"It is so funny to not be able to outrun a very, very slow killer!"
October 5, 2022 1:14 PM Subscribe
What Compels Us to Watch Scary Stuff? An interview with the hosts of the horror movie recap podcast Too Scary; Didn’t Watch
Henley: "My original 'Too Scary; Didn’t Watch' experience was actually when I was really little. I got my babysitter to tell me the full recap of the Freddy Krueger movies, because I’m pretty sure I saw The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror special where they mentioned Freddy and I was like, I need to know the details. After that moment, I was so scared, so deeply, deeply, deeply disturbed and unable to sleep."
Sammy: "And that’s something we’ve realized—sometimes it’s worse to just have a scary movie described to you because your brain might create the scariest version of whatever the story is. But sometimes, like with Nightmare on Elm Street, there’s actually a lot of humour..."
Henley: "We just did a bonus episode where Sammy showed me clips from certain horror movies and she included one of Freddy running, and it’s just the funniest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life."
Sammy: "Freddy’s a fun villain! He has fun with it, man. He’s having a good time." [Jessica Beebe, In The Mood]
Too Scary; Didn't Watch—
A horror movie recap podcast for those too scared to watch for themselves; hosted by Emily Gonzalez, Henley Cox, and Sammy Smart
"A few years ago, Sammy filled Emily and Henley in on the plot of the newly popular horror hit Midsommar, and from there a podcast was born... Each episode, often featuring notable guests, has Sammy giving Emily and Henley a summary of a scary movie, from cult classics to slashers to body horror films."
Some notable past episodes:
Henley: "My original 'Too Scary; Didn’t Watch' experience was actually when I was really little. I got my babysitter to tell me the full recap of the Freddy Krueger movies, because I’m pretty sure I saw The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror special where they mentioned Freddy and I was like, I need to know the details. After that moment, I was so scared, so deeply, deeply, deeply disturbed and unable to sleep."
Sammy: "And that’s something we’ve realized—sometimes it’s worse to just have a scary movie described to you because your brain might create the scariest version of whatever the story is. But sometimes, like with Nightmare on Elm Street, there’s actually a lot of humour..."
Henley: "We just did a bonus episode where Sammy showed me clips from certain horror movies and she included one of Freddy running, and it’s just the funniest goddamn thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life."
Sammy: "Freddy’s a fun villain! He has fun with it, man. He’s having a good time." [Jessica Beebe, In The Mood]
Too Scary; Didn't Watch—
A horror movie recap podcast for those too scared to watch for themselves; hosted by Emily Gonzalez, Henley Cox, and Sammy Smart
"A few years ago, Sammy filled Emily and Henley in on the plot of the newly popular horror hit Midsommar, and from there a podcast was born... Each episode, often featuring notable guests, has Sammy giving Emily and Henley a summary of a scary movie, from cult classics to slashers to body horror films."
Some notable past episodes:
- Barbarian "A double-booked Airbnb leads to the most bat-shit horror movie experience we've had in quite some time!!!!!!"
- Bodies Bodies Bodies "Join us at our rich friend's parent's house as we wait out this hurricane, listen to Charli XCX and do tons of drugs! What could go wrong?? NOTHING because Lee Pace is present :D"
- Friday the 13th "Tiny denim shorts, lake-swimming, canoodling, hitch-hiking, and KEVIN BACON"
- An American Werewolf in London "Oscar-worthy special effects make-up, a killer soundtrack and a variety of gorgeous British accents"
- Malignant "Two sisters, underground cities, and the most unsafe parking spot you've ever seen"
- Black Christmas "Sorority sisters, prank phone calls, and a scene stealer of a fur coat"
- Rosemary's Baby "Nosy neighbors, an incredible haircut, and a level of gaslighting that is truly off the charts"<>
I strongly suspect the slow-killer fear comes from early childhood memories of not being able to escape the giant angry parent slowly ambling after you.
posted by mhoye at 1:46 PM on October 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 1:46 PM on October 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
I'm a big wuss and can't stand horror movies at all unless there's some kind of remove or ironic distance to the horror (Cabin in the Woods, Scream) or the plain goofy shit from the late 80s/90s (later Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street, Leprechaun). Also older movies like Vincent Price flicks that are just campy and fun (if you haven't seen Price's The Abominable Dr. Phibes films or his The Masque of the Red Death, treat yourself this Halloween season, they're great). Every October, though, I force myself to watch some truly scary movies because I keep reading about this being a new golden age of horror and a lot of the newer horror movies do sound interesting. But that means at home, lights on, remote in hand to pause at any time, cat next to me for protection.
posted by star gentle uterus at 1:47 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by star gentle uterus at 1:47 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
I quite enjoyed a recurring segment on the KARTAS podcast, which attempted to catalog the essential canon of horror cinema, starting with the silent era. Conveniently, it's now collected on Bandcamp in audio book form as Horror Cinema Essentials.
posted by zamboni at 1:50 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zamboni at 1:50 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have a friend who vaguely recaps horror movies with a bit of critique on Facebook and I love reading her posts even though I cannot watch horror movies.
When I was a kid, I watched some kind of show -- I think maybe an episode in an anthology series rather than a movie? -- where kids were swimming in a lake and a black ooze was eating(?) them. There was a floating dock in the middle of the lake and the ooze could come up between the slats in the dock.
I am 45 now, and to this day, if I walk on a dock, I try to place my feet so they don't overhang gaps between the boards -- which is very awkward given that on most docks, the boards don't run in the direction you're likely to be walking.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:10 PM on October 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
When I was a kid, I watched some kind of show -- I think maybe an episode in an anthology series rather than a movie? -- where kids were swimming in a lake and a black ooze was eating(?) them. There was a floating dock in the middle of the lake and the ooze could come up between the slats in the dock.
