CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › "Important" horror movies
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

"Important" horror movies

post #1 of 22
9/25/06 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 
Do you have any horror movies that you not only love, but feel like they're really "saying" something important? Can you think of any really entertaining horror movies that carry an important message, too?

Naturally, my pet movie in this regard is "Dawn of the Dead," which not only speaks of the poisonous nature of excess, but also how tenuously society is held together. Oh, and the zombies are cool too.

What about you?
Reply
post #2 of 22
9/26/06 at 3:53pm
DEATHDREAM (Bob Clark)
GANJA AND HESS (Bill Gunn)
DON'T TORTURE THE DUCKLING (Lucio Fulci)
SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE CRAZIES and MARTIN (all George Romero)
SHIVERS and VIDEODROME (David Cronenberg)
DRILLER KILLER and THE ADDICTION (both Abel Ferrara)
AMERICAN PSYCHO (Mary Harron)

There's a helluva lot to chew on with those titles.
Reply
post #3 of 22
9/26/06 at 4:31pm
Pulse (original japanese version)
The Wicker Man
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (if you counted it as a horror. It;s certainly more horrific than most which bear the label)
Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer
Chronos
Repulsion
The Tenant
The Ordeal
Reply
post #4 of 22
9/26/06 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by S.P. Collier
DEATHDREAM (Bob Clark)
GANJA AND HESS (Bill Gunn)
DON'T TORTURE THE DUCKLING (Lucio Fulci)
SEASON OF THE WITCH, THE CRAZIES and MARTIN (all George Romero)
SHIVERS and VIDEODROME (David Cronenberg)
DRILLER KILLER and THE ADDICTION (both Abel Ferrara)
AMERICAN PSYCHO (Mary Harron)

There's a helluva lot to chew on with those titles.
In what sense? I mean, I have my own ideas about the messages and such, but why did you list them? It'd be good to know in a thread like this. Otherwise, this becomes just another lazy "let's-list-a-bunch-of-movies-we-like" thread.

For example, Cronenberg's The Fly is a great horror movie with an interesting subtext. Whereas the original thematically dealt with the standard '50s fear of rampant technology and the atomic age, Cronenberg's version can be viewed as playing to the '80s fear of the relatively new AIDS epidemic.
Reply
post #5 of 22
9/26/06 at 5:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattioli
For example, Cronenberg's The Fly is a great horror movie with an interesting subtext. Whereas the original thematically dealt with the standard '50s fear of rampant technology and the atomic age, Cronenberg's version can be viewed as playing to the '80s fear of the relatively new AIDS epidemic.
I always thought it was a better metaphor for cocaine because in the beginning, his transformation leads to him getting more powerful and he feels a rush. And then later on he begins to decline.
Reply
post #6 of 22
9/26/06 at 5:31pm
And thus is Cronenberg's genius manifested...
The cocaine metaphor is a good one.
Reply
post #7 of 22
9/26/06 at 6:45pm
Except that the AIDS metaphor works much better over all, with what is happening to him. I was just thinking it over and I think I do agree more with that interpretation. He was experimenting (sexual revolution) and the results were great for a while, until he saw the ultimate consequence.

Except that theory is flawed because the idea that Cronenberg would create an anti-sexual freedom movie seems a bit absurd.

Back to the ole Goldblum splattered drawing board.
Reply
post #8 of 22
9/26/06 at 6:50pm
John Carpenter's THE THING. Good characterization, great special effects that remain above the standard we see these days from horror, and touching on themes of paranoia. It's actually the best Lovecraftian horror film ever.

I'd also recommend AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. It's a film that's got a little bit of everything. Also, a great date film.
Reply
post #9 of 22
9/26/06 at 7:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by S.P. Collier
VIDEODROME (David Cronenberg)
Trumps the others because VIDEODROME CAME TRUE.
Reply
post #10 of 22
9/26/06 at 8:05pm
Did it now? Since when do people suffer hallucinations and go irreversibly insane after sampling pirate cable channels?

Heh, heh.
Reply
post #11 of 22
9/26/06 at 8:32pm
Where can I buy one of those fuckable tvs?
Reply
post #12 of 22
9/26/06 at 8:37pm
Devil's Backbone (and Pan's Labyrinth): examines the horrors of war (Spanish Civil War specifically)

Alien 1: exploration rewarded with sexual violation
Alien 2: Vietnam War

Altered States & Jacob's Ladder (not horror per se) both examine experimentation, reality, & the human mind

Many vampire movies touch on sexual inhibition/freedom (any Dracula flick), disease (Habit), addiction (the Addiction), & immortality (the Hunger).

Many alien (sci-fi & horror alike) films (like Thing, Body Snatchers) deal with the unknown & paranoia.

Many ghost stories examine guilt, vengeance, accountability, etc.
Reply
post #13 of 22
9/26/06 at 8:41pm
Since ye asked for it...

DEATHDREAM - Vietnam. The physical and psychological effects of war on the soldier and the family. War trauma as a disease.

DON'T TORTURE THE DUCKLING - Moral hypocrisy. Cultural ignorance. Violent effects on the innocent.

GANJA AND HESS - Danger of annihilation to black history and the black experience. The importance of preserving them.

THE CRAZIES - We're totally fucked if the government steps in.

SEASON OF THE WITCH - Suburban malaise. Sexual repression. Spiritual confusion.

MARTIN - Suburban malaise. Sexual repression. Identity confusion.

DRILLER KILLER - Commercialism (the artist as "sell-out"). Urban alienation. Urban paranoia.

SHIVERS - Sexual liberation vs. hedonism. The apathy of consumers and consumerism.

AMERICAN PSYCHO - Reaganomics. Consumerism. Capitalism.

