UNITED STATES—I have been a fan of scary movies for as long as I can remember. Probably since the age of four. Where the actual fascination came from, I cannot tell you. I do honestly believe I saw TV spots on the small screen and that grabbed my attention and hooked me. It is almost like when you’re told you cannot do, have or see something; you are intrigued to want to do it even more. I wasn’t supposed to watch, my mother forbade it, and I made such a fuss about it at the age of five that my dad and a few relatives were going to see a particular horror flick that I cried for hours, and my mother gave in.
She allowed me to go to the theater with my dad but made it crystal clear if I had any nightmares my father would be dealing with me. As a result, the rest is history, my love for horror was born, but I don’t recall a single thing about the movie because I’m certain I had my eyes covered the entire movie at least from what I can remember, which is difficult to say in itself because hello, I was like five years old.
There was a time period where the films ceased to exist from my life, I want to say between the ages of 7-12. I think it was a result of my parents getting divorced. My love for the genre returned after an impromptu visit to a video store at the local mall and my mother purchased a VHS of a horror flick for me, “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.”
As a result, that transitioned to watching more flicks in the franchise and what I felt always in my heart and head that I wanted to become a filmmaker, burst into a reality. Is a horror film my go-to to decompress and relax? Without a doubt, but at the same time, I’m a thinker and studier. I watch them to dissect them to see what works, what doesn’t work, particular camera angles, the use of sound to heighten suspense, character development, tropes of the genre and so much more.
In addition, I’m a big fan of nostalgia. I love the classics, they are always a must for me, but at the same time, I appreciate the 80s, but I hate the 80s as well. The genre exploded in that decade, but it was also what killed the genre in that decade because of the countless copycats and so much more that unfolded as a result. The same flick was being made over and over and over again, with a different title, a different mask, weapon of choice and with the same character types with different names. There was absolutely no originality. I don’t like slasher films which is something people might find crazy considering a vast majority of the genre is just that. I have my classics and that is where I leave things, and I’m not a fan of torture or excessive violence that is not horror, that is disgusting.
I will always be a fan of the franchises for “Friday the 13th,” “Halloween” and “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” I grew up with those films as a little one so they hold a special torch. Are there any classics in each of the franchises? Yes, but a vast majority of them are terrible movies, but its camp; you expect it as a form of film criticism.
I like originality in my horror, but I’m a massive fan of suspense because I think it is a very difficult thing to do in horror where you have a pretty good idea how most of these films end up. Take a look at a trailer from a horror flick from the 80s. You pretty much know who’s going to die and who’s going to survive. Back then it was hard to decipher a trailer because there was no internet then, but then came the 90s and the explosion of the World Wide Web and it changed it all. You have to misdirect with a trailer to not disclose too much or critical scenes that people can pick apart. Trust me, you have people out there who do it.
I love horror from the 60s which was ushered in with “Psycho” and the 70s was the introduction of supernatural and intense horror with classics like “Carrie,” “Halloween” and “Alien.” “Halloween” and “Alien” are pics that should be studied on the importance of camera technique, sound and suspense. They do things to this day that I have yet to see a modern horror film accomplish even though many have tried. Horror films don’t always get the respect they should in the cinematic universe and that is something I’m hoping to change as a filmmaker as I take the old and mesh it with new troupes and ideas that can turn the genre on its head.
