a Canadian screenwriter, director and cinematographer. He is best known for his 2000 film Subconscious Cruelty, and as co-writer of Nacho Cerda's The Abandoned....
and produced by Mitch Davis. It was filmed over a long period of time, from February 1994 to December 1999, and debuted at the Festival de Cine de Sitges
Festival de Cine de Sitges
The Sitges Film Festival is a Spanish film festival that is one of the most recognizable ones held in Europe, considered the world's foremost international festival specializing in fantasy and horror movies...
in Sitges
Sitges
*Church of Sant Bartolomeu i Santa Tecla . It houses two Gothic sepulchres , belonging to the an older church located on the same site...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
on October 12, 2000. The film went on to screen at several other festivals, including the Stockholm International Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...
and Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival before being released on DVD on April 18, 2005.
Plot
the movie is based on a several nihilistic and metaphorical stories about life, death and everything between.History and development
Hussain began filming Subconscious Cruelty at the age of 19 after connecting with 22-year-old Davis, a producer whom Hussain knew to believe in the project. Hussain felt that the subcultureSubculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
of the mid-1990s, a time when heroin usage was prevalent and nihilism
Nihilism
Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value...
was gaining acceptance in the art world, would be accepting of his film. Influences for the film include works by Alexandro Jodorowsky, Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
, Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev is a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
and others.
The filmmaking process was beset by various problems, including the disappearance of the film negative
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
in a financial dispute, forcing Hussain to hand-cut the positive
Transparency (photography)
In photography, a reversal film is a type of photographic film that produces a positive image on a transparent base. Also known as dias or slide. The film is processed to produce transparencies or diapositives instead of negatives and prints...
of the film without knowing if he would ever re-gain the negative. Another setback occurred when Hussain was stopped at the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
border after a business trip to the United States. Canadian customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
officials inspected the film, and, appalled by its content, confiscated it as illegally obscene
Obscenity
An obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious...
material. As a result, the original stock had to be hidden for a long period of time.
As the film toured various festivals, it gained a cult following that led to Davis and Hussain seeking out a DVD distributor. The film was first produced on DVD in Japan in 2001, and later in several European countries and Canada in 2006.
Cast
- Sophie Lauzière – Woman On Slab
- Brea Asher – Sister
- Ivaylo Founev – Brother
- Christopher Piggins – Businessman/Doppelganger
- Eric Pettigrew – Martyr
- Martine Viale – Attacker
Critical reception
Subconscious Cruelty received mixed reviews by mostly non-mainstream critics. Since the film was not released in the US market, traditional critics of English-language films did not see or comment on it. Known establishments such as FangoriaFangoria
Fangoria is an American magazine devoted to horror and exploitation films, which has a number of associated brands:* Fangoria Comics* Fangoria Films* Fangoria RadioFangoria may also refer to:* Fangoria , a Spanish electro pop band...
considered it "a film suffused with images that incite thoughts, many of which would be considered unhealthy in any artistic medium", while some other independent critics considered it "the most amateurish cinematic junk I have ever seen...".
DVD
The DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
is available in PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
format, notable since it is a Canadian-made film and NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
format is traditionally used in North America. It includes an hour-long "making of" documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, as well as the short film Divided Into Zero, directed by Mitch Davis.