Have you seen the latest horror movie? I sure haven’t. At this time of year, every chainsaw-wielding, zombie-chasing slasher movie comes out, and I have zero interest in seeing any of them. The world is scary enough these days without adding in a layer of supernatural terror.
I know this means I miss out on some excellent filmmaking. I’ve never watched a Stephen King movie or experienced the brilliant storytelling of Jordan Peele. I’ve never even seen The Exorcist – a true Halloween classic.
I guess I’m more of an “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” kind of a girl.
My kids enjoy a good scary movie once in a while and especially at this time of year. They attempt to lure me downstairs to a dark den with promises of buttered popcorn and quality family time. But unlike the doomed characters in their movie, I don’t tend to make bad decisions.
The last horror movie I saw was M. Night Shyamalan’s, The Sixth Sense. To this day, my family tells me it doesn’t count because it’s more spooky than scary. But, I am proud to say that I sat through the whole thing and enjoyed it.
When I was younger, I watched the original Poltergeist complete with the attacking trees, terrifying clowns, and haunted burial ground. As a teenager, I was pressured into seeing Halloween on a date. I watched it with my hands covering my face the entire time. For some reason, he thought I would enjoy seeing a horror flick before dinner. It didn’t, and I asked him to take me home instead.
These days, I still prefer candy over carnage, Skittles over serial killers, Butterfingers over bloodbaths, and most of all, fun over fear. And who knows, maybe Ghostbusters will be on television this year. That is much more my speed.
Anna Maria Junus
October 28, 2020 at 12:34 am (4 years ago)Robert – I think you’re looking for the word Alliteration.
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As for the scary movies – I’m not into the slasher movies – and The Exorcist was the most terrifying movie I’ve ever seen and I do not recommend it. However, I liked The Sixth Sense. I like psychological thrillers. I liked Steven King’s The Stand. And at Halloween, I like a scary movie.
I think people like to get “safely scared”. We go on roller coasters and other thrill rides, and we watch scary movies and go through haunted houses. It’s the one fear we have control over.
Robert Krantweiss
October 28, 2020 at 9:26 am (4 years ago)Thank you Anna Maria for helping this It’s been a long time, since I studied figures of speech.
Elisa Heisman
October 28, 2020 at 9:31 am (4 years ago)Thanks. I do like some psychological thrillers too. I think my unit of measure of whether I will watch something or not comes down to the gory factor. If it is a little blood, I can take it. If it is something so disgusting and terrifying, I don’t bother watching. The funny thing is I can read the Wikipedia summary of horror movies and that doesn’t affect me whatsoever.
Robert Krantweiss
October 27, 2020 at 10:34 pm (4 years ago)Comment
Robert Krantweiss
October 27, 2020 at 10:32 pm (4 years ago)I am of the same mind as you, dear. I like to see movies that entertain me rather make me “askeered” or sickening. I enjoy movies that are thought provoking, , musicals, love stories, ones where the underdog takes on the corporation, and/or those that have a message. I do take issue with the fact that you never saw a Steven King movie, unless you never saw STAND BY ME, one of my favorites, based on a short story written by STEVEN KING. Except for that one inconsequential flaw, I found you blog extremely entertaining. I think it is one of your best. Your last paragraph is a classic with all of those brilliant and humorous comparisons that repeat the same beginning letter.( P.S. I could use an editor that can give me the term for that figure of speech. It’s driving me crazy!}
Elisa Heisman
October 28, 2020 at 9:32 am (4 years ago)Thanks, Dad. I never watched Stand By Me. Something about a dead body? But, I think I can watch it now if it has your rubber stamp of approval on it.
Kebba Buckley Button
October 27, 2020 at 10:09 pm (4 years ago)Elisa, thank you! This is my position on horror during October. Before Prime Video and Hulu, the TV movie landscape was all horror junk leading up to Halloween, and even for a couple of weeks afterward. I don’t get the appeal. And from me as an energy healer, I promise that those horror movies are very wearing on your nervous system.
Elisa Heisman
October 28, 2020 at 9:34 am (4 years ago)My pleasure! I don’t need anything else to rattle my nerves. Watching the pandemic news every night is plenty scary for me.
Kate Loving Shenk
October 27, 2020 at 9:38 pm (4 years ago)I agree. My taste for horror can be satisfied as I watch the attempted theft of our democracy.
Elisa Heisman
October 28, 2020 at 9:35 am (4 years ago)Ahh – a woman after my own heart! I 100% agree. The approval of Amy Coney Barrett to SCOTUS will scare me for years to come. Who needs The Handmaid’s Tale when we have our very own story in real-life playing out in front of our very eyes?!