During these movies I’m at the edge of my seat, I enjoy every jump and appreciate the filmmaker’s ability to induce that sense of unease that I so rarely get in my real life. Much like drinking, I always having fun, lots of, but when the show/party is over its time to go home. Then after both I always find myself lying in my bed unable to fall asleep till 3-4 AM. The next morning I always wake up and say I’ll never do that again, but somehow a few months later there I am at 3 in the morning unable to sleep. (which coincidentally is the witching hour)
Thankfully I don't drink to this point very often anymore. I've mostly learned my lesson on that front, but I can't say the same for horror movies. Now I should be clear here, I love a lot of horror films. Monster movies being my favorite. This is mostly because most horror movies are not designed to truly scare you. Monster movies are usually more thriller than scary. They startle you at best. There is a monster out in the dark trying to hunt the hero down and eat him/her, but it’s very real physical presence. All of the characters have a fighting chance to beat back the beast, and they almost always do. The strong / smart survive. JAWS, ALIENS, THE DECENT, any zombie, or any serial killer movie are all examples of monster movies. These movies illicit a response because we are not so much scared of the beast but worried for our heroes. It’s not really fear, but tension. I love these movies because they delve into that deep part of our psyche tapping into that fight or flight survival instinct.
In recent years gore movies have been big. They show us disturbing images in order to make you nauseous. They are not so much scary as they are disturbing. A few examples: SAW, HOSTEL, SILENT HILL…Personally I find this type of horror movie cheap. These movies often mask their story flaws and inability to manifest tension in an audience by showing them images that will act as a short cut to the effect. Frankly, I mostly avoid these movies. If I wanted to be grossed out I would just go to www.gross.com (don’t go here, seriously), and see some gruesome images and be done with it. These movies have been aptly nicknamed torture porn. Because like real porn these movies are a quick easy way to get your fix then move on, but are never really all that fulfilling. Unless of course its really high quality porn. PIRATES. Cheap internet porn (5 min) VS good sex (1 hour). Good horror movie (90 minutes) VS image of cutting someone’s optic nerve with a scissors (2 seconds).
Lastly there are the movies that keep me up at night. Demons / exorcism movies. These movies scare the bejezus out of me. They terrify me in the movie theater and almost always linger with me for a few days. I recently watched PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, actually I watched it about 6 hours ago, and still haven’t been able to fall asleep yet. Which is why I’m writing this at
It wasn’t until recently that I realized why these movies scare the shit out of me. I’m a logical person, and I tend to think that most intelligent beings rational beings. All actions are taken with purpose wither it be subconscious or otherwise. So most malicious actions that people take in life are usually done to fulfill some personal need or gain. I’m hurting you so I can get money. So I can get revenge. So I can take power. So I can punish. There are real world exceptions to this, (malice for pleasure), but they are few and far between. Their actions are rarely if ever random, and even if you are their target there is almost always some resource you can take to save yourself. The strong/smart still survive. But things are different when dealing with the devil.
Movies that deal with demonic possession typically have a protagonist who has done nothing to stand out from the crowd, but still is chosen. Chosen to be haunted, disturbed, taunted for amusement, and ultimately killed in some horrific manner. The demon wants nothing but to cause pain and suffering. There can be no negotiation. There can be no discussion. It takes without asking and reviles in others anguish. These movies come into your home, make no place safe, and they leave you no quiet assurances that you’ll make it through this. Because in the stories no one ever does.
Indiscriminate, random, unavoidable, non-negotiable, acts of malice... Pure evil. This is what scares me. This is what keeps me up at night. This is what makes me wish I just stayed home and watched stupid feel good comedy. Maybe next time I'll just spend my 15 bucks on a six pack and stay home. (probably not)
