Why I Love The Horror Genre

10/24/2017


Ever since I was a young girl, I've been a fan of the horror genre. I remember my first experience with horror so vividly – the movie was Halloween H20. I was 6 years old and partly hiding behind the sofa, but I watched a good chunk of the 7th instalment in the franchise with my mother and her friends. My own (child) friend had gone home so I was bored and figured “Ooh. A movie. That'll be a hoot.” It didn't scare me so much as get my heart pumping. Coincidentally, a few days later I was being babysat by my mothers friend for a few hours. And because of my big talk of “Yeah, I saw H20. I'm good with this kinda stuff.” she figured it'd be fine to put on Wes Craven's A New Nightmare. We watched it the entire way through, fear churning in my stomach as I watched a tongue come out of a phone (yes, that was the scene that freaked me out), and she then made me jump by grabbing me after I walked out of the bathroom. Evil. That night, I checked the bottom of my bed for portals.

Nevertheless, from that began my horror journey. Slowly but surely me and my mum would watch a slasher every now and again. Namely things like Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Darkness Falls, Valentine (Yes, all of the above was thanks to a Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor starring in it.), Jeepers Creepers. As the years matured me, my taste also expanded beyond the “teen” slasher genre. Friday the 13, Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, Wolf Creek. Without us really noticing, our movie nights had turned into horror fests. We'd find ourselves hunting down anything that was a bargain and buying out the horror section at our local DVD rental. I think that plays a key role in why I adore this genre so much, my mind has somehow connected it to duvet days spent with my mum. I find comfort in trashy teen slashers and gruesome games played by dolls on tricycles. It acted as our escape.

As I've gotten older, I have of course grown to see the flaws in so many of the horrors that I used to love. And with the constant stem of releases that are geared more towards the older fan base, it is hard to find Ghostface scary. Like, girl, you're climbing over his/her body, least you can do is pull the mask off first. Nevertheless I still enjoy how mindless most are, and that's not the say they're boring, no, I just find it easier to escape into a horror-like setting rather than some sappy rom-com flick. Sometimes it helps us to handle our own reality if we can pretend all horrors are on screen, ya know?

I guess that pretty much sums up my feelings toward this genre, I apologise if this was a little all over the place.

What is your favourite genre? 

Happy Halloween Week!




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