by Attack Ships on Fire » Wed Aug 23, 2006 4:36 pm
Just wanted to add my two cents on what constitutes a horror film.<br><br>I believe that "horror" is a catchism of a wide spectrum of a genre, for this discussion specifically feature films. Classifying a movie like "Poltergeist" and "The Silence of the Lambs" side-by-side does a disservice to the filmmakers and their intent; it's like saying all romance movies are the same, or all documentaries, science fiction, etc. There's shlock horror, explotative horror, psychological horror, futuristic horror, themetic horror, revulsion horror (gore), hell, even dark comedic horror (Evil Dead 2, anyone?) One person's horror movie is to another individual utter crap or one of their most-loved treasures.<br><br>Compare a film like the original "Halloween" to the original "Friday the 13th"; my thoughts are that Carpenter's "Halloween" rose to become something a little greater than an explotive piece of entertainment meant to scare teenagers; it's a little classier, better filmed, better acted and better presented than F13. I also rate the original "Alien" far higher on my list than the first "Halloween", and I would daresay that "Alien" is one of the defining movies produced during the past 50 years of cinema, especially in the wider genre of escapism (sci-fi, horror, fantasy, action-adventure).<br><br>A film like "Seven", which contains very graphic and disturbing imagery and situations, to me, isn't explotative like something along the lines of "Wrong Turn" or "The Hitcher". "Seven" even goes so far as to make some comments about our society, the nature of evil and how little many of us may feel we contribute to stop bad things from happening. Then, if you want to twist things even further in perspective, look at George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" film; steeped in gore (it was released unrated!), full of graphic scenes of zombies devouring human flesh, entrails and organs, and yet it's hailed as an allegory about consumerism and materialism. I enjoy it on both levels.<br><br>Does my liking of watching zombies feast on human flesh mean I'm a sick person? I'll argue that it doesn't. At its essence, horror is meant to push one's boundaries, to see further over the horizon of what your mind can conceive of. Good horror films, in my opinion, don't trivalize the nature of the story; they may present what is happening to you using disturbing imagery or even sensationalism but they don't rely on shock for simply shock value. Unfortunately, most of the mainstream horror movies out there are nothing but pornographic in their nature: their stories are not developed or involving to audiences so they're just a collection of graphic scenes meant to make audiences react just like one of Pavlov's dogs, just as 99% of all porn is meant for one reason only: to get you off.<br><br>You want to see horror? Rent "Testament". Not one graphic moment in that entire film but if you're a thinking human being you will be horrified. If you're a parent, chances are you'll be angry with me for suggesting that you watch such a film. There are scenes in that film so powerful, so horrific in the nature of what the main character is going through, that you don't need zombies or chesbusters or serial killers from your dreams to have nightmares. That film haunts me to this day and I'm a fellow that's seen hundreds, if not a couple of thousand, horror films over my three decades of living.<br><br>Horror can be the realization that you're alone in the universe. Horror can be the discovery of knowing that one day you will die. Horror can come in a heartbeat when your phone rings at 3AM and your mind races with possibilities, then vanishes away once you realize it's a wrong number, the feeling forgotten until the next time it happens. Horror comes when you hear a noise that doesn't sound right and you're alone in your house. Horror is everywhere and it has been a part of human existence since the first neurons in our ancestors brains formed, back before they were fish or even creatures that scuttled in the water, knowing the terror of what it's like as death approaches in its myriad forms.<br><br>Horror is what makes beautiful summer days, babies smiles and the love of your loved ones even better than they are. The universe needs horror and so do we, for without it we're not human beings that can feel love.<br><br>Even mighty, slumbering Cthulu needs a hug when he has a case of the Mondays.<br> <p></p><i></i>
