On the Uses of Horror

At The House Next Door, Matt Zoller Seitz hosts a discussion on whether the new wave of grisly horror movies means something culturally, and what these films are saying.

The discussion is high-grade and wide-ranging, even if it puts more weight on the current crop of gore porn that it can reasonably shoulder. One commenter noted,

“Sometimes, a mutilated German Shepherd is just a mutilated German Shepherd.”

That’s true with many horror movies. Torture, dismemberment, and splatter are easy, cheap ways for film-distribution companies to make money right now. More importantly, many of these movies (e.g., Saw) simply suck and are devoid of genuine ideas, political or social agendas, or even honest provocations.

I’ve already written on several slices of the horror topic, and I’ve barely peeled the skin off. As The House Next Door discussion proves, sometimes a mutilated German Shepherd has a lot to say.