I am 45 now, and to this day, if I walk on a dock, I try to place my feet so they don't overhang gaps between the boards -- which is very awkward given that on most docks, the boards don't run in the direction you're likely to be walking.
posted by jacquilynne at 2:10 PM on October 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
My go to for this is the podcast Ruined! which appears to basically be the same thing - who knew this was a whole niche!
posted by prefpara at 2:18 PM on October 5, 2022
posted by prefpara at 2:18 PM on October 5, 2022
I think that's why I'm such a big fan of Val Lewton movies; he was the master of "not showing the bad thing is scarier."
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
jacquilynne: That sounds like a segment from the horror anthology movie Creepshow 2 called "The Raft" based on a Stephen King short story. It's the highlight of an otherwise forgettable sequel but I can definitely see how watching it as an unsuspecting child might be quite traumatizing!
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:25 PM on October 5, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:25 PM on October 5, 2022 [15 favorites]
The boy vampire scratching at the window in the television mini-series of 'Salem's Lot is something that has haunted me since I saw it first run on television. Certain things just stick.
posted by hippybear at 2:30 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 2:30 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
Oh mhoye you've reminded me of a moment in my childhood where I on purpose did whatever it was one more time after the warnings, and darted away, and my mum, who isn't really the running type, ran after me. I remember being so scared that when I fell over I couldn't get up again, frantically trying to run while laying on the ground. Almost paralyzed with fear! I think it was thinking I'd get away with it and she'd obviously had enough. It's funny to me now though!
posted by freethefeet at 2:35 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by freethefeet at 2:35 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
As a kid I couldn't stand even slightly scary stuff, and I'm still a big wimp, but in the last year or two I've been watching a lot of horror discussion shows on Youtube. Mostly Dark Corners, Scaredy Cats and Bloobath and Beyond. (They're all fun, they deserve a lot more views than they get and I heartily recommend them.) I'm a lot less squeamish than I used to be but I still wouldn't really enjoy sitting down and watching a horror movie, especially anything body horror-ish. I feel like my real life is already plenty scary enough! But there is something really enjoyable about people humorously summarizing and critiquing horror, and I find myself adding more and more shows like this to my Youtube subscriptions.
I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess there is something therapeutic going on. I like looking at horror from that slight remove, where it's just a fun thing to talk about and there's nothing actually scary about it. Even the most nightmarish stuff just becomes goofy, with these adorable nerds giggling about how scared they were by somebody turning into a rubbery zombie. I've been traumatized for life by a few horror things where somebody was hideously and permanently disfigured (that seems to be my core phobia, it's like an anti-fetish) and I'd pay to not watch that stuff... but I can happily watch the goofy dudes on Blood, Bath & Beyond talk about it, with clips!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:43 PM on October 5, 2022
I hadn't thought about it before, but I guess there is something therapeutic going on. I like looking at horror from that slight remove, where it's just a fun thing to talk about and there's nothing actually scary about it. Even the most nightmarish stuff just becomes goofy, with these adorable nerds giggling about how scared they were by somebody turning into a rubbery zombie. I've been traumatized for life by a few horror things where somebody was hideously and permanently disfigured (that seems to be my core phobia, it's like an anti-fetish) and I'd pay to not watch that stuff... but I can happily watch the goofy dudes on Blood, Bath & Beyond talk about it, with clips!
posted by Ursula Hitler at 2:43 PM on October 5, 2022
Always gonna plug my favourite horror podcast Dirty Little Horror, home of spooky dick jokes and hilarious tangents.
posted by Kitteh at 2:47 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 2:47 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
The boy vampire scratching at the window in the television mini-series of 'Salem's Lot is something that has haunted me since I saw it first run on television.Certain things just stick.
Oh boy did it stick with me. My father thought it would be hilarious to reenact this scene through the marbled bathroom window while I was taking a shower. "Abehammerb, let me in...let me in" scratch scratch. I was ten.
He also told me bedtime stories --that I still wake up from dreams of-- about how the kelp in the Sargasso Sea would slowly devour becalmed ships. The starving sailors slowly lost their minds from seeing all the ghost ships that had already suffered their inescapable doom. (In hindsight, I'm guessing this was based on Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner...he was an English major)
Also that Gila monsters would bite on to you and there was no scientific method to remove them. You'd just have a Gila monster jaw stuck to you forever if you were lucky enough to survive the poison. But the poison would probably slowly drive you mad and kill you first.
Slowly losing your mind seemed to be a theme.
To be honest, he was a hoot. Maybe he wasn't quite ready to be a dad, but who is?
Thanks for the therapy, Metafilter!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:18 PM on October 5, 2022 [18 favorites]
Oh boy did it stick with me. My father thought it would be hilarious to reenact this scene through the marbled bathroom window while I was taking a shower. "Abehammerb, let me in...let me in" scratch scratch. I was ten.
He also told me bedtime stories --that I still wake up from dreams of-- about how the kelp in the Sargasso Sea would slowly devour becalmed ships. The starving sailors slowly lost their minds from seeing all the ghost ships that had already suffered their inescapable doom. (In hindsight, I'm guessing this was based on Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner...he was an English major)
Also that Gila monsters would bite on to you and there was no scientific method to remove them. You'd just have a Gila monster jaw stuck to you forever if you were lucky enough to survive the poison. But the poison would probably slowly drive you mad and kill you first.
Slowly losing your mind seemed to be a theme.
To be honest, he was a hoot. Maybe he wasn't quite ready to be a dad, but who is?
Thanks for the therapy, Metafilter!
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:18 PM on October 5, 2022 [18 favorites]
When I was a kid, I watched some kind of show -- I think maybe an episode in an anthology series rather than a movie? -- where kids were swimming in a lake and a black ooze was eating(?) them.
