Tag: So You Think You’re Scary

We’re one week into July of 2014 and already the year has offered numerous horror releases of outstanding quality; so much quality in fact that the genre currently feels as if it’s going through a sort of recovery, if not a renaissance. The early 2014 additions to both the independent and mainstream horror canons have been so measurably improved from the standard of recent years that I finally feel comfortable having a diagnostic conversation about a particular observable trend in horror movie reception, the phenomenon that has been separating self-proclaimed horror fans cleanly into two camps: those who believe that horror has been lacking in recent times and those who have a seemingly unflappable love for all things horror.  To pinpoint the weapon that has created this divisive wound between fan groups, it is necessary to point our glance away from the screen and in the direction of the sub-culture created by the screen. Horror, by its very nature, is not a form that is enjoyable to all film-goers.  The ambitions of horror are distinctly different from any other type of film.  In some cases, the horror experience is a complete subversion of the typical film-going experience.  Horror, in relation to other film forms, is inherently unique in goal, function, technique, and outcome.  This easy-to-characterize separation has allowed for the establishment of  an internal sub-culture.  The distinguishing marks of...