Horror Movie Month

Halloween is a big holiday in our household. I'm not sure why, maybe because everyone in my family has always embraced the supernatural. Or maybe because we all love candy more than vegetables. Whatever it is, when the beginning of October comes around we want to watch horror movies. So this year, armed with a Netflix subscription and free HBO/Showtime, my husband and I have set out to watch an unprecedented 2-4 horror films a week until Halloween. I have seen most of the classics through the years so we're trying to catch up on the modern stuff we have missed.

When I lived up north, I had a movie marathon on Halloween. Being that I have no family here down south, I've made it a tradition to watch horror films we've never seen before on Halloween. Last year it was House of 1000 Corpses. This year it looks to be Devil's Rejects.

The horror genre has always been popular in American culture. Wikipedia has an extensive exerpt on the history of horror in America. I was also facinated to read that these films are making a lot of money for American studios. Read the Entertainment Weekly article here.

So what have we seen so far?

The Skeleton Key (2005) - Much better film than I thought it would be. Centers around a hospice worker in New Orleans who gets sucked into Hoodoo. I liked it! 6/10

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) - Horrible movie. No plot, just torture scenes which get really tedious and boring. 1/10

Saw 2 (2005) - Better than the first film, with a great ending. This franchise has a great premise to keep it alive...and it's making big money. 7/10

Cursed (2004) - Cookie cutter tween horror with CGI werewolves. Probably terrifiying to 12-year-old girls, not so much for me. 3/10

So do I think I'm getting desensitized to violence after all these films (and more to come)? Nope. I've seen real blood and guts and these movies are nothing like the real thing.