It's hard to believe that Halloween is coming up fast and furious tomorrow night. Growing up this was always a strange time of year for me. I remember vividly the sensation of having to face my fears when going up to the door to collect candy, all while being positive that someone lie lurking in the shadows to scare me so bad I soil myself. Ironically to me the scariest house on the block was my own, as my Dad and brothers were able to transform our carport into something far more sinister. I would have to confront my fears each Halloween as I would try to get from the sidewalk to the landing inside the front door; all the while avoiding the spooky Frankenstein Creature hovering just to the side of the door.
As I got older I started to enjoy that sensation, to a degree. Mr. Munk was making fun of me the other day when I brushed off his invitation to attend the Nightmare on 13th which is a local haunted attraction in Salt Lake. I added more fuel to his fire when he and I were watching shows from the Travel Channel that showcased the best of haunted mazes. I guess I can see his reasoning, I do enjoy being on the scaring side of the spectrum, but I would be the first to shy away from the rush of actually being scared.
Of course the last time I went through a haunted maze, the proprietors had close to 40 chainsaw characters chase you throughout the maze, and honestly it was so boring by the end of it that I seemed to have lost my taste for it. That, or Mr. Munk could be right and I'm just a wuss when it comes to being scared.
Of course I do enjoy a good scary movie, and I'm hoping to be able to go and participate in a ghost hunt at some point in the future, so maybe it's the excess of blood and gore that one encounters in the haunted attractions.
Before you argue that I commented on a disdain for gore while stating that I like scary movies, I would like to qualify that remark. I define a scary movie as something that is actually suspenseful on a psychological level, such as the 1963 version of The Haunting or Silence of the Lambs, as opposed to the overtly disgusting films such as the Saw series or Hostel. I am squeamish enough that I can't watch myself get a shot when I go to the doctor's office, so why would I want to watch some stoned teenagers get hacked to pieces by Freddy Kruger?
Actually this year we did attend one haunted attraction... or to be fair we semi-attended it. A few weeks ago Mrs. Nutz and I traveled with my parents to San Antonio on a weekend trip, and while there we visited SeaWorld, who was hosting their annual Howl-O-Scream festival. We ended up seeing all we really wanted to see during the day, and left the park before the spooky stuff started.
Our trip to Texas was a blast! It was the second time I'd been there, and I forget how much I love the Riverwalk. We had a great hotel right on the river, went to SeaWorld and the Alamo, and enjoyed ourselves as much as we could during our stay. It was really hard to drag ourselves away from the vacation; that is, until we got to the airport.
We had a flight scheduled for 8:15 am to leave San Antonio, so we got up at 5 am, dropped off the rental car, and made the shuttle to the airport at 6:45. At that point we were informed that our flight had been moved to 7 am. The rep checking us in said that she would get us on the plane and took our bags, though she left us to our own devices to work our way through security. We managed to get through and got to the terminal, only to be informed that we were too late to catch the plane. Apparently our rep sent a message to the terminal telling them to hold the plane for us, but the message was not received.
So my dad (Grumpy Nutz) and I sauntered our way back to the check-in counter, where we were informed that they wouldn't be able to get us on a plane for another 7 1/2 hours. Long story short, I got to enjoy the experience of falling sound asleep while sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a terminal.
I'm just glad that I don't have to worry about getting on a plane again anytime soon.
Well tomorrow the little goblins will be coming around to take part in that time honored tradition of Trick or Treating. Mrs. Nutz and I are getting ready to take part in our own tradition of eating home-made Broccoli-Cheese soup (yum-o) and watching the 7-hour live Ghost Hunters investigation. It's a fun way of celebrating.
Happy Halloween
3 comments:
Hold on a moment... you say you disdain gore and you are so squeamish you cannot watch yourself get a shot at the doctor's office, but Silence of The Lambs makes your approved list?
Is it possible that you have never actually seen that particular film? Maybe you just heard that it was a psychological thriller and that you should probably have seen it, but never really have?
That is just speculation from my end, though... :^)
That is a very valid observation. I admit that there is a degree of hypocrisy in my claim. Yes I have seen and own Silence of the Lambs, as well as Red Dragon (which I have watched with you and your wife.) You are correct that there is an element of carnage in those films that I seem to be able to tolerate, but in truth I think there's more gore in CSI and it's spin-offs, which Mrs. Nutz and I both enjoy.
I honestly don't have a reason why I can watch thrillers and crime dramas, which do push the envelope for me on the gore scale; however I have to look away when I am given a shot. In that same vein, Mr Munk frequently questions why I am terrified of heights (to the degree of having difficulty using a ladder to get to the roof of my house) and yet I love roller-coasters. What can I say, the mind is a funny thing.
Still Nate McDuck, you would have to agree that there is a difference in the quantity and type of gore/torture portrayed in Silence of the Lambs in contrast to something like the saw series.
I think calling your opinion "hypocrisy" is a little strong. I would just say it is an interesting contrast and leave it at that. Perhaps we just have different opinions of what constitutes "gore" in a movie. The CSI shows may use more blood in their stories, taken as a whole, but it is also shown most often in forensic setting. You could not make a convincing argument that the most disturbing episode of any CSI show is even close to as disturbing as Silence of The Lambs.
I also do not think there is anything contradictory about disliking heights and enjoying roller coasters. After all, what you are enjoying is the thrill of experiencing heights and going fast while strapped safely down. If the roller coaster were to stall at a high point or if you became loose in your seat, then your enjoyment would vanish and your fear would return. If your fear of heights is anything like mine, you would also probably never ride that roller coaster again.
I can agree that the type of blood and violence shown in the Saw series, for example, is quite different from Silence of The Lambs. However, in those movies it is so over-the-top as to be almost cartoonish. The Saw movies (or any of the slasher type movies) are bloody, gory, shocking, and to me, unappealing. Silence of The Lambs, having been based in part on real life serial killers and presented in a realistic fashion, is far more frightening and disturbing.
Post a Comment