|
Thursday, October 29, 2009
You hear talk about The Golden Age of Science Fiction, The Golden Age of Comics, The Golden Age of Hollywood, The Golden Age of Radio. A time when a certain field is in a burst of creative energy. Not necessarily the roots of any particular genre, but a time when it burgeoned into a Renaissance period.
I've been thinking about the 1980's lately. Even more than usual, that is. A big part of it is because two of my very favorite genre films from the period finally made it to DVD. I'm talking, of course, of Night of the Creeps and The Stepfather. These two movies represent the finest American horror and suspense movies of the time for me.
Plus, a few new movies have taken me back to the 80's. Trick 'r Treat was highly anticipated and it was worth the wait for most of us. Perhaps it was no masterpiece, but it reminded me a lot of an 80's horror movie. And Zombieland also made me think of 80's horror comedies. It is precisely the type of movie that flourished 20-25 years ago.
The 1980's. Sure, I'm nostalgic about the decade. Maybe even romantic. It was a great time for movies and books, especially in the horror genre. And it was a great time in my own life. Everything was much simpler for me. No mortgage, no credit cards, hell no cars. I took the bus or walked and if people felt sorry for me, they shouldn't have. Maybe they ought to pity me now.
It wasn't just horror. I liked the styles of the 80's. And the music. Not that hair metal stuff. I liked New Wave. Synth bands and stylish pop groups. I'm talking about musical style, not attire. Also, things weren't as controlled by corporations as much as they are now. Family restaurants, independent theaters, used bookstores were much more plentiful. And there were drive-ins that still played exploitation fare. I'm lucky to have been able to experience the final gasps of the passion pits.
Good times. Good movies and good books are what I mostly remember.
I've heard the 80's referred to as The Decade of Fear in regard to movies and I can't argue that term. Horror was big and CGI hadn't reared its ugly head yet. Yeah, there was some primitive stuff like Tron, but in horror movies it was usually hands-on effects. Foam latex, puppetry, blood squibs, good old fashioned monster suits with detectable zippers on the backs.
Effects guys were heroes to horror film fans. They dressed and acted like rock stars and though their fans weren't as numerous as those of rock idols, fans worshiped them just as devotedly. Movies like the Elm Street series seemed to exist mainly to showcase the tricks the effects labs could come up with.
You're as sick of hearing about Michael Jackson as I am, but I don't think it's possible to overrate the influence that Thriller had on horror film and special makeup effects. It was the number one music video of all time and I guess it probably still is. Despite how you feel about MJ, John Landis and Rick Baker made history with Thriller and its influence is still being felt.
The franchises all started out strong, whether they began in the 80's or in the previous decade. Phantasm, Friday the 13th, Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre all had sequels and though most of them turned to shit by the time they fizzled out, they were mostly fun at the time and we, the horror fans, tend to look back upon them with affection.
Sequels and horror comedies. It was difficult to find an American horror film that wasn't one of these two things. Many diehard genre critics decried them, but they had no idea just how bad things would get in the ensuing decades to come. And you know I'm talking about the plague of remakes that we are still enduring. There were remakes in the 80's, yes, but they tended to be pretty damned good. The Thing and The Fly are genuine classics that rival the original films. Others were just fun times at the movies: The Blob, Night of the Living Dead, Cat People.
Books and movies. These are the two mediums that best convey horror and no one bridged the gap between the two as much as Stephen King did. His influence continues and always will be felt. Just the way the mark of Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft will forever be on all things horrific.
Despite some obvious turkeys, I always thought that Stephen King had extraordinary luck with film adaptations. Even the worst of them, like Children of the Corn and Firestarter, have aged fairly well. And the best from the 80's? Man, we're talking Stand By Me, The Dead Zone, Creepshow (and yes, its sequel), Pet Semetery, Silver Bullet. Heck, I even like silly ones like Maximum Overdrive and Cat's Eye. What can I say? My enthusiasm level in those days was so high that I came home from drive-ins thinking that Children of the Corn and Maximum Overdrive were good movies! It didn't hurt that I was ripped out of my mind when I saw 'em.
King's books all tended to be pretty damned good then too. I liked all of them. And I liked just about every horror book I read at the time. I read a lot of them too.
For the first half or so of the 80's decade, horror was mostly traditional. Some were breaking ground with hyperviolence in their fiction that would be more associated with later decades. Richard Laymon, Jack Ketchum, James Herbert. But most were writing horror about average people in small towns that found themselves in the grip of terror. I loved that formula and I still do.
People might think of the 80's as a time of cheesy, glitzy horror, but there were some genuine masterpieces published. Horror simply does not get better than T.E.D. Klein's The Ceremonies, George R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream, Peter Straub's Shadowland, John Farris' Son of the Endless Night, Robert McCammon's Swan Song, F. Paul Wilson's The Keep, T.M. Wright's The Playground, Chet Williamson's Dreamthorp, Thomas Tessier's Finishing Touches and Clive Barker's The Damnation Game.
Then there were the many other terrific writers that published outstanding books in the 80's. This is an incomplete list, but I was blown away by books by Thomas F. Monteleone, Alan Ryan, John Coyne, Rick Hautala, Dennis Etchison, Al Sarrantonio and Joseph Citro. I even thought Anne Rice was a good writer after reading her first couple of vampire books.
