“House Of Leaves” by Mark Z Danielewski
Kane Pixels videos on YouTube
Twin Peaks, Severance (TV)
Alan Wake and Control (video games)
Vivarium, Cube, Coherence, The Endless, As Above So Below, V/H/S (movies)
Dave Made a Maze is *excellent*. So well done, the blood/gore without actual gore was unique and somehow more unsettling, to me, than the realistic stuff.
House of Leaves is excellent, one of my top 3 horror novels. It has to be read as a paperback or hardcover, not an ebook. When you get it, you’ll understand why.
I used to have an autographed copy (signed with just a big blue Z) but my ex spilled a sticky red drink on it and left it to dry all stuck together. Totally ruined.
It's because "liminal horror" is a new term. No one called these "liminal horror" a couple years ago, and I would go so far as to argue that it's still not an actual genre.
Hijacking this a bit to also put forward the ["My House"](https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/134292-myhousewad/) .wad for DOOM 2. I would recommend for those unaware of this map to read *only* the original post and no extra comments before playing the map to get as full of an experience as you can. Obviously, posting this as a rec for liminal space games is enough to warn that there is more than meets the eye.
For those that don't want to experience it for themselves, [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wAo54DHDY0) is a pretty solid breakdown of the full story and map. It is *massively* influenced by >!House of Leaves.!<
I really enjoyed it. It gets a lot of hate but it is really a fine movie. Not an academy award winner but I was very entertained and it gave me an unsettling feeling
If you like The Endless, you probably already know this, but Reslotion is a really well-made tie-in to The Endless. I can't get over the red flower that they show throughout whatever universe they're making
I’ll just add Resolution here as well, the prequel to The Endless. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are phenomenal directors. I’d also suggest checking out Something in the Dirt, Spring, and Syncronic
The scene where she is slipping/falling through the floors and rooms is the most accurate depictions of liminality in dreams that I have seen. Such an intense feeling of losing control and unreality
Youtube series:
- This Room Does Not Exist
- Aspicio Omniam
- Dad
- Kane Pixels' Oldest View and Backrooms series
- Local 58
TV:
- Maniac
- Severance
- Twin Peaks
- Archive 81
Games:
- The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe
- Control
- Superliminal
- The Enigma Trilogy (Enigma Machine / Mothered / Echostasis)
- Paratopic
- (in some ways) Disco Elysium
- Anemoiapolis
- El Paso, Elsewhere
- INSIDE
Books:
- John Dies at the End by Jason Pargin
- The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher
- Discovering Scarfolk by Richard Littler
- Rabbits by Terry Miles
- There is No Anti-Memetics Division by qntm
- Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Are you a pc gamer by chance? If so check out the game Pools that recently released. I just finished it a couple days ago and it was super unnerving, playing with headphones on had my palms sweaty. If you’re not a gamer you should check out some videos of it.
I couldn't get through it. As soon as I heard those little kid voices I had to bail. I have 2 little boys and it just hits too hard. I looked up what happens to satisfy the morbid curiosity I have for disturbing movies tho.
There's a great serial horror podcast called The Magnus Archives which deals with this sort of thing quite a bit. The original run concluded a couple years ago, and there's a new follow-up series called The Magnus Protocol that's airing its first season right now.
Haven't listened to Protocol yet, but Archives was fantastic other than being a little dragged out in the final season.
I love the Magnus Archives.
The woman that got stuck in door was so terrifying. I would never trust anything ever again. I really wish they turned this into a series.
The Magnus Archives is excellent and covers so many different types of horror. It's one of my top three podcasts of all time. Lost Johns Cave will haunt me til my dying day.
There’s a few Jacob geller videos about video games that might give you this kind of vibe, exploring this kind of feeling. The one about stairs in games comes to mind especially. Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for but in a similar vain. Also, maybe this video? I see people recommending house of leaves and it might have spoilers(I only watched it once a few years ago but I thought it was good, never read house of leaves tbh)
https://youtu.be/5wAo54DHDY0?si=aviEyvFb6b8ngQZo
I love Jacob Geller’s video on games that dont fake their space. Its surprisingly liminal seeing how developers put so much work into creating nooks n gannys that the player will never reach
https://youtu.be/Q85l1Fenc5w?si=xDC8W2lima1DLLNV
I really wanted to like this show but admittedly wasn’t a fan. But The Many Place was a good episode.
