Why Horror? (2014)
Starring Tal Zimerman, Joe Begos, John Carpenter
Directed by Nicholas Kleiman and Rob Lindsay
We’ve all wondered it to ourselves – the thought has crossed some of our minds hundreds of times, let alone the number of people that have asked us directly “why do you watch horror movies?” Now I may not have the be all and end all answer that will satisfy the masses, but the beautiful thing is, everyone has their own reason for wanting to see what would make another person turn their heads, or shift uneasily in their seat, or turn green with nausea (now THAT’S a funny instance).
Horror magazine (Fangoria and Rue Morgue) writer Tal Zimerman, who also is a functioning aficionado of all things horror-related, presents the documentary Why Horror? to dig way down deep and see what knowledgeable roots he can pull up to help understand what his (and the collective’s) fascination is with the dark side of entertainment.
First off, the guy is a fan and a father – he makes this documentary worthwhile by his affable demeanor, and never looks as if he’s the overzealous fan boy who’d be willing to chase down a celeb while they were having dinner, or exiting the airport in order to score a quick interview. His travels take him to multiple conventions around the globe, where he snags some spot chats with the likes of John Carpenter and George Romero, and has leisurely sit-downs with directors Eli Roth and Rodrigo Gudino, all the while displaying that boyish nervousness when asking the questions. Even as he gleefully shoves a purchased crapload of Japanese VHS horror videos into a bag while on a fact-finding trip to the land of the rising sun to speak with industry heavyweight Takashi Shimizu (The Grudge) and video game creator Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil and the newly released The Evil Within).
Tal also provides a look back into his early years as a child, where he was pressed for an answer to the infernal question at his Bat Mitzvah by relatives and guests alike, and the present-time dinner table conversations with his mother and father are humorous, to say the least. With an ample supply of horror movie footage tossed in with the interviews and trips to the hospital (MRI testing for the sake of information related to the film – no need to worry), you’re picked up in the middle of some long stretches of banter between interviewer and interviewee. Numerous situations are examined, from how much people love to be scared, to how much opposites truly attract when checking out a scary movie (some interesting numbers there).
Overall, it mainly boils down to individual preference – why do you love horror? Does it have an effect on your psyche, and if so, is it positive or negative? harmful or harmless? Hell, I got my first taste of the scary stuff when my mother had me watch The Exorcist when I was only six years old, and it’s been downhill from there ever since. In the end, the documentary, while a bit wordy at times, is a fun watch for those willing to see a true die-hard on a quest for information, whether it exists in solid form or not.
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Film
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