The Horror Genre. What do you get out of it?

I remember reading something Stephen King once said in an interview or maybe it was in Danse Macabre comparing horror to having an alligator in your basement. You take in all the gore and fucked up shit to feed the alligator. If you don't feed it it can break out and do nasty things. I wish I could find the quote because he put it better than I just did.

I find horror movies fun because it releases tension for me and sometimes shows what I wish I could do to some of my coworkers without me actually having to spend my existence in jail

The alligator analogy works for me. I seek out the sickest, most depraved violent acts and horrific imagery, purely to keep myself from doing those very same things.



Again.

I certainly depends on the type of horror. I like bad horror movies because bad actors trying to portray characters in extremely tense and dangerous situations is almost ALWAYS funny. About 99.9%. Otherwise it's for subtext, and the intense stories.

Plus I also have a pretty big interest in the make-up effects and the technical side as well, so I really enjoy the gore of zombie movies, the make-up effects creature movies, and especially Cronenberg movies.

As fate would have it, I just read Danse Macabre (which made me start reading a shitload of horror), and that's about the right idea. I didn't quite buy it though. Elsewhere in the book, King talks about the Horror film as the ultimate affirmation of LIFE, in that by actually looking at death and violence straight on, we are examining them in a way the prepares us for the End. If we can think about death, we can't possibly be dead. That did more for me, as I don't need horror films to keep me from hiding in the desert and murdering tourists.

I do have trouble applying this to my own habits though. I can't for the life of me explain why I saw Stay Alive. It looked bad, I knew I wouldn't enjoy it at all, and I didn't. I don't enjoy most horror films. Yet I see them. Why is it I won't waste my time on, say, Mission Impossible 3, but I'll see The Hills Have Eyes (aside from a ridiculously positive Devin review)?

Speaking of that review, fuck. I'm getting burned on these Horror reviews here. All this Aja pimping. I wanna like him, but theres no way. Ditto Wolf Creek. Yeah, sadistic, but disturbing? No. Just mean. Kinda dull. As far as Horror goes, 06 has only really given us Hostel and Slither,both solid B, maybe B+ fright flicks, but even they worked better as action and comedy, respectively. To Devin, I really like your writing, but come on. Hills Have Eyes?

I love horror movies, and i really enjoyed the HIlls Have Eyes remake, but I would consider Hostel one of the worst movies I have ever seen, horror or otherwise. It was a great concept but it took a full hour before I saw anything half way gory, and even the gory stuff was lame. If someone enjoys horror flicks for the nudity, Hostel is for you, but if you want scary, gory or suspenseful dont waste your money or time on this flick. just my opinion

As Wes Craven says, it's Bootcamp for the soul.

I'm mostly there to either be scared/creeped/freaked out, and/or see cool monsters. Anything else is a bonus.

If you want to know what is going on in a society at any given time...watch the horror films of the era. I'm sure you can say that of any genre but it just seems particularly poignant in the case of Horror. Even the shitey ones tell us something.

It's the only place I can see a horrible rotting corpse erupt from the grave for some cake. That doesn't happen in romantic comedies too often.

Really great horror is cathartic. You scream, get some food for thought, and you come out of the theater satisfied and feeling some release. Sometimes the horror doesn't let you off that easy (DEAD RINGERS) and you leave truly disturbed. That's great when that happens too.

I think that's the coolest answer we've had so far. If you're going to explain why we're attracted to horror you have to say 'cathartic.'

I think that people need to feel a little fear every now and then to keep them from becoming totally apathetic, and we also enjoy testing ourselves to see how much we can stand, that's always the fun part.

The Horror Genre, what do you get out of it?

An erection.

HOYOOOOOOOOO!

I don't watch much horror, but IMO the appeal seems to be that horror has the potential to get the strongest emotional reactions out of you. If you're truly scared of what's on screen, to the point that your body is physically reacting to the images, then the barrier between simulation and reality has been seriously breached. Action movies never really convince you that you're in them, and romance movies never really make you feel in love with the characters. Horror is able to take that connection a step further. In this desensitized age, a truly strong emotion can be a rare and wonderful thing.

