Introduction

Ever since I can remember, Jaws has been my favorite movie.

You might think that means I got into movies at a late age. Not the case. I was a cinematic dork from a young age, and Jaws was the film that captivated me the most, even at a time when my dad had to tell me to cover my eyes during the scary parts—the discovery of Ben Gardney was the moment I’m speaking of.

As I got older, new films were added to the list of favorites. Alien. Predator. A Nightmare On Elm Street. All the usual suspects for a horror-inclined kid born in 1987. I was there when Scream hit the video store shelves—video stores were a primitive, and superior, form of choosing what film to watch back in my day—and fell in love with the new wave of slasher films that hit the cinemas when I was a teenager (even the bad ones). Eventually, I dug into the genre with a real passion. Before I knew it, I had become obsessed with horror.

If you’re reading this, you probably feel the same way. I’m sure your first favorite film wasn’t Jaws. Maybe it was Friday the 13th. Hellraiser. Maybe you’re younger than I am and it was Final Destination. It doesn’t matter. However you got here, you got hooked at some point and now you love all things horror. Like me.

Some people think it’s strange to love the horror genre. I can understand that stance to a point. A lot of it is violent and gory. There’s a weird mix of misogyny and feminism that muddies the waters. A lot of people just can’t handle shouting “DON’T GO INTO THE ATTIC, YOU DUMBASS!” at their TV screen.

But some of us just get it. And that’s what I want this page to be about: the horror genre, sure, but also why we love it. It’s ability to make use feel all sorts of emotions, not to mention the way it can make our skin crawl. The way it can make us feel good. Or terrible. Or empowered. Or ashamed to be human. Horror can hold a mirror up to us in the best possible way, but can also make use look at ourselves in the worst light too. It can help us process grief. It can be a rough watch, or it can be a blast. Sometimes, it can even be a good drinking game.

I’ve often said that I can watch any horror film, good or bad, and find some enjoyment. I cannot do that with any other genre of film. I can’t watch a subpar drama or a cringeworthy comedy or a lame duck action film. But I can watch a horror flick made by fools on a shoestring budget and tell you something I liked about it. No other genre offers that kind of freedom to both filmmaker and viewer.

So, if you’re still reading, I want to take this to the next level. That is, I want to talk about the films I love, and some that I didn’t. I want to deep dive into the history of horror cinema, watching and rewatching classics and obscure gems. As we get into it, I’m hoping to involve other people: maybe you, maybe some other likeminded people, maybe even some horror icons themselves. We’ll see. This is new to me.

So if you love watching spooky movies in the dark like I do, please keep reading. If you do, I’ll keep writing.