How I Look at Horror
I always look at horror films in three ways (in addition to whether or not I enjoyed them). I look at them for genre, the time in which they were made, and what the overall message or context might be. I do that with other movies, but I do it with horror in particular. Part of that is because I write it, and part of that is because I’ve formally studied it. In addition to reading A LOT about the genre (Robin Wood’s criticism, David J. Skal’s books, Stephen King’s Danse Macabre , etc.), one of my professors was the great Sharon Russell; Doc Russell wrote The Stephen King Companion and authored great articles on the witch figure, vampires, and more. Part of this is because (I believe, anyway) that most horror filmmakers are trying to illustrate a larger point about society. Horror is a really flexible medium, but it’s also a chameleon; you can explore an issue without it seeming like you’re making an “issues” film. I think it’s pretty obvious, for example, that John Carpenter is makin