That said, I find most horror to be unscary tripe, and it's rare that I actually transcend my comfort zone. Mulholland Drive did that for me, as did The Ring.

Moltisanti?

I think horror holds a mirror up to the viewer and forces the viewer to see, clearly, that he is in the theater without friend, date, or family eating fucking Snow Caps.

Snow Caps are excellent, though.

I'm not a huge fan of horror but the ones i do enjoy are the over the top gore feasts with tons of fake blood, films like Slither and Shaun of the Dead.
I don't so much enjoy the ones that are exersizes in terror, not because they scare me or anything like that its just I don't find it entertaining.

Personal taste I guess.

Oh, the fragile male ego.

Its a reflex response, every time I say to some of my friends I don't want to see a particular horror flick the response is I must be afraid.

For some reason people can't grasp I may simply not want to see it.

That's an interesting question, the alligator one has merit, I guess with some people. I find i'm more a fan of classic Carpenter horror, i.e. The Thing cause it's bleak and has something to say about the human mind [fear and being untrustworthy].

It's even more interesting for me now cause I have the friends who know little about this stuff and I test my movies on them and hear what they have to say about those they see themselves that are brutal, unflinching, and generally shocking [Example: The Hills Have Eyes]

and I have my film student friends who are also fans of the classic vein of horror and can watch all kinds of messed up shit without batting an eyelash.

But for myself I like the tales that have social commentary and a semblance of a message behind it, but I will go for the fun horror like Evil Dead or Shaun of the Dead and Slither. I just can't watch a film like Hostel for fun, I can't watch a Takashi Miike flick just to see people slashed to ribbons, in fact I never have watched a Miike flick.

agreed.
i love monsters, creatures, aliens, dinosaurs, special effects...

My recent post from the Creature Corner related thread on what brought me to the genre:

I was a big pussy growing up... At age 5 ('81) E.T. scared me (my mom had me sit through the first chase through the woods scene, while i cried under the seat). After i survived the beginning, i loved the movie.

Freddy & zombies scared me more than anything so i avoided at all costs. It was the classic monster flicks (Universal, Godzilla, Kong, Harryhausen, classic sci-fi flicks), ALien & Predator series, Spielberg's Temple o' Doom & Jaws, cheesy Full Moon/Charles Band flicks (Terrorvision, Troll, Ghoulies), horror tv (Tales from the Darkside & Crypt), 80's vampire/werewolf movies (Amer WW in London, Fright Night, Howling, Lost Boys), ghost movies (original Haunting, Poltergeist, Shining) and ESPECIALLY Horror/Comedy (Gremlins, Ghostbusters) that trained me for the hard-core stuff.

2 things happened in college (10-12 years ago) to turn me onto zombie flicks:
1. Resident Evil on PSX
2. Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy
I felt empowered by either a shotgun my character weilded in RE or by my hero/champion, ASH, that this breed of Undead (yeah, i know the Deadites are tech. not zombies) was defeatable... I've since been able to appreciate Romero and other entries in the Genre (ESPECIALLY zom-coms like Dead Alive & Shaun o' Dead).

To this day, i will always prefer the Creature Feature flicks (Slither), Lost World/rampaging dinosuars (Jurassic Park), Horror/Action (Blade, UnderWorld, RE) or the haunted house stories (Ring, Sixth Sense). Slasher/serial killer flicks do nothing for me unless the storytelling/script really interests me (Hannibal Lecter films, Seven). I was never a fan of Halloween, Elm Street, or Friday 13th series, although I enjoyed watching Freddy duke it out with Jason... i dunno something epicly cheesy & WWF about it ...

Although most horror movies fail at that: I like to be scared and surprised.

David Cronenberg states it most succinctly for me.

I feel in fact that most horror films are subversive of the status quo because they do have a very strong appeal to the unconscious. Civilization is the repression of unconscious desires and forces.

I can almost hear his soothing gentle Nightbreed psychiatrist voice now...

