Horror just wasn’t my thing. I’m from the era that spawned Jason Voorhees, Freddie Kreuger & Leatherface. Before it descended into excessive gore & borderline ridiculousness in franchises like Scream, Saw & Child’s Play (how the hell did that even become a thing?), horror films were… scary!
That said, to this day I vividly remember 10-year-old me sitting on the edge of the sofa with friends in a basement watching Friday the 13th in the dark. At one of those oh-so-suspense-filled moments, our host’s dad crept up beside me disguised in a ghoulish mask, slowly leaning in until I felt his presence. My shriek of terror was full-bodied. Laughter at my expense ensued in that room for many minutes.
Do you recall the nights you sprinted upstairs after turning off the lights below hoping to outrun with all you could muster whatever stalking entity’s fingertips were reaching to you from out of the dark?
Seeing Regan gesticulate while bound to her bed in The Exorcist & the crazed clown creep up behind Robbie in Poltergeist definitely left impressions on me & may have caused some moments in life where calming self-talk after being confronted with a bump in the night was required. (Maybe it still is!)
Most horror films since those days have been anything but scary, realistic or even purposeful. At least for me. I’d lost hope in the genre until James Wan reminded me of what horror suspense felt like with The Conjuring.
Now horror in all it’s renditions (slasher, gore, etc.) has always had a huge fan base with roots heavily set in humanity’s most ancient tales of mystery, supernatural beings & events, folklore & urban legends. There’s entire film festivals dedicated to the genre & new feature films are pumped out year after year, from all over the world. The things that scare us most still influence us so completely that we continue to retell & re-imagine these tales over & over.
Some of the next great filmmakers from this genre are cutting their teeth right now with the short film. Alter’s YouTube channel is stocked full of great short films that will make you want to check under your bed & in your closet before you call it a night. If you’re a fan of the genre –or just like to be freaked out every now and again –you must check it out.