The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
When I was a young lad, I never watched horror movies. Looking back I had seen some horror movies, I just wasn’t aware they were horror movies and no I’m not talking about that Britney Spears movie Crossroads (not to be confused with the movie with Ralph Machio and Steve Vai). I’m talking about movies like Jaws. I even saw Jaws 3D in the theater.
I still remember the first “horror” movie… It was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Now that I’m older and a filmmaker I’m not as scared. So I was thinking it was just because I was older, but over the past few years I’ve watched movies in different theaters and I watch the audience reactions. They’re adults and they jump and scream. Why not me?
I believe it’s because I’m a filmmaker. It seems that once you approach things from this perspective, everything changes. Now when I see a scarey scene… I watch the camera movement, the lighting, what angles are they cutting between, pacing, etc…
So do you feel like horror movies aren’t as scarey as they used to be or are you more jaded now because you’ve seen so many or you watch other things more now?
I know what you mean by not getting the jolts the rest of the crowd does. It’s rare when a movie truly freaks me out. I think I’m just desensitized thru years of watching every possible horror flick I could and eventually making them, on a smaller scale, myself. Most of the Hollywood formulae is predictable. Modern Hollywood pulls the same shit it did with me when I was a kid and why should anything have changed? It’s a money gig. That’s why I truly appreciate those filmmakers and writers out there, indie or big money irrelevant, that can come to us with truly fresh ideas, including new perspectives on how to shoot a film. So, jaded? Nah, I think we should just expect more depth as an audience and as filmmakers we should try to push things forward into new, unrealized atmospheric territories. There are literally thousands of elemental combinations out there that are yet undiscovered and it’s really a pleasure to meet cats like Streebo and his gang who hold a loud middle finger to mediocrity in filmmaking and go out and do it themselves or totally honest reviews. If that’s indicative of being jaded, then I hope the rest of the world gets a really nasty case of it.
Oh yeah! Almost forgot…Seeing that poster of Hopper and TCM2 brought back a shitload of great memories, including this one…
…fuck, if that didn’t work, here’s the link:
http://a1.l3-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/99/560035d0053cfefb2fb9117967a5cdaa/l.jpg
…and if none of that works, it’s just a pic of me a quarter of a century ago with the original cast of TCM2 at a Dallas junket, just after the release of the film. Jeez, we all look so fucking young! Check out Bill Moseley and Caroline.
…J
Awesome pic, Jayson. Thanks for sharing. We tried to interview Caroline Williams and Marilyn Burns at Horrorfind but their agents wouldn’t let them talk to us. I think you’re right to expect more from Hollywood – but I think that a lot of seasoned fans actually forget to be a fan. They seem to come into a movie with a lot of preconceived notions instead of just sitting back and going for the ride. As a kid I loved nothing more than discovering new joys, thrills and terrors and I make a point to hold on to that openness as an adult. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jayson. Keep on rocking!
**S