Last week (yeah, I know, I should have written sooner) we watched one of my favorite movies, El Espinazo del Diablo, a ghost story set in a Spanish orphanage during the Spanish Civil War. For those of you who don't habla Espanol, El Espinazo del Diablo is Spanish for The Devil's Backbone. It was directed by Guillermo del Toro, probably best known in the U.S. for Mimic, Blade II, and Hellboy. He also wrote and directed a film called Cronos, a fascinating reworking of the vampire mythos.
If you haven't seen any of del Toro's films, I would highly recommend all of them, with the unfortunate caveat, however, that they may be classified as horror movies. I say unfortunate because I think the horror genre is one that many people simply dismiss out of hand.
So I'd like to begin discussion with a few questions:
1. If you avoid horror, why?
2. If you enjoy horror, why?
3. What horror movies/stories do you enjoy, and have you watched any that you wish you hadn't?
Del Toror's next film, Pan's Labyrinth, comes out in December. I've only seen the trailer, but I think it's my favorite movie ever.
About Me
- Ryan
- My wife Mandy and I have a band called willowfair, check us out at www.sonicbids.com/willowfair
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2 comments:
I will typically avoid horror as a general rule, but nothing hard and fast. I hadn't thought too much about why, so it's good that you asked the question. I think there are a couple of reason that I don't enjoy the majority of horror that I have watched (which is definitely not as extensive as you, Buddy).
1. Horror is pretty much synonomous with being scary, so it's pretty much a done deal that if you put that in you're asking to be scared. I like to be surprised with what I watch, and I feel like I know what they're trying to do before it starts so it takes away a lot of the mystery. Just like purely sappy movies are designed to make me cry, and that makes me not super interested in those either. The only mystery is in HOW they will scare me, and that's just not enough for me.
2. Getting scared just for the sake of getting scared doesn't teach me how to truly deal with fear. It somehow encourages my mind to bottle and channel my fear in a way that is just meant for entertainment.
There are horror movies that are exceptions to these 2 points, and I will gladly watch them. If you've got a picture of something scary on the cover, you've probably violated point number 1. If you don't have anything in your movie besides the scary parts, you've probably violated point number 2. If so, I don't feel they are worth it.
Glad I watched: Army of Darkness
Unhappy I watched: Friday the 13th
As a side note, books that are full of suspense and are somewhat scary seem to be much more interesting to me than the movies. hmmmm.
I LOVE horror films! They are one of my many guilty pleasures!
I think it started because when I was little I used to stay up late to watch scary movies with my dad....so there is some nostalgia involved.
But I think I also like them because I like the rush of being scared! I like them for the same reason some people might like rollercoasters....the adrenaline.
(Overall, I shy away from the REALLY gory ones because blood and guts doesn't make it any more scary ...just more gross.)
Ryan mentioned that he feels "the only mystery (in the horror films) is in the HOW they will scare (him) and that's just not enough for him" and I think that is exactly one of the reasons I like them...they are just there to scare you. They are often not trying to make a deep point or political or social statement...you can just watch, get your adrenaline rush, then walk away. This is so different from the movies I am usually drawn to, it is a nice change.
*jillmarie
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