There’s no such thing as monsters. And that’s why I don’t care about so many horror films. Though I grew up devouring episodes of Sightings and The X-Files, I know for a fact that there aren’t any flukemen or chupacabras out there that are going to come after me. What I’m afraid of is other people. Every single one of us has the potential to commit unspeakable evil upon others and even upon ourselves. THAT is horror. The monsters are just a fictional manifestation of our neurosis. The Shining is about alcoholism, Rosemary’s Baby is about a loss of control, Psycho (and pretty much the entire slasher genre) is about sexual guilt. The mind is where horror lives and that is why the best horror films are able to stick with us. They speak to the fears that lay deep, down inside of us all. They speak to the fears that we would never dare give voice to. Even if you haven’t thought of a particular film in a while, it is there inside of you waiting to be awoken by the smallest trigger. If it’s in a word, or in a look, you can’t get rid of The Babadook.
No comments:
Post a Comment