SCREAM YOUR ENTHUSIASM (intro)

By: Heather Quinlan
October 1, 2024

In his 1981 review of Friday the 13th, Part 2, Roger Ebert wrote, “It’s fun to be scared.” And although he was notoriously unkind to horror films, in this case he was right. (Just as he was to give the film half a star.) Some of us live vicariously through Westerns or Weepers or Hallmark TV movies, but we horror fans love to join the fun whenever there’s a ghost or a demon or a chainsaw lurking around the corner. It’s the same rush as ascending the hill on a roller coaster — you know you’re gonna be terrified in about 10 seconds, but you also know you’ll be OK.

As with previous Enthusiasms that I’ve edited, this one is near and dear to my heart. One was even about heartthrobs. The other two — TV characters who suddenly die, and Heavy Metal — have a similar through line. A kind of dark edge. I don’t know why these hit the part of my brain which triggers a sense of ease and comfort, but I suspect they do the same for you.

A good horror film fulfills its pact that it will be entertaining by scaring you. But many go beyond that. As Ann Nocenti writes, Rosemary’s Baby uses horror as a way to explore another pact — that women get married, have babies and do as they’re told, even if that baby may be the spawn of Satan. The Night of the Hunter, as analyzed by Adam McGovern, shows how religion is often intertwined with horror inflicted toward women. (Some might call this film a thriller, but tell me you wouldn’t be terrified while chased by Robert Mitchum.) Meanwhile its mirror image, The Innocents, as written up by Max Alvarez, also stars a little boy and girl — children who aren’t necessarily the heroes of the film.

Others kick off a new way of viewing the world — The Blair Witch Project, reviewed by Erin Routson, spurred film after film of found-footage flicks. Two more are even covered here — [•REC] by Gabriela Pedranti, and Paranormal Activity by Mariane Cara — both which I believe took that style and improved upon it. Kathy Biehl writes how Halloween affected her for years, and many believe it started the slasher subgenre — though that bloodied crown may belong to Bob Clark’s Black Christmas from 1974 — as Michael Campochiaro points out, the director would go on to helm a much different holiday movie with the classic A Christmas Story.

And there are horror classics like Tony Pacitti’s take on Jaws and poor Alex Kintner, and Michele Carlo laughing her way through The Exorcist. Also in this creature feature are terrific sequels like Josh Glenn’s look at how Baudelaire informs 1978’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, while 2013 brought us a surprisingly good reboot of Evil Dead (which, Colin Campbell notes, comes complete with not one but two severed hands).

My own essay is about The Changeling — released in 1980, this George C. Scott vehicle came during a particularly fruitful time for horror, as evidenced just by the films in this group, like The Shining, Dawn of the Dead, and Tourist Trap. All very different, all terrific.

So if something good can come from all this screaming, I hope it’s that you get to discover some new horror, revisit old friends, or like the ironically named Lynn Peril, move beyond your fear of scary movies and give one a shot (as she did with Night Gallery).

Happy Screaming,

Heather

PS: Letterboxd list of these movies here.

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SCREAM YOUR ENTHUSIASM (intro)

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