Horror Movie Advocacy - You've Gotta See This Movie Because It Earns My Own Personal Seal Of Approval

Slightly better than a rooftop antenna . . .

     While shopping for a few new Blu-rays to order in anticipation of Pre'Ween, it occurred to me that I rarely ever purchase movies on disc anymore.  I view movies almost exclusively by streaming or media server.  That's not really news, because increasingly, that's how most people view movies at home.  What was interesting to me was how my criteria for what warrants a "buy" rather than a "stream" has changed along with my altered viewing habits.

     Like many movie aficionados, I am by nature a collector.  I'm just old enough to remember a time, though, when even movie fans rarely owned their own copies of their favorites.  The tech wasn't as widely available, and the movies themselves - because they were exorbitantly expensive - weren't as commonly purchased to own.  We rented instead.

     Once upon a time, Mom and Pop video rental stores were almost as ubiquitous as Redbox kiosks are today.  The good news was that the cost of rental was well within most families' budgets provided they could make the initial investment in a VCR.  Even better, all of those video stores (and their customers) were so eager for new content that store shelves overflowed with movies of every stripe.  Of course, such a wealth of choices was a movie fan's dream, but rental did not scratch the itch to collect one's favorites.  If you were really enterprising you could purchase a second VCR and dub copies of your rental tapes, but it was only a matter of time before the movie industry plugged up that hole by widely adopting Macrovision copy protection.

LaserDisc - It's Portable!

     All things must eventually pass, however, and the arrival of new format called DVD eventually drove the last few nails in the VHS coffin.  I'm intentionally glossing over LaserDisc because it was never widely adopted in North America - or anywhere else save Japan and South East Asia, really.  DVD was the giant killer, and the format popularized the idea of sell-through pricing so that many of us were finally able to start our own movie collections in earnest.  Many of us went a little ape-shit on that point, too.

     Throughout the first decade of the new millennium I purchased an absurd number of DVDs.  Curating my own collection even took precedence over actually going to the theater, since for the cost of a movie ticket and some popcorn I could actually own my own copy of each new release just a few months after it was in theaters.  My rule of thumb:  if I entertained the notion of venturing out to the theater to see a new release, I just bought a copy of the DVD a few months later instead.  My DVD collection grew exponentially in a very short period of time based upon this somewhat specious reasoning.

My first Limited Edition DVD purchase

     Of course, new releases were only the tip of the iceberg.  It was the catalog titles that really broke the bank.  Distributors like Synapse, Code Red, Anchor Bay, and Blue Underground were releasing old favorites at a brisk clip, and I was buying most of them.  Not only was I finally able to own my own copy of movies like Lucio Fulci's Zombie (1979) and Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977), but I was awash in a sea of special features that augmented these releases.  Now even the most obscure titles were getting the Collector's Edition treatment.  It was truly a wonderful time to be a movie fan.

    Not surprisingly, though, I soon found myself with a sizable collection that housed far too many disappointing catalog releases and watch-it-once-and-forget-it new releases.  I had to institute some buying parameters to insure more judicious purchases.  I stopped buying new releases sight unseen, and I began to be far more selective about my catalog purchases.  A DVD did not warrant a purchase unless I was certain it was a title I'd watch multiple times.  Catalog titles did not warrant a purchase until after reviews hit the internet to tell me whether or not it was a quality release.

A bigger priority than Jaws

     Perhaps most importantly, obscure titles, long out of print titles, and titles that rarely aired on cable or satellite were always the priority.  For example, to this day I don't own a copy of Jaws (1975) on disc.  Jaws is always on television and will never be out of print in my lifetime.  It's a brilliant movie, but it's not a priority purchase.  I do, however, own a copy of The Manitou (1978).  What the f**k, right? 

     Since my purchases were now required to be titles that were previously difficult to obtain,  or difficult to see elsewhere, or - in my own humble opinion - worthy of multiple viewings, it almost goes without saying that the discs I did purchase were usually titles that I would enthusiastically recommend to others.  One more parameter, perhaps more important than all the rest, began to govern my purchases:  if it's a title that I want to share with others, it's a buy.  It was the birth of my horror movie advocacy.

