EDUC Horror films and why we identify with them and a brief history of mental health care in the US

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
This is just a brief history of the medical field and things to help give a focus on what has contributed to the horror films and how we might identify with the characters.
Sanatariums as we know them today are more commonly associated with TB cases in the early 20th century before vaccines and antibiotics came into being. By the 1950s with vacccines and antibiotics in play most sanitariums were closed and many had already been demolished years before. Some that still stand are interests to urban explorers and ghost hunters. Some that had still stood were converted to psychiatric hospitals but most all of those are closed or torn down today.
Separately Psychiatric hospitals were established in the 1800s to help deal with individuals with acute mental illness. Initially the patients were put into rooms in isolation to protect other from them and their dangerous behaviors. In the 1900s there was a push to try a moral treatment of patients and rehabilitate them so that they can rejoin society by giving patients privilidges, meaningful work, and recreation.
Things changed over time (1890s or there abouts) and definitions and treatments to deal with the elderly and other undeisirable societal population elements caused them to also be forcibly admitted into the santariums by the 1890s. This created a funding paradox and some creative solutions such as placing nursing training schools in the same institutions so as to have cheaper staff to support the patient population.
By the 1950s nursing homes popped up to care for the elderly. new medications came into being that helped treat and even cuare some of the most long standing psychiatric problems.
The 1960s saw the beginning of modern EMS (ambulance drivers) to officially founded with the EMS Systems act of 1973. previously it was just the funeral home driving a hurst to the hospital to deliver patients.
In 1968 ATT announced the intention to establish 9-1-1 as the emergency doe throughout the United States. This was after some high profile deaths occured from out of town visitors that did not know the local phone number for the police.
A series of scandals that came out and published works basically called for the closure of almost all psychiatric hospitals. This was more or less done around 1960-1970. This was also the same time there arose a sex and drug epidemic world wide. Today 90% of the homeless possess mental health issues and with ample support mechanisms in place it is a choice to be homeless for more than a few days.
In 1970 Nixon signed the Controlled substances act and in 1971 declared the war on drugs which many now argue has been lost.
The HMO act of 1973 made it legal for a hospital to make a profit from healthcare. Prior to that all healthcare was done as a not for profit endeaviour, fundamentally changing the face of healthcare and leading to the rise of the healthcare insurance industry and the coming healthcare crisis of the coming decades.
In the 1700 and 1800s orphanages were created to house children whose parents were either killed in indian raids or whoose parents died in epidemics. around the 1900s progressive movements gave rise to the foster care system at the conclusion of World War 2. Orphanages more or less disappeared after the Georgia Tann scandal with the Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage that kidnapped children and created illegal adoptions where thousands of children were adopted into prospective families. Tann died in 1950 before the state cold release its findings on her activities. She had most all paperwork destroyed surrounding the adoptions so the true number of children she was involved with may never be known.
The family court system in the united states was established in 1910 via the family court act (varies by name and state bus is generally under that or a similar name) and was established to deal with legal problems arising out of family relations and is a consolidation of severly types of courts dealing with narrower family problems such as children's and orphan's courts. This also got rolled into the juvile court system as well which focused on the needs of the child with a hand towards rehabilitation versus incarceration. As it stands right now anything in family or juvinile court disappears off of a persons record after they reach the age of 18 and below the age of 18 basically a person falls under a different set of much more lenient rules. This disparity of rules creates its own set of quirks with in the greater society at large with youth that were not receptive to help or received insufficient help during their developing years as they ran into issues and this issue has persisted throughout the decades.
The Child abuse and prevent act of 1974 exploded the foster care system. The Adoptions assistance and child wilfare act of 1980(AACWA) provided better fit for children's needs. A system which was modeled after the system put in place in nazi germany to place children with outstanding german citizens starting in the 1950s.
With the passage of the ACA (passed March 23 2010) it doubly hurt hospitals as things became a quagmire ore regulations changes and healthcare reimbursements and contract change with insuring entities. Plus there was the changover of hospital coding from ICD-9 to ICD-10 (implemented Oct 1 2015). When it was changed to ICD-9 (implemented in 1968) from ICD-8 there was a 5-10 year period that insurance companies figured every creative way to get out of paying medical entities. THey were prepared for that possibility this time around.
Now it gets even worse. Within the past 20 years, the City of New York closed 20 hospitals. This led to a health crisis of international notice during the COVID-19 epidemic. The same homeless and mentally and/or chronically ill patients are recurring visitors to hosptials and are not a recurring source of revenue for the hospital as most state and federal funds barely cover costs of such patience as they have no money and one can not squeeze blodd from a turnip. It also creates a catch-22 as any entity that receives federal or state funds can not refuse a patient in emergent need, and defining that emergent part and accurately diagnosing the issue without further endangering the patient's health is the stickler indeed.