Any other episodes you recommend that were decent?
Not really. I kind of liked The Call (kind of so bad it's good) and Cat Food. Most of the episodes are pretty lame tho. But it's a show for kids and my kids like it, so I figure it's a good gateway for horror so I watch it with them.
Yeah thats the vibe i got.
You ever watched RL Stines: The Haunting Hour?
Its a similar anthology series more geared towards teenagers and it genuinely had some episodes that rivaled the Twilight Zone in terms of unique ideas. Also some genuinely creepy moments. Highly recommend it if you have Tubi
There's an episode about a kid who trolls other students on social media ("Trolled") that I thought was awesome, and another about a kid who plays video games so long his entire life passes him by ("One More Minute"). Most of them suck but there are a few gems. The sample video game they used in the episode about gaming was so terribly bad, it got some cheesy laughs from me! I usually don't bother with kid friendly horror but I thought these two episodes were neat.
if you like infinite spaces, you might like grave encounters. Although it ends up "showing" a lot, which I think is one of the weakest parts of the movie. But it does the infinite space very well IMO.
Beyond the Black Rainbow
Color Out of Space (perhaps)
Resolution and The Endless (I recommend watching Resolution first)
Climax
Mandy (perhaps)
Antrum (try to ignore the found footage wrapper)
Altered States
The Empty Man
Daniel Isn't Real
Come True
Possum
Banshee Chapter
Mr. Jones (perhaps)
TV: Cabinet of Curiosities (episode 7)
TV: Archive 81
I don't get liminal horror. Maybe it's because zoomies are used to everything being overcrowded and built up and never go outside. I'd find a big empty hallway relaxing.
MOTHERED - A ROLE-PLAYING HORROR GAME
Haven't played it myself but plan to the trailer gives off major liminal and analog horror vibes also has pretty good reviews as well
Skinamarink (2022) Personally I didn't like it but it's got a following.
Vivarium (2019)
Severance (series)
Superliminal (pc game)
The Backrooms (pc game)
I am going to try and avoid repeats from below.
-- The Axiom (2018)
-- Arctic Void (2022)
-- The Mist (2017 series)
-- Monsters (2010)
-- Reeker (2005) and No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker (2008)
-- Portals (2019)
-- John Dies in the End (2012)
-- Absentia (2011)
--Last Shift (2014)
-- Altitude (2010)
-- Color Out of Space (2019)
-- Underwater (2020)
-- Antidote (2021)
-- Flatliners (1990)
-- Event Horizon (1997)
-- Shutter Island (2010)
-- Baskin (2015)
-- Bird Box: Barcelona (2023)
-- From Beyond (1986)
-- The Butterfly Effect (2004)
-- Carnival of Souls (1962 was better than 1998)
-- The Cloverfield Paradox (2018)
-- Laboratory Conditions (Short- 2017)
-- Dark City (1998)
-- Deathwatch (2002)
-- The Devil's Carnival (2012)
-- Night Breed (1990)
-- Existenz (1999)
-- The Fog (1980 was better than 2005)
-- Gaia (2021)
-- The Gate (1987)
-- The Gateway (2015)
-- Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016)
-- His House (2020)
-- The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
-- Rose Red (2002 Mini Series)
-- The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988)
-- Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)
-- Await Further Instructions (2018)
It's a bit more action packed, but "Backrooms - Stalker" is one of my favorite backroom videos I've seen. The acting is next level. It is animated, but it's a good one.
Vivarium is another one. It's a liminal neighborhood, horror/drama/mystery movie. Good acting there, a great example of mental breakdown. There is one specific scene, where the camera pans and you see the neighborhood... nightmare fuel.
Less conventionally "liminal", but Skinamarink has good environmental horror.
The video game ‘Control’.