     At the same time, it was essentially the death of my spend-crazy ways.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, I guess, but it did mean that my purchases became fewer and far less frequent.  Since by that point I already owned copies of most catalog titles worth owning, my buying began to revolve only around newer titles that made the grade.  When I consider now my purchases over the course of the last several years, I find that there have been distressingly few of those.

     I've been vocal here at the Dog Farm with my advocacy of Pontypool (2008), a movie I still frequently loan out to others.  I continue to share Trick 'r Treat (2007) with as many people as I can every Halloween,  because I'm determined to do my part to make it a perennial staple.  I frequently loan out [REC] (2007) because it kills my soul that American audiences are still more familiar with the inferior English language remake.  Attack The Block (2011) is one of my more recent causes.  I just can't understand how this relatively big and wildly entertaining release managed to fly beneath so many radars.  There have been others - Laid To Rest (2009), House Of The Devil (2009), John Dies At The End (2012) - but still too few to warrant more than a trickle of new purchases.  I still see plenty of movies that I enjoy, but I don't see that many that inspire my whole-hearted advocacy.

My Pre'Ween shopping list for 2014

     For what it's worth, every movie I've chosen to purchase for Pre-Ween this year is a catalog title.  The Director's Cut of Nightbreed (1990) is a must have, as is Without Warning (1980).  I'll also be picking up Sleepaway Camp (1983) and Curtains (1983), neither of which have previously enjoyed decent releases.  I'll probably also purchase Blue Underground's bargain priced release The Complete Blind Dead Saga since I never purchased The Blind Dead Collection Limited Edition from 2005.  That's it, though - not a new movie in the bunch.  It looks like this horror movie advocate is stumping exclusively for the oldies this year.

     Which newer movies have you really gone out of your way to recommend to others recently, and what makes them deserving of special attention?  If you consider yourself a horror movie advocate, what qualities are most likely to earn a movie your own personal seal of approval?

What Do You Do when the Scary Dies?

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) - Now that's scary!

     It's a sad fact that most lifelong horror movie fans become inured to the machinations filmmakers employ to scare them.  We grow too jaded to be frightened.  Would we continue to watch comedies if we never laughed?  Probably not.  We soldier on, though, hoping against hope that the next horror movie we watch will be the one that brings the scary back from the dead.

     I believe many of us resort to living vicariously through the terrified responses of the straights in our lives to the movies that long ago ceased to scare us.  It's one of the primary reasons we have a compulsion to share our favorites.  There's no true altruism there, just a selfish need to enjoy a scare once removed rather than no scare at all.  If our victims become fans themselves, so much the better.  Still, what we're really hoping for is to see our friends and family completely lose their shit in a fashion that we no longer can.  I've been on the receiving end of this dynamic, too.  Good ole Large Marge giving Pee-wee Herman the scare of his life in Pee-wee's Big Adventure traumatized me, and I know my friend Jeff subjected me to that as payback for all of the times I'd exposed him to horror movies for my own twisted gratification.  Payback is truly a bug-eyed, truck driving bitch.

Creepy creepin' crud  - The Bay (2013)

     We try to bring the scary back by looking for it in previously unexplored avenues, as well.  Fortunately, the horror genre is stuffed to the brim with sub-genres.  I'm forty-three years old, and I'm still never at a loss to find a heretofore unexamined offshoot.  I've found many noteworthy little gems just by deigning to explore sub-genres against which I've fostered prejudice.  I don't like vampire movies, but Let The Right One In (2008) is one of the finest movies - horror or otherwise - that I've seen in the last decade.  I'm suffering from pronounced zombie fatigue, but Pontypool (2008) spins those hoary old zombie movie tropes into one of the most mesmerizing films of its type I've ever seen.  The found footage sub-genre is pretty threadbare, but it can still occasionally offer up effective chillers like Europa Report (2013) and The Bay (2012).  The scary may be on life support, but there are signs of life if you look hard enough.

