Don't Be Afraid of Horror

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Don't Be Afraid of Horror

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By Ben Elliott

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Horror is a polarizing genre.

The mere mention of the word keeps some audiences from even considering a movie, while the idea of spending 90 minutes with a cast of characters being steadily killed off is other people’s idea of a relaxing night out.

But horror, like all genres, exists on a spectrum. Some films truly set out to fill you with dread and terror, while others play more like broad comedies with blood splatter. These are movies that find glee in the grotesque, making the morbid so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh.

House, 1977

We’re celebrating this subgenre all October with our Gorecore series, which continues tomorrow night with House, a surreal spectacle from director Nobuhiko Obayashi. An incredibly basic setup — a group of teenage girls visit a country estate full of malicious supernatural forces — is given a deranged treatment by Obayashi, who fills the titular house with demonic cats, monstrous pianos, killer clocks, and other off-the-wall inventions.

House, 1977

With a background in experimental film and advertising, Obayashi imbues the film with a kind of insidious escapism that becomes scarier than any of the deaths on screen. His characters feel like they just stepped out of a soda commercial and never give up their cheery disposition — even after being attacked by floating heads or flaming logs.

It’s a striking satire of the pressure placed upon us by commercial marketing to stay optimistic even when the world feels wrong. It’s also just a bonkers way to spend a night at the movies — the perfect example of how sublimely silly horror can be.

Showtimes

Showtimes Blue Moon | 2:00PM, 8:30PM Bugonia | 2:15PM, 5:15PM, 8:00PM Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere | 2:30PM, 5:30PM, 8:15PM Klute | 5:00PM

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