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Horror: Alive and Killing.

As I sat this morning enjoying a cup of coffee and a bagel, I learned that thus far, the highest grossing film of 2011 is the micro budgeted gem Insidious. Now, I haven’t written proper review for Insidious yet (though I plan on it) but just know that, in a nutshell, it’s great and it brings a big smile to my face to see that it is doing so well. As much as I want to, I am not going to go into the details of the film. I’ll save that for my review. Instead, the reason why I am writing this is primarily out of excitement. Horror is alive and killing. Well, let me clarify.

After doing a bit of research, it’s proven that horror films are some of the highest grossing of their year. True, they’re not the powerhouses that their blockbuster competitors are but they definitely have a leg in the race. From The Blair Witch Project to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) to Paranormal Activity and Insidious. These films are nothing but horror and yet they explode when unleashed on audiences. I make that point to prove that horror is a loved genre. Critics tend to discredit and often completely ignore most horror films but from the numbers alone, horror has proven to be quite popular.

The popularity doesn’t necessarily mean the films are good though. Look at the 2009 reimagining of Friday the 13^th. Frankly, that flick sucked and it sucked hard yet it was quite successful in the box office. Look at The Happening. For the unfortunate ones who saw this mess, this is a perfect example of Hollywood realizing that horror sells regardless of quality. I mean, I should have seen the massive shit stain that this turned out to be from the ad campaign alone. When the film being rated R is the driving force behind the campaign, a light should flicker on to warn you that you’re about to hate your decisions in life.

Heh heh heh thank you for your money!

Then there is the slew of remakes, PG-13 stinkers, and mind numbing PG-13 remakes. Yes, most are bad to awful and cringe worthy but the point is that they sell. Without the success of the mainstream money grubbers, there wouldn’t be a chance for smaller, more deserving horror films to even be made. Example: District 9. While technically not a horror film per se, it is a sci-fi alien flick and that often gets lumped in with the horror genre so, I’m going for it.

District 9 is a beautiful film with a deep message and plenty of intense action and has a few good gore scenes and when watching it, it’s hard to believe that it was made for $30 million. That’s a pretty small budget in the realm of film but what’s even better is that it went on to gross over twice that amount and that’s with not many people I’ve encountered even seeing it.  That right there proves that horror/sci-fi does have staying power in the mainstream and that Hollywood doesn’t just have to continue releasing the shite they’ve grown accustom to.

You're welcome.

This may seem long winded. This may pointless. The point? I’m happy. I’m happy that horror, despite having many critics and industries scolding them, still manages to stick around and hold its own. I’m happy that audiences still have the thirst to be frightened. Even with all the mediocre and snore inducing “horror” that Hollywood puts out, I still smile. Yes, I get upset at those films. Yes, I criticize them above and beyond but at the end of the day, they are still horror and due to their successes, they are allowing the gems in the genre to be released and for that, I thank you.