Why Do We Love Horror Films?
This is a question that seems to come up a lot when you are a fan of horror films. What is it exactly that draws us to a love of the dark and macabre, what do we love so much about the creatures of the night, and suspense, and terror in general? I can't say that there is a definitive answer that explains everyone's attraction to the genre, but I can speak of my own attraction and love for those things that make us pull the blankets up jut a little tighter, and that keeps my legs or arms from dangling off of the edge of the bed, or that make me walk just a bit faster when in the woods at night. However there isn't just one simple answer that will explain it, that I can wrap up in a tidy package with a pink bow, for your convenience. There are multiple types of horror films, and not everyone is attracted to every type of horror film, and I think that that is an important thing to remember. I love multiple types of horror films for multiple reasons.
My love for horror films, started with my mum, my favourite memories were of watching horror films with her as a kid. I remember how special it was to cuddle with mum on the couch and watch a beautiful black and white film, with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and all of the other classic legends. Seeing Dracula spread open his cape, and speak those foreboding lines of "the children of the night, what music they make." Lugosi as Dracula, had this sexiness, erotic appeal, as he wooed the enchantingly beautiful Helen Chandler as Mina. And the sadness I felt for Karloff as he was despised and hunted by the villagers as well as his creator, Dr Frankenstein. Of course there is Lon Chaney Jr as the The Wolfman, who is cursed to turn in to murderous Wolfman. As we learn “Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and Autumn moon is bright." During this golden-age of horror, the monsters in the films had an element of humanity to them, and we felt a sort of pity for them, or an attraction to them. There was this magic in the silver screen, the horror wasn't as much in visceral visuals, as much as it was in the atmosphere, and I appreciate the atmospheric horror of these classic films. Though not to imply that there weren't shocking scenes in those classic films, such as seeing the Mummy come alive, or seeing the pitiful yet horrifying face of Frankenstein's monster, I imagine sitting in the theater in the 1930's watching these films for the first time. Or speaking of seeing things for the first time and finding the true terror in them, imagine audiences when they saw The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu for the first time, as these Penny Dreadfuls appeared on the silver screen terrifying early film goers. We mustn't of course forget the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney Sr, as he terrified audiences in films like Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews. My love for horror films, started with my mum, my favourite memories were of watching horror films with her as a kid. I remember how special it was to cuddle with mum on the couch and watch a beautiful black and white film, with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and all of the other classic legends. Seeing Dracula spread open his cape, and speak those foreboding lines of "the children of the night, what music they make." Lugosi as Dracula, had this sexiness, erotic appeal, as he wooed the enchantingly beautiful Helen Chandler as Mina. And the sadness I felt for Karloff as he was despised and hunted by the villagers as well as his creator, Dr Frankenstein. Of course there is Lon Chaney Jr as the The Wolfman, who is cursed to turn in to murderous Wolfman. As we learn “Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and Autumn moon is bright." During this golden-age of horror, the monsters in the films had an element of humanity to them, and we felt a sort of pity for them, or an attraction to them. There was this magic in the silver screen, the horror wasn't as much in visceral visuals, as much as it was in the atmosphere, and I appreciate the atmospheric horror of these classic films. Though not to imply that there weren't shocking scenes in those classic films, such as seeing the Mummy come alive, or seeing the pitiful yet horrifying face of Frankenstein's monster, I imagine sitting in the theater in the 1930's watching these films for the first time. Or speaking of seeing things for the first time and finding the true terror in them, imagine audiences when they saw The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu for the first time, as these Penny Dreadfuls appeared on the silver screen terrifying early film goers. We mustn't of course forget the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney Sr, as he terrified audiences in films like Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews.
