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Horror movies have continually reinvented themselves to remain relevant over the last 100 years or so, from the silent era up through our digital age. The supernatural monsters of the 1930s and 1940s gave way to the atomic spawned sci-fi horror creatures of the 1950s and early 1960s. Of course, the original Psycho (1960) remains in a class by itself as the first film to explore multiple personality disorder to devastating, murderous effect. From 1968 through the 1970s demonic possession topped the box office charts. Slasher films dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Then the “found footage” horror of the later 1990s such as the wildly profitable Blair Witch Project (1999) took center stage. Presently, it seems there’s a mixture of horror sub genres that seem to flood the market all at once, but psychological, apocalyptic, and domestic horror narratives such as Hereditary (2018) have gained more traction among current audiences.
Looking back over the decades, though, many horror films that were once groundbreaking events have lost their luster over the years. The black and white monsters of the 1930s such as Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolfman seem quaint and creaky – not very frightening anymore. Likewise, much of the Sci-Fi horror which characterized the 1950s Cold War Era, such as The Creature From The Black Lagoon or Them (both 1954) about mutant creatures spawned by atomic radiation fallout don’t entirely stand the test of time either with their cheesy special effects and the wooden acting of the human performers. However, some of these films such as Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956) about emotionless identical alien pods replacing humans to implement a totalitarian world is still very effective and relatable today with our toxic politics and cancel culture.
Some of the 1970s horror stories have also stood the test of time remarkably well. The Exorcist (1973) is still considered to be the most terrifying film about demonic possession ever made. The Omen (1976) may be the most chilling narrative about the anti-Christ and the “End Times” ever produced. It seems that every decade experiences multiple crises that makes it seem as though the world is heading to hell in a handcart at breakneck speed – and the 1970s were no different with soaring inflation, environmental degradation, the aftermath of the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, the breakdown of the family, spiraling crime and violence, etc. Today we still have culture wars, serious environmental issues, war in the Middle East, putrid politics – although the names and places may change over time, the terrible events are basically the same.
Nonetheless, in some form fictional horror has always thrived in the midst of all the real-life horror. We watch horror films because it’s supposedly cathartic for us and “they help us to release our anxiety and fears deep inside our conscious” according to the Long Island University site: http://digitalcommons.liu.edu Whether or not we actually “release these negative emotions” or “purge” aggressive emotions through this form as the above mentioned site and other social commentators believe is surely debatable. Somehow to me the slasher horror films, for instance, such as the Halloween and Friday The 13th franchises are just overkill (pun intended) and don’t exactly provide cathartic relief in any form. It’s mindless, banal evil without a point.
Each installment is more of the same, with an evil, demented killer dispatching victims with an axe, machete, carving knife, or some other gruesome weapon. Horror of this type is too predictable and tiresome – after a point it’s no longer able to create the feelings of dread and fright that effective horror films should continue to provide. I think that of all the different types of horror films to choose from, demonic possession or control is the most frightening. This is where the expression “banality of evil” comes into play. This doesn’t apply as much when a wicked supernatural force harasses or possesses the character directly (such as films like The Exorcist or Conjuring franchises) but mainly when such a force weaponizes ordinary, inanimate objects against you – and the line between that demonic force and the object it galvanizes against it’s victims is effectively destroyed. Ordinary objects become dreadful and deadly – and you can’t prevent it!
This is also why some of the haunted house thrillers are so memorable. In both the book and the films (especially the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror) the house itself (based on a true story of the Lutz family who fled the home in terror in early 1976 after 28 days of unbearable paranormal activity, such as blood seeping out of the walls!) didn’t seem merely haunted by spirits, but somehow took on a life of its own that’s difficult to describe – especially as the home (which still exists without successive owners reporting anything unusual) appears so deceptively tranquil in an attractive neighborhood of a middle/upper middle income Long Island beach town. Indeed, haunted or possessed houses seem too typical or banal – too expected whether through “true” media portrayals of the paranormal and particularly fictional narratives of it. Yet, the evil they contain is definitively terrifying whether these stories are supposed to be true or not.
The home should be a place of safety and security and when it (or other material possessions) comes under the control of some malicious entity beyond human control or understanding- that loss of power is terrifying, humiliating, and hard to fathom as it’s so far beyond “normal” everyday experiences. Having to flee your home because of evil, invisible forces or to have it exorcised (always a controversial undertaking) to banish these forces can be traumatizing beyond comprehension. Lurking, invisible evil waiting to pounce isn’t expected in placid, real-life towns like Amityville, New York or the fictional Haddonfield, Illinois of Halloween – so when it does happen in these settings everything in life that came before is thoroughly shattered. There is only the before and after. On the other hand, the real, yet drab and wrong-side-of-the-tracks looking towns like Plainfield, Wisconsin (home of serial killer Ed Gein who inspired Psycho) or any big city slum are just the types of places (also given to banality) where scary and horrible things that happen are a given and therefore lose some of their punch.
Spooky old mansions like those depicted in The Haunting (1963) are often rather banal themselves, the cliches of vintage horror – although this particular story is still convincing and suspenseful as it relates the tale of an anthropologist fascinated by psychic phenomena (who brings three other people – including two women who had experienced paranormal activity in their pasts, along with the heir to the property) to the rambling, old mansion to investigate whether reports of hauntings there are true. The Haunting works well as a black & white picture without all the razzle-dazzle special effects of the inferior 1999 remake. However, the most profoundly disturbing movie about an object as the weapon of horror might be Christine (1983) based on one of Stephen King’s most acclaimed novels of the same name. While the novel is more engrossing and vivid than the film (books adapted to movies usually are) the screen version is still like an ice pick of dread to the heart as a restored, demonized, and predatory 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine roars to life and methodically hunts down and kills all the enemies of its nerdy owner – who himself is eventually consumed by the car’s intense jealousy and possessiveness.
Exactly how and why this particular Plymouth Fury of the 5,303 units that rolled off the assembly line for model year 1958 and became the Bad Seed is never entirely clear. Nevertheless, cars are inherently dangerous in our “normal” lives as it is – regardless of how much we might love and/or need them – so, when a demon seizes control of one like “Christine” bringing its engines to life with with blood thirsty depravity and revenge on it’s mind… if your car turns against you, what else do you own that can become your mortal enemy? Of course Fury is the model name that works hand in glove for the rampages that this car goes on. After all, the story just wouldn’t work the same with a Buick Roadmaster or Pontiac Bonneville, or in any other color but fire-engine red. Thus, one of the taglines for Christine sums it up this ghastly narrative perfectly: “Body by Plymouth, soul by SATAN!”
