by Amby Sarabia
Assistant Editor
Sweaty palms, heart beating so fast you feel like it will jump out of your chest, hands ready to cover your eyes in anticipation of something eerie jumping out from a dark corner, and just as it seems as if everything is going to be fine, you scream and jump from your seat as the hideous creature reveals itself. This is only the beginning of the movie.
Every Halloween horror movie becomes all the rage as ecstatic moviegoers flock to theaters to catch the newest blockbuster hits just in time for the most haunting holiday of the year.
Many viewers love the thrill of getting scared. Be it through old horror films or new releases, the adrenaline rush is what many viewers need to feel that they received their money’s worth.
Craig Perry, producer for Zide/Perry Entertainment, describes scary movies as truly scary when the film taps into fears such as being lost or alone, and the fear of death and the unknown.
“The best movies force us to address these fears onscreen,” he said. “If you find yourself recalling a scary movie when you encounter similar circumstances in your daily life, then I’d say the movie was successful in penetrating your psyche.”
“The music also helps create a scary scene and make the audience jump,” said Denise Gossett, president of A.K.A. Shriekfest Film Festival. “I don’t think people realize how much the music helps.”
If anyone should know about horror films, it would be Gossett. Her horror film festival is held annually in Hollywood. The contest allows aspiring horror filmmakers to enter their features, videos, scripts and documentaries into the contest where they will be watched, read and reviewed by film critics. The festival also has a new category for screenplays by young filmmakers under the age of 18.
Movies such as “The Ring,” “The Shining” and “The Exorcist” are all prime examples of films that were able to distort a viewer’s sense of what was real and what was illusion.
“‘The Exorcist’ scared the hell out of me,” said University of La Verne junior Corina Resabala. “It’s my all-time favorite horror movie.”
Looking for something that is easily accessible to anyone in the audience is one of the most important elements to take into consideration when writing a horror film script, Perry said.
“Ergo ‘Nightmare on Elm Street,'” he said. “What if someone that only existed in your dreams could kill you when you slept and no one can stop you from falling asleep?”
Playing with your psyche is just one way horror filmmakers try to reach the viewer. Packing tons of gore and violence into scenes is another formula that appeals to movie watchers.
“I just went to watch the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,'” said junior Claudia Funes. “It was really gross I got scared.”
Sitting for two and a half hours staring at decaying bodies and blood oozing from human ligaments can almost be too much for some viewers while it seems to appeal to others. Several ULV students, such as junior Michelle Fletes, enjoy movies that have the ability to reach into a viewer’s head.
“I really like ‘The Shining,'” Fletes said. “It has a lot of suspense and actionIt keeps you on edge compared to other films.”
Not all horror films are as successful. Films such as “Jeepers Creepers” and sequels like that of “Friday the 13th” are not scary or good enough for some viewers, apparently.
“The whole concept of ‘Jeepers Creepers’ was ridiculous,” Fletes said. “It also has really bad actors, which helped to make it a bad movie.”
Still Perry said: “Horror films make for a great date movie. It gives the girl a reason to snuggle up to him.”
This Halloween it looks like there will be plenty of snuggling in the darkness of the theaters as there are numerous newly released scary movies including the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Scary Movie 3” and “House of the Dead.”
“It’s interesting to note that women usually pick horror movies when they go out on a date,” Perry said.
Despite their ability to bring people closer together, at least in the physical sense of the word, why do viewers continue to pay to watch a film that causes them to jump out of their seats and brings them fear?
“I think it’s the same reason I love them,” Gossett said, “that we get to be scared without it having to be real. We get to see blood without it having to be real. I know a lot of us could not handle it if it were real, so it’s kind of cathartic.”
