Horror Movie Noobing

Horror fans are an entirely unique genre of human beings, and I've always had an interest in befriending them (unless they were the snob type who looked down upon people who had not seen many horror movies, I don't do very well with that kind of energy.) I mean, if you're going to befriend someone with unique interests, why not choose the ones who find amusement or entertainment in blood and gore? There has to be something interesting to explore there. My theory has generally always been correct but I've also discovered more than interesting people: horror fans, especially hardcore ones, are passionate, creative, and analytical about their fandom, and it helped me understand that the fandom goes far beyond having a penchant for prop guts and fake blood.

I grew up relatively sheltered with minimal exposure to horror movies. At first, I just had a strict family, but when my parents divorced it was common to only have romantic comedies hanging around to watch. My immediate family didn't have much of an interest in horror so my own interest was never given a seed to plant, and I was quite fine with that. In fact, after a while I found it entertaining to share with people that I had never seen iconic films such as Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Child's Play, Scream, and many others. Horror fan friends would stare at me like a side show while I cackled about my completely innocent avoidance of horror affecting them so deeply.

Due to being defiant and purposefully irritating, I rode that high for quite a while, but eventually I was converted to giving it a shot without being such a smart-ass about it. My partner wanted to start introducing me, as he himself was a lifelong fan, so it began: our first viewing was Evil Dead (1981), and I was seeing it for the first time in 2017.

What Did I Think About Evil Dead?

My partner had assured me that we could begin with Evil Dead 2 as it was essentially the same movie with additional plot and scenes, but I was determined to start with the very first one like every other original horror fan probably did. I could see the creep factor, but the ending was a little strange and empty for my liking. Being so completely new to horror and understanding what to look for as good qualities for the movies, I had a difficult time citing exact things that I enjoyed. My favorite concept was the Necronomicon; I'm a sucker for a good, foreign language book that summons demons (The Book of the Dead from The Mummy would be a dream movie prop to own.)

Did I understand horror fandom depths with this viewing? Not yet. So we moved on to Evil Dead 2, where I felt myself to be a little more confused. Why was this considered horror? So many slapstick humor moments weaved in with outrageous concepts, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be mortified, laughing, or scared. Perhaps I felt slightly embarrassed as I had assumed horror was meant to be horrifying and not remotely amusing. Similar emotions happened with Army of Darkness, where the cheese level of the Middle Ages characters was almost too much to bear. However, I found myself starting to get it.

This wasn't something to be enjoyed for flawless quality and representation of life. This wasn't a deep, philosophical message to get you questioning your morals. Horror was, as I was discovering, a lot like being a fan of fantasy: you get to experience a world that doesn't exist but has just enough in common with your life to feel like it could be real, and that can be really fun to think about. Even if it's crazy, goofy, gore-filled events, it's something you can get lost in as easily as you can get lost in the magic of Hogwarts (and hey, you pretty much have the same chances of dying between Hogwarts and the woods that hold the cabin in the Evil Dead franchise, so they're not so different after all.)

My Understanding Was Further Secured

Having experienced an entire franchise of horror movies, my partner decided to try out Ash vs. Evil Dead as neither of us had seen it. To us, that would be a great way to bond and complete the saga of Deadites together, so we watched.

I found myself antsy for the next episode all of the time. I found myself, late at night, knowing we had to get up early the next day and begging my partner to watch just one more episode. Why? I don't even know, to be honest. I'd seen all of Bruce Campbell's prior escapades in the three movies he spent portraying Ash (Ashy Slashy!) and seeing new, creative ways to add to the world was just cool. Except the breast milk part, but we will not be discussing that here. The addition of Pablo and Kelly was amazing, and the former Xena fan in me was utterly giddy at the presence of Lucy Lawless.

Completing that series was a sad finale, so the journey continued on.

A Few Mini Reviews Here

I've now seen all but one of the Friday the 13th movies, four of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, Scream 1-3, and all but one of the Halloween movie franchise (and am completely stoked about Halloween Kills; the trailer was freaking bomb!)

