The Jaded Horror Fan – An Introduction
Before I get started, let me preface this and warn people that my opinions on the horror genre in no way reflect those of Dread Central. This is simply an introduction to me and my feelings as a whole. I may throw a few recommendations here and there, but this is mostly detailing my frustrations with the genre. That being said, you’re welcome.
The Toxic Avenger was the first horror movie I can remember watching; whether or not it was the original or one of the sequels, I don’t know. I was eating spaghetti of all things, my mom was there, and it was on TV for some reason. I can remember thinking to myself that evening, “Why am I eating something that looks like blood and guts?” That’s where the memory ends, but I believe that’s what started my fascination with the horror genre.
My name is Steve Wood; I’m 31 years old with a wife and a few kids. Why am I sharing all of this with random strangers on the Internet? I’m not sure, but I feel all is relevant when attempting to explain my experiences in the genre and how I feel about horror as a whole now that I have kids who also love the scary stuff.
I blame my dad for encouraging my obsession with all things blood and guts. Some of my earliest theater-going experiences included watching Interview with the Vampire, Scream, Event Horizon and The Exorcist when it was brought back on the big screen. All of this perpetrated by someone claiming he was squeamish and wasn’t a fan of overtly violent movies. I was hooked. It was as simple as that. Sure, I was scared when I saw certain things but never really grossed out and probably because I knew everything was fake.
Fast-forwarding about 20 years or so, my views on the genre have changed quite a bit. I still try to catch most VOD releases, the Netflix crap and my personal favorite, the indie horror gems that I stumble upon from time to time. If I had to pick a favorite sub-genre of horror, I’d say anything zombie-related, and I do mean “anything.” I’m fairly certain I’ve seen most every zombie movie released since 2000 or so.
The title of this article has the term “jaded” in it; yet, I sound like someone blindly praising the genre. Believe me… that is not the case. My problem, along with many others, is that horror as a whole is just plain saturated, the issue being that with this genre over others, quantity of quality is king. An occasional blessing may come along every other year or so, but in the grand scheme of things, the stories are lacking, and it’s sad. We’ve seen everything already; original ideas are few and far between. The best situation we can hope for is a “new” take on an already existing idea, which doesn’t count as original.
Speaking of unoriginal, let’s talk found footage. When was the last truly good one? My opinion – Afflicted. I seem to have a thing for movies where the writer/director/actor is the same person. Granted, there aren’t many (Shane Carruth is a favorite), but when I can find one of these, I have to check it out and am rarely disappointed. The slew of found footage movies is sickening; the fascination of making the movie seem as if it really happened is getting so old, and does anyone fall for this anymore? The Blair Witch project is still arguably the best of the genre, but sadly, with the time that’s passed and the movies that have come since, it seems lackluster and not very impressive.
The zombie genre is truly where my heart lies. There have been stinkers, for sure, but I believe this is the one sub-genre where the good/bad scale leans towards the good. Running or walking, raised from the dead or infected, I don’t care. Just give me some practical effects with a decent story, and you have my attention. Again, this started before the age of 10 and the 1990 remake of Night of the Living Dead was on. Little did I know that this was a remake, but maybe I was too young to care? I was instantly fascinated and, for a second, believed this could actually happen. I still have a tiny desire that if the world ends, let it be by zombie apocalypse.
If anyone is still reading, and I don’t blame you for not, I want to share some of my personal favorites over the past decade or so that fall into the categories I’ve mentioned throughout this article. Please, feel free to destroy my lists, talk shit, or agree.
Found Footage:
- The Blair Witch Project
- Afflicted
- Grave Encounters
- REC
- The Bay
- Cloverfield
- The Houses October Built
Zombies (not including the obvious Romero films):
- Days of Darkness
- Pontypool
- Planet Terror
- The Battery
- Wither
- Zombie Diaries
In closing, the glimmer of hope on the horizon is bleak, but that still counts for something. Even if the days of quality mainstream horror are behind us, at least we can always count on the indie filmmaker to come up with something, whether original or not, to quench our thirst for blood.
Categorized:News Retrospectives