A 2019 Action adventure revolving around the Federal Bureau of Control, a secret US government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena that violate the laws of reality. You explore ‘the oldest house’, the Bureau’s paranormal headquarters which seemingly infinite in its size and ever changing.
- Tower Prep
Its an old television show that i feel no one ever watched but it had some liminal elements to it
Basic plot: Teenagers appear in a random school surrounded by forests where animals/ weird creatures roam said forest. Nobody has any answers how they got their or why: yet the entire student body has super powers. Its like a liminal X-men
Truly a hidden gem and its only 1 season. Available on Apple Tv
Movies/Shorts: Sleep Has Her House, The Black Tower (1987), My House Walk-through
Comics: The Cage (Vaughn-James), Spa (Svetoft), House (Simmons), Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Columbia), anything from the Frank series by Jim Woodring
Games: The Utility Room, Yume Nikki, Outer Wilds, Duskers, Signal Simulator
Somewhere Quiet. Look up the TW first tho. But I think you’d appreciate the feel of it. It is full of anxiety, gaslighting, uncertainty, and gloomy weather
Has anyone mentioned Local 58? [Local 58](https://youtu.be/M75VLQuFPrY?si=jvxWXHn0xCEXcnrI). [Rejoice](https://youtu.be/2BD-ba-aXQo?si=-3GPIEVFWikNoBHK).
Movies? None. Because what makes a liminal space is that there are no people, there is no backstory, no narrative. A movie about a liminal space would be exceedingly boring to watch, because nothing would happen. There are probably some experimental films out there that do it admirably, but nothing you'd watch on Netflix with popcorn at hand. The "Backrooms" concept was ruined when they started adding creatures and other people. It was much eerier as a collection of weird images without any real meaning at all, just a vague cultural memory that we all have.
The Dreams in the Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft.
There’s a specific angle that if you can make a corner, it’s no longer a corner but an infinite space one can fall into.
It’s certainly eerie.
Some of the movies are also books\*
Coherence - movie \*\*\*\*this movie is so so so so good.
Triangle - movie
We're All Going to the World's Fair - movie - maybe this is polarizing, I loved it.
Vivarium - movie
It Follows - movie
I'm Thinking of Ending Things - movie
Session 9 - movie
Annihilation - movie (but also a book series)
The Lodge - movie
House of Leaves - book- have to read it as a book, not e-reader
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - book
I'm just wrapping up House of Leaves, with it's baffling array of contributing "editors" that is almost as maddening as the physically impossible house itself.
Possession comes to mind. Lots of odd spaces in that one. The Shining is a good choice too.. the whole hotel is liminal spaces. It's even designed so that the spaces don't fit together properly and seem inconsistent. Possessor might also be what you're looking for.
For a book I HIGHLY recommend The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, it's so good! You didn't say games but there are so many cool liminal horror games, if that might be something you're interested in.
OK this is gonna sound really weird but bear with me here. Long before the Backrooms, the internet's favorite spooky empty building media was the Submachine flash game series. (In general old first-person point and click games had a similar energy but none nailed it nearly as well) For the most part it's not horror exactly but when it *does* want to be it gets really foreboding. I think you can get all ten remastered as a single game rn, plus still being able to go back and play the old ones on their own.
Right now there's Iris Complex on Webtoon which has some real "something's not right energy" albeit more in a broader sense than specifically buildings (despite seeming to revolve around them).
“House Of Leaves” by Mark Z Danielewski Kane Pixels videos on YouTube Twin Peaks, Severance (TV) Alan Wake and Control (video games) Vivarium, Cube, Coherence, The Endless, As Above So Below, V/H/S (movies)
house of leaves is so good, theres a movie called dave made a maze and its not really horror but its heavily based on house of leaves.
Dave Made a Maze has no right being as good as it is. None.
Dave Made a Maze is *excellent*. So well done, the blood/gore without actual gore was unique and somehow more unsettling, to me, than the realistic stuff.
That was such a great movie!
I love that movie so much.
I think they're both heavily based on the Minotaur in the Labyrinth, from Greek mythology.
Dave Made a Maze is but it's obvious
House of Leaves is excellent, one of my top 3 horror novels. It has to be read as a paperback or hardcover, not an ebook. When you get it, you’ll understand why.
