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“Dawn of the Dead” was released when I was in the 5th grade.  At the time of its release, the film was not rated—no one under 17 was admitted.

Television advertisements during the week of the film’s release were thrilling.  My 5th Grade mind could not imagine any reason why a movie would be “Rated X” for horror, unless the movie was very scary, very transgressive, and somehow, very truthful.

Although I never got a chance to see “Dawn of the Dead” until its release on VHS years later, “DOTD” assumed legendary magnitude in my subconscious:  My imagination was fascinated with the film that I was forbidden to see.  For years, I had nightmares—as well as adventurous dreams—about the zombie world of DOTD.

When I finally saw DOTD, it did not disappoint.

By that time, I was already reading Stephen King and becoming interested in other horror sub-genres.  I organized my 15-year-old life around John Carpenter and Fangoria.

Finally, when “Nightmare on Elm Street” came out, the descriptions of the film sounded like fantasy crap and I never saw it.  When I finally stumbled onto it years later, I was blown away by the quality of it.  “Nightmare on Elm Street” to me is not merely a great horror film, but a brilliant non-genre film that I put near the top of my Best Films List.

But the problem with being a horror fan is that you must starve.  At your local video rental store, the Horror Section is always the smallest section in the store.

Could contemporary horror films recapture that sense of forbidden, underground, transgressive, too-honest adventure that my 5th Grade heart still craves?  Will there ever be a Horror Renaissance?  “Saw” and “Hostel” don’t do it for me, because of the pro-Abu Ghraib, pro-Bush political subtext that turns me off.  And I haven’t noticed any NC-17 horror films in a long time which aren’t transgressive for the sake of exploitation (which DOTD wasn’t).

I guess I’ll always be waiting and looking for my next horror fix.  Chasing the dragon.  Trying to recapture that first high—when horror movies meant something so dark and terrible, something so scary, something forbidden because it would be too raw and too truthful.

Horror movies are the finest genre.  So why is it the smallest section at the video store?

For me, it was Howling.  I popped it into the VCR at a tender age (I can’t quite remember when), and was instantly in love.  My mom used to tell me that when people would change, I’d pause it and call other people in the room to check it out with me.  I think that’s why I’m so fond of werewolves as a monster.

As for Horror being slim pickings, the problem is twofold.  First, not everybody loves the genre like we do.  Most folks would rather go see whatever brain-dead shmaltz Sandra Bullock is farting out this month than go see Dawn of the Dead, or even Slither.  The other problem is the genre is a breeding ground for crap.  So many directors think you just take around 4 morally questionable young people, make sure the girls flash their boobs at least once each, kill them all in a unique gory way one at a time, and let one get away for sequel potential, and you’ve got yourself a great horror movie.  It hurts the genre, and as long as directors stick to that “Horror by Numbers” format, the genre is going to suffer.

The first horror movies I ever saw were Friday part 1 and Halloween part 1, I saw them both on video so it must have been around 1981 or 82 and I remember sitting around the tv with my brothers at night getting ready for a double feature of horror goodness.  Surprisingly enough I did not have a single nightmare after watching those two back to back.  Anyway I was 12 at the time and from then on I was a horror fan and at 36 I am an even bigger fan and often troll eBay and Amazon for sales so I can extend by DVD collection.

On to your other question I think the biggest problem with modern horror movies is that they go for gore over shock and scares, Hostel was just an excuse to show how much gore could be put on the screen at once and it did not have any good scares of a classic horror movie like Halloween.  Also there are a lot of remakes at the moment of the traditional horror movies for the current generation of viewers so filmmakers seem to have gotten slack and don’t seem to be bothers with creating there own ideas which is a sad state of affairs if you are a horror fan.  Oh and another thing what is with the idea of making horror comedies?  Sure Shaun of the Dead was brilliant and is up with my all time favourite movies but after this there seems that everyone now wants to make horror movies and zombies funny.

My earliest movie memory is going to see Sleepy Beauty with our neighbors when I was very young - maybe four. The evil queen scared the daylights out of me and I had nightmares for weeks.

A couple of years later - I was about six - I was spent the night at my grandmother’s house and stayed up late watching Mighty Joe Young on Channel 4 (Indianapolis) hosted by Sammy Terry. I’ve loved horror films ever since.

