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Comments

sir jorge

this is a great thing

Ed

I am an avid horror movie (and Dilbert) fan who feels no repulsion at many acts I am aware are fully staged and completely inauthentic. I have also seen multiple web movies or pictures of 'terrorists' decapitating people, white villagers in the 1800-1900's hanging black people, or real-time tape of people dying in horrific accidents that disturb me (and generally make me physically ill) as a visual copy of an actual event. I'm afraid of needles and surgery, but watching someone be dismembered by a horror director or show producer under completely inauthentic conditions (backed by law (and were I to find out that a few scenes slipped by legislators, and every viewer who watched the movie in question's eye would in retrospect disturb and make me feel ill (as well as keep me from viewing in the future))) does not bother me. The reason? Simple:

Like you, I sympathize with the victim (if any character at all). Like in many drama movie or action movie (though to a lesser degree), this character is put in a position that is either visually, ethically, or morally (immediately) abhorrent to their world view. The thing I sympathize with is another individual (serial killer), a group (zombies, or dumb people), or a political system (such as in the fountainhead) are subjecting these characters, who I side with, not only to the obvious (and easily distinguished) physical pain, but also the emotional torment of being forced to cooperate (always coerced by their immediate predicament) with the situation. A few horror movies result in the victim (usually) sided with (the obvious bastion of (relatively general and straw-manned)) ethical practices is the most likely to escape, or put an end to the oppressive aggressor (so he can do no more harm). The horror movies that don't result in this conclusion are enough to justify the people sitting it through without knowing that's going to be the foregone conclusion.

Especially in these circumstances of an oppressive (yes, American) authority, this is simply a case of hyperbole (which you certainly understand) over a natural human instinct, and a very real political and social fear.

Mason

Posted by: Jeff | July 24, 2007 at 10:56 AM

" Man lives to kill hope and enjoy the dark; light is
blinding. "

Jeff, i think you need a hug.

Faye Evans

i can see how you might find this disturbing but in my opinion when i am watching a movie it depends what genre the movie is, in which i choose to respond. Say for a romance i relate emotionally with the pair of people and when they are sad i feel sad kind of thing. Although when it comes to an action movie, of which i don't generally enjoy i tend to think boy what that person is doing is really unrealistic so it is hard to relate. Comedies are just plain funny so you know if you have the humour you laugh throughout and laughing is a sign of enjoyment. Although i have to say horror movies tend to be a mixture. i like the thrill that i get when something bad happens, like it makes you jump and gets your adrenaline pumping and then there is the whole idea that most of it is ridiculous and would never happen in life at all, so you know it makes your mind alert and makes your blood pump round faster than usual which all in all gives a good feeling. So no i am not disturbed or a creep i am simply very alert and breathing fast when i see a horror movie.

Asa

i'm a horror fan. and while there may be something wrong with me.. it has nothing to do with my love of that genre. there are many reasons why i like the genre (dark humor, scares, creepy atmosphere. etc) but mostly it's for the thrill of seeing the characters overcome, or try to overcome, a horrible situation. the more violent, sadistic, evil the villain the more you root for someone to beat him, the worse the situation the more you want someone to overcome it. and horror, more often than not, delivers that in spades. what is so wrong with wanting that out of a movie?

and while i do really enjoy watching certain villains.. it is not because i want to become like them, but because of the performance given by the actor, by how that role is written, directed. etc.

Dream

I'm a life long horror fan. The reason? The thrill of survival. The only time we root for the bad guy is when the rest of the characters in the film suck. Or when we want the horribly bad actors to suffer the same way we did when we had to deal with their acting.

More often than not we are rooting for the good guy/girl. We WANT someone good to survive. We enjoy seeing the bad guy meet justice at the end of a sharp pointy thing. We want revenge in a world where murderers, rapists and pedophiles are given a slap on the wrist and released back into society to live down the street from us and we can't do anything about it.

My question to you is, how can you live in this world and not enjoy seeing a good person triumph over incredible evil in a flick?

By the way, if you're swiping your debit card and someone is wondering how they can skin you, it's because they are working retail, not because they are a horror fan. :)

Ed Hunter

Is this supposed to be a joke or what? I like horror movies I'm not a psychopath, so there.

