Any true Horror fan here?

[Batmon77]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

The slasher franchises are the lowest, most cash grab form of the horror film, so I don't understand why holding them above anything else would made you a "true" horror fan. The genre is capable of producing genuine masterpieces like Rosemary's Baby, Psycho, The Shining, Cat People, Suspiria, Alien, The Innocents and Don't Look Now, so as a lifelong horror fan these are the type of horror films I return to the most. Which is not to say that horror sequels can't be good films or fun, but the aren't the be and end all of horror.

I find The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be slasher, creepy, disturbing, and just as Horrifiying as anything in the genre.

The either/or thing is questionable.

[Talleyrand]

I was a big horror fan from 2005-2010. Ever since then I've liked other genres, especially crime, more. I'm not actually at all sure what you want us to say in this topic, so I shall ramble and use stream of consciousness and not edit this or given any real thought to it at all:

The best horror subgenre is giallo imo. Anything 1970s is also the best.

I don't care for "classic era" Universal horror (1930s and 1940s stuff, say, except probably the first Dracula) at all, vastly preferring the 1920s German stuff.

1980s stuff was alright, a lot of overwrought franchises, but there were some gems among those. Plus a lot of the ripoffs were much better, for instance My Bloody Valentine is a genuinely great film. Also the 1980s brought us Videodrome and other Cronenberg classics.

A lot of recent horror films have received too much praise imo. I discussed this at length in another topic recently. That being said, The Neon Demon is considered a horror film, and it is one of the greatest films yet made.

I think my biggest criticism with a lot of horror critics and fans is those who say things along the line of "Gore isn't scary" or "Atmosphere over blood" or "I prefer a slow burn." This is an annoying cliche, and furthermore induces a false dichotomy. There are several types of horror films, all of which have some value. Yes, there is a placeless for bloodless, goreless, slow-burn, atmospheric horror films. A lot of those are great. But that doesn't mean something like Hostel has no value, that's just a different kind of film for a different purpose. Anyways, I didn't mind some of the "torture porn" than came out of the 2000s, although I never liked the Saw movies (it's one thing to have a film that unabashedly exists just to show vile gore and titillate the audience in that way; but don't turn around and pretend you're doing anything else).

[shinobipopcorn]

Slasher films are alright. I like them because they're fun and have some interesting deaths, but really the only part about them I dislike are the gratuitous boobies. At least I know who's gonna die, then.

[GasmaskAvenger]

I personally like gory, atmospheric, suspense filled films.

Emphasizing one over the other kinda leaves a film empty, IMO.

[ChainsawJedi]

Oh yes indeed, I'm a true horror fan.

I cut my eye teeth on the Universal classics and the not-so classic Hammer films. Then came Jaws, the Omen trilogy, Halloween, Alien, The Thing, The Fog and Salem's Lot. After that, I became friends with someone who was an uber horror fan and I'd regularly watch banned and unrated videos at his place. Some were great - The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (still my all-time favourite horror film), Zombie Flesh Eaters, Deep Red - and some were not - Men Behind The Sun, Anthropophagus, Driller Killer.

At the same time, I was an avid reader of Stephen King, Ramsey Campbell, Poe, Clive Barker and James Herbert.

As of today, I still enjoy a good scare and there's still a part of me that relishes being disturbed. It doesn't happen often but when it does it's really quite something. I love the films that have been coming out of Australia, for example. I still read horror but I find Campbell to be largely unreadable now and Herbert's stuff is appallingly written. King still delivers the goods but I suppose my favourite horror writer now is Jack Ketchum.

As a hobby I write short horror stories and draw horror cartoon strips.

Oh, and I love survival horror games like Dead Space and Resident Evil.

Finally, every Sunday I run a Ravenloft campaign (gothic rpg) for my son and his friends.

[darkness2918]

Ive been watching horror films since I was a kid with my dad. As you can see from my DVD & BD collection horror is the majority of what I own & buy. Some of my favorite horror series include Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Chucky, Hellraiser, Evil Dead...just to name a few. Nothing really scares me or gets under my skin anymore except The Exorcist.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

The slasher franchises are the lowest, most cash grab form of the horror film, so I don't understand why holding them above anything else would made you a "true" horror fan. The genre is capable of producing genuine masterpieces like Rosemary's Baby, Psycho, The Shining, Cat People, Suspiria, Alien, The Innocents and Don't Look Now, so as a lifelong horror fan these are the type of horror films I return to the most. Which is not to say that horror sequels can't be good films or fun, but the aren't the be and end all of horror.

Rosemary's Baby, Psycho, The Innocents & Don't Look Now. As a horror fan ive seen them all. I think RB & Psycho are ok but I was honestly bored to tears while watching The Innocents & especially Don't Look Now, it was a chore to get through. Slashers are awesome by the way.

[Blu Titan]

There are a bunch of true horror fans that hang out in Bills thread .

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by Batmon77

I find The Texas Chainsaw Massacre to be slasher, creepy, disturbing, and just as Horrifiying as anything in the genre.

The either/or thing is questionable.

The first Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a classic, but when that was made it wasn't a franchise. The sequels which turned it into a franchise, are mostly very poor. I wasn't talking about "slashers" ( a term not yet coined then) but about franchises and the OPs assertion that you only are a "true" horror fan if you appreciate slasher franchises/sequels.

