Horror movies. No other genre can garner such fervent reactions from people. Emotions ranging from disgust, shock and revulsion, to amusement, joy and laughter. I’ve personally experienced the gamut of feelings over the 26 years that I’ve been watching horror movies, but no nightmare or terror or abhorrence can keep me from them. I’ve often wondered why people, and more to the point why I, love horror movies the way we do. I don’t think anyone can challenge the protests of people who can’t stomach them, but what is it that keeps horror audiences coming back for more? One theory is that people who watch horror movies are sensation seekers. They crave adventure and danger, a taste for something unusual, perverse and exhilarating. But given that most of us are normal people with average jobs and loving families, our real lives don’t come anywhere close to being that thrilling. So we experience those emotions vicariously, in the safety of our homes, through the intensity of the horror movie.
It’s hard to be objective when you’ve been watching horror movies for as long as I have. To me, horror movies are more about atmosphere, tone and experience, than they are pulse-pounding methods of excitement. It’s always a welcome surprise when I get scared from a horror movie but that rarely happens anymore. I fear that I’ve become desensitized. I can watch damn near anything now and, while sometimes still shocking or gross, I can stomach it all. From the head bashing and rape scenes in 2002’s French thriller Irreversible, to the triple human abomination of 2009’s Dutch horror The Human Centipede, to the full body skinning in 2008’s French horror Martyrs.
In 1985 I was 7 years old and while spending the night at my best friend’s house I watched my very first horror movie. The movie was 1980’s Prom Night starring Miss Scream Queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis. My best friend and I lay on the floor in front of the television, we were wide-eyed and scared and eating popcorn and candy with the lights off as we watched beautiful teenagers being picked off, one by one, and slaughtered on the day of their prom. I was hooked. We both were. And from that day forward we would watch horror movies whenever we had a sleepover, sometimes to the frightened objections of our other little girlfriends. But that didn’t stop us. By the time I was 14 years old I had seen Carrie, The Omen, Halloween I and II, most Friday the 13th movies, Sleepaway Camp I and II, most Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Children of the Corn, Return of the Living Dead, April Fool’s Day, Witchboard, Dolls, Prom Night 2, The Gate, Lost Boys, Gremlins, Prince of Darkness, Return to Horror High, Child’s Play, The Lady in White and Pet Sematary. To name a few…
Not many people share my passion for horror and over the years I’ve become accustomed to watching the majority of them alone. I turn off the lights, light candles, pour myself a glass of wine, make popcorn and settle in with my cats to watch teenagers run for their lives, stealthy creatures decimate populations, or unknown viruses turn good folk into crazed killers. It’s only in the last few years that I’ve met a few people who enjoy horror movies (almost) as much as I do. A few of us have a semi-regular horror movie night once a week wherein we pick two movies, drink wine, smoke hookah and eat popcorn and candy and heckle the night away. They are some of my favorite nights.
I have seen 645 horror movies (by today’s count) since that very day in 1985 when I watched Prom Night. Sure, it’s a hefty number, but considering how many more movies that I have yet to see - classics and B-movies, foreign ones and brand new ones - I still have a ways to go.
My Top 15 Favorite Horror Movies! (to date)
April Fool’s Day - 1986 US slasher movie
The Changeling - 1980 US supernatural movie
Dawn of the Dead - 2004 US zombie movie - remake
Demons - 1985 Italian satanic movie
The Exorcist 3 - 1990 US satanic movie
The Fog - 1980 US supernatural movie
Halloween - 1978 US slasher movie
High Tension - 2003 French slasher movie
Martyrs - 2008 French slasher movie
The Mist - 2007 US creature feature
The Return of the Living Dead - 1985 US zombie movie
Scream (series) - 1996 US slasher movie
Suspiria - 1977 Italian supernatural movie
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - 2003 US slasher movie - remake
The Thing - 1982 US creature feature
I have nightmares near constantly. I dream of zombies and Apocalypses, horrible creatures and crazed stalkers, satanic cults, epidemics and hauntings. Just last night I dreamt that Jason Voorhees was stalking my mother and me in my childhood home. I looked out the window, it was dark, and he emerged from the woods slowly, very slowly, walking across the front yard and coming to stand under my bedroom window. He looked up at me, giant machete in hand, and just stood there unwavering. I ducked down quickly and when I peeked out again he was gone, and then there was pounding at the front door. I woke up, heart hammering, terrified and having to pee. When I got up from bed I looked out my bedroom window, which is ground level, and was convinced Jason was going to appear. I’m not immune to getting scared or having nightmares, I just happen to like it. It’s a fake, safe fear that allows your imagination to run rampant, lets your heart race and your skin crawl without actually being harmed. It’s a damn good time!
Horror movies are my passion and through this site I will share with you my thoughts and critiques on the movies I watch every week. Sometimes I will watch them alone or with friends, while drinking wine or eating dinner, with cats on my lap or while folding laundry… the company and the situation surrounding watching a horror movie may always differ but one thing will always remain the same, I watch my horror movies in the dark.
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