Now all that said this made for some great material for horror movies and stories.
halloween 1978
halloween II 1981
halloween III 1982
halloween IV 1988
Halloween V 1989
Halloween: curse of michael myers 1995
Halloween H2O 1998
Halloween: resurrection 2002
halloween 2007
halloween II 2009
halloween 2018
Michael Myers: autistic kid. nonverbal kid that kills mother and is committed until of age and then is released upon the populace due to lax security at a psychiatric hospital. Being autistic has a couple of quirks. Did he realize what he was doing was wrong? Did he have ill intent from the get go or was he ruled primarily through other means?
friday the 13th may 9 1980
friday the 13th april30 1981
friday the 13th part III august 13 1982
firdya the 13th the final chapter april 13 1984
friday the 13th a new beginning march 22 1985
friday the 13th part VI Jason lives august 1 1986
friday the 13th part VII the new blood may 13 1988
friday the 13th part VIII jason takes manhattan july 28 1989
jason goes to hell: the final friday august 13 1993
jason x april 26 2002
freddy vs. jason august 15 2003
friday the 13th february 13 2009
Jason Vorhees: autistic kid or aspergers kid. Dies (or did he?) of drowning due to negligence of staff but then camp is closed and then has a curse or is haunted in some way. horror ensues. He proceeds to kill any of the counselors at the camp as it always tries to re-open. Was this revenge for lack of care? Was he unable to vocalize his frustrations? Did lack of socialization and a horrible mother create a monster that killed so many through so many movies?
A nightmare on elm street November 9 1984
A nightmare on elm street 2: freddy's revenge Novvember 1 1985
A nightmare on elm sreet 3: dream warriors February 27 1987
A nightmare on elm street 4: the dream master August 19 1988
A nightmare on elm street 5: The dream child August 11 1989
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare September 13 1991
Wes Craven's New Nightmare October 14 1994
Freddy Vs Jason August 15 2003
A night mare on elm streen April 30 2010
(there are talks about a new movie in the works )
Freddy Kreuger's mother was a sanitarium patient who got pregnant and gave birth to him. Given the systems at the time he would have then been placed into foster care. The other children in the town as a kid always taunted him as the son of a thousand fathers. This touches on a unique aspect of the sanitariums before things were shut down it was common practice to sterilize patients upon entry as it was unwritten but known that shenannigans occured that could give rise to such circumstances. Freddy then grew up and had a child who was later taken away from him as it was discovered he was mutilating people and animals. He was driven to a cabin and burned to death but made a pact with some spirits that gave him the power to enter dreams of others and kill them in their dreams. He used this power to gain revenge upon those who had tormented him as a child and wronged him as an adult. The last film kind of painted him in a pedophile picture as he was using a child as a medium to go after the protagonist.
He knew what he was doing was wrong or did he?... He was a creation and a monster that acted the way that those around him made him.
Could he have turned out better had he gotten help and been removed completely from the town where everyone knew his family history? Do we need to admit that anyone is a foster child or adopted?
Hellraiser 1987
Hellound: Hellraiser II 1988
Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth 1992
Hellraiser: Bloodline 1996
Hellraiser: inferno 2000
Hellraiser: Hellseeker: 2002
Hellraiser: deader 2005
Hellraiser: Hellworld 2005
Hellraiser: Reveleations 2011
Hellraiser: Judgement 2018
many comics and novels further expanded the mythos and story line
The whole story is around a puzzle box (lament configuration) that opens a gateway to a different dimention and gives access to the creatures three called the cenobites. Pinhead or Helllord is the leader of things and upon being access grants a request of the handler of the box. But really their purpose is to harvest human souls. The movies cover various aspects of mythos around the box, its creation, the family lineage of the cration and what pinhead ultimately wants to do after appearing to lament his creation and desiring to regain a human form and seek salvation only to later desire the form of the person he once was as a cenobite.
The appeal to the series is the carnal aspect of offer of otherworldly levels of pleasure as your soul is harvested and how evil has a way of turning on itself and those around it. An irony and evil that many can relate to in various ways.