The Raft, from Creepshow 2. 1987, I think. I remember doing that thing wherever I stepped on a dock, too.
posted by mhoye at 3:20 PM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
The Raft, from Creepshow 2. 1987, I think. I remember doing that thing wherever I stepped on a dock, too.
posted by mhoye at 3:20 PM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
I've focused for so long on talking to my kid about film technique, about genre conventions, about special effects, about theme, that he's absolutely not fazed by horror and, in fact, has come to love it and watch it alongside me.
You can do this too. You start with a little game I call "The Movie Is Over." When DOT Jr. was little and we'd be watching a movie about say, a lost puppy, I'd stop the movie at its low point and say, "Well, the movie is over. That's it. The puppy never finds his family." DOT Jr. would say, "That's not right... This isn't that kind of movie." "OK, so what happens next? And why did the people making the movie let it look like there was no hope?"
From conversations like that, we added stuff on genre, on theme, etc.
At this point, he makes observations about camerawork and framing, notes out loud where the act breaks are, etc.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:27 PM on October 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
You can do this too. You start with a little game I call "The Movie Is Over." When DOT Jr. was little and we'd be watching a movie about say, a lost puppy, I'd stop the movie at its low point and say, "Well, the movie is over. That's it. The puppy never finds his family." DOT Jr. would say, "That's not right... This isn't that kind of movie." "OK, so what happens next? And why did the people making the movie let it look like there was no hope?"
From conversations like that, we added stuff on genre, on theme, etc.
At this point, he makes observations about camerawork and framing, notes out loud where the act breaks are, etc.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:27 PM on October 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
This sounds like the podcast for me! I would like to think I have a pretty strong stomach, but it's not very true. For one thing, I have to find out if a dog is going to get hurt in the proceedings, and I will absolutely refuse to watch if there is. Also I hide my eyes sometimes, which is frowned upon by purists.
I remember seeing just a trailer for Nightmare on Elm Street 3 or 4 as a kid, and it flat-out terrified me. Now I can see that it's extremely jokey -- Freddy's claws in the water like a shark fin, honestly -- but I thought it was dead serious. On thinking about it, almost all of the truly formative horror stuff I saw as a kid was either promotional material or just glimpses I caught before I ran away and/or burst into tears. A lot of the history of horror belongs to the very young.
posted by Countess Elena at 3:30 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I remember seeing just a trailer for Nightmare on Elm Street 3 or 4 as a kid, and it flat-out terrified me. Now I can see that it's extremely jokey -- Freddy's claws in the water like a shark fin, honestly -- but I thought it was dead serious. On thinking about it, almost all of the truly formative horror stuff I saw as a kid was either promotional material or just glimpses I caught before I ran away and/or burst into tears. A lot of the history of horror belongs to the very young.
posted by Countess Elena at 3:30 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
If a dog is hurt
At the beginning of Prey, my wife said, “Oh no. Is the dog going to die?” I replied, “I don’t think so, that doesn’t fly well in new movies. But her brother? Her brother is absolutely marked for death.”
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:37 PM on October 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
At the beginning of Prey, my wife said, “Oh no. Is the dog going to die?” I replied, “I don’t think so, that doesn’t fly well in new movies. But her brother? Her brother is absolutely marked for death.”
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 3:37 PM on October 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
The only stuff I won't watch is stuff based on real life serial killers. Not interested in being a fanboy for mass murderers.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:44 PM on October 5, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:44 PM on October 5, 2022 [8 favorites]
I've been watching a lot of horror discussion shows on Youtube
I'll plug the Dead Meat podcast. Here's their episode on the concept of the Final Girl.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 4:19 PM on October 5, 2022
I'll plug the Dead Meat podcast. Here's their episode on the concept of the Final Girl.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 4:19 PM on October 5, 2022
In case folks aren't aware of it, the website doesthedogdie.com is a great crowdsourced site for a wide variety of film content warnings. Very useful if, for example, you don't want to see animals or children harmed.
And I wish I consulted it before going in blind on the movie I watched last night
posted by treepour at 4:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
And I wish I consulted it before going in blind on the movie I watched last night
posted by treepour at 4:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
If a dog is hurt...
My best advice, Countess Elena, is this:
Independence Day is OK. Mars Attacks is not.
posted by y2karl at 4:22 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
My best advice, Countess Elena, is this:
Independence Day is OK. Mars Attacks is not.
posted by y2karl at 4:22 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I watch horror movies far more than any other kind of movie, and I loved Barbarian! It has some fun twists and actual laugh out loud moments.
I despised horror as a kid because I got nightmares really easily. I was terrified of drains for months after seeing part of IT when I was maybe 10. I also got nightmares about the crawling, disembodied head from John Carpenter's The Thing after only seeing the back of the box in Blockbuster. Not even the movie! Just the box!
But at some point I guess they stopped scaring me (mostly), and now I just really enjoy the spooky vibe. I think the last film to really, deeply disturb me was the experimental art film Begotten. Something about the audio over the black and white body horror just really did me in.
posted by TheKaijuCommuter at 4:44 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I despised horror as a kid because I got nightmares really easily. I was terrified of drains for months after seeing part of IT when I was maybe 10. I also got nightmares about the crawling, disembodied head from John Carpenter's The Thing after only seeing the back of the box in Blockbuster. Not even the movie! Just the box!
But at some point I guess they stopped scaring me (mostly), and now I just really enjoy the spooky vibe. I think the last film to really, deeply disturb me was the experimental art film Begotten. Something about the audio over the black and white body horror just really did me in.
posted by TheKaijuCommuter at 4:44 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I never watch horror movies but I have definitely seen every Nightmare on Elm Street. They get sillier and sillier with each passing sequel. Freddy absolutely means business in the first installment but by the end he's just been done to death.
posted by potrzebie at 5:35 PM on October 5, 2022
posted by potrzebie at 5:35 PM on October 5, 2022
Speaking of John Carpenter’s the Thing…Countessa Elena, stay well clear of that one.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:58 PM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 5:58 PM on October 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
So glad someone posted about TS;DW — I wanted to do the same, but never got around to it.