Jeff

This blog was tongue in cheek right? If not, it's pretty f*cking shallow.

Jayabrata Bose

Man lives to kill hope and enjoy the dark; light is blinding.

Mark

Well not everyone watches movies to empathize with the characters. In fact I've been made privy to or personally overheard conversations where the key defining factor of a movie was whether or not those involved liked the actor or actress who played the lead role. Literary, cinematographic, or philosophical bases are no longer required to make a popular movie. Horror movies are popular because many people are simply looking for an adrenaline rush and like being scared out of their minds by a movie. Alternatively they like fictional violence. Either way, they don't really empathize with anyone.

Matt

It's one thing not to like horror films, but you should be ashamed of yourself for insulting people who do by calling them "psychopaths" and thinking that they're people who want to "make a vest out of your skin." It's people who make self-righteous comments like that who cause real damage to society with censorship and elimination of individual freedoms.

Lennart

My german teacher in school used to say: some people hit themselves with a hammer on their thumb to see whether they still feel something. others watch horror movies.

i always thought he made a good point.

Pamcakes

Nothing is wrong with me! What the f*ck is wrong with you? Who do you think will survive when the maniacal, insane, possessed, boogymen, zombies, aliens, and/or zombie-aliens make their move and attempt to take over the world? I mean, hellooooo. It's most definitely gonna be all of us who prepared our sick selves by watching, studying, loving all those horror movies you're not into and just don't get. We are not out to terrorize or maim anybody (well... most of the time anyway), nor will we be the ones who ruin the world with our evil deeds. We are the ones who will be prepared when the shizzle goes down. We will be the ones who will fight to SAVE THE WORLD. As for you and the ones out there like you, the rest of us will do what we can to save you, but you know how these things tend to turn out. Oh wait... I guess you don't seeing as how you don't care for the "instructional videos" all that much. Hmm... well, I wish you the best of luck when the invasion, however it may be, occurs. I hope your pocket protecter is up to the challenge.

boynamedsue

even when you disregard the enjoyment of being scared, dilbert writer man ignores whole areas of the horror genre.

Not every horror movie is a slasher movie. What horror movie watcher wants to be an evil house, or a room (1408)? Being a room is not fun. Fucking with John Cusack might be, but in the end, you're still a room.

Who wants to be a zombie? The fun of zombie movies is in the avoiding becoming a zombie. The zombie is not unique, when you become one, you're just another zombie.

Who wants to be godzilla? Okay. fine, i would like to be godzilla.

I'm just saying that there are endless examples of horror movies where, while watching the antagonist is fun, you wouldn't want to be him/her/it.

Jayson Champion

Alright Scott. You really want insight on why there are horror fans out there, send me an email. I'm a horror movie critic for the Swedish website www.evildread.com plus I'm an associate producer, writer and actor for a movie that's coming out next year that pretty much hands out every bit of filth most films are afraid to.

Anything your curious about you let me know and I'll fill you in, we wouldn't want you going around talking bad about the fans we respect and work hard for.

I wont talk trash about Dilbert because I'm not a reader. At the same time I dont think you should bash the genre because your not a fan yourself.

Hit me up, lets have a talk.

Cheers
Jayson Champion

www.evildread.com &
COE/Rejected Films

Jayson Champion

Alright Scott. You really want insight on why there are horror fans out there, send me an email. I'm a horror movie critic for the Swedish website www.evildread.com plus I'm an associate producer, writer and actor for a movie that's coming out next year that pretty much hands out every bit of filth most films are afraid to.

Anything your curious about you let me know and I'll fill you in, we wouldn't want you going around talking bad about the fans we respect and work hard for.

I wont talk trash about Dilbert because I'm not a reader. At the same time I dont think you should bash the genre because your not a fan yourself.

Hit me up, lets have a talk.

Cheers
Jayson Champion

www.evildread.com &
COE/Rejected Films

josh

People generally go to horror movies for a thrill... the thrill of escaping danger, much like you might get when a car pulls out in front of you in traffic and you narrowly avoid hitting them - you get an adreneline rush.

Movies allow you to get this rush in a safe, healthy way.