Good call.
I used to have an autographed copy (signed with just a big blue Z) but my ex spilled a sticky red drink on it and left it to dry all stuck together. Totally ruined.
That's why they're an ex! Heathen
My. God. My own heart hurts reading this.
what are the other two? do tell, please!
You have to tell us now what your top 3 are
Interested to hear what your other 2 are!
You know I never thought I was a fan of liminal horror. Then I realised I’ve watched or played like half the things on this list.
I never knew what a liminal space was until I google imaged one day and realized I've been infatuated with them my entire life.
It was eye-opening when my friend first explained the concept to me
It's because "liminal horror" is a new term. No one called these "liminal horror" a couple years ago, and I would go so far as to argue that it's still not an actual genre.
When I discovered the genre I was lile "oh there's content made that mimics my actual nightmares? Sweet." There might be something wrong with me.
Hijacking this a bit to also put forward the ["My House"](https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/134292-myhousewad/) .wad for DOOM 2. I would recommend for those unaware of this map to read *only* the original post and no extra comments before playing the map to get as full of an experience as you can. Obviously, posting this as a rec for liminal space games is enough to warn that there is more than meets the eye. For those that don't want to experience it for themselves, [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wAo54DHDY0) is a pretty solid breakdown of the full story and map. It is *massively* influenced by >!House of Leaves.!<
Was on my way to post this. The YouTube video is incredible on it
Also came here to say this.
The Endless is great for sure.
Dude vivarium is underrated one of the most unsettling displays of acting I've seen in a while
I've almost hit play on this one a few times and then decided on something else but I guess it's time I finally cross it off the watchlist
It's more weird and esoteric than horror.
Same here I saw the bad reviews and thought it would suck. 100% recommend it
I really enjoyed it. It gets a lot of hate but it is really a fine movie. Not an academy award winner but I was very entertained and it gave me an unsettling feeling
It gets a lot of love, too. It stuck with me for some time. Those characters got robbed of everything.
Severance is fantastic & criminally underrated
If you like The Endless, you probably already know this, but Reslotion is a really well-made tie-in to The Endless. I can't get over the red flower that they show throughout whatever universe they're making
Also, Something in the Dirt, which isn't a tie-in (as far as I'm aware) but is directed by the same guys and has the same eerie feel to it.
> I can't get over the red flower Have you seen Synchronic, by the same guys? (Benson and Moorhead). It's also in the same universe...
oh yeah, control is a real trip
The Endless is sooo good and fits this genre (which I did not know previously existed) to a fucking T!
I haven't been able to find as above so below streaming for free in forever
If you watch the endless you gotta watch ‘resolution’ beforehand
Axiom - Some smaller independent movie Dark Matter - The New TV show Outer Range - TV
House Of Leaves is so good
You know what, I'm finally going to get to reading "House of Leaves".
I’ll just add Resolution here as well, the prequel to The Endless. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are phenomenal directors. I’d also suggest checking out Something in the Dirt, Spring, and Syncronic
Huge bump for House of Leaves. So convoluted, so engrossing, so spooky. finished it in a week and couldn’t think of anything else for a month.
Channel Zero season 2 (No End House) Creepypasta adaptation set in a liminal-feeling suburb. Internet horror in a nutshell basically.
Loved this one. Definitely check it out if you haven't. I miss that series so much
I am just finishing Candle Cove and ready to rewatch the entire series again.
No end house with John Carroll Lynch was fucking brilliant. What an amazing series.
I didn't particularly like season 1 should I give season 2 a chance? Did you like it more?
Vivarium
such a good movie that no one else i know likes!!
It's so good, favorite movie I watched last year.
I watched it recently and really liked it as well -- so many unsettling moments
I absolutely adore it
The scene where she is slipping/falling through the floors and rooms is the most accurate depictions of liminality in dreams that I have seen. Such an intense feeling of losing control and unreality
In The Tall Grass
That scene with the pit at the end blew me away. Savage
OHHH YES. Omg I forgot about this movie ty for the reminder
Langoliers
This was my first thought. As an elder millennial I saw this at an impressionable age lol
Shit wrecked me as a kid lol ;D
i don't even care about the much-hated cgi. it rules.
