THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!!
First off-- I apologize for the delay in my writing... writing doesn't come naturally for me, thus when I get lazy it takes an effort for me to break my own lazy tendencies and will myself to write...
So I'm trying to "will" myself tonight. I've made a discovery about myself that mildly disturbs me. For a majority of my life, I've claimed that I don't like horror movies. But more accurately, I am not a fan of current horror movies. I don't like watching humans making other humans suffer, which is the trend in horror movies today. (IE The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rob Zombies: House of 1000 Corpses, and Saw, all of which I've seen... and I liked Saw okay, because it went beyond senseless torture of people... but not too much.)-- However, I do enjoy a mediocre 80's or early 90's Slasher Flick because of the camp inherent to these movies.
Yet I do enjoy movies that place the audience in unusual or awkward circumstances, I mean how talented is a filmmaker who takes us to a place we've been a myriad of times? Brilliance is achieved in placing characters in difficult emotional
circumstances and watching them make the "right or wrong" choice. A good example can be taken in virtually any zombie movie ever made, in which a lover watches his or her partner become a zombie, do emotions win out or does the lover have the courage to kill their loved one, to preserve their own life? These are the horror stories that fascinate me. Zombie movies are enjoyable even when executed poorly for that reason. Because it forces you to step outside the actual film, and consider "what would I do in this situation" presuming it is real.
However, two zombie flicks stick out as being better than average, (remember I am dealing with my issues of whether I'm a horror fan of not, thus if I've left out other worthy movies please forgive me) because they are made with attention to detail, and fully fleshed out characters. It's the difference between a film maker who is making a movie because they are passionate with all the fiber of their bodies in making THAT movie, and one that is doing it to receive a pay check first and to make a good movie second; Shaun of the Dead as well as Slither (written and directed by James Gunn.) Remember watching The Lord of the Rings and at some point thinking, "Peter Jackson really loves these books!" James Gunn loves horror movies in the same way Jackson loves LOTR. Gunn makes his movies with an eye for detail, and the passion of a child in love with movies. The best films are made with that type of passion for the subject matter at hand. Shaun of the Dead and Slither are prime examples.
I recently watched A History of Violence, by David Cronenberg. Doing so turned me on to other works of his and I rented and watched The Fly (within the last 2 hours). The Fly (like Slither and Shaun of the Dead) is a Horror/sci-fi film, and a character driven love story. Cronenberg, takes his time, he allows his audience to experience the characters. He sets up the story and makes it as believable as possible, so half way through the movie you're not thinking "where the heck did THAT come from?" He's sets up the audience like a master chess player, slowly but surely you fall into his trap, and then in a "flurry of attacks" (cinema magic) "you're defeated" (on the edge of your seat...) and as quickly as the onslaught starts, it's over and you're left stunned at what a complex "horror/sci-fi" film you just watched. The Fly is a character study, a love story, and as you may have guessed as an audience member you're put into awkward position and forced to choose what you'd do in a similar situation.
So I'm a horror fan, what does this mean? I guess it means I like movies, if they're well told stories with passionate directors at the helm, the label isn't important the execution is. Thus I can truthfully call myself a horror fan, and if I ever became a zombie, I'd hope my wife would know what to do.
So I'm trying to "will" myself tonight. I've made a discovery about myself that mildly disturbs me. For a majority of my life, I've claimed that I don't like horror movies. But more accurately, I am not a fan of current horror movies. I don't like watching humans making other humans suffer, which is the trend in horror movies today. (IE The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Rob Zombies: House of 1000 Corpses, and Saw, all of which I've seen... and I liked Saw okay, because it went beyond senseless torture of people... but not too much.)-- However, I do enjoy a mediocre 80's or early 90's Slasher Flick because of the camp inherent to these movies.
Yet I do enjoy movies that place the audience in unusual or awkward circumstances, I mean how talented is a filmmaker who takes us to a place we've been a myriad of times? Brilliance is achieved in placing characters in difficult emotional
circumstances and watching them make the "right or wrong" choice. A good example can be taken in virtually any zombie movie ever made, in which a lover watches his or her partner become a zombie, do emotions win out or does the lover have the courage to kill their loved one, to preserve their own life? These are the horror stories that fascinate me. Zombie movies are enjoyable even when executed poorly for that reason. Because it forces you to step outside the actual film, and consider "what would I do in this situation" presuming it is real.
However, two zombie flicks stick out as being better than average, (remember I am dealing with my issues of whether I'm a horror fan of not, thus if I've left out other worthy movies please forgive me) because they are made with attention to detail, and fully fleshed out characters. It's the difference between a film maker who is making a movie because they are passionate with all the fiber of their bodies in making THAT movie, and one that is doing it to receive a pay check first and to make a good movie second; Shaun of the Dead as well as Slither (written and directed by James Gunn.) Remember watching The Lord of the Rings and at some point thinking, "Peter Jackson really loves these books!" James Gunn loves horror movies in the same way Jackson loves LOTR. Gunn makes his movies with an eye for detail, and the passion of a child in love with movies. The best films are made with that type of passion for the subject matter at hand. Shaun of the Dead and Slither are prime examples.
I recently watched A History of Violence, by David Cronenberg. Doing so turned me on to other works of his and I rented and watched The Fly (within the last 2 hours). The Fly (like Slither and Shaun of the Dead) is a Horror/sci-fi film, and a character driven love story. Cronenberg, takes his time, he allows his audience to experience the characters. He sets up the story and makes it as believable as possible, so half way through the movie you're not thinking "where the heck did THAT come from?" He's sets up the audience like a master chess player, slowly but surely you fall into his trap, and then in a "flurry of attacks" (cinema magic) "you're defeated" (on the edge of your seat...) and as quickly as the onslaught starts, it's over and you're left stunned at what a complex "horror/sci-fi" film you just watched. The Fly is a character study, a love story, and as you may have guessed as an audience member you're put into awkward position and forced to choose what you'd do in a similar situation.
So I'm a horror fan, what does this mean? I guess it means I like movies, if they're well told stories with passionate directors at the helm, the label isn't important the execution is. Thus I can truthfully call myself a horror fan, and if I ever became a zombie, I'd hope my wife would know what to do.
posted by The Dre at 6:33 PM
2 Comments:
Good call, Dre. "I like movies...the label doesn't matter." This is where more and more I realize I sit, too. I am a fan of stories told cinematically, as long as they're done well. What sort of story it is matters much less than the quality of the storytellers.
2 types of films: good and bad. good post.
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