Ever since I can remember, I've been fascinated by scary movies. And even as I grew out of childhood, I still enjoyed the oldies, as well as the modern films, if not for their scariness, then at least for the eerie atmosphere and compelling (and disturbing) stories.
I don't dwell exclusively on horror movies, but that is the genre that I've been drawn to again and again, and certainly comprises the bulk of my home video collection. So the attraction has always been strong, even as I explored genres as widespread as westerns, film noir, foreign and art house films, comedies, dramas, thrillers, action, and some animation. Science fiction, for me, can often overlap with horror.... fantasy, too. That's why I separate out those three categories in my "fantastical genre" on my movie shelves. The classic Alien from '79, for instance, isn't strictly sci-fi, and it isn't strictly horror, either. Well, you - or I - could certainly call it a horror movie... in a sci-fi setting. I think it may work best that way. And something like Pan's Labyrinth (2006), while rather horrific at several points, is more a dark fantasy. Director Guillermo del Toro is notorious for taking things a bit too far, in a good way, I guess, and his work on Pan's Labyrinth is no exception.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) captured my imagination as a kid
I like to look back on key horror movies in my life, ones that made a distinct impression and helped me retain a strong interest in the weird and morbid in cinema. As a young kid, the old child-friendly Abbott and Costello monster movies on TV were both fun and just a little spooky. My favourite was, and still is, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It is in this picture that the famed comedy duo come up against the three most popular of the Universal studio monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein monster, and Wolf Man. The guys united with more of the "monsters" and horror characters in subsequent flicks: there was the Invisible Man, the Mummy, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. All similar in tone... silly yet imbued with the visual attributes of the Universal fright flicks. Daytime viewing that's safe for the kiddies.
And from there, I moved on to the actual Universal monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man, the Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and everything in between. These often achieved a dark and grim essence, though the film-makers, writers, and actors nearly always injected moments of humour (dark or light) as relief from the tension.
The sci-fi horrors of the 50's impressed me as I got a bit older. The Thing From Another World and Invasion of the Body Snatchers were two of my favourites from that era, and they are still high on my list of all-timers. The otherworldly aspect sets things up, while the gripping terror builds and builds. Tense and exciting.
A bit older, maybe around age 12 or 13, I discovered the Hammer studio films on late-night TV. Hammer began by re-booting the classic monsters of yore, werewolves, vampires, mummies, and Franken-creatures. These were definitely more modern and grown-up, with either suggested or mild sexuality, and more realistic violence and gore. Yet there was a classiness that came alongside the lurid subject matter. The Hammer crew were adept at churning out dozens of horror films that looked great... the studio became known for its use of rich colours in sets and locations, and cinematography that effectively captured that visual quality. And the music was always first-rate, thrilling and moody, by composers such as James Bernard, Don Banks, David Whitaker, and Christopher Gunning. I mustn't forget to mention the terrific string of actors who appeared in Hammer productions: big names like Chris Lee and Peter Cushing... but also the smaller "stars" (who were often more fun to watch) who became regulars in the Hammer film realm. It was always a treat to see familiar names in the opening credits and familiar faces onscreen... like Hazel Court, Michael Gough, Veronica Carlson, and Michael Ripper (what a name!). This Hammer horror experience set me up for the next phase.
One of the many gems from Hammer film studios
I'd been reading some Stephen King novels as a young teen in the 70's, and as soon as I could get into theatres to see film adaptations, I did that without hesitation. I remember seeing Carrie, The Dead Zone, The Shining, and Christine back in those early days of King stories on the silver screen. Bloody and creepy and disturbing, and almost always with an underlying religious theme. And a bit of humour, dark or otherwise, found its way in there, too.
In parallel with the King movie adaptations, there were other notoriously scary films making their mark: I immediately think of the original Alien and how that shaped my movie fan sensibility. That outer space creature remains the most original and terrifying in all of cinema. I didn't have access to some of the notable movies of the 70's until I was a bit older... things like The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Black Christmas. I did, however, get to see The Omen on its theatrical release... and Jaws, too.
Into the 80's, I lapped up the supernatural, maniacal, and otherworldly with no constraints. The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, The Fly, and The Howling were among my faves of that decade. With the popularity of home video at the time, I was able to rent and catch up on a whole lot of horror of past and present. Hellraiser and House were another couple of great ones that opened up some doors. Again, I had to play catch-up now and then via videotape rentals.
Christopher Walken in early eerie outing The Dead Zone
I found that the fantasy "monster"-type movies were less prevalent in the 90's, as things took a turn toward slightly more real-world horrors... like Silence of the Lambs, Stir of Echoes, and Jacob's Ladder. We still got some primo retro-style stuff like Bram Stoker's Dracula, Candyman, Cemetary Man, and the bizarre twist on the vampire tale, Cronos.
The 2000's saw some franchises of questionable quality... Saw, Hostel, Human Centipede, and the like were dubbed splatter and gore films, of which I'm not much of a fan. The excess of blood, violence, and nudity took over while often sacrificing story and atmosphere. I admit I've seen something worthwhile in the odd one of those, but no standouts.
During this same decade, we did get some entertaining cinema, though: The Descent, Let The Right One In, Jeepers Creepers, and 30 Days of Night. I think we had to look a bit harder for the good ones, but they were there among all of the Scream sequels.
Black Swan is a winner in my books... unsettling, arresting, and weird
While the 2000's were a bit disappointing in output, the 2010's saw a bit of a renaissance; a variety of great terror films were to be found amid the increasing flood of straight-to-video B-grade horrors. Some of the best are: It Follows, The Conjuring, The Babadook, The Witch, You're Next, Don't Breathe, Black Swan, Sinister, The Guest, Bone Tomahawk (not a horror per se, but quite horrific at times), and Under the Skin. While Black Swan works so well on so many levels (jarring, unsettling, psychological thriller) and is perhaps my favourite of this decade so far, it was The Conjuring that I found the scariest. I've got a vivid imagination... and that movie really got under my skin and haunted my nights for a while. The Witch is also a contender, yet in a very different way; the film is artistically perfect, nailing the atmosphere of dread while depicting a highly believable period piece. And Bone Tomahawk takes home the award for most disturbing.... I simply could not get that scene (you know the one, if you've seen this) from my mind for weeks. Whew!
So I think that as long as we are on this roll of extremely good horrific movies, I'll be happy. Maybe a bit sleepless, since some of these flicks creep into my subconscious and emerge as dreams. But hell, it's all in the name of a good scare, right?
