There’s this thing that we do during life that’s called “growing up”. How we define that is entirely up to us but it’s a rather unavoidable consequence of living. Each day we improve upon ourselves from the last, learning new skills, upping our quality of life in some way, or simply just ceasing to do bullshit that we know we need to cut out.
Another consequence is that things that used to scare us no longer do. It’s not the fault of the medium that used to give us such terrors, it’s simply that it doesn’t speak to us on the same level. It doesn’t hit that same primal spot that fills us with fear.
There have been several horror movies that I’ve watched over the years that used to scare me tremendously but no longer do, no matter how I watch them. That doesn’t mean I don’t get a lot of enjoyment out of them but it means that I enjoy them in different ways. I figured I’d share a few of mine with you and then see if you’d share some of yours.
Event Horizon
I remember when this movie used to terrify me. Something about the story really resonated with me and I was ever full of fear when watching it. I rewatched it a few years back and found that I didn’t once, at any point, feel that fear. It’s a visually cool movie that has a few nice jump scares but the dread was gone.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Oh man, the scene where Tina is in the bodybag in the school? Holy shit, that absolutely terrified me. The rest of the film had its own fair share of really scary moments when I was younger but that scene left a lingering stamp of fear on my psyche. Then, years later, I watched it again and it just looked cool. I was more focused on the practical applications and how they crafted the shot. I still love the movie and think it’s a classic, but it doesn’t scare me anymore. I wonder if that’s because of how the character of “Freddy” turned out.
Evil Dead
I remember buying this movie on VHS from my downtown Borders (which, as a side note, was the very first Borders ever built). It came in a clamshell case and I felt like I was the coolest teenager ever. I went home, popped it in, and proceeded to figuratively shit my pants in terror. Yeah, there are some amusing moments but I never felt like they were intentional. I always thought that Sam Raimi was setting out to make something truly scary and that the laughs that came with the movie were coincidental.
When I finished that movie, it took me a few weeks before I was able to conceive of watching it again. But I did and it still scared me silly.
Now, I’m fine when I watch it. I will feel tinglings of suspense but that’s really about it. I enjoy it and love everything that’s come from it (well, maybe not the games) but it just doesn’t create the nightmares that it used to.
