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obviously we are. This was a good little article that states alot of stuff I’m certain most of us feel..

I feel we will always be looked down upon, The Silence Of The Lambs was considered a thriller when it made it to the Oscars, Pan’s Labryinth was considered a “dark fantasy” film. The truth is we will always be looked upon by the general public as a bunch of lonely mouth breathers and some of us may be those kinds of people but I find that we are a very bright bunch of fans who not only question what we like about cinema, but also what the truths are behind everything. Horror fans tend to be, in my experience, very articulate (when sober) and obsessive. Whats wrong with that?

See, I don’t feel that way at all. I look at fans as individuals, not as a general mass.

Looking at fans as individuals is great, but I think the general public doesn’t feel that way about horror fans. I grew up listening to metal music during the whole “if your child listens to this music he worships the devil” phase. Before video games became the bane of a childs existence now as thats the boat they have jumped on. I’ve met a ton of people at conventions who are very happy to be fans…..at the convention…..once they get back home they tell me nobody knows what kind of film fan they really are….there is still a phantom of shame for some that they will not admit.

Horror fans are quite unique people and I would rather be around someone who questions almost everything, like horror fans tend to, than be around the people who watch maybe one horror film every couple of years and only because the critics say its a good film. We are a breed of treasure hunters always looking for that little gem of a movie, we have passion, we care about our culture and when you think about it, how many times have you asked a film snob if they have seen a particular film and the reply is “I dont generally watch horror films?”

There are a lot of us out there, but only a portion will admit to being a horror fan boy. Unfortunately Hollywood caters to teenagers with their horror films and in my opinion this makes horror fans look like a group of people who don’t want to grow up. It’s a smart business model, but thats how they see the films, as business not art.

I got some great info from Paul Solet(Director of Grace) the other day about how Horror gets done in hollywood the interview will be up next week, but he made some great points of how you lose control of your project and get told who will be in your film,  who will produce and so on which is why it gets watered down. To many non horror fans working on horror project. Also Paul Solet smurfin great dude.

Nothing against anyone on these boards and not to make anyone mad, but horror fans are overly self-important.  Some of the people I see on the message boards I go to and the opinions they vomit forth just leave me dumb founded.  I mean, seriously, these people can not honestly be this damn full of themselves?

Now, if you like horror movies, which I do, then good on ya, go forth and watch horror movies.  Do not expect me to be awe struck by the fact that all you watch is horror movies, that you think horror movies are the only form of quality cinema (truly laughable claim, that) or that you gave Bruce Campbell a hand job.  I don’t care.  Just watch the freakin movies, have a good time and quite trying to turn cheesy horror flicks into overly important social commentary.  Sometimes, a zombie is just a zombie.  To be fair, though, sometimes a zombie is a statement about commercialism, as well.

As for if we are under appreciated, when was the last time a drama convention came to town?  Ever heard of anyone trading Ace Ventura posters or trying to get the whole cast of Cabin Boy to sign their DVD at ComedyFest 05?  There is an entire industry built around the heart and passion we have for this genre, so no, I cant agree that we are under appreciated.  At least, not by the people that actually make good horror films.  I do not care what the squares think of us and neither should any of you.  I don’t care that all my friends hate the metal I listen to, so why should I care what they think about my taste in films?

To finally address the concerns in the linked article; who cares what Hollywood does?  Seriously, they ignore us because we mostly only come out for the actual good films, which are few and far between.  The films the horror fan base tends to like also tend to scare off the squares, which is why some of the best horror films are seen on the small screen and not the large.  Americans in general are idiots and they come out in droves for idiotic, mindless drivel, because they don’t want to think and they don’t want to be challenged.  Tough for them.  Semi-tough for us, as well.  Good horror almost never does well in theaters here in the states.  I do not foresee that changing anytime soon, so why worry over us being snubbed by the drivel spewers in Hollywood?

Just my thoughts.

Yeah, I’m with Naked Eskimo on this one. Well played.