A Pocket Archive (36)

Thoughts on Horror

Halloween is one of my favorite days of the year. I haven't dressed up since undergrad beyond occasional work functions, but I still enjoy seeing all the constumes, indulging in goodies, and absorbing the playfully spooky atmosphere, plus my now month-long fun of helping plan Halloween outfits for small angels. This year, I've also been watching classic horror films and catching up on everything I haven't seen yet.

I started getting into soft horror films in undergrad. The gypsy and I used to go to the cinema to see occasional slasher comedies, and one of my Russian friends used to go to every horror film with me that showed at the kino near the dormitory. I also enjoy creepy pastas, but I didn't discover those until a few years after graduation, when I listened to spooky stories to help keep me awake. There is a lot of variation in the genre and I have a soft spot for oldies, like 'Nosferatu' or anything involving Vincent Price. I also enjoyed 'The Thing', primarily due to the insane use of animatronics (there is 0 CGI in that film) and I find I'm drawn to films that border on thrillers, such as 'A Quiet Place', 'It', 'The Boy', and any of the Hannibal Lector series. There are also many films in this genre that are undeniable works of art. I do, however, feel a lot of horror borders more strongly on fostering fetishes than other genres of film, which is troubling, and I don't think creators of such movies can possibly be mentally well.

To be fair, horror is designed to give you chills, not the warm fuzzies. It's fun because of the "safe" adrenaline rushes and jumpscares, and if it's done well, it can also make you think. It's also a genre that gives viewers a safe place to confront their fears, and it can be a fun thrill with friends, just like ghost stories told around a campfire. One thing I don't like, however, is how sexualized women (especially teenagers) are in horror films. Women (and to a lesser extent, young men) also tend to be divided into two distinct categories in this genre: "promiscuous" (stronger and more vulgar words have been used) and "virgins", with both often meeting very grizzly ends, which suggests multiple troubling societals messages. It's amazing how quickly the scantily clad "hot girls" become victims, and there's almost a palpable connotation of some earned merit or glee in their deaths (usually after a chase scene or struggle of some sort) while the "virtuous" ones make it farther, but often die right after they think they're safe, or are forced to make choices that somehow leave them "corrupted" and less "pure". It's like the filmmakers take a devious pleasure in depicting beautiful or promiscuous women meet an allegedly deserved fate or "good" ones being defiled or brought down in some way, which has very disturbing implications. Both are catering to sexual fantasies (be that the audience's or the filmmakers'), and they do it with implied moral justifications attached. I don't think this is something that should be fostered in any films, but I can say for a fact that this is how some very dangerous people think, and it's not a monster we need to feed.

I watched 'Nightmare on Elmstreet' for the first time tonight, which also had this pattern repeated. For this reason, when it comes to the supernatural, I can safely conclude that I prefer things more akin to ghosts and folklore; I know sexual predators exist, but the latter two I'm not so sure about. I especially like stories about native American monsters like Wendigos and Skinwalkers, which tickle a very specific part of my brain that wonders and almost hopes that somehow the conspiracy theories and stories floating around Reddit and other odd corners of the internet just might have a grain of truth in them. I am fascinated by the unknown, but while it sends a shiver down my spine and makes my skin prickle, I also know that this kind of monster, even if real, is not something I need to be afraid of, though admittedly at this point in my life I am afraid of very little.

All this aside, I will probably continue binging spooky films for the next few weeks, if only to keep Mariah Carey at bay just a little longer. It's too late for Walmart, and Hobby Lobby was long gone well over a month ago, but with luck, I can keep the Christmas spirit sealed in it's frozen crypt just a bit longer - hopefully to AT LEAST the last Friday of November. Hearing her voice the first week of November is far scarier than any creepy sweater-clad dream ghoul with metal fingers!