Alone in the dark . . . or not -  [REC] (2007)

     The cruel irony, of course, is that the wider the swath we cut across the horror landscape, the more difficult it becomes to keep turning up more scares.  It becomes increasingly difficult to find something we haven't already seen before.  A buddy at work suggests a pefectly solid little time waster he saw on cable the night before, and we're obliged to assure him that the flick he enjoyed so much is in fact just a rip-off of movie X, Y, or Z.  Even worse, we might be obliged to tell him that his "find" is actually a rip-off of a vastly superior foreign made original.  Aren't they always?  You might have the satisfaction of pointing your buddy toward [REC] (2007) after he ran across Quarantine (2008) on Netflix streaming, but you've only taken another step toward becoming the resident "horror guy".  Your appreciation of horror movies has become largely academic.  You can no longer watch any new movie without automatically assessing its relative merit as compared to two or three similar movies that came before.  You've become a purely critical viewer.  You'll never be scared again if you can't allow yourself to be entirely in the moment when watching a new flick, but once you've become aware of the nuts and bolts used to construct a cinematic scare, you'll always see it coming.  What's a fan to do?

Shaggy and Scooby were always scared, right?  Must work.

     Some of us resort to having a few drinks to enhance viewing.  Unfortunately, beer, wine, and liquor all have roughly the same affect.  Though tying one on can boost the appeal of a campy stink bomb, it also dulls the senses and destroys focus.  It's hard to be scared by a movie if you're too blotto to know you're supposed to be.  I've also heard tell of fans smoking pot to achieve an opposite effect by sharpening focus to keep themselves completely in the moment.  I have it on good authority that this disables critical faculties while heightening attention to detail.  Though Movies At Dog Farm would of course never advocate any kind of illegal activity, it seems to me that just might work - as long the viewer doesn't fall asleep first or break the spell by pausing the movie to forage for some nachos.

     So what do you do when the scary dies?  Don't panic.  Just wait for it.  You see, I'm pretty sure the scary never actually dies, it only plays opossum.  It's still alive, taking shallow breaths and lying motionless, luring us into a false sense of security.  Then, when we least expect it . . .

     Boo!  Scary happens.  Crisis averted. 

(Mostly) Effective Tips For Teaching A Straight To Like Horror Movies

     My last post addressed the way in which straights (non horror fans) can have a tendency to look down their noses at horror fans, like we're Trekkies or something.  They only do this because they're ignorant.  It's our duty as fans to try to remedy this ignorance.  Following are a few tips from my own experience that I hope will help my fellow genre fans to convert the unwashed masses.


1)  The Classics Are Your Cornerstone

     The classics are considered classics for a reason.  It's no accident that every Halloween brings a wave of those "Ten Best Horror Movies To Watch On Halloween" lists from a slew of straight websites.  Sure, you'll see some variation, but these lists are mostly populated from a pool of the same titles on every single site.  We horror fans generally roll our eyes and think something like "The Exorcist?  Again?"  Still, though, you'd be surprised how many straights have never seen The Exorcist.

     The classics are a great place to let your student dip a foot into the bloody pool of horror, because your student will want to see these titles for many of the same reasons that filmmakers want to remake them.  Even if your subject has never seen these movies, he's at least aware of them.  He already has at least a vague idea of what they're about, often because he's already seen some of those aforementioned remakes.  Yes, even straights who profess not to like horror movies will occasionally go to see one - just goofin' - and chances are, what they saw was probably a remake with a familiar title.  Take the "in" and show them the original.


2)  Know Your Student

     Don't show a pregnant woman It's Alive (1974).  The amusement to be had from watching her squirm uncomfortably will be fleeting.  You've made watching a horror movie a distinctly unpleasant experience for her, and that only serves to reinforce her claim that she doesn't like horror.  She won't trust your recommendations in the future because she won't trust your motives.

Lena Leandersson - Let The Right One In (2008)

     Take time to find out what kind of movies your student does like, and choose a title that somehow ties into that.  If she likes arty foreign films, show her Let The Right One In (2008).  If she likes comedies, show her Shaun Of The Dead (2004).  If she likes being intellectually engaged by a movie, show her Pontypool (2008).  Remember that your student already has preconceived notions about the horror genre.  You're trying to make an end run around those preconceptions in the hopes of demonstrating that the horror genre is multifaceted enough to encompass movies that even she will enjoy.