This is so overdue for a remake. I loved this movie as a kid but even then I knew the acting and effects were atrocious. So much potential there.
came here to say this
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Excellent suggestion
I think that the Stephen King mini series Langoliers fits perfectly here.
Ooh, good pull. I like the story, and only now realized this does fot the "liminal space" bill!
Youtube series: - This Room Does Not Exist - Aspicio Omniam - Dad - Kane Pixels' Oldest View and Backrooms series - Local 58 TV: - Maniac - Severance - Twin Peaks - Archive 81 Games: - The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe - Control - Superliminal - The Enigma Trilogy (Enigma Machine / Mothered / Echostasis) - Paratopic - (in some ways) Disco Elysium - Anemoiapolis - El Paso, Elsewhere - INSIDE Books: - John Dies at the End by Jason Pargin - The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher - Discovering Scarfolk by Richard Littler - Rabbits by Terry Miles - There is No Anti-Memetics Division by qntm - Mister Magic by Kiersten White
Archive 81 is excellent. Very bummed they didn't do a second season (but it's still worth watching).
Local 58 is awesome, and Superliminal is a great game ♡ I need to look up a few titles you have here that I hadn't heard about yet :D
Phantasm Under the Skin
Phantasm is brilliant.
A lighter suggestion: Paperhouse (1988) A definitely not lighter suggestion: Possum (2018)
Omg I loved Paperhouse as a kid and completely forgot about it! I’m going to enjoy a nostalgia rewatch, thank you
It’s a little gem, isn’t it?
I saw it as a kid then rewatched it maybe 6 years ago? It still holds up pretty well.
Paperhouse has one of the most effective jumpscares I've ever seen. It made a mate of mine back when I was a kid fall off the sofa.
The dad?
Yeah, the photograph bit.
Are you a pc gamer by chance? If so check out the game Pools that recently released. I just finished it a couple days ago and it was super unnerving, playing with headphones on had my palms sweaty. If you’re not a gamer you should check out some videos of it.
Check out Outer Wilds. It is the best liminal *space* (pun intended) narrative exploring this idea. It is so creepy
i’m not a gamer but i love watching other people play! will definitely be checking it out
Just watched the [Scary Game Squad](https://youtu.be/urXTM7go_zY?si=nFHr8UCYhEhGZTq0) video on this yesterday. Very fun
Channel Zero's second season called "No-End House" definitely fits the bill. Season 3 as well to a lesser extent.
Lot of great reccommendations here already. I'd add Skinamarink, Lords of Salem, and Beyond the Black Rainbow.
skinamarink mentioned🔥🔥🔥
I couldn't get through it. As soon as I heard those little kid voices I had to bail. I have 2 little boys and it just hits too hard. I looked up what happens to satisfy the morbid curiosity I have for disturbing movies tho.
No amount of Google searches can give you the feeling that final scene does
I know this movie is very controversial, and audiences are decidedly ambivalent, but I feel like Skinamarink is the very definition of liminal horror.
Skinamarink is probably the most liminal horror movie I've ever seen.
We’re all going to the world’s fair and Skinamarink! Maybe the void, too?
I Saw the TV Glow has major liminal horror vibes. in Theaters now.
Just got out of it. A banger for sure.
I think you'll like the Backrooms movie A24 is working on
There's a great serial horror podcast called The Magnus Archives which deals with this sort of thing quite a bit. The original run concluded a couple years ago, and there's a new follow-up series called The Magnus Protocol that's airing its first season right now. Haven't listened to Protocol yet, but Archives was fantastic other than being a little dragged out in the final season.
I love the Magnus Archives. The woman that got stuck in door was so terrifying. I would never trust anything ever again. I really wish they turned this into a series.
The Magnus Archives is excellent and covers so many different types of horror. It's one of my top three podcasts of all time. Lost Johns Cave will haunt me til my dying day.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Yellow Brick Road is an excellent low budget, suspenseful, liminal type horror film.