If you need this type of podcast in your life, you know it. I’m grateful for it; I’m fascinated by horror movies and the stuff that goes into them, but don’t like being scared. Plus TS;DW is more fun than reading the Wikipedia summary when, for example, everyone is talking about Midsommar and you want to know why but you also want to sleep at night.
posted by TangoCharlie at 6:14 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
If you need this type of podcast in your life, you know it. I’m grateful for it; I’m fascinated by horror movies and the stuff that goes into them, but don’t like being scared. Plus TS;DW is more fun than reading the Wikipedia summary when, for example, everyone is talking about Midsommar and you want to know why but you also want to sleep at night.
posted by TangoCharlie at 6:14 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I mostly resent horror, because I feel like a lot of the time you could make something that was in another genre with those ideas and not make it about how these characters are going to die. But also I don't much like being scared, especially these days.
posted by Merus at 6:26 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Merus at 6:26 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I don’t mind scary. It’s how “scary” is now all about graphic slaughter, gore, and bloodshed that turns me away.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:06 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 7:06 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I strongly suspect the slow-killer fear comes from early childhood memories of not being able to escape the giant angry parent slowly ambling after you.
It makes me laugh every time I have to capture one of the cats for a vet visit (they always know). So much like a zombie horror. "I'm faster, nimble, hard to grab, good at hiding, and have teeth and claws. Human has none of that. But Human will. not. stop. - every time I think I've escaped, there he is again, relentless"
posted by ctmf at 7:52 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
It makes me laugh every time I have to capture one of the cats for a vet visit (they always know). So much like a zombie horror. "I'm faster, nimble, hard to grab, good at hiding, and have teeth and claws. Human has none of that. But Human will. not. stop. - every time I think I've escaped, there he is again, relentless"
posted by ctmf at 7:52 PM on October 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
I learned about this podcast from a MetaFilter comment a few years ago, and since then I have listened to far more episodes than I have watched horror films.
I particularly like podcasts where the hosts’ friendship shines through and it feels like they’ve invited you to hang out with them while they’re having a good conversation. The TS:DW hosts have kept me company on many a long walk or paddle or run, and I really appreciate them.
posted by Songdog at 8:05 PM on October 5, 2022
I particularly like podcasts where the hosts’ friendship shines through and it feels like they’ve invited you to hang out with them while they’re having a good conversation. The TS:DW hosts have kept me company on many a long walk or paddle or run, and I really appreciate them.
posted by Songdog at 8:05 PM on October 5, 2022
I want to see the clip of Freddy running.
posted by jonbro at 8:33 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jonbro at 8:33 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's interesting to me to hear people say they can't watch horror movies because they make them anxious. I watch horror movies because I have anxiety. I know a ton of other people who do, too.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:35 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:35 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's interesting to me to hear people say they can't watch horror movies because they make them anxious. I watch horror movies because I have anxiety. I know a ton of other people who do, too.
For me, there are different anxieties, and different kinds of horror films and different triggers for what is bad in my life, and so there are some things I can watch with glee, like Drag Me To Hell, and other things which just really tear me apart, like House Of 1000 Corpses. And I can't tell you exactly why one and not the other, and I have great admiration for certain parts of HO1C, but one is not fun for me and the other is.
Honestly, there were some movies that sort of pushed me outside of the enjoyment of horror now that I think about it. Se7en was one, Natural Born Killers was another... I mean, I could probably trace even outside my own trauma my journey away from enjoying modern horror movies. But I really don't want to dwell on any of that too deeply, thankyouverymuch.
posted by hippybear at 8:41 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
For me, there are different anxieties, and different kinds of horror films and different triggers for what is bad in my life, and so there are some things I can watch with glee, like Drag Me To Hell, and other things which just really tear me apart, like House Of 1000 Corpses. And I can't tell you exactly why one and not the other, and I have great admiration for certain parts of HO1C, but one is not fun for me and the other is.
Honestly, there were some movies that sort of pushed me outside of the enjoyment of horror now that I think about it. Se7en was one, Natural Born Killers was another... I mean, I could probably trace even outside my own trauma my journey away from enjoying modern horror movies. But I really don't want to dwell on any of that too deeply, thankyouverymuch.
posted by hippybear at 8:41 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I watch and read true crime to soothe my trauma anxiety and horror films a big nope! still scarred from some title i saw as a child about a man turning into a poison plant. Like have regular nightmares about for 40+ years. Brains are amazing and overly descriptive things.
posted by Bemused Recluse at 8:48 PM on October 5, 2022
posted by Bemused Recluse at 8:48 PM on October 5, 2022
I rarely watch movies, regardless of genre, yet I listen to so many horror movie podcasts that when one of them added a quiz show segment, I could follow along and frequently do quite well on the quizzes. When I do watch horror movies, I am much happier having them spoiled ahead of time.