While there are some of those I enjoy, I prefer horror films which are disturbing on an intellectual/emotional level to those which are merely a a series of kills. I prefer horror films which are more inventive as pieces of filmmaking than an assembly line slasher sequel. Been a horror fan all my life (I'm old enough to have gotten into horror films before there were slasher franchises) and I don't see why preferring The Shining or Rosemary's Baby (or more recently It Follows, Under the Shadow and The Witch) to Friday the 13th Part 25 makes me less of a "true" horror fan.

[Travis]

Love horror. When I was a kid I had my room covered in horror posters, bought a lot of Fangoria, and was a member of the Freddy Krueger fan club. I gave up on horror in the early 90's and did not start enjoying new movies till Conjuring and Insidious came out.

70's occult is my favorite. The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary's Baby are awesome!

Have a few titles in Blu-ray: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/searc...1&sortby=title

[prozacnation1978]

More horror films i own than any other genre including comedy.

Yep im a horror nut

[ChainsawJedi]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Nothing really scares me or gets under my skin anymore

Which does beg the question: why do you still watch and collect horror films? If you were a comedy fan and no longer found comedy films funny, would you still claim to be a fan of the genre?

[James_Younger_Gang]

As a kid I watched such movies as the shining, predator, the exorcist etc.I began to watch Friday the 13th and Halloween when I was a teenager. Then I became a fan of nightmare on elmstreet and Texas chainsaw massacre fan. Later on I got into the george A Romero dead movies. Then I juat continued discovering both commetcial and indendent horror. Right now I have been watching the phantasm saga andtales from the crypt. On the side I collect and read horror ec comics from the 50's which I think are a great source for horror. Other horror favorites of mine are:
Creepshow
Lucio fulci Zombi
Universal classic monsters
Jaws
The Omen
Hatchet
Behind the mask Rise of Leslie Vernon
American Horror Story
Black Sabbath and Black Sunday
The Mutilator
Pieces
Blood Rage
Almost all of Vincent Price films
Carnival of Souls
Psycho
Almost every anthology movie made( Anthologies are a big thing for me)

[ChainsawJedi]

It's funny how many of us started watching horror films as kids. Just as well Social Services didn't get involved!

I believe in parental responsibility and when I started watching horror movies it was always with my parents. They were there to tell me "it's only a movie"...and to come and placate me when I woke up screaming in the middle of the night!

I'm the same with my kids. They've both shown an interest in the films that sit at the top of the DVD stand - the ones that are tantalisingly out of reach - and it's my call as a parent as to which ones I think are suitable for them. So far they've seen Jaws, The Sixth Sense, The Shining, Halloween (original, natch), Krampus, Salems Lot, It and The Wicker Man. I look forward to the day when we can watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Exorcist and Zombie Flesh Eaters together but there's no sense in rushing these things; I want them to be of an age where they can truly appreciate such films for what they are rathe than the cheap thrill of watching them squirm at the gooey bits.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by ChainsawJedi

Which does beg the question: why do you still watch and collect horror films? If you were a comedy fan and no longer found comedy films funny, would you still claim to be a fan of the genre?

I feel the same, I never understand supposed horror fans bragging about not getting scared by horror films anymore. If they didn't scare me, much of their appeal would be gone. Maybe they are watching the wrong films.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by ChainsawJedi

It's funny how many of us started watching horror films as kids. Just as well Social Services didn't get involved!

I believe in parental responsibility and when I started watching horror movies it was always with my parents. They were there to tell me "it's only a movie"...and to come and placate me when I woke up screaming in the middle of the night!

I'm the same with my kids. They've both shown an interest in the films that sit at the top of the DVD stand - the ones that are tantalisingly out of reach - and it's my call as a parent as to which ones I think are suitable for them. So far they've seen Jaws, The Sixth Sense, The Shining, Halloween (original, natch), Krampus, Salems Lot, It and The Wicker Man. I look forward to the day when we can watch The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Exorcist and Zombie Flesh Eaters together but there's no sense in rushing these things; I want them to be of an age where they can truly appreciate such films for what they are rathe than the cheap thrill of watching them squirm at the gooey bits.

I was not allowed to watch horror films as a kid, which is the reason why I became obsessed with them, they were the forbidden fruit. Most of my pocket money went on books and magazines about horror films (I grew up in the pre-internet 70s) Then by my mid-teens I started to catch up with the films I wanted to see at the cinema and on TV. I remember Halloween was the first 18 rated (in Germany) film I managed to get into

[yabba dabba doo!]

Huge horror fan here! The first horror film I saw as a kid was Jeepers Creepers (although admittedly only the first half as I got scared and turned it off). Over the next couple of years I watched lots of slashers and sci-fi horror - the Halloween franchise to me is the most consistent quality wise but I also enjoy the dumb fun of the Friday the 13th films and the first A Nightmare on Elm Street is great too.

In regards to still being scared of horror films, the only ones that freak me out are supernatural ghost films, basically anything made post The Ring and The Grudge. Last one I watched was Friend Request (2016) and although the story was nothing amazing, I still found myself covering my eyes when I knew a jump scare was coming. BTW, if you haven't yet seen it, Under the Shadow gets my recommendation for the best supernatural horror film of the last couple of years, go watch it!

[James_Younger_Gang]

Classic horror still scares me. That is why I find it fascinating. It's not a crap my pants situation, but I find it scary.

[ChainsawJedi]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

I feel the same, I never understand supposed horror fans bragging about not getting scared by horror films anymore.

Male bravado, that's all it is

[ChainsawJedi]

Originally Posted by James_Younger_Gang

Classic horror still scares me. That is why I find it fascinating. It's not a crap my pants situation, but I find it scary.

Oh, The Haunting (1963) terrfies the life out of me. And Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968) equally so.