And then there was Charles L. Grant. I couldn't just put his name on a list with a bunch of other names. He deserves at the very least a paragraph of his own. The work that Grant did, as a novelist, a short story writer, an editor, was among the most important of any writer. Not only of the 80's, but of all time. The man gave literacy to horror and his books are all classics. His anthologies were literal definitions of quiet horror. Charles Grant favored character and atmosphere over blood and guts. Not that he minded adding some of the juicy stuff if his story demanded it. But most often it didn't. Nor did it need it. Grant's body of work may have fallen out of favor (not to mention publication), but
|
|
Sunday, October 18, 2009
 The success of Zombieland makes me wonder if the horror/comedy hybrid is on the way back. And I think it might not be such a bad idea.
Horror Comedies were the rage of the 80's and I saw a lot of backlash against it in the horror magazines. "I like my horror straight up" seemed to be a common statement. And I do see their point. At least to some degree. Too much of any one thing leads to tedium.
Yet horror and comedy go together so well. James Whale arguably invented it with both The Bride of Frankenstein and The Old Dark House. Later, comedians Abbott and Costello made a successful run of movies that lampooned the Universal classic monsters. Roger Corman made two delightful horror comedies, The Little Shop of Ho rrors and A Bucket of Blood.
I've heard people say that the audience laughed during horror movies, but often the laughter is like a pressure relief valve, rather than that of a derisive crowd. People get a vicarious taste of death in a theme park ride and are often terrified. Most will get off the ride laughing their heads off. Fear and laughter aren't as far apart as some might think they are.
Horror and comedy went hand in hand over the years, sometimes unintentionally. Many cheap quickies took on a new life and appeal to audiences that appreciated their camp value. Others played the gallows humor to the hilt.
 But it was in the 1980's that horror comedies became the norm. As I said before, many complained, but the best of them, like Night of the Creeps and Evil Dead 2, were almost universally adored.
Of course there were the downside of the trend. Transylvania 6-5000 and Haunted Honeymoon represent the worst of the supposedly funny horror movies.
Even the franchises turned to farce when the filmmakers had nowhere else to turn to keep the ideas fresh. The Nightmare on Elm Street sequels were virtual comedies and Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre was as well.
 There were dozens of humorous horror films in the 80's. Some more successful than others, but most are looked upon with affection today. House, An American Werewolf in London, Motel Hell, Ghostbusters, Creepshow (and its sequel), Gremlins, Fright Night, Vamp, The Lost Boys, Beetlejuice, The 'burbs, Night of the Demons, Bad Taste, Terrorvision and Return of the Living Dead are among my favorites. Heck, I even like those old Troma movies, The Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke 'em High.
Maybe it is time for a return to funny horror pictures. The torture trend has gotten tedious. Why continue to take that as far as they can? I think the antidote just could be wit.
I fear what may come of it though. While I loved Zombieland, movies like Stan Helsing and Transylmania look absolutely terrible. It didn't work for everyone, but I thought that Jennifer's Body was a perfectly enjoyable horror comedy.
If humor and fear go together so closely, then isn't our love of horror our way of laughing in the face of death? All of us rehearse death and tragedy constantly in what we watch and what we read. Death will surely get the last laugh, but our only hope is to stave it off the best we can. In the only way we can. That's by laughing and trying not to think ahead to the inevitable.
|
|
Monday, October 05, 2009
Nothing great, or even mediocre, is ever done by one's self. I've had a lot of assistance here at Horror Drive-In. A lot of great friends and a lot of talented individuals have been good enough to spend their precious time here. At the board mostly, but I get comments from those that read the reviews and front pages too. I can't even begin to list the names of people that have helped make this site the success it is. Traffic is way up and Horror Drive-In is becoming more influential all the time.
But there are a couple of people that deserve public thanks. If you like this site, they get a ton of credit. If you don't like it, the blame falls on my own shoulders.
The first is Deena Warner. She is incredibly talented and she designed Horror Drive-In. I had the dream, but she made it a reality. She also has put up with my stupidity when it comes to this sort of thing. I'm lost at anything technical that concerns the Internet.
Deena has also been a great friend. I've known her since the old days of Gorezone. Deena participated in the old Dr. Casey's Book Forum, as I did from time to time. When Dr. C. shut his site down, she and others relocated to Gorezone.
I've also had the pleasure of being a friend of Deena and Matt Warner in the real world. They are just about the most perfect couple I've ever known and I treasure our friendship.
We've been experiencing problems with the Fiction and Review sections and I humbly apologize if you have had trouble accessing them. I think we're close to having a permanent fix for them and I owe it to Deena.
The other person I owe thanks to is Mister Andrew Monge. When I was as down as I've ever been in my life and ready to throw in the towel here at Horror Drive-In, he was one of many that convinced me to stick with it. And not only that, Andy has become an integral part of the site. The Fiction Section, which is an enormous part of why HD-I has gotten so much more traffic, is all his baby. I may be the so-called publisher, but he is God, aka: The Editor. He asks my opinions on stories and we mostly agree. Sometimes we don't and the final say is always Andy's.
Plus, Andy is one of the most decent people I've ever met. Inside or outside the horror fiction community. I've never met him in the flesh, but we've spoken on the phone and we've exchanged numerous emails. Andy is a righteous dude. A devoted family man, a truly passionate lover of dark literature and a hard working guy. My kind of person. The world could use a lot more like him.
So folks, give 'em a hand. I literally would not be here without Deena and Andy. Two of my best friends.
The rest of you know who you are. I started making a list of other vital individuals, but it quickly grew too great of a task.
The genre is probably stronger now than it has ever been. New books and movies are coming out at a rapid clip. There are more horror fans and professionals than ever. It's fun to be along for the ride. And I owe it all to you.
|
| |
|