My love for horror films, started with my mum, my favourite memories were of watching horror films with her as a kid. I remember how special it was to cuddle with mum on the couch and watch a beautiful black and white film, with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and all of the other classic legends. Seeing Dracula spread open his cape, and speak those foreboding lines of "the children of the night, what music they make." Lugosi as Dracula, had this sexiness, erotic appeal, as he wooed the enchantingly beautiful Helen Chandler as Mina. And the sadness I felt for Karloff as he was despised and hunted by the villagers as well as his creator, Dr Frankenstein. Of course there is Lon Chaney Jr as the The Wolfman, who is cursed to turn in to murderous Wolfman. As we learn “Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and Autumn moon is bright." During this golden-age of horror, the monsters in the films had an element of humanity to them, and we felt a sort of pity for them, or an attraction to them. There was this magic in the silver screen, the horror wasn't as much in visceral visuals, as much as it was in the atmosphere, and I appreciate the atmospheric horror of these classic films. Though not to imply that there weren't shocking scenes in those classic films, such as seeing the Mummy come alive, or seeing the pitiful yet horrifying face of Frankenstein's monster, I imagine sitting in the theater in the 1930's watching these films for the first time. Or speaking of seeing things for the first time and finding the true terror in them, imagine audiences when they saw The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu for the first time, as these Penny Dreadfuls appeared on the silver screen terrifying early film goers. We mustn't of course forget the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney Sr, as he terrified audiences in films like Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews. My love for horror films, started with my mum, my favourite memories were of watching horror films with her as a kid. I remember how special it was to cuddle with mum on the couch and watch a beautiful black and white film, with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and all of the other classic legends. Seeing Dracula spread open his cape, and speak those foreboding lines of "the children of the night, what music they make." Lugosi as Dracula, had this sexiness, erotic appeal, as he wooed the enchantingly beautiful Helen Chandler as Mina. And the sadness I felt for Karloff as he was despised and hunted by the villagers as well as his creator, Dr Frankenstein. Of course there is Lon Chaney Jr as the The Wolfman, who is cursed to turn in to murderous Wolfman. As we learn “Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and Autumn moon is bright." During this golden-age of horror, the monsters in the films had an element of humanity to them, and we felt a sort of pity for them, or an attraction to them. There was this magic in the silver screen, the horror wasn't as much in visceral visuals, as much as it was in the atmosphere, and I appreciate the atmospheric horror of these classic films. Though not to imply that there weren't shocking scenes in those classic films, such as seeing the Mummy come alive, or seeing the pitiful yet horrifying face of Frankenstein's monster, I imagine sitting in the theater in the 1930's watching these films for the first time. Or speaking of seeing things for the first time and finding the true terror in them, imagine audiences when they saw The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari or Nosferatu for the first time, as these Penny Dreadfuls appeared on the silver screen terrifying early film goers. We mustn't of course forget the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney Sr, as he terrified audiences in films like Phantom of the Opera, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews.
As horror films continued into the 1940's and through the 1960's there was an increase of popularity in science-fiction creature features. After World War 2 and into the Atomic Age, there came this fear of the "what if", and "what are the risks of Atomic energy?". In Japan we saw the birth of Godzilla, in the USA there were a string of films with atomic creatures menacing the countryside, some as a result of experiments, other as a result of nuclear waste. And then came the aliens, which writers like HG Wells had been writing about for years, but what really struck fear into people was when Wells' classic War Of The Worlds, was presented as a radio play by Orson Wells, and then again later made into a film. We would also see Aliens making contact in memorable films like The Day The Earth Stood Still, giving people a warning about their warlike ways (which was shamelessly ripped off by Ed Wood for his notorious classic Plan 9 From Outerspace).
In the 1970s, it seemed like audiences needed something a bit more to terrifying, just hinting the horror wasn't enough, people needed to see it graphically displayed on the screen before them. No more of this Lovecraftian "Horror too terrifying to mention", no it was the 1970's, the day of the hippy was at an end, and we needed to see the knife plunge in, we needed to see the bloody entrails. Director George Romero was more than happy to give the film goers what they needed with his ghastly Night Of The Living Dead, which would be topped in gore by it's direct sequels Dawn Of The Dead and Day Of The Dead, and movies would be changed forever. We now saw flesh eating zombies ripping and tearing their victims apart, and eating their still warm guts from their bodies. From here it seemed that there was almost a competition to see who could be the most shocking in the gore that they presented on screen, with directors like Wes Craven disturbing audiences with films like Last House On The Left and The Hills Have Eyes, and the Italians like Dario Argento shocking audiences with films like Susperia, and Blood Red Hatchet Murders. This led the way to the next fad in horror cinema, which is the Slasher film, with films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Nightmare On Elm Street, Sleepaway Camp, etc. with their mysterious murderers making us afraid to ever go to summer camp ever again. Films had come a long way from the times of the Universal Monsters, or the suspense of Alfred Hitchcock. Hammer films redesigned the classic monsters for the modern audience, upping the blood, gore, and sleaze for a new generation that needed to be shocked more and more. Also gone were the days of the beautiful woman in the night gown being attacked from the shadows, as the 70's and 80's heralded in the era of gratuitous nudity being a staple of the horror genre.
