Mwa ha ha ha...
I have some friends at work who I chat with about movies all the time, and who happen to be big horror movie fans. Since they're always getting on me about "WHAT?!? You haven't seen fill-in-the-blank?", and since I'm in the mood, I decided to crack into my languishing horror movie to-do queue. I'm pretty picky about the horror movies I like, but the ones that I do like are some of my favorites. I'm not a fan of jump scares, or films that just ceaselessly inflict pain and unpleasantness on the viewer. The horror films I like are the ones that have a little something extra. The work of Sam Raimi succeeds on sheer imagination and wit: his first Evil Dead film is a classic because it has such excessive gore, and just enough black humor to avoid descending into parody as the sequels did. The first Saw film was interesting because it had an unpredictable plot, and since you were really in suspense as to who would live or die.
But my favorite horror goes a layer deeper than people just getting hacked to pieces. The best of the genre capitalizes on very specific fears or fascinations in an original and creative way. Case in point is tonight's Netflix entry, Hellraiser (1987). Hellraiser explores sadomasochism, centering around a mysterious puzzle box that promises sensation beyond the limits of human experience. When the box is opened, gothy demons appear and spirit their summoner away to a realm of eternal torture. D'oh! Admittedly the screenplay is fairly illogical in spots, and the budget was definitely low, though Clive Barker sure got creative with the money he did have. But those flaws don't really matter because the film's vision is so strong. Images of pleasure and pain feed off one another, and the demons are simultaneously repulsive and... well, kind of cool. The housewife who appears to be the heroine at the film's start is tempted to commit murders to resurrect her illicit lover (whose soul has recently escaped from the S&M demons): the conflict is between her human decency and her craving for rough sex, which is pretty cool.
So thumbs up on Hellraiser. I'm not saying it's for everyone, I'm just saying it's awesome. Just don't watch Videodrome afterwards, since I think at that point you probably would go to hell. Next on my queue: Nightmare on Elm Street. Yes, I'm that guy who hasn't seen it. Get over it.
But my favorite horror goes a layer deeper than people just getting hacked to pieces. The best of the genre capitalizes on very specific fears or fascinations in an original and creative way. Case in point is tonight's Netflix entry, Hellraiser (1987). Hellraiser explores sadomasochism, centering around a mysterious puzzle box that promises sensation beyond the limits of human experience. When the box is opened, gothy demons appear and spirit their summoner away to a realm of eternal torture. D'oh! Admittedly the screenplay is fairly illogical in spots, and the budget was definitely low, though Clive Barker sure got creative with the money he did have. But those flaws don't really matter because the film's vision is so strong. Images of pleasure and pain feed off one another, and the demons are simultaneously repulsive and... well, kind of cool. The housewife who appears to be the heroine at the film's start is tempted to commit murders to resurrect her illicit lover (whose soul has recently escaped from the S&M demons): the conflict is between her human decency and her craving for rough sex, which is pretty cool.
So thumbs up on Hellraiser. I'm not saying it's for everyone, I'm just saying it's awesome. Just don't watch Videodrome afterwards, since I think at that point you probably would go to hell. Next on my queue: Nightmare on Elm Street. Yes, I'm that guy who hasn't seen it. Get over it.