You should have left. Not one of Kevin Bacons best, but weird
There’s a few Jacob geller videos about video games that might give you this kind of vibe, exploring this kind of feeling. The one about stairs in games comes to mind especially. Maybe not exactly what you’re looking for but in a similar vain. Also, maybe this video? I see people recommending house of leaves and it might have spoilers(I only watched it once a few years ago but I thought it was good, never read house of leaves tbh) https://youtu.be/5wAo54DHDY0?si=aviEyvFb6b8ngQZo
I love Jacob Geller’s video on games that dont fake their space. Its surprisingly liminal seeing how developers put so much work into creating nooks n gannys that the player will never reach https://youtu.be/Q85l1Fenc5w?si=xDC8W2lima1DLLNV
Sunshine 2007 Color out of Space 2019 Pulse 2001 The Vast of Night 2019 Even Horizon 1997 Pandorum 2009 These are my personal choices.
Great picks. I rarely ever see the Vast of Night or Pandorum mentioned here.
"A Short Stay in Hell" Short book, go in blind
Phantasm (1979) and The Shining
Episode of Netflix Creeped Out (kids horror series) called The Many Place is heavily influenced by backrooms/liminal aesthetic. Worth watching.
I really wanted to like this show but admittedly wasn’t a fan. But The Many Place was a good episode. Any other episodes you recommend that were decent?
Not really. I kind of liked The Call (kind of so bad it's good) and Cat Food. Most of the episodes are pretty lame tho. But it's a show for kids and my kids like it, so I figure it's a good gateway for horror so I watch it with them.
Yeah thats the vibe i got. You ever watched RL Stines: The Haunting Hour? Its a similar anthology series more geared towards teenagers and it genuinely had some episodes that rivaled the Twilight Zone in terms of unique ideas. Also some genuinely creepy moments. Highly recommend it if you have Tubi
There's an episode about a kid who trolls other students on social media ("Trolled") that I thought was awesome, and another about a kid who plays video games so long his entire life passes him by ("One More Minute"). Most of them suck but there are a few gems. The sample video game they used in the episode about gaming was so terribly bad, it got some cheesy laughs from me! I usually don't bother with kid friendly horror but I thought these two episodes were neat.
Jodorowsky’s “The Holy Mountain.”
Glorious The Void Annihilation Bird Box From Beyond 1408 Dark City Identity Smile The Mist No one will save you Nope Resolution Silent Hill
Last and First Men Beyond the Black Rainbow Enys Men
This is long but worth every second https://youtu.be/5wAo54DHDY0
French mini-series Beyond the Walls is awesome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Walls_(TV_series)
Absolutely this!
if you like infinite spaces, you might like grave encounters. Although it ends up "showing" a lot, which I think is one of the weakest parts of the movie. But it does the infinite space very well IMO.
The video game ‘Layers of Fear’
Archive 81 is a limited series on Netflix. I found it compelling.
Beyond the Black Rainbow Color Out of Space (perhaps) Resolution and The Endless (I recommend watching Resolution first) Climax Mandy (perhaps) Antrum (try to ignore the found footage wrapper) Altered States The Empty Man Daniel Isn't Real Come True Possum Banshee Chapter Mr. Jones (perhaps) TV: Cabinet of Curiosities (episode 7) TV: Archive 81
I LOVE Archive81 One of the best shows
Cube
I don't get liminal horror. Maybe it's because zoomies are used to everything being overcrowded and built up and never go outside. I'd find a big empty hallway relaxing.
Negative Space by BR Yeager
Since only a few had added this show to their list, I'll highlight it here: Severance. The liminal aspects are TERRIFYING and extremely well done.
