Skip to main content

FIELD NOTES: Fear itself - Movies

What are you afraid of? It is a question that has haunted our kind since we first began gathering around communal fires in hopes of keeping the unknown at bay. As a species, we like to scare each other, and ourselves. It’s a weird concept if you think about it; purposely subjecting ourselves to stressful situations to get our hearts beating and our blood pumping. And this time of year, especially, we tend to push ourselves to the limits of dread in search of that deeply unsettling feeling that a good horror novel, movie, or TV show engenders. 

I thought about this recently as I watched all seven hours of the Netflix horror extravaganza “Midnight Mass.” It is one of the better horror movies I’ve seen over the past few years, right up there with “IT,” “Hereditary” and “Midsommar.” You can check out a full review on my blog, but suffice it to say it’s not for the faint of heart. 

I haven’t always had a taste for horror, but it does go back a ways. When I was in fifth or sixth grade, I bought a book from the Scholastic Book Club called “Strange But True.” It was a collection of supposedly true stories about weird and uncanny events; things like the Jersey Devil, the Mary Celeste, the Moth Man, etc. While it wasn’t precisely “horror,” it did scare the bejeesus out of me. I don’t think I slept for a week! Later, in high school and college, I started reading Stephen King, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, and H.P. Lovecraft. As a freshman in college, I got my first exposure to HBO and saw the original Halloween about a dozen times, along with a few less-known horror flicks like “Prophecy” and “Humanoids from the Deep.”   

Since then, I’ve become a connoisseur of the genre, even trying my hand at writing a few stories myself. While I don’t especially enjoy “slasher” films, I do make an effort to see as many serious (if there is such a thing) horror films as possible.

Here is a list of my favorites from the past 20 years or so, in no particular order. If you’re looking to get into the Halloween spirit, check these out:

“The Blair Witch Project” – Yeah, I know. But putting aside the hundred bad “found footage” movies it spawned, it’s a very good film with a creepy plot, spooky scenery, and reasonably good payoff. 

“Sleepy Hollow” – The first time I saw this, a year or two after it came out, I hated it. I was expecting something different, I guess. Then, I saw it again 10 years later and finally got it.  

“Hereditary” – When this came out a few years ago, some hailed it as scarier than “The Exorcist.” It’s not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great horror film. The thing I like best is the way it plays with horror tropes; you think you know what’s going to happen next, but you don’t.

“The Cabin in the Woods” – Speaking of horror tropes, this movie is amazing, even if it isn’t exactly a horror film. 

“IT, Parts I and II” – Yes, “Part I” is stronger than “Part II,” but as a whole story, “IT” is still one of the scariest ever written or filmed. 

“Midsommar” – This one! Like “Sleepy Hollow,” I was expecting something different, and this bright, cheery film with intermittent stunning brutality can overload the senses, but those horrific images stick with you. 

“A Quiet Place, I and II” – Like “IT,” the first film is better. Both “I” and “II” are probably better described as science fiction than horror, but that’s splitting hairs.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FRIDAY MATINEE: Midnight Mass (🍺🍺🍺🍺)

I held off writing this review until I had seen all seven episodes of the new Netflix limited series “Midnight Mass.” I’ve been burned in the past by shows that start out well and then devolve into silliness as they progress. While “Mass" doesn’t completely stick the landing, I think even the East German judge would give it a solid 9. Taken as a whole, I think it is as effective a piece of horror as the combined “It” movies from a few years ago, and right on par with “Hereditary” and “Midsommar.”  The story revolves around a man returning to his childhood island home after a prison stay for a drunk driving accident that killed a teen girl. Coincidentally, it is the same day the island’s beloved elderly priest, Monsignor Pruitt is supposed to return from a trip to the Holy Land. Unfortunately, the priest has taken ill and is being treated on the mainland. A temporary priest arrives to take his place.  The story takes a little while to get going, and anyone who’s familiar with the g
3 comments
Read more

Don't Listen to the Old Man in the Pickup Truck

As economic development director for Anson County, I strongly urge you to vote FOR the Mixed Beverage* Election November 8th. But, more importantly, I encourage you to listen to the voices of the young professionals upon whom the future of the county will depend. If you look closely at the lower right-hand corner of the blue and white signs urging a FOR vote on Mixed Beverages, you will see they are paid for by YP Anson. So what is YP Anson? Is it some political action committee funded by out-of-state alcoholic beverage manufacturers and casino owners? No, it's Young Professionals Anson, an organization made up of and funded entirely by local business people and community members under the age of 40.  They are the bankers, real estate agents, lawyers, shop owners, entrepreneurs, factory managers, and tradespeople who will lead Anson County into the next decade and beyond. Most of them were born and raised here, left to get a college education, and chose to return and raise a family
Post a Comment
Read more

FIELD NOTES: Trust in authority, but verify

At some point in our lives, most of us have been either the victim or the perpetrator of a prank phone call. Most of these calls are harmless. Many are legitimately funny; some are mean-spirited, and a select few are dangerous. In college, some of my buddies and I would call a random number pretending to be from a fictitious sports radio station. We would ask a nonsensical question to (supposedly) win a prize. One question I specifically recall was, “Name  the three teams in this year’s Super Bowl.” The “contestant,” likely a teen girl by the sound of her voice, got the first two teams right but, not surprisingly, struggled with the third one.  Ultimately, she guessed Pittsburgh, which was “wrong,” but actually a pretty savvy answer given that the Steelers were a perpetual Super Bowl contender in those days.  Although those calls don’t represent my finest hour, I think even the “victims,” if they ever even realized they’d been pranked, would admit it was pretty innocuous. When done wit
Post a Comment
Read more