Half snuff film, half exploitative grindhouse

Hated (USA, 1993, Skinny Nervous Guy Productions) is a great documentary the way that The Godfather Part II is a great movie or Moby Dick is a great book. They illustrate a story of a man weighed down by the unrealistic bonds of the world. Mired in drug addiction and multiple criminal convictions, performance artist GG Allin found a core audience just as intense and debauched as himself. This film, grainy, and achromatic, shows half snuff film and half exploitative grindhouse. Available on YouTube and DVD.

Conan the Barbarian (USA, 1982, Universal) is my favorite sword-and-sorcery movie ever. It involves revenge, swords, the occult, gore, and shape-shifting wrapped in a thunderous proto-doom metal soundtrack. So it’s the perfect stimulus for my 11-year-old mind. Filled with ominously named objects like the wheel of pain, the tree of woe, and the riddle of steel, the film never fails at allowing me to gaze into a ruthless land ruled by death and unforgiving gods. Available on Amazon Video and Vudu.

— Sam Lopez, Stay Strange music curator