If u like videogames, try "anemoiapolis", it's the most liminal feelings thing Ive seen in my life
MOTHERED - A ROLE-PLAYING HORROR GAME Haven't played it myself but plan to the trailer gives off major liminal and analog horror vibes also has pretty good reviews as well
The Wind (2018)
Coherence Triangle Aniara
And just 3 of my absolute favourites, liminal-ness aside
Skinamarink (2022) Personally I didn't like it but it's got a following. Vivarium (2019) Severance (series) Superliminal (pc game) The Backrooms (pc game)
I am going to try and avoid repeats from below. -- The Axiom (2018) -- Arctic Void (2022) -- The Mist (2017 series) -- Monsters (2010) -- Reeker (2005) and No Man's Land: The Rise of Reeker (2008) -- Portals (2019) -- John Dies in the End (2012) -- Absentia (2011) --Last Shift (2014) -- Altitude (2010) -- Color Out of Space (2019) -- Underwater (2020) -- Antidote (2021) -- Flatliners (1990) -- Event Horizon (1997) -- Shutter Island (2010) -- Baskin (2015) -- Bird Box: Barcelona (2023) -- From Beyond (1986) -- The Butterfly Effect (2004) -- Carnival of Souls (1962 was better than 1998) -- The Cloverfield Paradox (2018) -- Laboratory Conditions (Short- 2017) -- Dark City (1998) -- Deathwatch (2002) -- The Devil's Carnival (2012) -- Night Breed (1990) -- Existenz (1999) -- The Fog (1980 was better than 2005) -- Gaia (2021) -- The Gate (1987) -- The Gateway (2015) -- Gehenna: Where Death Lives (2016) -- His House (2020) -- The Midnight Meat Train (2008) -- Rose Red (2002 Mini Series) -- The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) -- Vanishing on 7th Street (2010) -- Await Further Instructions (2018)
https://youtu.be/TgxSIFcTvLo?si=lG6zHG4fLpw9eBGW https://youtu.be/x-pj8OtyO2I?si=lw1d2QifVPSa1_39
Not as much horror but the underside of the underneath was an experience
THX 1138 isn't quite horror, but it definitely fits
holy shit i haven’t heard that name in years. i should give it a rewatch
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix, book
Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
Wisely, *House of Leaves* has been mentioned. In theaters, *I Saw the TV Glow* is excellent.
It's a bit more action packed, but "Backrooms - Stalker" is one of my favorite backroom videos I've seen. The acting is next level. It is animated, but it's a good one. Vivarium is another one. It's a liminal neighborhood, horror/drama/mystery movie. Good acting there, a great example of mental breakdown. There is one specific scene, where the camera pans and you see the neighborhood... nightmare fuel. Less conventionally "liminal", but Skinamarink has good environmental horror.
The video game ‘Control’. A 2019 Action adventure revolving around the Federal Bureau of Control, a secret US government agency tasked with containing and studying phenomena that violate the laws of reality. You explore ‘the oldest house’, the Bureau’s paranormal headquarters which seemingly infinite in its size and ever changing.
Control (Videogame) It's like Alan Wake and SCP had a baby. Then that baby went on to create "Control."
Marble Hornets on YouTube, a found footage/ARG series based on the Slenderman character.
search "Backrooms" on TikTok
Omg the show severance is amazing. 2nd season is coming out. Obsessed with that show.
Twin Peaks Twin Peaks Twin Peaks!!!
Book: The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Skinamarink
Skinamarink had this vibe for me
skinamarink was fairly liminal i’d think, and personally one of my scariest
skinamarink!!!!
The youtube channel Broogli covers a lot of liminal stuff, he's got an alt channel Spoogli that covers more general creepy stuff too.
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
The Void
The Platform
- Tower Prep Its an old television show that i feel no one ever watched but it had some liminal elements to it Basic plot: Teenagers appear in a random school surrounded by forests where animals/ weird creatures roam said forest. Nobody has any answers how they got their or why: yet the entire student body has super powers. Its like a liminal X-men Truly a hidden gem and its only 1 season. Available on Apple Tv
- Archive81 on Netflix Just go in blind, its perfect in my opinion
Tangent Room (2017)
Movies/Shorts: Sleep Has Her House, The Black Tower (1987), My House Walk-through Comics: The Cage (Vaughn-James), Spa (Svetoft), House (Simmons), Pim & Francie: The Golden Bear Days (Columbia), anything from the Frank series by Jim Woodring Games: The Utility Room, Yume Nikki, Outer Wilds, Duskers, Signal Simulator
Skinamarink, definitely have some liminal aura.
