To think horror films are horrible

“What about ice cream?”

”Coffee.”

”COFFEE!” 👹

Just thinking of a few books here

Jaws
Moby Dick
The Woman in White
Frankenstein
A Christmas Carol
Dracula
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
The Invisible Man
The War of the Worlds
The Time Machine
The Picture of Dorian Grey
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Castle of Otranto
The Man in the Iron Mask
Ritter Gluck
Der Sandmann
Grimms' Tales
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Tell-tale Heart
Northanger Abbey
A Sicilian Romance
The Great God Pan

The majority are thought to have artistic merit as well as contributing to the horror genre - and have been around a lot longer than cinema.

Is silence of the lambs horror? Maybe a fw scenes like when Hannibal kills the guard to switch places but I'd say it's more psychological thriller. Love the second genre not a fan of the first

Though neither Poe nor Shelley nor Lovecraft are good writers in your opinion?
I think most critics would disagree.

I disagree that Eliot could have written The Shining. Also disagree with your premise that horror has no merit and is schlocky and generic. I’m a bit shocked that a film studies teacher would be so limited in their view. I think Bram Stoker, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley and Dickens would also disagree.

Pleasepleaseplease let it not be crap. I'd be heartbroken if it was crap. The trailer is great at least 👍

My favourite horror films in no particular order:

28 days later
Halloween
A nightmare on elm Street
Alien
Rosemary's baby

I bet I could think of dozens more if I sat and thought about it for a bit!

Here's to swimming with bow legged women.

I don't know how many times I've watched it.

100%
and Rosemary's Baby, The Birds...amazing amazing films!

I love horror, I am interested in the supernatural and also admire the intelligence of the creators for causing suspense in psychological horrors. Can't really explain it further than that, you either enjoy it or you don't.

Why does anyone like anything? I’ve loved reading horror and thrillers since I was a teen (and watching). No it’s not high brow but it’s for my own personal entertainment so I’m really not bothered.

So neither the Exorcist, the Shining or Psycho are art?
I think most "teachers of film studies" would disagree with you.

I think horror is such a broad genre. The Substance for example is a great commentary on modern beauty standards and not exactly scary (though pretty gross).

I like them. A good horror is my go-to for a cosy afternoon off, along with a blanket and a hot chocolate. Like lots of others here, I don't like torture or anything too gratuitous. I've no interest in the likes of Hostel. But I love the classics like The Thing, Alien, Scream, Halloween. And there's been some really interesting horror this century too, like Heretic, Midsommar, Hereditary, Sinister, Oddity.

It's strange because as a child, I had a very active imagination and was easily scared. I was really upset for a long time after watching Jaws, and I was deeply scared just by overhearing Robocop (which I now love). I didn't even see anything, but what I heard played over and over in my head. I remember fleeing to the other side of the house when my brother and cousin were watching Aliens (which, again, I now love).

It wasn't till my late teens that I suddenly had an interest in horror films and books.

We're gonna need a bigger boat.

Actually, Eliot could probably have written The Shining pretty easily. She was pretty good at imitating other styles, and a lot of her novels adapted tropes from sensation novels (the contemporary Victorian equivalent of horror fiction).

Jaws is my ultimate comfort film I know every bloody line to that one!

“The nine year olds from the school have been…karate-ing the picket fences!” 🥋

Thanks for posting the clip @oakleaffy - such a great film, such a great clip. Same here, I’ve been known to look back down the long escalators at night on the and imagine what I’d do if I saw the slathering beast at the bottom. Answer - pee myself in fear, die.

I am quite fun actually! I’m clever and funny, I know a lot about many things, and I’m quick at making jokes, so I’m actually really good company. 👍

I can’t be dealing with the torture porn etc ones. Probably could deal if not enjoy pre kids but they now give me intrusive thoughts. Watched even the Luther film on Netflix a couple f months ago, having always enjoyed the TV show even though dark, and the first ‘crime’ scene made me cry!!

Some of the very camp/silly gory ones have always been good fun though, Evil Dead/Final Destination etc. I generally want happy/silly escapism or very good storytelling from my films though.

There are plenty of non-subjective definitions of great art (in fact, most of aesthetics as a discipline is about exactly that).

Stephen King is good at writing popular books. Just like Jeffrey Archer is, or Jackie Collins, or any number of popular writers who are good at what they do. But King’s writing is not great art. Drain orgies and time-travelling aeroplanes and schlocky party horrors are all very inventive; but they are generic, and so is his writing.

YES!!! The tube scene absolutely terrifies me.
As a Londoner, having been alone in those cavernous empty tunnels by night , It's especially scary.

The Werewolf as it's chasing him, and you see it at the bottom of the escalator...sheesh..

Here :

I hate literary snobbery. Stephen King couldn't have written the Mill on the Floss. George Eliot couldn't have written The Shining. Horses for courses, genre fiction is a skill in and of itself.

Indeed. Many would say that the Shawshank Redemption is a timeless great. It’s annoying that people look down on the genre although it’s been around for centuries. I like a bit of Poe
and Mary Shelley too.

Fucking hell, I'll bet you're fun at parties.

But “great” is a subjective definition. In your opinion Stephen King is not a great writer - to many others he is.

Also “overrated” is also subjective.

Haha! No, I don’t particularly like Little Women, either. I teach film studies though, so I’d be likely to be teaching Jaws - just not as great art 😆