Begotten: The Cinematic Nightmare That Will Haunt You

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for the film Begotten.

You know that kind of movie that not only leaves you uncomfortable but sticks in your mind, making you think about it for days? Well, begotten is exactly that. It's not a movie in the conventional sense; it's almost like a nightmare recorded on film.

Directed by E. Elias Merhige, Begotten was released in 1990, and since then, it’s been one of those films that you either love or hate but no one leaves it indifferent. It's dark, strange, and forces you to face something primal and uncomfortable.

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What Is Begotten?

If I had to sum it up, I would say that Begotten is an experience. It has no dialogue, soundtrack, or linear story. The film is in black and white, with such a grainy, worn-out aesthetic that it feels like something found in a chest buried for centuries, creating an almost ancient, relic-like feeling.

It all begins with a figure called “Weakened God,” who is in an agonizing state, mutilating herself to death. This moment of visual agony is terrifying and makes the viewer feel trapped in the suffering. Then, “Mother Earth” emerges, giving birth to a figure that seems to represent humanity or something divine. From there, the film follows a sequence of disturbing scenes, with mutilated bodies and desolate landscapes, full of symbolism and suffering.

It’s hard to say that Begotten is trying to tell a story. It throws images and ideas at you and leaves you to piece them together. Or not.

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What Is This Film Trying to Say?

That’s the question that keeps echoing in your mind after you finish watching. For me, Begotten is about the cycles of life: creation, destruction, pain, and rebirth. It's like an allegory, but without a guidebook. The brutality of the images and the connection to religious myths and symbols create a symbolic weight that reflects the duality of life  painful creation and the suffering inherent in human existence.

The director was inspired by religious myths and symbols, so there’s a nearly ritualistic vibe. God agonizes to make way for creation, but this creation is doomed to suffer. It feels brutal, but also very human, you know?

What I liked the most was that the film doesn’t hold your hand. It leaves you lost in the chaos and forces you to find your own meaning.

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My Experience Watching Begotten

Now, I’ll be honest: Begotten is not an easy film to watch. The grainy aesthetic and slow movements gave me a sense of claustrophobia, as if I were trapped inside a never-ending nightmare. The film's pacing, in no rush to reveal its horrors, makes you feel consumed by your own anxiety. It bothered me, but it was also what made the film so unique.

What struck me the most was how it creates discomfort slowly and steadily. It's not a horror film with jump scares or monsters, but the kind of discomfort that grows inside you without you noticing. And when you do, it’s too late. The bizarre images, like God’s disfigured body or the slow, almost ritualistic movements of the human figures, stay with you in a strange way, as if not fully understood but deeply felt.

Additionally, I admit that at first, I had trouble understanding what was happening. I really had to watch a few brief reviews about the beginning of the film to get oriented haha because the first scenes are so visceral and disconnected that they can leave you feeling disoriented. But once you get the rhythm of the film, the experience becomes even more intense.

This approach, different from conventional horror films, is what really won me over. Begotten doesn’t want to scare you; it wants to make you feel small, fragile, and lost.

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Why Watch It?

If you like films that push you out of your comfort zone and leave you with more questions than answers, Begotten is an experience worth having. But I’ll warn you: it’s not for everyone. It’s dark, disturbing, and pretty difficult to watch.

Now, the question remains: would you watch it?