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Horror Films: Through the Looking Glass - Part One- CHERRY FALLS

© Clinton Davis

Okay, let’s get down to brass tacks here. We’re four articles deep into this column, and we’ve covered four different genres of film. All of them are fine, to be sure. They’re the types of genres that always come over to Granny’s house for Christmas dinner and even remember to bring a hot dish (okay, maybe the “Gangster-heist-flick genre shows up late and drunk, point is, he still shows.). But starting now, we begin a two-part look at a genre that wouldn’t be caught dead passing the candied yams to the Romantic Comedy genre. If it even showed up at all, it’s be fistfighting with all the other genres out on the lawn, sending them crying back to the video store shelves from whence they came. This genre… HORROR MOVIES!!! In this two part exclusive, which I’m calling “Horror Films: Through the Looking Glass” we’ll be looking at both ends of the spectrum: A slasher film on one end and a more psychologically terrifying one on the other. Should be a real treat for my loyal fans (all five of you).

Now, I should say for the record that I love horror films. And when I say “love,” I mean “love to the point of almost being illegal.” They bring out the best in me, like athletic competition does for others, or bird-watching does for very few. There is nothing I like more than having to check my closets and sleep with all the lights on because I’ve just seen a particularly scary movie. That tingle in your spine, that sweat on your palms… “What’s that noise outside?” “Did the clothes in my closet just sneeze?” Yes, horror movies can screw you up and that’s what I like about them. They’re one of the few genres out there that really affect people. It’s what cinema was invented for in the first place, after all… To invoke a reaction. Now, sadly, the horror film has fallen into disrepair lately. There was a brief flash of excitement and energy called SCREAM that came in the mid-90’s, followed by it’s two sequels that I, for one, thought were great. But after that, there just hasn’t really been much to crow about (the EXORCIST re-release doesn’t count, brilliant a movie though it is). We’ve been subjected to fetid grade-school worthy efforts like URBAN LEGENDS 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO and VALENTINE, which I didn’t see; though it’s all right because no one else did either. Things were looking grim.

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