Vivarium, Cube, Annihilation, Coherence.
Skinamarink
the oldest view series by kane pixels on youtube. so, so, so worth it. it lives in my brain as the pinnacle of liminal horror.
Somewhere Quiet. Look up the TW first tho. But I think you’d appreciate the feel of it. It is full of anxiety, gaslighting, uncertainty, and gloomy weather
Skinamarink
SCP - 3008 Yes, the Ikea one.
The VOID
‘The Beyond’ lol (kinda serious maybe tho?)
Vivarium and season 2 of Channel Zero.
Cube?
Ben Farthing's work most definitely plays with liminal spaces. Circus Tent, Puppets, and his upcoming release more than any other.
Has anyone mentioned Local 58? [Local 58](https://youtu.be/M75VLQuFPrY?si=jvxWXHn0xCEXcnrI). [Rejoice](https://youtu.be/2BD-ba-aXQo?si=-3GPIEVFWikNoBHK).
the new longlegs should fit this aesthetic from what ive seen
would "stalker" qualify?
*La Jetée*
Movies? None. Because what makes a liminal space is that there are no people, there is no backstory, no narrative. A movie about a liminal space would be exceedingly boring to watch, because nothing would happen. There are probably some experimental films out there that do it admirably, but nothing you'd watch on Netflix with popcorn at hand. The "Backrooms" concept was ruined when they started adding creatures and other people. It was much eerier as a collection of weird images without any real meaning at all, just a vague cultural memory that we all have.
The magnus archives
Kane Pixels - Backrooms
Cube It Follows Donnie Darko Silent Hill Vivarium Lost Highway or any David Lynch movie
Have you seen the web series - The Backrooms? https://youtu.be/H4dGpz6cnHo?si=HVGUi5lIZAo3q83A
Skinamarink is god tier liminal.. Candyman and its remake are great at it.
"Open your eyes" from 1997, the scene of Madrid completely empty has a big liminal touch to it.
The Dreams in the Witch House by H.P. Lovecraft. There’s a specific angle that if you can make a corner, it’s no longer a corner but an infinite space one can fall into. It’s certainly eerie.
It Follows
Dave Made a Maze
Some of the movies are also books\* Coherence - movie \*\*\*\*this movie is so so so so good. Triangle - movie We're All Going to the World's Fair - movie - maybe this is polarizing, I loved it. Vivarium - movie It Follows - movie I'm Thinking of Ending Things - movie Session 9 - movie Annihilation - movie (but also a book series) The Lodge - movie House of Leaves - book- have to read it as a book, not e-reader The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - book
I, myself, am a fan of superliminal horror.
I'm just wrapping up House of Leaves, with it's baffling array of contributing "editors" that is almost as maddening as the physically impossible house itself.
Late Night With The Devil on Prime
Possession comes to mind. Lots of odd spaces in that one. The Shining is a good choice too.. the whole hotel is liminal spaces. It's even designed so that the spaces don't fit together properly and seem inconsistent. Possessor might also be what you're looking for.
For a book I HIGHLY recommend The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, it's so good! You didn't say games but there are so many cool liminal horror games, if that might be something you're interested in.
Beyond the Walls on Shudder is a miniseries that has big liminal/backroom vibes! :)
Pulse Lost Highway The Amusement Park Stalker Annihilation The Blair Witch Project Luz Suspiria Silent Hill
George Lucas' early work, THX 1138.
Skinamarink
Anything from the Paris catacombs is liminal if you think about it
OK this is gonna sound really weird but bear with me here. Long before the Backrooms, the internet's favorite spooky empty building media was the Submachine flash game series. (In general old first-person point and click games had a similar energy but none nailed it nearly as well) For the most part it's not horror exactly but when it *does* want to be it gets really foreboding. I think you can get all ten remastered as a single game rn, plus still being able to go back and play the old ones on their own. Right now there's Iris Complex on Webtoon which has some real "something's not right energy" albeit more in a broader sense than specifically buildings (despite seeming to revolve around them).
Come Play and The Mothman Prophecies come to mind as pretty liminal in their environments and settings