Friday the 13th was incredibly cool. Pamela Voorhees being the killer for the reasons she had was unexpected in a pleasant way and I appreciated that plot concept. The others were a little hit or miss here and there, but I definitely have an appreciation (instilled in me by my insistent partner who has wonderful analyses of his favorite films) for part five. Jason being back without actually being back was a cool twist I didn't expect.

Nightmare on Elm Street movies are all about the same level of enjoyment for me, and I have a fondness for a villain who will verbally taunt their victims. I think I would choose Evil Dead over Nightmare movies, though.

The Scream movies, thus far, have definitely been pretty cool to me. No major issues or complaints about how they've been laid out besides the completely unfair and unnecessary death of Randy. How could y'all? (But I'll still watch the newest Scream that's coming out in 2022.)

My Favorite One So Far

Halloween III: Season of the Witch captured my noobing horror heart in a unique way. My partner went through a great deal of time explaining that the film, if regarded as a stand alone, was wonderful in its own right. He described prior issues with the film from a large amount of fans who wanted more Michael Myers. John Carpenter, from what I've been told, was looking to continue the Halloween franchise by coming up with new Halloween themed horror stories but fans threw too big of a fit about Halloween III.

Most people didn't get the privilege of going into viewing this movie with that outlook, and I think it helped me appreciate it all the more. The plot was intriguing, the twists were enjoyable, the deaths were cringey, and it felt like an overall good horror movie. I've become so fond of it that I generally request that we watch it together every single October.

I have seen all of the other Halloween movies besides Resurrection (my partner insists that it's terrible and I do trust him.) I think Loomis is one of my favorite people to ever exist, and I think that even with all the plot changes and jumps in timelines, all of the movies I've seen can be appreciated for one reason or another. Except, that mask in part five...yikes. Also, kudos to Michelle Williams on the acting, she was phenomenal.

And I Had a LOT to Learn When...

My partner suggested that we watch one of his all-time favorite movies, Killer Klowns from Outer Space.

I may have stared blankly when I heard the title.

Even more so when I saw that Klowns was cleverly spelled with a K to match the word "Killer."

(Sarcasm alert!)

"Clowns. From...outer space."

"Yeah, with pink cotton candy cocoons."

Okay, man. I thought life was strange enough with possessed exes trying to viciously murder you because of Sumerian demons or Middle Ages soldiers fighting armies of undead creatures. But sure, let's watch alien clowns trap people in cotton candy. That sounds completely not cheesy.

Would you believe I couldn't take my eyes off the freaking screen the entire time? It was so weird, so wild, that I actually liked it. I can't help but admit that the entire concept just sounds stupid, but it is actually so goofy that it works. It's unintentionally brilliant. Of course, I have to describe my feelings about that very specifically, or I'll be hearing another lecture on how much of a masterpiece Killer Klowns was (hi, handsome, thanks for reading as you always do!)

But I'm Not Ready for the Horror Fandom World

As I mentioned, many people are horror snobs who only like to discuss the fandom with people who are properly educated. That's totally fine! I'm a bit of a Potter know-it-all, but I'm the type who is happy to discuss and educate, and not everyone is like me. So this does, naturally, hold me back from trying to join horror communities in general. My partner does run a Facebook group for Colorado horror fans, in which I try to participate to the best of my ability, but I definitely still have a lot to learn to be able to banter like other members can do.

I love enjoying the fandom with my partner because it helps me understand him. He has also spent time learning and understanding my Harry Potter fandom, and we both love to dip our toes in the other's interests without insisting on being a huge part of it.

Besides that, I feel like I really get the fandom now, and I appreciate learning all of the quirks and opinions of various dedicated souls.

So hey, horror fans, I'm a total noob and I'm out here learning and watching when I can (we have four kids though, yeah four.) I hope long term horror fans enjoy hearing the take on things from a newer horror movie watcher! If you're a horror fan on Vocal who would like to challenge my outlook on any mentioned films, please find me in the Vocal Creators Lounge on Facebook so I can await your well-articulated opinions! I want to keep learning, and this feels like a great way to reach out to the horror community.

Good fright, sweet nightmares. If you liked this, leave a fresh heart. (Too far, wasn't it? Man, I gotta work on this.)