3)  Make It A Learning Experience

     Some people respond well to the idea of developing an intellectual appreciation for something even when they believe that something doesn't actually appeal to them.  Sometimes that intellectual appreciation can develop into a genuine enthusiasm once they've become attuned to the particulars of the subject.  Use that to your advantage when introducing someone to the horror genre.

     I programmed two different series of genre movies for some of my students that I referred to as The Drive-In Movie Summer Series.  We watched one movie each Wednesday for twelve weeks.  Prior to starting this undertaking I even went so far as to create a program schedule with bullet-pointed facts, trivia, and production info.  Putting the movies into some kind of context for my students before watching them piqued their interest, and it served to make the whole experience something more than just "horror guy subjecting straights to B-movies".  They were only humoring me at first, but they were fully and genuinely invested in the experience by the end of the summer.

John Travolta - The Devil's Rain (1975)

     Be careful, though.  Don't get too bogged down in horror-centric details and lose sight of your goal.  For example, one of the movies we watched was The Devil's Rain (1975), and I made sure my resident John Travolta fan knew he was in it.  That's a bullet-point that mattered to her.  On the other hand, telling her it was directed by the same guy who directed The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) would have meant nothing to her.  This leads nicely into number four . . .


4)  Build On Your Successes

     If you show your student a Fulci movie and he objects to the graphic violence, shelve the Fulci movies until later.  If you show your student an Argento movie and he objects to the lack of narrative cohesion, fall back to horror movies with more linear narratives.  Don't force the issue.  There may be an opportunity to reintroduce Fulci or Argento later, but only if your student is still watching horror movies later.  Some directors, subgenres, and styles are acquired tastes.  I was only lukewarm on Argento's Suspiria (1977) the first time I saw it, and that's almost unfathomable to me now.  My tastes had to broaden and mature.  Your student will never get to that point if you insist upon beating him relentlessly about the face and neck with movies you think he should like.

     Use softer "gateway" horror like Gremlins (1984), Poltergeist (1982), or Arachnophobia (1990) first to get a feel for what your student might find tolerable, then branch out from there into thematically similar "hard" horror.  Take the time to build a foundation for your student's education.  We all had to walk before we ran.


5)  Recognize Your Student's Opinions Are Valid (Even If They're Wrong)

     You will inevitably show your student a horror movie you love that he doesn't care for.  Don't get discouraged.  Don't take it personally.  This is an opportunity, not a setback.

Angus Scrimm - Phantasm (1979)

     Ask your student to identify what they found unappealing about the movie.  Gently prod them into examining critically exactly why they didn't like it.  Resist the urge to tell them they're wrong and then proceed to explain to them why they're wrong for half an hour.  Instead, turn their criticisms back on them, and make this an opportunity for them to examine what in particular didn't appeal to them.  This will, in turn, prompt them to consider what they do like.  You've now made your student an active participant in his education, strengthened his own critical faculties, encouraged him to view a horror movie as a topic worthy of examination, and let him know it's o.k. if he doesn't like everything he sees.  You can deal with the fact that he's a nutcase for not enjoying Phantasm (1979) at a later date.


6)  Be Prepared For The Day The Student Becomes The Master

     If you've done your job well, this will happen.  You'll have another horror literate friend with whom to watch your favorites.  All of those years you spent amassing a wealth of useless knowledge about the horror genre will not have been wasted.  When you help your student develop her affinity for zombie movies and she later comes to you interested in watching The Battery (2012), you'll know you've succeeded.


     So what tactics have worked for you?  Post a comment below to share your own tips.  One final note:  I was just joshing with that Trekkie slur at the start of this post.  I like Star Trek.  Really.

Noteworthy On Netflix - 1/16/13

     These are by no means the only worthy genre related movies on Netflix streaming, just a sampling of movies that I'm familiar worth that I think might otherwise be overlooked.  You'll notice a television show and a few documentaries in there, as well.  Sometimes a guy just needs a change of pace.

