Why I Enjoy Horror and Foreign Films

As a partially deaf child of the eighties, I grew up with no closed-captions as an option for watching television and movies at home. In addition to subtitled foreign films, I loved to watch horror films.

I still love foreign and horror films.

Why I like foreign films is obvious, because of the subtitles. Foreign films also tend to have better actors. But, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE horror films!! I like them for the gore and the thrill you get from getting scared.

I think I understand now why I especially liked them as a child:
  • In most horror films, there were hardly any dialogue. I did not have to strain and pay attention to what was being said. 
  • If a movie contained a lot of dialogue, it would not matter much, because there was always something suspenseful or bizarre happening, making it fun to watch. 
  • Horror films are very visual, the gorier the better. :)
My family let me watch a lot of horror films, because they said the movies never seemed to bother me. At the time, I knew that the movies were not real and I did not have many nightmares as a result of watching them. One of the few times I had nightmares was from watching the movie Legend with Tom Cruise. That troll dude scared the bejeezus out of me! But, someone like Leatherface never scared me, for whatever reason.

Of course my parents had their limits. One time my mom refused to let me watch a movie which contained a collection of real death scenes. Thank goodness! And I don't think they would let me watch the Saw movies if they were available then. I don't think my parents knew that my brother and sister let me watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. I think if they saw Leatherface they would freak out.

So some days I would sit there in front of the television and enjoy movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, and such. Then I would go outside and draw rainbows and butterflies on the sidewalk using chalk, jump rope, pretend to have a tea party with my stuffed animals, or ride my pink scooter. I was like any other typical little girl (except I liked the occasional blood, guts, and gore).

They don't make horror movies like they used to. Anyone who is a fan of Nightmare On Elm Street is going to be truly disappointed by the 2010 remake. 

(e


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7 comments:

  1. Oh, I LOVED the horror movies... back in 1970's, 1980's and 1990's... UNTIL I became a mom. Then I shun them... weird, I know.

    But I do admit enjoying TNT's "Supernatural" series...

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  2. My deaf mother instilled the real love of horror, suspense and thriller visual genres in me since those stuff were visually feasible for deaf eyes.

    Not all deaf people of my deaf mother's generation shared the appreciation of such film genre which considered real poor taste of cultural values.

    I was a big fan of horror, sci-fic, suspense and thriller films from the late 60s to 80s, but more selective of what to view on VCR and DVD and at theatre.

    I still read "Fangoria" and "Starlog" movie magazines nowaday.

    I used to run to the local library for reading the "Movie Monsters" magazines!

    My deaf mother was a lifetime fan of Buster Crabbe, hot and sexy "Flash Gordon" film serials of the 1930s.

    Did you know that "Psycho" film was based largely on true story of Ed Gein which shocked America in the 1950s with cannabilistic intents. It inspired the concept of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film based on loose true story.

    Not many people realize that there were NO gory or bloody stuff within the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" film, but people considered it most goriest film of its time. Huh!

    Karen, I do enjoy watching "Supernatural". This series could be painstakingly repetitive or getting old.

    I like "Fringe" tv show, too.

    What about "V" tv show? I enjoyed it very much.

    Have you seen the preview of "Cabin Fever 2" film yet?

    I watched "The Descent 2" om DVD last night.

    RLM

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  3. Here is the link to pic of Buster Crabbe -

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2090/2363148839_4c8985c5cd.jpg%3Fv%3D0&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/seattletim/2363148839/&usg=__Y8wcOxu58tZ15yjq0KuMjxOZENE=&h=500&w=411&sz=124&hl=en&start=42&sig2=tEavwujNUu85ntG6hkywrg&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=e8JA5lYN5ISIvM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbuster%2Bcrabbe%2Bpicture%26start%3D40%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=K6MFTKy7A8T48Aa6vbWvDQ

    ReplyDelete

  4. Thanks, RLM.

    I did not know that they came out with 'Cabin Fever 2'! LOL. The first one was pretty bloody.

    I am glad to know I am not the only one with a love for campy horror films!!

    Karen,

    I never got into 'Supernatural'. I am curious. I think I'll try to find it online, and check it out. Maybe you shun horror movies today, because most of them pales in comparison to the 70's, 80's, and even 90's horror films. Like I said, they don't make them like they use to. Or maybe having kids have something to do with it.

    (e

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  5. Very intersting stuff about Psycho film - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(1960_film)

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  6. This blog post reminds me of Stephen King's Why We Crave Horror Movies essay.

    Us humans are fascinating :D

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  7. I consider myself a dedicated lover of foreign movies and my objective

    here is to present my list of top 100 foreign films that I think every

    living human should make some attempt to watch at least once in life.

    Watch these best foreign films!

    http://www.squidoo.com/Top100ForeignFilms

    The very best foreign language films - hallmarks of cinematic art!

    Writing a lens on top 100 foreign films is a very personal experience

    for me because I just don't watch foreign movies, I spend hours

    thinking about every detail of a scene that moved me. And I honestly

    think that many of our greatest films, the very best movies in

    cinematic history - actually are these foreign language films that

    have originated outside Hollywood. Thoughts and debates welcome, but I

    learned to appreciate that language in our regular sense is a pretty

    imperfect medium of communication. These top foreign films have taught

    me to transcend the flimsy barriers of these "localized" mediums that

    I was so very much "used to". Wherever there are humans, there are

    stories...and music...and emotions...and talent to create wonders on

    celluloid! And us, the fortunate beholders! So here goes my list of

    top 100 foreign films...enjoy!

    ~ Cheers!
    http://www.youtube.com/user/BestForeignMovies

    ReplyDelete

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