Not a big fan of the "horror" movie genre. I think you need to differentiate into "sub-genres" when talking "horror."

Does "Cloverfield" deserve to be lumped into the same field as Rob Zombie's "Halloween?"

Inner genre question. Does't the "28 Days Later" movies deserve to be lumped with George Romero's "Night Night of the Living Dead" stuff?

And where does "The Evil Dead" factor into the genre? How 'bout all those 30's Frankenstien movies, can you compare those to "Friday the 13th?"

My point is the horrow genre is suprisingly wide once you start considering all the different flavors.

Personally, I think the growth of the horror genre is kind of a sad commentary on the gradually darkening of American society as a whole.
So-called "liberated" women are no longer behaving like feminine women in the past. Hence, their subtley taking on roles and tastes like a guy.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

I'm not a fan of horror at all. I'll be honest...why would I actually ~want~ to be scared? It's not a fun feeling. There was only one thing I ever actively wanted to be scared by, and that was CBS' "Threshold", before it got canned.

Now on the other hand, I can write horror. It probably wouldn't bee to scary, though, and I would scare the shit out of myself in the process. But I would do it, mostly for the money, probably...because like sex, horror definitely sells. And when you put the two together...well, that's where you get the goldmine.

I used to *hate* horror films. Being a meek, fearful kid meant avoiding anything that would scare me even more than life at home did.

Then I saw THE SHINING in college... and fell in love with the idea of being terrified.

I still don't care for splatter or gorenography -- at all -- but a good spooky psychological film? Love it. For my money, THE ORPHANAGE is one of the scariest things I've ever seen. At the same time, I can appreciate the first SAW film.

I've since crafted a pretty cool high-concept scifi horror idea (that has nothing to do with space marines or ghost ships -- enough already, guys) and found I relish the idea of scaring others, and myself, silly.

I can't remember being scared by a horror movie as such. I think the Omen and The Exorcist are good movies in and of themselves, and of course the old Universal pictures and Val Lewton's work are visually great. I find scenes in Blue Velvet, Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction scarier than any horror movie. And of course, nothing is scarier than Crispin Glover in real life...

This is from an interview with Scott Derrickson (screenwriter of "The Exorcism of Emily Rose") in Christianity Today:

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Christianity Today: Why would a Christian get involved in horror films, of all things?

Scott Derrickson: In my opinion, the horror genre is a perfect genre for Christians to be involved with. I think the more compelling question is, Why do so many Christians find it odd that a Christian would be working in this genre? To me, this genre deals more overtly with the supernatural than any other genre, it tackles issues of good and evil more than any other genre, it distinguishes and articulates the essence of good and evil better than any other genre, and my feeling is that a lot of Christians are wary of this genre simply because it's unpleasant. The genre is not about making you feel good, it is about making you face your fears. And in my experience, that's something that a lot of Christians don't want to do.

To me, the horror genre is the genre of non-denial. It's about admitting that there is evil in the world, and recognizing that there is evil within us, and that we're not in control, and that the things that we are afraid of must be confronted in order for us to relinquish that fear. And I think that the horror genre serves a great purpose in bolstering our understanding of what is evil and therefore better defining what is good. And of course I'm talking about, really, the potential of the horror genre, because there are a lot of horror films that don't do these things. It is a genre that's full of exploitation, but the better films in the genre certainly accomplish, I think, very noble things.

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As for me, I read horror to know that I am alive, and to conquer my fears.

Fear releases endorphines into the system. It's what is called the "flight or fight" reaction, the very need to stay alive.

Fear, or the sense that somehow our lives are at jeopardy, releases a chemical that gives us a rush, and that rush is addictive.

Sir Ian, thanks for that post. One of my favorite authors is Charles Williams (I own a first edition hard copy of "All Hallow's Eve"). He was a Christian and all of his novels while perhaps not qualifying as 'horror' by contemporary standards would have fallen into that category back in the 40s and 50s.

BTW, T.S. Eliot supposedly said that Williams was the best writer of his time.