THE ADDICTION - Addictions (physical, spiritual, psychological). Manifestations in political tyranny and genocides, social elitism. Philosophy. Faith.
Reply
post #14 of 22
9/26/06 at 9:59pm
Thread Starter 
Wow - ask and ye shall receive!
I'm copying several of these I've never even heard of - gonna add them to my "must watch" list.

Others, like the fly, I'm going to have to watch again.

Great thinking, folks!

What about "The Last Man on Earth"? Anyone see a Red Scare metaphor there?
Reply
post #15 of 22
9/27/06 at 12:11pm
Shining: examines isolation, alcoholism, abuse, repressed anger

Many horror movies take a look at alienation (self inflicted and societal) and the results of an individuals who've been ostracized (inbred mutants, awkward bullied teens, etc.).

I'm wondering what the original thread question wants to know. "Important" to an individual or "important" to society? If you dig enough and wordsmith your analysis, you can find themes and relevance in just about anything.
Example: Friday the 13th and Halloween series examine the terrible effects of teen promiscuity and drug use...

Truly successful horror (and sci-fi for that matter) play up on the concerns and fears of society at the time. Things like World War 2 and the Cold War have offered up many an allegory. Whenever there's a new advancement in science (atom bomb, cloning, etc.), new movies pop up to play on current paranoia. New tech also plays into new horror...
-Pulse: study on self-inflicted alienation and isolation through computers

I wonder if it's coincidence that so many "Boogeymen" movies have come out since 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil. No one is safe anywhere, not even in the nurturing womb of your own bed...
-Darkness Falls, They, Boogeyman, Freddy VS Jason (2 for 1), Grudge, etc.
Reply
post #16 of 22
9/27/06 at 1:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll
Except that the AIDS metaphor works much better over all, with what is happening to him.
Cronenberg has often denied the AIDS metaphor, and has said many times that it's more general than that, it's about what happens when the person you love starts to disintegrate, age, die, and at what point in that process do they stop being the person you love? Or do they ever? In that regards, AIDS, age, cocaine metaphors all work.
Reply
post #17 of 22
9/27/06 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 70sCinema
Cronenberg has often denied the AIDS metaphor, and has said many times that it's more general than that, it's about what happens when the person you love starts to disintegrate, age, die, and at what point in that process do they stop being the person you love? Or do they ever? In that regards, AIDS, age, cocaine metaphors all work.
Well I know, but it's fun to speculate.
Reply
post #18 of 22
9/27/06 at 3:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll
Except that theory is flawed because the idea that Cronenberg would create an anti-sexual freedom movie seems a bit absurd.
Cronenberg's movies are always sort of complex when it comes to sex, but you could make a pretty strong case for Shivers and Rabid both being pretty "anti-sexual freedom." They're not overly didactic about it, but there are some pretty severe negative repercussions in those movies as a direct result of sexual actions (or, in the case of Rabid, of non-sexual actions depicted with a unmistakeable Cronenbergian sexual bent).

His stuff tends to be thematically rich enough that you can take away a lot from it. But it's unusual that there isn't an obvious sexual interpretation possible (heck, he even managed to squeeze overt sexual imagery into a movie about videogames, fame, and the concept of fatwa).
Reply
post #19 of 22
9/29/06 at 12:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DARKMITE8
Shining: examines isolation, alcoholism, abuse, repressed anger

Many horror movies take a look at alienation (self inflicted and societal) and the results of an individuals who've been ostracized (inbred mutants, awkward bullied teens, etc.).

I'm wondering what the original thread question wants to know. "Important" to an individual or "important" to society? If you dig enough and wordsmith your analysis, you can find themes and relevance in just about anything.
Example: Friday the 13th and Halloween series examine the terrible effects of teen promiscuity and drug use...

Truly successful horror (and sci-fi for that matter) play up on the concerns and fears of society at the time. Things like World War 2 and the Cold War have offered up many an allegory. Whenever there's a new advancement in science (atom bomb, cloning, etc.), new movies pop up to play on current paranoia. New tech also plays into new horror...
-Pulse: study on self-inflicted alienation and isolation through computers

I wonder if it's coincidence that so many "Boogeymen" movies have come out since 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil. No one is safe anywhere, not even in the nurturing womb of your own bed...
-Darkness Falls, They, Boogeyman, Freddy VS Jason (2 for 1), Grudge, etc.
"Important" in the sense that you feel it has a message that the world needs to hear.
Reply
post #20 of 22
9/30/06 at 8:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveB
Cronenberg's movies are always sort of complex when it comes to sex, but you could make a pretty strong case for Shivers and Rabid both being pretty "anti-sexual freedom." They're not overly didactic about it, but there are some pretty severe negative repercussions in those movies as a direct result of sexual actions (or, in the case of Rabid, of non-sexual actions depicted with a unmistakeable Cronenbergian sexual bent).

His stuff tends to be thematically rich enough that you can take away a lot from it. But it's unusual that there isn't an obvious sexual interpretation possible (heck, he even managed to squeeze overt sexual imagery into a movie about videogames, fame, and the concept of fatwa).
I actually think, given the ending, that Shivers is as much pro as anti- on sexual freedom.
Reply
post #21 of 22
10/1/06 at 6:16am
Yeah, I mean with Shivers, Cronenberg's called it a 'happy ending'.
Reply
post #22 of 22
10/1/06 at 2:41pm
All Cronenberg's genre pictures have happy endings. You simply have to be rooting for the virus, like he does. He presents a great discection of this in Faber & Faber's Cronenberg On Cronenberg, edited by Chris Rodley.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Creature Corner Main
CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › "Important" horror movies