Horror, the red headed stepchild of the movie industry. Almost all horror movies contain a gargantuan killer wielding a sword/machete/hatchet/etc. slicing teens down the middle, though that is completely untrue. Don't let the Hollywood critics fool you, Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours in which an explorer literally gets stuck between a rock and a hard place is not an adventure or a drama, it is a straight up horror flick. Another recent film that has garnered much attention is Black Swan. The film follows the unraveling of a sweet and innocent dancer into a reckless world that threatens to destroy her. If that doesn’t sound like a horror film, then I don’t know what does. When a drama is good it is handed a plethora of awards, but when a horror movie is good it is a complete surprise. Compare the two previous films to a recent horror film, Let Me In. It follows an 8-year-old vampire that moves to a new town and befriends the boy next door. This was a generally fantastic movie but due to the fact that it had a vampire in it (thank you Twilight for ruining my childhood) it was given a pat on the head and sent to video rental hell. It is obvious that the film industry and community does not give the horror genre the respect it deserves.
Lets examine most horror movies. If there is not a monster or a maniac in a haunted house or a spaceship in is not a horror movie. That is why 127 Hours and Black Swan are such unique entries. A great horror film sets out to unnerve and upset it’s audience both of which succeed easily. James Franco has to sacrifice a part of his body in order to save the life that he never fully appreciated. Do you know what other movie has that same exact plot…Saw! Why is one treated as a drama and the other as torture porn (not saying that saw is a good movie) it is just plain ridiculous.
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