The problem with modern horror is hard to pin-point; although I don’t disagree with any of the previous comments.

I don’t want to hop up on my feminist podium but I think there aren’t enough female voices in the genre. I was incredibly disappointed by Masters of Horror and thought they could benefit from some female perspectives. Especially when the directors opted to go with “women-centric” stories like Pro-Life and Screwfly.

I can’t remember exactly which was first, but I can remember a few films that were gateway films for me—- The Howling, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Friday the 13th, Salem’s Lot, It’s Alive, Mother’s Day, Magic (with Anthony hopkins), and Scanners. I saw all of these by the age of 9. I had the coolest grandparents on the planet.

I showered my grandpa with popcorn during the dog jumping scene in The Howling. This is a warning to anyone who takes a 7 year old to a horror film. Do not let him or her hold the popcorn. I twitched hard for a few moments from that stupid scene!

Salem’s Lot gave me a nightmare. Well, actually it was my grandpa. He told me they dangled a dead boy by his kneck from the roof during the scene where the boy comes back to vamp his brother.

While studios may be churning out crap there is a fault by the consumer in not doing research to find out which movies to properly support. Studios won’t make a movie if it isn’t going to churn a profit. So, to those of us who like the genre find out if the upcoming movies are worth your time.

1. If the director made only music videos or his previous body of work is crap then avoid the film. Their film might be worth a rental though.

2. If the trailer looks compelling enough be sure to check the studios history; if they seem to turn out crap then avoid the film.

3. You can check reviews, but by and large you should stick to reviewers who actually like the genre. Ebert and Roeper aren’t likely to talk up any horror films unless they are more drama than extreme or subversive. But to add to that make sure you know the history of the reviewers you read. If, say GonzoBerzerker (this is a fictional name not intended to reflect anyone living or dead)only seems to talk about zombie films then going to him about slasher or exploitation may be a mistake. But he could be dead on about any zombie films you have your eye on.

4. If a film stays in a theatre past the second week there may be something to it. Research to find out if is in fact a diamond in the rough. This isn’t always true, but it pays to keep an eye on things.

5. When you do find a film you like a lot be sure to talk about it. Everyone knows I love horror films. When I come across a good one I talk about it. Be not afraid, word of mouth pays large returns.

6. If you feel like going to a horror film, but aren’t sure if it will be any good bring a 7 year old. He might add a fun element and make the movie something more if he jumps at things you find cliche adding to the experience in unexpected ways.

7. If you do go to a stinker leave the damn theatre. Don’t start himming and hawing while the film goes on. Whining makes you a jerk if it takes away from others’ enjoyment. Leave the film and either find another one you might like or get your money back and leave.

The bottom line is be smart and responsible with your money. Do your research. You worked for your cash and a movie has to work just as hard if it deserves to take it from you.

oompa - 17 June 2007 03:17 PM

they go for gore over shock and scares, Hostel was just an excuse to show how much gore could be put on the screen at once and it did not have any good scares of a classic horror movie like Halloween. 

QFT

I’m not an avid horror junkie, I’m an avid sci-fi junkie, sort of a related form of dorkism.  The genres overlap in a lot of ways, carrying many of the same themes and stereotypes. 

That being said, like lots of people, I like a good scary story or movie.  But, as stated above, I’m beginning to think that great horror movies—forget original horror movies—are largely a bygone notion. 

Recent flicks like Saw and Hostel to me aren’t despicable because they’re pro-Bush or pro-Abu Gharib (which I don’t really think they are), but because they revel in cruelty for its own sake.  They lack any sense of humanity and only really appeal to the same sorts of kids who used to like to pull the wings off of flies. 

I think the same thing that’s happened to science fiction has happened to horror:  the sacrifice of everything to the visuals.  Bad characters?  No problem.  Putrid screenplay?  Don’t worry about it.  We’ll put $75 million in on special effects and a kickass trailer and try to get most of it back in the first weekend before word of mouth gets out. 

The horror genre seems to simply be creatively bankrupt anymore.  There’s just not much in the way of originality anymore.  So, to hell with the story.  Let’s just cram it full of gore and hope that 15 year old maladjusted males love it.

