Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Renee Obsidianwords on July 12, 2008 at 9:22pm

I LOVE HORROR! I have for as long as I remember. My first horror book was Carrie by Stephen King (read that at age 10) I dove right into all of Kings works then came Dean Koontz, Clive Barker and any author that wrote about blood and guts!

My love of horror I think stems from a need to 'escape' from the realities of a tough upbringing. I believe by understanding what is real and what is not from that age helped keep me critical of what I read and heard of "god".

Permalink Reply by Dane on July 12, 2008 at 9:48pm

The characters on horror films seem to follow the same clichés over and over again. I want to see one where smart people actually beat the phycho at his or her own game, or at the very least use commen sense. But as far as favorites go I'd have to say I prefer sci fi types. Even lame classic ones like the blob are quite entertaining. The Invasion is a good one that I've seen recently.

Permalink Reply by IsThatLatin on July 14, 2008 at 7:05am

Agreed. It was fun when the first Scream came out, because there'd been a bit of a horror drought throughout the 90s and this was both refreshing and simultaneously an homage to the slasher flicks I liked so much. But then it let loose the floodgates of the same ol' same ol'. It's true that there's probably no difference between that over kill and the flood of slashers in the 80s, except for two points: 1) sequels didn't get cranked out 6 to 9 months after the first like they do today (in many cases are already in production while the first is still in the theaters), and 2) I see those older movies differently because they give me a sense of nostalgia and thus they're are more easily forgiven. :)

PS...The Blob?? Lame? Surely you jest!

Permalink Reply by IsThatLatin on July 14, 2008 at 7:01am

It is really just us? Can we really be the only atheists who love horror? That's shocking! :)

I admit to not being all that interested in recent horror, although I check it out now and then. I don't burn to catch the new flick or read the new book. I still, though, relish the horror of the 60s, 70s and 80s and still indulge on a regular basis. I think it's just a comfortable nostalgia for me. I can't get the same excitement from new horror as I can with old horror.

Anyway, I think I recall really getting into it when I was about 9 or so. Video rental was still relatively new, and when we'd rent something, I almost always lost out to my sister's pick of magical fantasy movies. So, I caught what I could on TV and when I got a little older, went and rented on my own--mostly Friday the 13ths and so on. Then I branched out, caught TCM, the Dead films, Re-Animator. As I got older, I got into the Full Moon flicks, as cheeseball as they are. When I was about 14, I decided to be a special effects person and was obsessed with it until I was about 20 or so (I went so far as to go to school for it--by the time I was 16 I had contacts with Tom Savini and Dick Smith...I was doing well!). By then, Jurassic Park and T3 had come out and rang the death knell for on camera effects. CGI has never interested me.

Anyway, I still love it. I still love watching flicks like American Werewolf in London and still firmly believe that it contains the all-time best werewolf transformation scene on film. :) And Day of the Dead is still one of the best showcases for gore effects tricks evah!

Permalink Reply by IsThatLatin on July 15, 2008 at 10:41am

I haven't seen Nosferatu in a while, though I do own it. It's swell. I do have a Cabinet of Dr. Caligari tattoo. I think that counts. :)

Permalink Reply by Goodie Faithless on December 6, 2008 at 5:41pm

Wow, those are old school hardcore horror classics. I used to watch a TV show that featured an horror film every day. I don't remember all their names. It was mostly cheezy films where people were being attacked by giant spiders, mud monsters, disembodied hands or mad scientists. I loved one where a mad scientist shrunk people. He had a tiny kitty cat in a matchbox, and doll sized people in glass tubes who came to life or froze at his command.

Permalink Reply by vjack on July 15, 2008 at 8:25pm

My tastes change quite a bit over time, and I tend to go through phases where I'll immerse myself in a particular subgenre and watch nothing else until I tire of it. I recently did that with Asian horror, but I think I'm coming out of it now.

I've seen some terrible flicks lately, so I'm not sure what I'll be into next. Generally, I prefer the supernatural stuff and avoid the torture porn.

Permalink Reply by IsThatLatin on July 16, 2008 at 8:27am

I knew it. I knew you liked horror. :) I'm with you an the changing tastes thing. I go through phases, and my tastes have clearly changed through the years. In high school and a bit beyond, all I would have is horror. Couldn't get enough of it. Now I'm big into a lot of other genres, but horror inhabits a special place for me that is obviously just not going away. :)

I myself am not so much into horror exploitation--as much of 70s Italian gore, for instance, can be slotted. Then there's the put-and-out exploitation, which is nothing but. It has something to do with presentation and theme. You know it when you see it.

I'm also a big supernatural film fan, particularly the ghosty flicks--The Haunting, Poltergeist, The Haunting of Hell House, The Others, etc. Good, good stuff.

Permalink Reply by CultCinemaCritic on July 16, 2008 at 12:44pm

I'm a sucker for Asian horror cinema. Some of my favorite films from Asia include The Eye, A Tale of Two Sisters, Ringu 0: Basudei, Ringu, Shutter, Dark Water, Ju-on, Kairo and Sigaw (Phillipines).

I'm deeply passionate about horror from all over the world. I'm not really too interested in slasher cinema but it's had its classics like Psycho, Bay of Blood, Halloween and even Friday The 13th. I do my best to steer clear of the newer slash 'n' dash cinema though.

Permalink Reply by Chris on July 16, 2008 at 9:03pm

I've always been a horror junkie, but in a way I'm more into the camp that this genre produces more than any other (except maybe porn).

I don't get really scared by movies unless there's some element of possibility in the story line - like "In Cold Blood" or "Cape Fear," for example. I put those movies in a completely different category. I like the kind where the gore is so gratuitous and silly that I'm as much amazed by the effort someone put into creating the movie as I am the actual movie.

I used to get high and go to horror movies in college. I remember I went to see one of the Friday the 13th sequels (does it matter which one?) and I started laughing uncontrollably the minute my friend and I walked in and realized we were the only ones in the theater. Then, the opening scene was some highlights from Jason's last adventure, included by the director to give the viewer important clues to our antagonist's motivations. The first of these was Jason stabbing someone through her midsection with a pitchfork, then shoveling her over his shoulder like snow. This of course made me spit soda and popcorn all over the place and I didn't stop laughing for three days.

Then as soon as I got my first VCR I started renting every movie I could find that had words like: camp, sleepover, massacre, cheerleader, night of, sorority, cannibal, curse of, etc.

I think the greatest achievements in this genre are the Evil Dead movies and a great overlooked Hugh Grant vehicle called Lair of the White Worm.

Permalink Reply by IsThatLatin on July 17, 2008 at 6:50am

You know, I've never watched Liar of the White Worm. I recall distinctly seeing the VHS box cover whilst perusing to rent, but always passed it up--probably in favor of the camp, sleepover, massacre, cheerleader, night of, sorority, cannibal, curse of flicks. :)

I'm with you, Chris. I can't count the times that I and my pals were either the only ones in the theater, or we were the only ones laughing in the theater. In fact, this:

The first of these was Jason stabbing someone through her midsection with a pitchfork, then shoveling her over his shoulder like snow.

...made me laugh when I read it. :)

Permalink Reply by Chris on July 17, 2008 at 11:41am

Heh...

FYI, "Lair of the White Worm" is based on the last (unfinished) story by Bram Stoker, after he had started suffering from senile dementia. It's a mix of vampire/monster/pagan/love story, played mostly for laughs but not goofy like a Troma movie.

I highly recommend it.

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