As a romance writer, you'd think that I'd be a fan of romcom movies, or Nicholas Sparks tear-jerkers, but I rarely watch a romance movie. Especially if I'm having a bad time with something and need to take my mind of things. I've come to the conclusion that 'happy endings' at a time when I'm not sure there's going to be one for whatever current situation is bothering me only make me feel worse. So when I need to be taken away from whatever is going on in life, I turn to horror movies.
I love a good psychological scary movie, but sadly they are few and far between (in my opinion). To this day, the movie that got my heart racing the most was the original black and white movie version of the Henry James short story 'The Turn Of The Screw'. That movie version was called 'The Innocents' and I first watched it as a child on tv with my mum. The scary element is very subtle, and I think that's why I find it so effective. A new nanny at a (typical for horror movies) isolated, bleak country house is plagued by fleeting visions of a woman, while the behaviour of her two young charges slowly changes. It was all very understated, no building dramatic music or jump-out-of-your-seat sudden appearances of the bad guy and I loved it.
There have been various movie versions of the story, yet none of them stand up to the quality of the 1961 version. I watched it again just recently and it still rates as my favorite scary movie.
I don't know what it was about the 60s, but another movie that has stayed with me (and again which I watched with my mum) is a real mind-bender called 'The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari'. I can't even begin to explain the plot, but the twists and turns and the ending left a lasting impression.
Ohhh, and how can I forget the 1956 version of 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers'. Yet another movie watched in the lounge room with my mum, with the lights out. It would be terrifying to find out that everyone was being replaced with cloned versions of themselves, versions that had no emotions and that if you fell asleep, that fate would befall you as well.
The horrifying part of all these stories, and what makes it so scary for me, is when you tell someone that something is badly wrong, and no one believes you. You must be crazy. And that's terrifying.
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5 comments:
Ha - Andra - I will probably have nightmares just reading about these movies :-) In turbulent times I have to have the fantasy of everything will be all right. And that is what most romances do for me. The reason I have a hard time even reading scary romances, even when I know there will be a HEA and all will be well. It's interesting to hear how each of us handles stress and bad times.
I so agree, Andra. Those subtle, psychological scary movies are the ones that give me the willies. Another from that era that has stuck with me is The Collector, about a man who collects butterflies and then "collects" a young woman. *shivers
Your post reminded of going to see "Psycho" with my mom when I was in my early twenties. We were both terrified during the movie and I had nightmares for weeks afterwards. A great learning experience for me in that I don't think I ever watched a horror movie again. And, I've very careful about what I read and what I watch on t.v.
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Andra, I do know people who love horror for the same reasons you articulate. I've never been a slasher movie watcher, and when it comes to psychological horror I'm unlikely to watch that as well even though the good ones are some of the best writing movies have.
I didn't grow up on scary movies. Our parents kept us pretty much in a state of the world is wonderful and we will survive, even when times were really tough. However, as a sixteen year old I remember going on a date to see Rosemary's Baby. That movie was so frightening to me that I had nightmares for years. I still remember it with fear. Since then, I've not watched psychological horror or any horror. And I'm careful about thriller/suspense as well. I wait a very long time and see what the review are like--what they highlight as the emphasis and form of the movie.
These days, my escape from reality is usually a good British mystery. British because they never (in my experience) go for blood and guts. Instead they go for interplay between the characters and solving of the mystery. And I know the mystery WILL be solved which is a form of HEA for me, in that persistence, science, and intelligence wins out in the end.
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