I find that the best discussions frequently take a queer perspective. Favorites: Dirty Little Horror, The Evolution of Horror, The Final Girls, Horror Queers. Countess Elena, the hosts of Dirty Little Horror are open about watching through their fingers sometimes and very against realistic animal death!
posted by Comet Bug at 8:53 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I find that the best discussions frequently take a queer perspective. Favorites: Dirty Little Horror, The Evolution of Horror, The Final Girls, Horror Queers. Countess Elena, the hosts of Dirty Little Horror are open about watching through their fingers sometimes and very against realistic animal death!
posted by Comet Bug at 8:53 PM on October 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was a bloodthirsty child. I was a big fan of the original Grimm's Fairy Tales. I started going to see movies alone on Saturdays when I was 7. I was thrilled by the Hose of Usher. Also at 7 I was crazed to see Children of the Damned but my Catholic mother forbade me to go because it had Damned in the name. I cried. Didn't get to see it until I was in college. I don't much care for the modern gallons o' blood movies, I prefer dread and justice.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:21 PM on October 5, 2022 [2 favorites]
I suspect there is something very interesting going on with that thing of some people watching horror because they find they relieve anxiety, and some people (like me) finding them overwhelming because I'm already so anxious.
I've heard people say that they find the fact that the horror is fake to be funny and a relief from reality. They can sort of play with fear and get distance from it. This makes sense to me, it must be like having a sort of control over things that are usually by definition out of your control?
For me, the fact that the horror is not real makes no difference, because at some level, I experience it as real while I'm watching. Maybe because I have an extremely visual inner world and and empathise very strongly with fictional characters.
I wonder if there is an overlap between people who enjoy horror, and people who enjoy cringe humour?
I can't watch cringe homour either.
And I can watch horror that is morally complex and portrays the characters with empathy, like Ali Abassi's Border, or Let the Right One In, or Nora Fingscheidt' System Crasher.
In horror books, I adore MC Carey. So much compassion.
posted by Zumbador at 9:40 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've heard people say that they find the fact that the horror is fake to be funny and a relief from reality. They can sort of play with fear and get distance from it. This makes sense to me, it must be like having a sort of control over things that are usually by definition out of your control?
For me, the fact that the horror is not real makes no difference, because at some level, I experience it as real while I'm watching. Maybe because I have an extremely visual inner world and and empathise very strongly with fictional characters.
I wonder if there is an overlap between people who enjoy horror, and people who enjoy cringe humour?
I can't watch cringe homour either.
And I can watch horror that is morally complex and portrays the characters with empathy, like Ali Abassi's Border, or Let the Right One In, or Nora Fingscheidt' System Crasher.
In horror books, I adore MC Carey. So much compassion.
posted by Zumbador at 9:40 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
It's interesting to me to hear people say they can't watch horror movies because they make them anxious. I watch horror movies because I have anxiety. I know a ton of other people who do, too.
There are so many elements of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining that remind me of my own childhood traumas that it's an incredibly cathartic experience to watch. (It's also why I'll never watch it at a public screening again, because the one time I did, the theater was packed with people who reacted to it as if they were MST3K bots at a Three Stooges movie, and it felt like they were all pointing and jeering at some of my deepest personal pain. (And a dear friend of mine can't watch Mommie Dearest around other people for the exact same reason.)
But re: movies that scared me as a child, at Uncle Norm's house I usually got plunked in front of HBO late at night because the grownups loved to sit up drinking and talking until midnight, and I was the youngest of the kids and therefore left out of their play. I'd always liked sci-fi movies, so the night Alien came on I got really wrapped up in it and didn't see The Bad Things coming until they came. By then I couldn't look away. I don't know how long Uncle Norm kept his Naugahyde recliner after that, but I'm sure it eventually went to the landfill with my ten little fingernail marks still in the armrests.
I've shared my experience watching Black Christmas (almost) alone in a cold, dark house on MeFi before (although I was a young adult at the time).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:49 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
There are so many elements of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining that remind me of my own childhood traumas that it's an incredibly cathartic experience to watch. (It's also why I'll never watch it at a public screening again, because the one time I did, the theater was packed with people who reacted to it as if they were MST3K bots at a Three Stooges movie, and it felt like they were all pointing and jeering at some of my deepest personal pain. (And a dear friend of mine can't watch Mommie Dearest around other people for the exact same reason.)
But re: movies that scared me as a child, at Uncle Norm's house I usually got plunked in front of HBO late at night because the grownups loved to sit up drinking and talking until midnight, and I was the youngest of the kids and therefore left out of their play. I'd always liked sci-fi movies, so the night Alien came on I got really wrapped up in it and didn't see The Bad Things coming until they came. By then I couldn't look away. I don't know how long Uncle Norm kept his Naugahyde recliner after that, but I'm sure it eventually went to the landfill with my ten little fingernail marks still in the armrests.
I've shared my experience watching Black Christmas (almost) alone in a cold, dark house on MeFi before (although I was a young adult at the time).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:49 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Zumbador:
Speaking only for myself, my line is a supernatural or fantastic element. I can watch a movie with a monster, even something like The Thing or The Exorcist, because the creature automatically takes it outside of the realm of the possible for me. At the same time, I really was tortured by watching Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Irreversible because they were plausible.
At the same time, I can't stand cringe humour, whatsoever, in any dosage. Instant turn-off.
So for me, it's the fantasy which makes horror enjoyable and withstandable.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 9:51 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Speaking only for myself, my line is a supernatural or fantastic element. I can watch a movie with a monster, even something like The Thing or The Exorcist, because the creature automatically takes it outside of the realm of the possible for me. At the same time, I really was tortured by watching Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Irreversible because they were plausible.
At the same time, I can't stand cringe humour, whatsoever, in any dosage. Instant turn-off.
So for me, it's the fantasy which makes horror enjoyable and withstandable.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 9:51 PM on October 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
Well, in case there are other horror-fans here that want to know my recent favs.... I grew up not liking horror movies or roller coasters, then deliberately trained myself to enjoy them. Now I love the way that a good horror movie makes a dark house feel totally different. It's like a hallucination of danger which totally fascinates me. It's an altered state of consciousness that I find both exciting and interesting. I am not sure I have a word for this state.
Tried to keep it mostly recent, but some of these are pretty old.
