Begotten

Begotten is an experimental American horror and fantasy film built around a creation myth. A god-like figure dies violently by his own hand in a barren place, and from his body a woman, Mother Earth, emerges and conceives a child. She gives birth to a deformed being known as the Son of Earth, and the two wander a desolate landscape, where they encounter faceless nomads who first revere the strange creature and then turn on mother and child. The film unfolds almost entirely without dialogue, as a series of stark, largely visual sequences.

E. Elias Merhige wrote, produced and directed the film, which was his first feature and preceded Shadow of the Vampire and Suspect Zero. Brian Salzburg plays God Killing Himself, Donna Dempsey plays Mother Earth and Stephen Charles Barry plays the Son of Earth. Its imagery and near-silent style give it a distinctive place among early 1990s independent cinema.

On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6 out of 10 from 376 votes, while a film critics' rating of 6.2 out of 10 comes from 10 reviews, so critical and audience responses sit close together.