Also, not all horror movies involve killers and teens. You might want to check out Rosemary's Baby, the Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, and many other horror movies that aren't simply "slasher movies", which it seems like you are confusing with horror movies in general.

cheryl chong

i enjoy horror shows because i'm able to predict scenes which gives me immense pleasure in feeling an arrogant sense of intellectuality from the predicables that make me suspect that horror movie makers think we're stupid.

Erik Hollensbe

Actually, there's a great Stephen King article called "Why We Watch Horror Movies". It's a great insight from what is probably the most reliable source on this topic.

I think I read it in a college reader, but I can't remember.

annekat

Scott! It's all about facing the beasts that want to make us their prey, and evading them or defeating them, thereby gaining the power in the predator/prey relationship. We don't ever want to be killed... We know there are dangerous creatures that want to eat us (victimize us, kill us, rob us, what-have-you) and we want the feeling that we can have a lucky escape - and then perhaps take our own vengeance on them, making it safe for our progeny, because all the other dangerous creatures will get schooled. You know, depending on the movie.

And all the while we're really safe.

Russ Chism

I'm not a huge fan of horror movies, but I do enjoy them from time to time. My enjoyment does not come in the form of empathy, but catharsis. The repeated tension/release cycle works the kinks out of my psyche like a spiritual massage.

Ashe

I don't like horror movies. Occasionally I'm forced to watch them by my peers and boyfriend (peer pressure is a b*tch). As much as I hate them and have a hard time watching them (nightmares and all), I figure...at least I'm learning useful techniques of how to fight and run away in case I was ever in a scary situation such as being chased by a maniacal killer. (Yes I've actually laid in bed keeping myself awake and scared shitless thinking about it, watch House of Wax the newer version, and you will not stop thinking about how you would've gotten away or reacted). As morbid as that is, it makes watching horror movies positive and useful. Example: 1. Don't watch blank tapes that people give to you, unless you want to be chased by a scary dead girl from a well. 2. Don't leave your family in the middle of the desert when your car breaks down while you go search for help, alone. 3. Don't stop at scary lone gas stations in the middle of the desert. 4. When in doubt, don't even stop to roll down the car window for strangers. 5. Don't go into creepy unlit houses in small creepy towns. 6. For godsakes, don't let weird strangers help you. 7. Don't take the unmarked "short cut" to your destination provided by a creepy stranger. 8. If you think your neighbor is weird and a maniacal killer, he probably is, don't go into his house. 9. For godsakes, don't go camping with a bunch of hot girls. 10. Just don't go camping, please.

Anyways. I'm neurotic. I guess you could say I've become a little more reclusive about doing previously fun things like road trips and camping because of horror movies. It's always the ones that are somewhat plausible that freak me out - House of Wax, The Hills Have Eyes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. *shudder*

Sondra

Supposition: Adult Children of Alcoholics

They need lots of unpredictability and fear to feel normal.

NOT ALL ACOA's! Just those who haven't recovered.

Tim

My missus is one of the sweetest people I've ever met; she loves horror movies. I just don't get 'em. I'm still alive. I'm the house geek but Star Trek? It's OK i 'spose; the missus is almost the Anti-Geek Incarnate (*) but she's bought every ST book, DVD, etc, going - knows all the episodes back to front, etc. People are just weird...

(*) she's been online for a decade, I've spent the last 3 weekends teaching her copy'n'paste - she's just about mastered it!

JYR

I enjoy horror movies - I don't know why. I never enjoyed them when I was young - they terrified me and gave me bad dreams. People in my life are surprised when they hear of my horror movie addiction. After all, 'nice' people don't watch such things.

I suppose it was only when enough bad things had happened in my life that I started to enjoy them. They remind me that there are bad people in the world and that bad things do happen to good people - life is not a bed of roses no matter how hard you try to make it so (someone up there has a strange sense of humor because just when you're getting real comfy with your rosiness a real whopper comes along) but the best thing is that in a 'real' horror movie - good always triumphs over evil in the end. Sometimes merely by surviving.

We're surrounded by people who are not who they appear to be and I'd like to learn how to recognize them. When I'm really angry at how unfair life can be I watch a scary movie and it gets 'it' all out of my system. Because good always triumphs over evil - and I want to win. So I put it down to research...

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