Favorites
- The Babadook,
- Hereditary
- Tigers are not Afraid
Good
- Midsommar
- The VVitch
- The Lighthouse
- The Nightingale
- Get Out & Us (haven't seen Nope yet)
- Antlers
- The Hole in the Ground
- The Relic
- The Wretched
- The Ritual
The Nightingale isn't technically horror, but it haunts me.
I don't go for the exploitation / faux-snuff films. I have bumped into them when digging for indie horror, but it's not my jam. The fact that they exist is horror enough for me. :(
posted by pol at 10:20 PM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
Tried to keep it mostly recent, but some of these are pretty old.
Favorites
- The Babadook,
- Hereditary
- Tigers are not Afraid
Good
- Midsommar
- The VVitch
- The Lighthouse
- The Nightingale
- Get Out & Us (haven't seen Nope yet)
- Antlers
- The Hole in the Ground
- The Relic
- The Wretched
- The Ritual
The Nightingale isn't technically horror, but it haunts me.
I don't go for the exploitation / faux-snuff films. I have bumped into them when digging for indie horror, but it's not my jam. The fact that they exist is horror enough for me. :(
posted by pol at 10:20 PM on October 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
I find horror a genuinely interesting film genre because of how much more willing filmmakers are to take risks and try different things. You don't get a lot of that outside of a very narrow set of film festival type movies. Even fewer of those are created with more general audiences in mind, but in horror it isn't unusual to see something quite different. The relatively low budgets and an audience that is more forgiving of faults also makes for a more diverse range of voices than elsewhere, which is interesting given horror's reputation for being dominated by white dudes.
I challenge anyone that doesn't like horror to try watching A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. It isn't scary, I promise. Then I want you to think about whether Ana Lily Amirpour would have been able to make a black and white movie influenced by the Iranian new wave as her debut film in any other genre, let alone have it be successful! That just doesn't happen outside of horror.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 12:00 AM on October 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
I challenge anyone that doesn't like horror to try watching A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. It isn't scary, I promise. Then I want you to think about whether Ana Lily Amirpour would have been able to make a black and white movie influenced by the Iranian new wave as her debut film in any other genre, let alone have it be successful! That just doesn't happen outside of horror.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 12:00 AM on October 6, 2022 [10 favorites]
I find horror a genuinely interesting film genre because of how much more willing filmmakers are to take risks and try different things. You don't get a lot of that outside of a very narrow set of film festival type movies.
Definitely! It's really the only popular genre in which films are routinely made by relative unknowns purely on the strength of their ideas. Sci-fi has the same power to come at an idea sideways, bringing it to a popular audience in a novel way, but the budget requirements are often considerably higher. Hence, on film, horror is more often the way to go.
It's really no coincidence how many directors get their start in horror.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:26 AM on October 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
Definitely! It's really the only popular genre in which films are routinely made by relative unknowns purely on the strength of their ideas. Sci-fi has the same power to come at an idea sideways, bringing it to a popular audience in a novel way, but the budget requirements are often considerably higher. Hence, on film, horror is more often the way to go.
It's really no coincidence how many directors get their start in horror.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 3:26 AM on October 6, 2022 [5 favorites]
I love the horror genre. I absolutely love great movies of all kinds: drama, romance, historical, psychological, sci-fi, fantasy and even some comedies.
But I'm willing to forgive horror flicks more than any other genre. A so-so horror movie is just so more fun for me to watch than a so-so drama. Or a so-so romantic film. Etc.
Comedy is the hardest for me of all genres. There are comedies I love. But it has to hit "just right" for me to enjoy it. I either love them or hate them. Not saying "The Hangover" is objectively bad, for instance. It was well produced, shot, edited and acted. I even sorta-laughed a few times! But millions loved it and cry in laughter over it. But I got zero enjoyment from that film. But for some reason I find middling horror films more palatable and satisfying to watch than any other genre.
And great horror films? My absolute favorite kind of favorite film.
I need to pay the $7 a month and subscribe to Shudder.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:21 AM on October 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
But I'm willing to forgive horror flicks more than any other genre. A so-so horror movie is just so more fun for me to watch than a so-so drama. Or a so-so romantic film. Etc.
Comedy is the hardest for me of all genres. There are comedies I love. But it has to hit "just right" for me to enjoy it. I either love them or hate them. Not saying "The Hangover" is objectively bad, for instance. It was well produced, shot, edited and acted. I even sorta-laughed a few times! But millions loved it and cry in laughter over it. But I got zero enjoyment from that film. But for some reason I find middling horror films more palatable and satisfying to watch than any other genre.
And great horror films? My absolute favorite kind of favorite film.
I need to pay the $7 a month and subscribe to Shudder.
posted by SoberHighland at 4:21 AM on October 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
SoberHighland, I'd say I've gotten my money's worth from Shudder.
posted by TheKaijuCommuter at 5:22 AM on October 6, 2022
posted by TheKaijuCommuter at 5:22 AM on October 6, 2022
When you subscribe to Shudder, resist the urge to go with the Amazon Prime version or the AMC+ package. You want the standalone app. Otherwise, things are randomly unavailable or hard to find and you miss the curation aspect, which is one of the most valuable features.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:19 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:19 AM on October 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
For most of my life I've not been a horror movie fan, and in fact, I avoided them whenever possible. When I was 5 my teenage cousins insisted on watching Piranha 2 and I was forced to stay in the same room because they were watching me. I thought that flying Piranhas were a real thing and had nightmares for weeks, and even confirming that they weren't real didn't prevent me from imagining them flying out of corpses whenever I shut my eyes. When my peers were bragging about watching Nightmare on Elm street I knew that my overactive imagination would traumatize me, so I had no shame in passing.
