I have been a horror film fan as far back as I can remember. Aside from the first several years of my life that I don’t recall that well, the rest of my 32 years are filled with horror movie after horror movie. Like all people, however, my tastes have changed as I have grown older. I look back at some of the titles that I used to hold so dear and wonder what I ever could have found so appealing in them.
If I were to write the next great pop horror novel, what would it have to be about. Are vampires still fashionable enough to withstand another retelling? Is the world doomed to endure werewolves for the next few years? The problem with werewolves is that they are not sexy, and I am convinced they cannot be sexy. The zombie trend was fine in that there is a certain element of fun and coolness that resides within the trend. However, coming off of the vampire trend, werewolves are going to have to be at least as sexy as vamps to be effective, I believe. Is there some other monster that I am forgetting? Don’t say the mummy because I think that zombies are close enough. I guess what we are left with is a Frankenstein-ish monster. Something that is an amalgam of different traits. A creation that can be molded into whatever its creator wants. The opportunity for sexy is there. Werewolves are too hairy to be sexy. Werewolf females are especially off-putting. It’s like the hairiest hippie chick times 12. Tell me what you think.
I have risen from the grave to once again contribute to this little blog. Okay, so I didn’t actually rise from the grave, but I did finally transcend the chaos, obligations, and doldrums that are the holiday season. Thanksgiving turned into Christmas. Christmas turned into New Years. The new year brought with it a hectic schedule for yours truly, and I have shirked my duties to this site for quite some time. I apologize to my few loyal readers. I have been neglectful to the blog I have worked so hard to build up. Most importantly, I have forsaken the genre that has brought me so much joy, intrigue, and hours upon hours of entertainment. I am back as regularly as possible. What I need from you are ideas for blogs. I will eventually dry up my well of new ideas, and I would like to sustain this site as well as write what you would like to read.
Horror films often push the envelope when it comes to subject matter. Horrible things must be dealt with if they are going to horrify; it only makes sense. Last House on the Left is the first American film to portray graphically brutal rape. There are countless films about family members killing family members. Even a parent attempting to kill their child—a la The Omen—has been done. Horror movies have been blamed for years for desensitizing the youth and making murder, torture, and other unpleasantries look cool or appealing. Is there anything that is off limits, something so awful and damaging that it cannot be put on screen? Is there a subject matter that won’t be broached because it would be in to poor of taste? If so, what? While you are pondering this question, pop in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)—I hear it is the 35th anniversary of the film—and pay attention as an overweight, handicapped, arguably developmentally disable or emotionally disabled young man gets slaughtered. Also pay attention to the fact that you are glad he is finally dead. Happy Turkey Day you sick, sick people.
What is horror? Aside from the way it is marketed and what IMDB tells us, how do we define a horror film? Do the films simply have to frighten us or at least have the purpose of frightening to be horror? In that case Braindead a.k.a. Dead Alive shouldn’t be considered horror, though it is generally accepted as such. What do we do with the Evil Dead trilogy? They are more about slapstick comedy (especially the last two) than scares, yet they are usually found in the horror section of the video store. Netflix has Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness categorized as horror. Can any movie that deals with the supernatural that has a serious tone be considered horror? As utterly horrifying as it is, Ghost (yes the one with Patrick Swayze (R.I.P.), I cannot believe I am referencing this) is not a horror flick. I know that the line that is supposed to be toed is that categories don’t matter. While there is some validity to this argument, I cannot totally abide by it because I run a HORROR site.
Word is that The Exorcist is becoming a miniseries. Click here to read more.
Even more than usual, there is a spate of apocalyptic films coming out this month. 2012, The Collapse (An indie documentary predicting the end of the world as we continue to exploit the Earth), and The Road are all being released to theaters this month. 2012, which was released just this past Friday, brought in $60+ million and scathing reviews. It has enough explosions and CGI to engross the most ardent of ADHDers, but what is the social commentary that it is providing.
There is a little-known Australian flick that came out several years ago, though I have only come across it recently. Alexandra’s Project offers a horrific insight into the nightmarish possibilities of suburban domesticity. Its raw, unflinching, and unapologetic crassness play on some of the worst fears that the insecure creatures known as married men have. This film takes the rotten core of a troubled relationship and exposes it to the person oblivious of problems within the marriage, the husband. It is a warning to men that the person you are taking for granted might be capable of far more than you have given her credit for. While you are fantasizing about other women and thinking about how great your life could be without the responsibility of a wife and kids, she may be plotting an absolutely devastating and destructive revenge.
Fast zombies or slow zombies? While Romero has created the modern zombie (though the word zombie is never used in Night of the Living Dead) there has obviously been some deviation from the archetype in the last several years. 28 Days Later helped to introduce the world to the fast-moving zombie. There is just one problem with that—there were no zombies in 28 Days Later. They were humans infected with a Rage Virus. They were able to move fast because not only weren’t they dead, but they were filled with uncontrollable anger. Zombies by definition do not emote. Nonetheless, from that point on, however, zombies became very quick and agile.
