“Horror movies are like boot camp for the psyche. In real life, human beings are packaged in the flimsiest of packages, threatened by real and sometimes horrifying dangers, events like Columbine. But the narrative form puts these fears into a manageable series of events. It gives us a way of thinking rationally about our fears.“ –Wes Craven
Wes knew that horror made us face our fears in a safe environment. That people who enjoyed horror actually had it more together than those who only saw it as depravity. Sure, it’s dark, but why is facing the dark unhealthy? Ask Instagram. They’ve been pissing off a lot of us this month with their new attack on the genre, especially those of us whose chosen livelihoods or online presences revolve around horror. Upon typing in the hashtag “horror”, you’re now met with a warning, saying that what you’re searching could lead to personal harm or death. How they came to this conclusion is beyond me. I specifically remember stumbling upon an IG account a few weeks ago that seemed to only exist to glorify depression and suicide. In fact, a quick search allowed me to see that the site is quiet when I type in #murder and #death. Sounds logical. Josh Millican over at Dread Central wrote on the popular website:
It’s this stigma that leaves horror movies snubbed from award shows, and continued to be thought of as silly, and a lesser art to many. While it is a fact that a lot of actors get their start in horror films, it doesn’t have to be a stepping stone. To me, it was always the end all be all. After acting in my first slasher, my interest just slid out of acting and into starting my own film company, focusing on making as much horror as I could. I’ve always seen the art in horror, and been completely drawn to it. But does loving SFX gore and the adrenaline rush of a slasher flick make me a bad person? Does it lead me down a bad path? One Christian blogger seems to think so. I came across a blog post a couple months ago that I book marked, knowing I’d find a time in the future to reference. (Read: mock) Now seems to be the perfect time. I’ve left out the author’s name, not wanting to actually cause any backlash to his own blog. We all have a right to our own opinions after all, even when they’re wrong.
“A horror movie is a product of satanism” he writes. “When you watch horror films, you are glorifying Satan and not God!” Ok dude, chill out. Maybe I’m not glorifying either made up deity, but just entertaining myself.
He goes on about how being a good Christian means only filling your mind with images that are good and pure, and urges everyone to get rid of any horror films they have. My favorite part of his “just say no” rant, is when he brings up movies like The Conjuring, saying that even people at his church have been knows to talk about watching these films, but they shouldn’t, seeing as they are truly Satan’s work.
Anyone who actually thinks like this, hasn’t seen one of these films. All they do is make the church out to be real, as well as good. They showcase evil and the devil, in all his glory, to be a real threat, and would make any agnostic or atheist cling to their rosary for protection. Except we won’t. Because we know it’s just a movie. As Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell, so appropriately pointed out in the slasher episode of Eli Roth’s History of Horror,
“People who don’t see these films, take them a lot more seriously than the people who do.”
So why can’t these haters realize that and back off? I’m fine with people not getting what I love, and even thinking that it’s too dark. Us horror fanatics are used to “being the weirdos”, but you cross the line when you start saying that what I love is going to end up harming me. My slasher film obsession is no more dangerous than someone else’s horse obsession, and it’s far less annoying. We all love what we love, and eventually we will all die. I’m just going to be a hell of a lot more prepared for it.
Til next time,
(Checking behind my shower curtains and never staying behind trucks full of logs)
🔪Madame of Horror
Madame of Horror 
Leave a comment