But I got to be middle aged and felt like I was missing out on a big part of movie culture. So I started listening to podcasts like "Too Scary" and "the Horror Virgin" to see if there were movies worth watching. Sometimes I watch movies ahead of the episodes, and sometimes I use episodes to decide whether or not I'll enjoy something. I really love the hosts of TS;DW just genuinely seem to love all of the movies that they talk about and they pull some really great guests with their Hollywood friends.
Luckily, maturity means that my imagination is less inclined to traumatize me. I've worked up to watching things like "Incantation" (seriously the scariest thing I've seen so far) and found gems that I would have otherwise missed, like "The Thing" and "Midsommar". My husband is also a reforming scary movie fraidy cat, but has discovered that he likes campy 80s horror, so we've been having a fun spooky season.
posted by Alison at 7:19 AM on October 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
But I got to be middle aged and felt like I was missing out on a big part of movie culture. So I started listening to podcasts like "Too Scary" and "the Horror Virgin" to see if there were movies worth watching. Sometimes I watch movies ahead of the episodes, and sometimes I use episodes to decide whether or not I'll enjoy something. I really love the hosts of TS;DW just genuinely seem to love all of the movies that they talk about and they pull some really great guests with their Hollywood friends.
Luckily, maturity means that my imagination is less inclined to traumatize me. I've worked up to watching things like "Incantation" (seriously the scariest thing I've seen so far) and found gems that I would have otherwise missed, like "The Thing" and "Midsommar". My husband is also a reforming scary movie fraidy cat, but has discovered that he likes campy 80s horror, so we've been having a fun spooky season.
posted by Alison at 7:19 AM on October 6, 2022 [3 favorites]
Digging the mentions of Stephen King; in addition to mining the horror vein for decades, he's done some writing on the subject, especially in his book Danse Macabre (which was based on a college course that he taught early in his career). He differentiates between (in descending order of sophistication) terror, horror, and the gross-out; terror is when you hear something large scratching at the door, horror is when you open the door and it's a ten-foot cockroach, and the gross-out is when the roach bites your head off. He admits that he tries for terror, but will settle for horror or even the gross-out if he can't manage that. He also points out that, even though a ten-foot roach is horrifying, once you actually see what was behind the door, you're somewhat relieved that it wasn't a twelve-foot roach.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:34 AM on October 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:34 AM on October 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
Early this Summer while my wife (who can't watch horror movies) was out of town, I realized that I had never seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies because descriptions of them scared the everloving shit out of me as a kid. So I took a day to basically shotgun the series.
As has been said here several times: they definitely get sillier as they go along. But that's basically referring to Freddy becoming a marketable franchise character who was on, like, cereal boxes and shit. In terms of overall silliness, well, that's at its peak as early as the second installment,* but is there from the beginning. None of these movies are "scary." The first one certainly has the most legitimate scares in it, but it's still goofy as hell. In a fun way! I recommend it! (Unless you're turned off by the presence of an impossibly young Johnny Depp in it, but if it helps at all - SPOILER! - he dies very violently in it.)
*For another fun podcast discussion, the wonderful "Progressively Horrified" has a great episode on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, an incredibly queer movie that not everyone involved with realized was queer. Bonus, my friend Elana is on that episode!
posted by Navelgazer at 9:30 AM on October 6, 2022
As has been said here several times: they definitely get sillier as they go along. But that's basically referring to Freddy becoming a marketable franchise character who was on, like, cereal boxes and shit. In terms of overall silliness, well, that's at its peak as early as the second installment,* but is there from the beginning. None of these movies are "scary." The first one certainly has the most legitimate scares in it, but it's still goofy as hell. In a fun way! I recommend it! (Unless you're turned off by the presence of an impossibly young Johnny Depp in it, but if it helps at all - SPOILER! - he dies very violently in it.)
*For another fun podcast discussion, the wonderful "Progressively Horrified" has a great episode on A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, an incredibly queer movie that not everyone involved with realized was queer. Bonus, my friend Elana is on that episode!
posted by Navelgazer at 9:30 AM on October 6, 2022
While we're hyping horror podcasts, let me mention two I don't think have come up yet:
-The Final Girls - Anna Bogutskaya (who is also frequently featured on Evolution of Horror) does deep dives on eras and movements in horror. She manages to sound like a fun friend you'd like to hang out with, even as she casually drops heavy film crit theory and analysis.
-Girl, That's Scary - Jazz and Kat are two Black women who come at horror from their own perspective, very aware of social underpinnings even as they're also horror nerds keenly invested in whether a film delivers the gory goods. They're unlike any other horror pod. I enjoy when they give very blunt reviews like "Don't pay $5.99 for this. Wait for it to be free."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:39 AM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
-The Final Girls - Anna Bogutskaya (who is also frequently featured on Evolution of Horror) does deep dives on eras and movements in horror. She manages to sound like a fun friend you'd like to hang out with, even as she casually drops heavy film crit theory and analysis.
-Girl, That's Scary - Jazz and Kat are two Black women who come at horror from their own perspective, very aware of social underpinnings even as they're also horror nerds keenly invested in whether a film delivers the gory goods. They're unlike any other horror pod. I enjoy when they give very blunt reviews like "Don't pay $5.99 for this. Wait for it to be free."
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:39 AM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Myself - I am the only one who likes horror - so, I watch them whenever I am home alone, or late at night with the volume low and subtitles on... which makes them a little less anxiety-inducing. However, if it is well-made, with amazing atmospheric sound and soundtrack - the headphones go on.
Overall, I don't mind most horror - if it does not harm/terrorize kids, that messes me up.
But - there is one movie, which haunts me - Marebito...
posted by rozcakj at 11:56 AM on October 6, 2022
Overall, I don't mind most horror - if it does not harm/terrorize kids, that messes me up.