I think what’s happened with film is what’s happened with music:  don’t make what people want to hear or see or what artists want to produce.  Just send something down the corporate assembly line and ask marketing to beat people over the head with advertising. 

I always chuckle when the industry people bemoan the fall in CD sales.  It’s not piracy, and it’s not that you’re not reaching people.  They don’t like what you’re selling.  The problem isn’t the packaging, it’s the product.

I hope horror makes a comeback, but I’m not expecting it anytime soon.

I’ve avoided horror movies most of my life because of my over reactive imagination - I’m kind of a pussy when I’m watching them. But I’ve still always had this bizarre love for their existence, despite the fact that I rarely watched them. Poltergeist was the first one I ever saw, and the only one for a long time.

However, NotLP really revived my love for the genre and I’m currently catching up on all the classsics I missed out on. NotLP helps with this, and I really owe you guys for making the show. :)

The Wolfman was one of the first horror movies I really remember having an effect on me. When I was young, probably around 6-7, I’d go to the video store and look at the horror movies and the boxes looked so cool. I picked up one, I think it may have been the Toxic Avenger and asked my mom to rent it for me. She saw the movie a few years earlier and told me it was a little too adult for me. So I rented old flicks. Mainly universal monster movies. Wolfman, Frankenstein, Dracula, Creature from the Black Lagoon. The movies freaked me out and I loved it. I didn’t watch horror movies for about 10 years after that. Then my friend showed me Evil Dead, and I was hooked again.

For me, it was when I first started reading and read “Where the Wild Things Are”
By Maurice Sendak.  I was hooked every since.  I remember my extreme disapointment that there was no werewolf in the hardy boys book “Night of the Werewolf.”  One of the earliest movies I remember seeing are late night horror movies on TV - like Dracula 1970 (i think - the one where college students put some of his ashes on pizza).  I would watch old re-runs of Kolchak the Night Stalker late at night with my sister.  Then there was a Nightmare on Elm Street.  I still love Werewolf movies best - but that movie cemented my love of the horror genre.

My earliest horror experience came from the book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  The stories were creepy but the illustrations really freaked me out.  As for horror films at age 5 I was exposed to the double billing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead.  I managed to survive TCM but the moment the guy’s head explodes in the housing project I excused myself and went to bed.  I was hooked/scared of those movies for several years but eventually embraced them.  And now I am a horror junkie.

CemeteryMan78 - 01 July 2007 07:41 PM

My earliest horror experience came from the book series Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.  The stories were creepy but the illustrations really freaked me out.  As for horror films at age 5 I was exposed to the double billing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead.  I managed to survive TCM but the moment the guy’s head explodes in the housing project I excused myself and went to bed.  I was hooked/scared of those movies for several years but eventually embraced them.  And now I am a horror junkie.

The pictures in those books f**king scarred me for life…

CemeteryMan78 - 01 July 2007 07:41 PM

As for horror films at age 5 I was exposed to the double billing of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead.  I managed to survive TCM but the moment the guy’s head explodes in the housing project I excused myself and went to bed. 

Wow.

Were your parents around?

I have to say that my first expierence with horror was probably a double edged sword. My first encounter with a real memorable horror expierence was when i was 6 and my mom was working nights and we had a babysitter that just made sure me and my sis were sleeping. Well, I had the TV on in my room and low and behold Friday the 13th Part IV The Final Chapter. Wow. At 6 that movie scared the crap outta me and I didnt watch another horror movie for awhile. I think it was more of seeing a bald young Corey Feldmen more than Jason, but eh who knows. Anywho, I couldnt watch another horror movie for awhile. Then, when I was about 13 or 14 I watched Scream and as much as I hate to say it, it really influenced and rekindled my interest in horror. That’s right I enjoyed Scream and it will always have a place in my heart as the gateway drug that introduced me into the world of being an extreme horror fantatic. I mean, in all seriousness, it had so much self-referential stuff going on, and I sorta caught on to that, but it made me want to know more about the genre and acually look into and know facts and trivia and stupid stuff that horror afficiandos know.  So yeah, thats my story.

Zombie3X53 wrote:

I didnt watch another horror movie for awhile. I think it was more of seeing a bald young Corey Feldman more than Jason

Your parents should be ashamed of themselves for exposing you to Corey Feldman at such a young age.