Wow! My first NSFW post! I'm a big boy now!
I can't do E.E. Merhige's Begotten (1989). It's not the imagery I've seen, per se: stills from the film don't disturb me enough to look away and I'm not a fan of gore. I'm fairly certain of how much he's getting away with the purposely degraded, B&W imagery like that—look at how far Hitchcock got using Bosco in Psycho. No, I think it's the combination of the imagery of the seemingly infinite self-immolation coupled with the Foley, that particular walking-through-deep-mud sucking-and-squishing.
I might have gotten through 15 minutes before I had to shut it down. I never even made it to the second scene. I can't do Begotten…can you?
Bonus link: Merhige's Din Of Celestial Birds (2006), the sequel to Begotten and apparently the second in a trilogy. David Lynch fans should notice a more-than-passing similarity between Din of Celestial Birds and the eighth episode of Twin Peaks: The Return (2019). A veritable 69 of inspiration!
Super Bonus Link: Stateless: E. Elias Merhige—an interview with our spotlighted director with clips from the absolutely beautiful Polia & Blastema. I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much we are in sync regarding cinema.
Epilepsy warning!: in both links there may be flashing video which may trigger reflex seizures. If you are sensitive to flashing lights and/or suffer from reflex seizures, please do not follow the links for your own good. See, The King cares. 🫶
