Slasher films...

I am a chicken. I do not like horror or slasher films and I will not go into a theater to see one. I must be in a place I know I'm safe, with the lights on and someone I know sitting next to me, holding my hand. This sounds a bit extreme but I cannot stand horror/ slasher films. They give me the creeps. I haven't seen many scary movies because I don't like putting myself through the horror but one of the good ones that I did see was Disturbia featuring Shia Labeouf.

I don't know if this technically would qualify as the typical slasher film but the killer did not use a gun of any sort. He used knives and means of disfiguration to kill his many victims. I think this is the movie that impacted me most because it was the first really good horror film that I saw. The others (2) that I had previously seen were about stupid things like the tooth fairy trying to kill the person who looked upon her face and lived (Darkness Falls) or a video game dictating life (Stay Alive). Nothing had really given me the creeps until I watched Disturbia in a theater with my friends.

Disturbia focuses around Kale, a kid who has a few problems with the law and law enforcement officials. He meets a mysterious neighbor who's activities late at night are spied upon by Kale, who's under house arrest. While his house arrest continues, Kale spies his neighbor murdering a young woman in cold blood. When he informs the police officials about it, the young woman is no where in sight. Thus, placing Kale in a predicament of did he really see it or is he just hallucinating. Midway through we begin to realize that Kale really has caught onto something and begins to put himself into terrifying positions to solve the murders and catch a killer before he can hurt anyone else. There's a few good fighting seen and a lot of disturbing images but overall the movie is definitely worth watching.

I remember this movie getting to me so much because it was in a typical neighborhood in the suburbs. Normally in slasher films the place of killing is either a secluded house, a cave, or some other abandoned spot far from any town or place. In this movie however, the killings took place in the typical suburban home. They could've been witnessed by any neighbor who happened to be looking out the window at that time. That's probably what got to me the most. I was scared to look at my neighbor's houses for quite a while after that because I was scared of what I would find.

This movie does not follow the typical classification of a horror film that Clover describes in his article. The people who are coincidentally "having sex" do not die shortly after, there is no sole female character left, all male deaths are not quick and painless etc. This movie focuses on female victims with only one male victim, the police officer checking out the scene. The killer is finally taken down by the protagonist but no other important characters are killed. The main protagonist is also a male instead of the naive, shy, quiet female. There is no real story as to the psychological aspects behind the killer's mind but rather he kills the women he dates and then makes it look as if they left his house afterward.

This film also doesn't fit into James Parker's view of slasher movies either. His view of this genre is of low budget, high profit. To be truly successful slasher/horror film you must make millions off a relatively cheap production. The movies must also give in to a sense of doom that only comes with slasher films. The audience is supposed to feel that doom has come to get them. He briefly states in his article that these movies are made due to wartime but that idea is quickly rejected. This movie was not based on the conflict happening through America but rather the profit it would make from those who enjoy having the crap scared out of them.

I am luckily not one of those although I did enjoy this movie. I was able to cuddle close to someone I knew would keep me safe and actually enjoy being scared. I actually enjoyed having my pulse increase with the threatening music and being aware of the doom lurking just around the corner. For once, I enjoyed burying my head in my best friend's shoulder and listening as the people on the television screamed. It was frightening but well worth the entertainment and the stories I was able to tell.