     Availability changes often, but all of the following titles were available to stream from Netflix at the time of this posting.  The genre listed after the title (Documentary, TV Shows, Horror, or Sci-Fi & Fantasy) describes where you'll find each movie in your onscreen groupings.  Try doing a manual search if one seems to be missing.

     If you have recommendations of your own, please share in the Comments section below.  You can check out a trailer for each entry by clicking the title.

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American Grindhouse (2010)
Documentary / 1hr 21min / NR / HD 

     Fantastic overview of the exploitation genre.  It's loaded with great clips and features commentators like Jack Hill, John Landis, and Joe Dante.  Keep a note pad handy, because you'll be jotting down titles on your "Must See" list from beginning to end.

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 This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Documentary / 1hr 37min / NR / Standard

      Have you ever wondered how the Motion Picture Association of America decides upon the ratings for all of those movies you watch?  You'll probably be a little aggravated by the answer.  Though it's now a bit dated - the MPAA now allows filmmakers to cite other film's ratings for comparison - this is still a fascinating look at how an elite few decide what is and is not appropriate for the masses.    

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The Monster That Challenged The World (1957)
Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy / 1hr 24min / G / HD

     When's the last time you treated yourself to a good, old-fashioned black and white monster movie?  This one features a surprisingly good prehistoric mollusk monster from the depths of the Salton Sea.  I still vividly recall seeing this as a youngster hosted by the Bowman Body on Shock Theater.

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American Horror Story (2011)
TV Shows / 42min / TV-MA / HD

     The Walking Dead gets more press, but I find American Horror Story more consistently entertaining.  The second season is just now winding up on FX, so Netflix only has Season 1.  If you missed the first season, seize the opportunity to catch up.  I love the idea of making each season a self-contained story arc, and Jessica Lange was awarded both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her incredible performance here.

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Nightmares In Red, White, And Blue (2009)
Documentary / 1hr 36min / NR / Standard

     The American Nightmare (2000) - not currently available on Netflix - covered much of the same ground to arguably greater success, but this examination of the evolution of the American horror movie is still worth a look.  Narrated by Lance Henriksen and featuring commentary from the likes of John Carpenter, Larry Cohen, and author John Kenneth Muir.    

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Pontypool (2008)
Horror / 1hr 36min / NR / HD

     If you haven't seen Pontypool and have no idea what it's about, I envy you.  I'm not going to ruin your opportunity to be pleasantly surprised by one of the most original and spellbinding genre movies of the last ten years.  You can thank me later.  Rumor has it we may get a sequel called Pontypool Changes in the not so distant future.  I hope so.  This one was a big crowd pleaser at the Movies At Dog Farm II Pre'Ween Picture Show last year.

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S@Man (2006)
Horror / 1hr 24min / R / HD

     It probably sounds like a cop-out, but this exploration of the sleazy underground genre of fetish films is another one you'll get the most from by watching cold.  Even the most jaded horror enthusiasts will likely be skeeved out by the subject matter.

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Sssssss (1973)
Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy / 1hr 38min / PG / HD

     This supremely entertaining B-movie gem starring Strother Martin and Dirk Benedict (the original Starbuck!) somehow escaped my notice until last year.  Lots of real snakes add verisimilitude, making Sssssss more squirm inducing than its silliness would seem to dictate.  An incredibly cheesy transformation at the end is the icing on the cake.

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Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)  
Documentary / 1hr 24min / NR / HD

     . . . and one final documentary, this one exploring the sub-genre of Filipino lensed exploitation and horror movies from the 70's and 80's.  The doc benefits from the specificity of its topic.  Funny and enlightening.  This one will have you digging through the delete bins for heretofore unknown gems, too.

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V/H/S (2012)
Horror / 1hr 56min / R / HD

     V/H/S was probably one of the most polarizing horror movies of 2012.  See it for yourself and decide - is it ambitious and original or over-hyped and tedious?  It has the earmark of almost all anthologies in that the quality of its five segments varies wildly, but at least three of the five segments are solid and unnerving.  I jumped more than once, and isn't that what horror movies are all about?  I love the segment entitled 10/31/98 that closes the movie.

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