I Used To Hate 'Em

by Laura
(Minnesota, USA)

When I was around three years old, my brothers thought it'd be hilarious to show me Child's Play (1988). Cheesy movie, sure, but to a three year old it was pretty terrifying. And I'm a girl, man. Those dolls never entered my room again. For the next eleven years I did my best to stay away from horror. I only allowed myself to watch The Mummy (1999), and maybe some of Predator (1987) or Aliens (1986).

My oldest brother, the original horror addict in the family, joined the Marines in 2004 and I felt a little alone without him. When he came back from his first deployment in 2006, I decided I wanted to be like him. Not the Marines part, but the horror movie part.

I started off watching what we owned, which at the time was very little. I started to read some Stephen King. Then this movie, Slither (2006), came out on DVD. My sister and I went out to rent it, and I think I watched it three times by the time we had to return it. I became a fan of James Gunn pretty quick. My brother, however, didn't really like the movie, so I decided to watch some classics.

The Exorcist (1973) did not scare me, as I'm not religious. The Thing (1982) did not scare me (although it got me a little excited). But then...Re-Animator (1985). I had never heard of this little gem, and my brother thought it was slightly dumb. I told my brother he could go to hell, and I watched it. The movie was awesome! I fell in love with Jeffrey Comb's acting, he did horror perfectly. He was just so weird looking and fit it. From Beyond (1986) (which I had seen on Sci-Fi, but could never remember), Castle Freak (1995), House on Haunted Hill (1999) - they were all perfect to me.

I've read most of Clive Barker's work, some of Neil Gaiman, and I own 'Necronomicon'.

From there, I have seen around 200 different horror films, and I plan to watch as many as I possibly can. I also went to a convention in my state called Crypticon, and was able to meet Bill Mosley, Jeff Combs, Bruce Abbot, and loads more. Steve Dash held a real machete up to my neck.

It's funny how I used to detest horror, and thought there was no point behind these films other than to freak people out. Then I realized that is the point, and it always feels awesome. I'm a junkie now. I can never get my daily fix. I wish Netflix had more streaming choices - there just aren't enough for me.