Horror movies and superhero movies have a lot in common.
For starters, no one ever really dies. In terms of the big
characters, that is. Sure, they may look like they’re dead, you can even watch
them in the dying process, but odds are they’ll find their way back at some
point. This leads to the second similarity – these two types of movies, more
than any others it would seem, have endless sequel possibilities. Since you can
always count on people not really being dead, there are always more stories to
explore. Both these types of movies tend to tell stories with moral
applications. They show both attributes to aspire to and those that need to be
fought.
Like superhero movies, horror movies often have a main
protagonist that shows up in subsequent movies, and is forced into fighting the
bad guy once again. And in both types of movies, while the threat may subside
for a time, it never goes away completely.
The plight of the superhero never ends. They never achieve
the ultimate victory where they can easily pack away their cape, shield,
lantern, spandex body suit, or what have you, and think, Well, now that that’s all finished, I can finally open that profiterole
shop I’ve always dreamed of. No, there are always new and returning bad
guys.
The surviving victims of the crazy serial killer from movie
one may think that they’ve gotten their lives back and then bam, crazy serial
killer returns to show them they’ve had no such luck. Or in the case of C.
Thomas Howell in The Hitcher II: I’ve
Been Waiting, the character just keeps allowing homicidal strangers into
his car.
And the cycle goes ‘round and ‘round.
Despite the similarities, I find that I hate horror movies
almost as much as I love superhero movies.
Now, I don’t mind if a movie is scary or suspenseful. I can
deal with occasionally jumping while I’m watching the film. But I don’t want to
feel all creepified for hours after the movie is over. I get that residual
emotion is a sign that a movie has done its job. My hatred of horror movies has
nothing to do with their quality. Some are definitely top notch. I just know
that if I watch one, regardless of whether or not it’s well made, I’m going to
be sleeping with my lights on. And by sleeping, I mean sitting in my room with
my lights on thinking about how I’ll probably never sleep again.
Even more than not wanting to be scared for long periods of
time, I don’t want to feel depressed after watching a movie. I want to know
that the good guy will, nine times out of ten, succeed in saving whoever needs
saving. I want to know that the same good guy will be back in the subsequent
movies and not be killed off in the second or third so that loved ones are
stuck continuing the fight against the never-diminishing evil. And if the good
guy does die, I want it to be in some heroic sacrifice. Not because he or she
ran upstairs when they should have just gone outside, or insisted on walking
through the house without turning on any lights even though they know that
someone wants to kill them, or just because they keep picking up those damn hitchhikers
(seriously, just stop it). I want good to prevail.
Now, I’m sure some of my friends who are devout lovers of
the horror genre could make some legitimate arguments in favor of these movies
that I avoid watching. But what it comes down to for me is that when a
superhero movie is over I think, Why not me? And when a horror movie ends, all I think is, Why?
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