4. Lack of Social Significance
Now, by this I do
not mean social commentary. Yes, contemporary horror films can speak to social issues; Hostel kind of shows the perils of male chauvinism, and not being nice to gangs of creepy little kids. And they can highlight the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, although the best thing about Shane becoming a zombie in Walking Dead was that I didnt have to listen to him whine anymore about the love triangle with Rick and Lori. What I mean is
significance. Do horror movies actual matter? Do they actually seem to be part of, and affect, whats going on in peoples minds? Bram Stokers Dracula touched on fears of corruption beneath proper Victorian society. Classic 1950s creature-flicks let Americans express their fears over the Cold War in a safe setting. The original Last House on the Left supposedly was inspired by Americans casual reactions to the violence of the Vietnam War, and you can see social turmoil over that conflict in the visceral reaction of audiences to the filmsome people became physically ill. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was similarly tied to Vietnam-era angst, and that films brilliant use of news reporting on violence as its opener puts the dread and horror of the rest of the movie in an immediately relevant light. And the slasher films of the late 1970s and early 1980s reflected both a negative reaction to womens empowerment and (in my opinion) a distaste for male domination, as well as the sense that something is going horribly wrong with the suburbia that was the American dream. Does Paranormal Activity help us to understand post-Cold War America? Does Saw make us think of anything besides wow, that was a gross way to die? Maybe Im being a bit of a snob here, but I expect more of my horror films.