Why I Want to See “It Follows” this October

It Follows

“At its roots, horror is about dealing with sin in a cathartic manner.”

Every October, I begin my annual ritual of horror movie watching.   I scavenge through RedBox, Netflix, Amazon Prime and my DVR to discover some of the great horror movies that have eluded me.

For personal reasons, this month is the only time of year I watch horror.  The rest of the year I pine away, looking at rave reviews of quality horror films from afar, such as this one from Catholic World Report.

It Follows

Within the last few weeks, the horror community has embraced the movie It Follows, a low-budget indie from a first-time director, that has become a critical sensation.   My only reservations of such a storyline is the sexual content, “including full nudity.”  When such scenes I prepare to look away, or have that half-empty bottled water obscure my view.

In this film, (my summary may be botched–I’ve not seen it after all), a young woman who has a sexual encounter discovers that she has a virus that, in order to be freed from certain death, must pass it on to others.  Only her nightmare does not end there.  (And that is where my summary ends–I prefer to be non-spoiled).

This review further goes on to link society’s rampant obsession with the sexual revolution with orthodox Catholic morality, even quoting Pope Paul VI.  He shows that horror–done right–not only properly gives the audience the rush of quality scares, and not only strengthening our resolve to become courageous in the process, but it also demonstrates the ramifications of a world gone astray.

The Problem of Quality Horror Movies

And yet, the problem of quality horror movies, is that there are so few of them.  The vast majority of such films are cheaply made, relying heavily on cheap scares, exploitation, and gore.  Sometimes, they revel in the occult.  Sometimes the rush of adrenaline is not about learning how to withstand adversity, but about feeding one’s unsatiatated appetite for carnality and destruction.

The solution to this is simple: be informed.  Read reviews.  Critical aggregation sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, alongside IMDB’s ratings system, all are effective in sharing which movies have become most effective in what they intend to do.  Follow those up with a close scrutiny of their storylines and parents’ guides, to better prepare one for knowing what the reasons are for its rating.

I personally tend to stay away from films with sex scenes, so this was a red flag for me.  But I make exceptions if the film’s intent is for a non-exploitive purpose.  And in those cases, I have trained myself to simply look away.  Sometimes the parent’s guide will provide spoilerish-hints to let me know when such a scene was to occur.  I prepare so that when those scenes come, I’m not taken off-guard.

Why I Watch Horror

I’m sure that some may scoff at my horror-movie watching ritual; if such matter offends you, why watch them at all?  Or, why be so bothered by the R-rated content in the first place?  There are multiple reasons.

Firstly, I do not believe that ignorance of the culture around us gives us a better vantage point when it comes to evangelism.  Certainly, be discerning.  Certainly, do not embrace the culture’s norms as your own.  But every now and then, a movie becomes a cultural lightning rod, from which could be a bridge to share deeper realities.  The Star Wars and Lord of the Rings movies (and even gasp Harry Potter) have all touched upon universal themes of courage in the face of good and evil, and embracing sacrifice for the greater good.  For horror, the Scream franchise (well, at least the first one), poked fun at horror movies’ well-worn tropes, at the service of both illuminating its audience as to how a film genre recycles storylines while also still giving fresh scares. The Fast and Furious series (which I saw the latest installment last night), focus upon fidelity, honor, and (although becoming a cliche), family.

Even if one were to avoid an entire phenomenon completely (such as I’ve done for the Saw series, American Horror Story, and Fifty Shades of Grey), the fact that one can know enough about the series to have a strong understanding of their storylines, so to not be lost when such a conversation were to exist.

Secondly, if a culture is hungering for thrills, you can put yourself in a position of authority when knowing the best movies of the genre.  Today’s twenty-somethings and younger are woefully under-educated when it comes to the classic movies of the genre.  It’s come to the point that Hollywood would rather remake a quality horror film of the past (I’m looking at you, Poltergeist (2015)) than discover a new story to run with.  I’ve discovered quality gems from the 30s through the 50s, from noted auteurs like Jacques Touneur, Tod Browning, Henri-Georges Clouzot and Fritz Lang.  I’ve enjoyed the 70s and 80s films from John Carpenter, George Romero, Dario Argento and Wes Craven.

Lastly, a quality horror film is a reward in itself.  A quality horror film will help build resilience against fear, and increase one’s fortitude.  It will serve as a reminder as to why sin is sin, and the ramifications of such.  It will provide temporary jolts of terror, which are followed by laughter, it’s only a movie.

I just choose to limit horror for that one month a year.  Here’s hoping that It Follows will be available on RedBox this October.