Fear Factor

I've always had very conflicting emotions about horror films. When I was younger, my sister and I watched all sorts of horror films ranging from the terrifying “Child's Play,” which still scares me to this day, all the way to the fantastically campy “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” which I still make fun of to this day. My sister was fanatical about horror films, she loved them, and loved to watch them in the dead of night with all the lights off. I, on the other hand, would boast of how much I loved the films too, but would secretly be terrified that I was about to be attacked by some nameless monster under my couch. These films are full of violent creatures, psychotic mass murderers, haunted house that imprison you—these are truly terrifying notions, but what makes a horror film good?
 
Yesterday brought the first rain in what seemed like months and because of this, I spent the entire day buried under blankets and scanning my Comcast Network guide for something comforting to watch. After searching for more than 15 minutes, I finally arrived to Chiller, a channel devoted solely to horror films in all their glory. The movie that had started, “Family” part of the “Masters of Horror” series, focused around a seemingly normal man living in a suburb, his dark secret is that he is schizophrenic, a murderer, and uses the skeletons of his victims to fulfill his life empty of real family. The movie was pretty easy to predict, but what separated it from the countless other low-budget horror films was the twist: the last victims could actually defend themselves, and they were actually playing him. That is perhaps my least favorite thing in horror films, the main characters can never defend themselves. They walk blindly into situations with half-formulated plans (if that at all) and then when running away, they always look back and fall down and the viewers scream at the screen begging them to use their heads and keep running. At least that's what happened with the film that came on next.
 
The next film that came on was called “The Beast Within." The premise was simple, an aspiring doctor and his 2 friends go to visit his grandfather's house in the country after his death. It's clear that he is not welcomed back to the town and what's worse, an unstoppable virus is spreading through the town turning people into flesh-eating zombies. There are killer birds as well but that was an after thought. What caused me the most pain in watching the film wasn't just the acting, a common mistake in most horror films, it was that none of the characters could inspire any sort of sympathy from me. They betrayed each other at each turn, blindly made decisions, and most of the movie was spent waiting around for back-up.
 
The last movie was called “Night of the Dead: Leben Tod.” This was by far the film with the lowest budget, but it was also my favorite of the evening. A German scientist creates a serum (no name, just serums #3 or #6) that, when injected into a dying person, can bring them back to life. If the person is already dead though, they turn into a violent, flesh-eating zombie. The reason I enjoyed this film so much was the fact that the acting wasn't half bad, the plot was actually pretty well-written, and the ending had a pretty good twist. In addition to this, I found the “evil scientist” himself to be very sympathetic. He created the serum to try and save people, most importantly, his wife and daughter that had been killed. He made many mistakes that ultimately resulted in his hospital being taken over by zombies, but his intentions were understandable, and I found myself rooting for him.
 
It's difficult for me to think of horror film that I absolutely love. I find issues with them based on the acting, the shaky plot, the unrealistic scenarios, etc; but I could never say I'm not at least entertained by each and every one of them. They appeal to my realistic and unrealistic fears of true evils out there, and give me a chance to laugh, yell, and get lost in a world of danger. Maybe everyone just wants a chance to laugh in the face of danger, even if it is just a film about zombies.