But - there is one movie, which haunts me - Marebito...
posted by rozcakj at 11:56 AM on October 6, 2022
In 1979, as part of that year's Seattle International Film Festival, Alien was premiered at the UA 150 on a then state of the art big screen at midnight to a packed house. I didn't see that show.
I went to the first matinee the next day and sat with less than forty people. And from John Hurt's chest burst, watched trembling from behind the obligatory lobby card I wish I still had. And from the time the Alien unfurled in the escape pod, I watched from behind the curtain in the lobby itself. Jesus, that scared the shit out of me.
And get this -- went back with my girlfriend two days later. And who sat next to us but a young bougie couple with their 3 year old daughter. I said You have no idea what you are in for. The toddler had freaked out by the drinky bird in the intro... but conked out minutes later. I don't know if it was Benadryl or not, but they avoided a major situation that night if not the cost of years of therapy.
posted by y2karl at 12:09 PM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
I went to the first matinee the next day and sat with less than forty people. And from John Hurt's chest burst, watched trembling from behind the obligatory lobby card I wish I still had. And from the time the Alien unfurled in the escape pod, I watched from behind the curtain in the lobby itself. Jesus, that scared the shit out of me.
And get this -- went back with my girlfriend two days later. And who sat next to us but a young bougie couple with their 3 year old daughter. I said You have no idea what you are in for. The toddler had freaked out by the drinky bird in the intro... but conked out minutes later. I don't know if it was Benadryl or not, but they avoided a major situation that night if not the cost of years of therapy.
posted by y2karl at 12:09 PM on October 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
Once, when I was very young, I passed on an offer to write a script for a Canadian tax-shelter slasher flick because I was too into Bergman at the time.
posted by ovvl at 5:02 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 5:02 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
And get this -- went back with my girlfriend two days later. And who sat next to us but a young bougie couple with their 3 year old daughter. I said You have no idea what you are in for. The toddler had freaked out by the drinky bird in the intro... but conked out minutes later. I don't know if it was Benadryl or not, but they avoided a major situation that night if not the cost of years of therapy.
I was working in an elementary school during the time Jurassic Park was released, and yes, elementary school kids are obsessed with dinosaurs. And they all wanted to see the movie. And I was telling parents and teachers for a month ahead of time "this is not a movie for these kids, they will freak the fuck out". I don't know if any of them heeded my warnings.
What I do know is I went to see Jurassic Park opening weekend and the audience was PACKED with families with kids, mostly under 10 years old, and I just knew this was not going to go well. The amount of terror-screaming and hurried carry-up-the-aisle during most of the first 2/3 of the movie was amazing. It's like, if the T-rex tearing the tires off the vehicle didn't get the kids, then the hunting through the kitchen did.
Anyway, there are movies parents should screen before taking their children. That was Most Definitely One Of Them.
posted by hippybear at 2:18 PM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was working in an elementary school during the time Jurassic Park was released, and yes, elementary school kids are obsessed with dinosaurs. And they all wanted to see the movie. And I was telling parents and teachers for a month ahead of time "this is not a movie for these kids, they will freak the fuck out". I don't know if any of them heeded my warnings.
What I do know is I went to see Jurassic Park opening weekend and the audience was PACKED with families with kids, mostly under 10 years old, and I just knew this was not going to go well. The amount of terror-screaming and hurried carry-up-the-aisle during most of the first 2/3 of the movie was amazing. It's like, if the T-rex tearing the tires off the vehicle didn't get the kids, then the hunting through the kitchen did.
Anyway, there are movies parents should screen before taking their children. That was Most Definitely One Of Them.
posted by hippybear at 2:18 PM on October 8, 2022 [1 favorite]
I liked the Human Centipede episode of TS;DW. Now I'm chasing the dragon. Other episodes just don't have that pure high of gals gettin grossed out. I guess I'll try Titane.
I've worked up to watching things like "Incantation" (seriously the scariest thing I've seen so far)
It's a bit of a checklist movie sometimes, but unlike The Medium (which super duper feels like it's going down a checklist of scenes), it's really effective and creepy.
posted by fleacircus at 5:05 AM on October 9, 2022
I've worked up to watching things like "Incantation" (seriously the scariest thing I've seen so far)
It's a bit of a checklist movie sometimes, but unlike The Medium (which super duper feels like it's going down a checklist of scenes), it's really effective and creepy.
posted by fleacircus at 5:05 AM on October 9, 2022
Looking up the 1995 film Mute Witness (which is awesome, by the way), I found this in Roger Ebert's positive review:
The great advantage of horror films is that the genre itself is the star. Many of the great horror films do not require expensive actors or elaborate production values, because the manufacture of suspense comes close to being pure cinema, and can be done with setup and montage. We are involved simply because of the way one shot follows another. Many young filmmakers - John Carpenter, the Coen brothers, and all those directors of an earlier generation who started out making low-budget Roger Corman thrillers - used horror as an avenue into the film business because it was a cheap way to showcase their talents, in films that had a good chance of making money.posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:17 AM on October 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
I liked the Human Centipede episode of TS;DW. Now I'm chasing the dragon. Other episodes just don't have that pure high of gals gettin grossed out. I guess I'll try Titane.
Try the Green Inferno episode. They truly hate hate hate Eli Roth by the end of that one.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:00 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Try the Green Inferno episode. They truly hate hate hate Eli Roth by the end of that one.
posted by Atom Eyes at 2:00 PM on October 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
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I don't watch horror films much anymore, as they've moved beyond horror into gross-out or whatever you'd call the things they do now. But there was a period when I loved them, and Nightmare was one of my favorites. I must have seen that first film over a dozen times in the theater when it was first-run.
posted by hippybear at 1:23 PM on October 5, 2022 [9 favorites]