The 1990's saw the special effects of horror films get more high tech, and rather than the gallons of fake blood, and practical effects, we started seeing horror in a much more advanced way in films like Event Horizon, pushing the boundaries of what we can imagine, and gone were the days of a person in the rubber suit stumbling around as a monster, as now with a computer our most terrifying nightmares could be brought to life. And again, we begin to see horror films from out past being brought back with new technology attempting to make them relevant for modern audiences, with films like Carrie, Last House On The Left, I Spit On Your Grave, House Of Wax seeing modern updates. Also with the modern age of horror there came a few new trends, one being the found footage phenomenon that was popularized by the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project, and another big trend was the Torture Porn genre popularized by the Saw series of films. Found footage when done right, works well, I think that the original Blair Witch Project worked, because of the time and how it was promoted, but I feel over time it has lost its edge, however films like the Paranormal Activity series, seemed to have taken the success of The Blair Witch Project and just beat it like a dead horse to the point that there is no fun left in watching a "found footage" film. All I can say about Saw and the films that followed that imitated its style is, that they are bloody disgusting, and I can't find much redeemable about those films.
For me watching The Exorcist at age 5, I think, made a huge impact on me, that was the first film to terrify me, and to this day I still find it terrifying. I remember being a five-year-old kid watching this film, and having a big crush on Linda Blair, and then watching the demon take hold of her, really affected me, and haunted me...that could happen to me, she was a kid just like me, and a demon got into her and the idea of losing possession of my own body terrified me, and honestly it still does. I found films that were "based on a true story" to be the most terrifying, because that made me as a kid believe that it was based on reality, and that my reality could be that, and to me that was terrifying. So as a kid films like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Amityville Horror were the ones that scared me the most.
But what is it about horror films attracts me so much? I think with the classic, golden age of horror it is the beauty of the films, and the atmosphere and the story telling that drew me in. I think it was the eroticism of Dracula, the sorrow of The Wolfman, and the tragedy of Frankenstein that appeals to me, I think it is the desire of the Creature From The Black Lagoon to posses the beautiful woman, that he is denied. I think I find this kinship with the Monsters, because they are hunted, they are outcasts, they don't fit in with society, and they are outsiders, and I think many people identify with that. With the Exploitation Horror, I think that my appeal to those films, like Last House On The Left, is that they show the utter depravity of humanity, they show just how terrible that people can be. I think that seeing the worst in humanity, maybe gives a better appreciation for the goodness in humanity. I feel like when I watch exploitation horror films, that I feel uncomfortable, and a little sick, and I think that is the point, I think you should feel sick when you see graphic rape and violence, and I think that is important. Then there are revenge horror films like Sleepaway Camp, and I Spit On Your Grave, and I think the appeal to films like that is the desire to get revenge on those who hurt you, and obviously, you can't just go out and kill those who have hurt or wronged you, but you can feel the catharsis of watching someone do it on screen. I can put myself in the shoes of the killer, and those who have hurt me in the shoes of the slain, and can live out the revenge fantasy, without ever hurting anyone. I could never hurt someone like that, I could never kill someone, and when you watch a horror film, it gives a healthy outlet for the anger within, a fantasy of torture and revenge, and when you turn off that film, the fantasy stays locked away on that DVD or VHS tape as you put it back on your shelf, metaphorically shelfing your anger and frustration. Then of course there are over the top silly horror films like those put out by Troma Films, and I think that the appeal of films like Tromeo and Juliet, The Toxic Avenger, Buttcrack, or Class of Nuke 'Em High is that no matter how gory, no matter how disgusting the films get, they never attempt to take themselves serious, and I think it is important to have that view on horrifying things, because if we take horror too serious, I think it is a bad sign. I mean comedic horror is important, it is important to laugh at horror. It is important to put on a film like Shawn Of The Dead, Night Of The Living Deb, or Fido, and have a good laugh at the zombie genre, which is why Return Of The Living Dead was such a great film, films should be fun and no genre should take itself too seriously, and I think that is what is important and valid in watching the comedic films, and the really "bad" horror films, because the remind us, that it is all in entertainment.
Why do you love horror films? What is it about horror films that attracts you to them? This is something I think about a lot, and I feel it is something that I might discuss in my film reviews.
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