Into Horror Since Childhood

by Tower Matt

I've always dug the dark side in one form or another, and have been damn proud of it regardless of the nay-saying of others. It is all in good fun, while also subliminally and in a non-intrusive way facing life's imperfect state, and feeding the brains of myself and those like me that dose of horror sickness needed to feel 'normal' (haha).

In my experience it has been the fake, 'everything-is-nice,' on-the-surface churchgoing and sucking-up-at-work cowardice phonies that bring more despair and mental pollution into the world than those who bring us excessive gore or create a sinister atmosphere in film. To execute such an atmosphere or a realistic-looking murder is pure creativity and talent (as well as often therapeutic to the artist and observer), the kind of ingenuity found in many horror movies of my favorite era for media - the '70s and '80s.

Early on, books were my focal point of interest, and my favorite author was John Bellairs. I also wrote haunted house stories when I was in Kindergarten, with pictures of mummies, vampires and Frankenstein monsters, which I still have.

As a teenager I was die-hard about old school heavy metal (still am, actually) and the dark forces that are in the sound of the authentic bands capable of capturing that sound that I crave. The music that I write on guitar for my own band is very horror-themed and I make it a point to bring a slice of the dark, organic elements found in true horror into the songs.

As for movies, I became more die-hard in my early adult life but have always loved horror films. The earliest memory I have of watching horror was by myself, a black-and-white vampire movie that was on TV, and every time the 'fanged fiend' was about to bite the neck of the next female victim, I would switch the channel because of the pure terror that it brought to me, having not yet been desensitized by a world where you never even see vampires in passing.

The first R-rated slasher that I ever watched was Killer Party (1986), at about 1:00 am while spending the night at my friend's house in grade school. Certain scenes from it stuck with me through the years, like the guillotine in the basement dripping blood as it slowly raised up after beheading one of the guests. The second slasher that I watched was A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). I have Eric and Mike to thank for helping me discover many more obscure titles much later, like Street Trash (1987), Mortuary (1983), Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972), Bad Ronald (1974), BloodRage (1979), Mountaintop Motel Massacre (1986), Demons (1985), Ghostkeeper (1986), Curtains (1983), Madman (1982), DeathDream(1974), Anthropophagus (1980), Night of the Demon (1980), etc. One of the best memories that I have of watching a horror movie as a teenager was at my friend's house, and it was Fulci's The Beyond - the epitome of gory, atmospheric Italian horror.

There are many great American horror movies out there (from the '70s mostly for genuine creepiness and originality, and '80s for mostly fun slashers with still enough of a grainy look to keep it feeling real and capture creepy moments). A lot of Italian productions bring to the table other special qualities - often bubbling over with pure atmosphere, odd pacing, insane music and other qualities that tug on some of the less-obvious subconscious aspects of horror. Not to say that they don't also bring obvious aspects to the table too, like over-the-top gore. I also recommend horror fans of mystery, suspense and memorable soundtracks to look into certain Giallo films of the 1970s.

My issue with most horror of today is that it is too clean and slick from a technical standpoint, and a lot of it carries the bad feeling of 'modern times' along with it - in this way, some older horror movies were unintentional 'time capsules' to an era many of us are more fond of and for that very reason they are more enjoyable to watch, and the filmmakers receive credit for something that they may have not given a lot of thought to at the time of production. Another reason that it's hard to get into newer ones is the lame characters in many of them, elements of political correctness, and the pacing - they don't really build up the story so that it can be executed in a satisfying way - it is right to the kills with quick, unrealistic, non-creepy camera action and uninspired music to boot. It just seems to be a disappointment more often than not with modern horror movies, so I stick to what I consider the golden era of horror.

There is nothing quite like sitting back and watching an awesome terror movie, whether for relaxation after a crappy day of work or while having a fun time with friends. And the memories of early viewings from back in the day, to me, are great ones. They seem to be for many other people on the BRRAAINNSS forum of this site also, and that is probably why a lot of people posting there desperately want to track down movies that they remember seeing even just a small clip of from childhood.

Cheers to the true horror fiends! -Matt