I totally agree, horror speaks to our reptilian brain, a potent region which is underutilized in civilized society. Beyond lust, fear is the instinct that has probably helped our survival the most, and it has accordingly become a large, albiet suppressed, aspect of our psyche. Letting out your fear in a controlled setting, even one you consciously know is safe, probably doesn't mediate the fear reaction that much, which makes it a powerful experience. Fear is based on simple impulses, such as quick movement and the impression of wiggly, slimy things.

On a tangent, I think that smell-o-vision is a technology that could be put to awesome use in horror films. I'll leave it up to greater horror minds to consider the particular possibilities.

I'll have to get to that after my other CHUD.com related flick [KLUTE!]

When you're done with that one, see Takashi Miike's Audition. It's definitely required viewing.

It will stay with you till the end of your days... I promise you that.

I think there is a lot of beautiful images to be found in a lot of horror films.
It's an excellent forum for presenting imagery and conceits that really stay with you, if done correctly.

"A girl I dated once said to me, 'You only feel when you bleed.' This must give you the impression that I was dating an Art School Vampire. She was more like an acid-washed Molly Ringwald, but that doesn't matter. I fell in total lust witht his woman because she told me what I had been thinking my entire life. Pain is a food. A food that is essential to the growth of one's soul.

Let's talk about violence, shall we? Violence in the media is an easy target. 'If we get rid of all the violent television shows and comic books, the world will be Utopian!' An easily believable answer. Just ask your mom.

Jhonen Vasquez has touched something important here. There's a little monster inside all of us, a little wolf-faced monkey that needs to be satiated. As people we mustn't ignore that monster. If we do, we cheat ourselves. We deny an emotion, a feeling.

Think of someone who pissed you off. Some yutz who cut you off in traffic; a prick-ass Kinko's employee who took three hours to copy your resume; the big bully who spit in your face when you were eight. Now in your head, relive that moment. This time, however, don't just stand there and take it. This time you've got a knife. Pull it out from behind your back, and watch the status flip-flop. Suddenly Mr. Kinko isn't so cocky. The playground bully is crying for his mother. Smell their fear. Then kill them. Kill them like you see in th movies. Make it as horrible as possible. Release that monster, and stab that knife deep into their face.

As humans, we are taught to forget that we are animals. Animals kill to survive, and its just as natural for us. To deny nature is to deny life. Now that you've committed murder in your dream world, relax. take a deep breath, give your monster a high five, and put him away. You've just used an evil fantasy to keep you civilized and sane.

Some may call this irresponsible advice. They kid themselves that their monster doesn't exist. And when a person lies to themselves, there is less chance for spiritual growth. More than likely, their monster will step out of the Dreamworld, and into the Realworld. That's how a society gets messy. Lots of neglected, hungry monsters.

Johnny the Homicidal Maniac gives our monster something to chew on. It's pain food that wears its teeth down. Johnny represents Jhonen Vasquez's monster. Vasquez, and his fans, are all the stronger because of him."

--Foreward to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Rob Schrab, 1997

My fave genre of film. It's all about creating inescapable atmosphere and tension--the really great horror films know how to do this without much effort and they take you into a world you wouldn't want to relive in your own reality. It's escapism of the most abusive, unknown order. There's a part of my mind that wants to explore the ugly side of the human psyche, and horror films are the safest avenue to do it.

"There's a little monster inside all of us, a little wolf-faced monkey that needs to be satiated."

PRICELESS... and true...

Or in some cases a human-faced dog (Body Snatcher remake)...

Be honest, how many so called horror movies actually manage to evoke some kind of response from you?

I can't recall being scared by a movie since I was maybe 7 years old. I'd love to find something that would do that now, but it won't happen. What about scenes that make you jump? Those are few and far between, more's the pity. I love gory films but they don't horrify me. Most of the time it's too much gore.

I would really love to see something that had me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens yet dreading it at the same time. Alas, there is nothing out there.


Maybe I'm too old & cynical now, but I hope not.