Poltergeist 1982
pltergeist II: The other side 1986
Piktergeist III 1988
Poltergeist 2015
Poltergeist the Legacy (TV) 1996-1999
This is a story of the Freeling family who moves in to a house that was built over a cave of cult followers that believed the end of the world was upon them. Through the daughters closet (Carol Anne) is a portal but they talk to her through the TV. The ghosts are under the control of a demon known as the Beast and the ghosts are attracted to Carol's life force believing she can lead them to the light and abduct her through her closet to accomplish this. A medium named Tangina Barrons and a group of parapsychologists eventually retrive her from the other side following a second attack by the beast that revealed the ghosts originated from an improperly relocated cemetary underneath the neighboorhood. The second film follows Carol Anne and adds an alternate explanation to the ghosts and the beast's origins. The Third film follows carol anne as she is relocated to skeptic relatives who live in a skyscraper as the ghosts attempt to contat her and abduct her again with Tangina rescuing her again. The actress who played Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) mysteriously died after the film and some of the other actors had as well. The 2015 reboot follows the same basic story as the first.
Many can identify with this story line as there are so many stories of haunted houses and many, many stories of improperly relocated cemetaries or cemetaries that were never relocated at all. A grim reminder that we need to respect our dead and study the history of the properties that we live upon.
Exorcist 1973
Exorcist II: The Heretic 1977
The Exorcist III 1990
Exorcist: The Beginning 2004
Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist 2005
Reboot (2021)
The plot centers around an archaeologist that became possessed and was later exorcised. The second follows the priest who investigates a priest killed during hte exorcism of Regan MacNeil and the church questions to possibility of the possession posthumously. The third one follows a detective from the first film who investigates a series of serial killings around the time of the Macneil exorcism. The fourth follows a WWII vet turned archaeologist into a dig and investigation on a seemingly perfectly preserved church the the evil surrounding it. The fifth follows a priest who hooks up with some arcaheologists seeking a church buried for centuries and helps the archaeologist battle the demon Pazuzu same demon referenced in the Exorcist.
Possessions and evil entities have been a curiosity and obsession by many. Many can relate to seeing folks possessed and that evil exists. Exorcist makes it personal and you connect with the protrayls through the story as you wonder, was it a posession, or, something, else.
Psycho 1960
Psycho II 1983
Psycho III 1986
Bates Motel 1987
Psycho IV: The Beginning 1990
Psycho 1998
Bates Motel (TV) 2013-2017
The first surprise act murder of the star in a film shocked many and created the slasher subgenre. This touched upon the vulnerability of run aways and how much in danger they are. That appeal and ability to relate makes this such a stock film many can relate to and inspiration for many more films to follow. The Second film follows Norman Bates after his release from a mental institution 22 years later and is a road to insanity and a repeat of history. The third is a prequel of sorts that follows Norman as he becomes a psycho killer. The bates motel is the story of Normans Sanitarium room mate and how he has to deal with some insanity on the outside surrounding the bates hotel which he inherited. Psycho IV covers the creation of the monster Norman Bates and his alter ego Norma which does the killings. The 1998 reboot is a retelling of the original story. The TV series is loosly based on the novels and movies and covers the story of what made Norman crazy.
Many relate to Psycho as insanity is not always something that happens overnight. It is something that goes on for months, weeks, years, of abuse. Alternate personalities are a way of a mind to stay sane and deal with trauma and as the full story unfolds you almost feel sorry for the villain and what he became from the monsters that raised him.
Scream 1996
scream 2 1997
scream 3 2000
scream 4 2011
scream 5 2022
Scream is a parody film that is credited with revitalizing the horror genre. Parodying many films and leaving not so many things untouched at all. We all can relate to it as the humor is as horrifying as it is entertaining.
Night of the Living Dead 1968
Dawn of the dead 1978
day of the dead 1985
land of the dead 2005
diary of the dead 2007
survival of the dead 2009
road of the dead TBA
A story of flesh eating zombies and their containment. It was one of the most gross scenes that grossed out many and the effects still top any cgi you could do today arguably. Retold different ways. But a stock of horror. This film really started the zombie genre. The story made many think of how useful attics can be. But many can relate as some feel that hordes are out to get them and choose to hide from society to cope with things. Zombie films tend to be popular during downturns in the economy as it can be an allegory to hordes of people with issues though on the flipside in economic upturns, vampire and werefolf flims are popular.
Manhunter 1986
Silence of the lambs 1991
Red Dragon 2002
Hannibul Rising 2007
A story surrounding a psychotic narcissitic cannibal, Hannibul Lectur who was a psychologist tho served his victims to his guests and had as patients some of of the psychopaths on the rampage that FBI Agent(Jodie Foster) was trying to catch one that cross dressed and collected women's well moisturized skin. The allure to the whole story was how manipulative Hannibul was and how damaging and disturbing a narcisstic could be and the later is something that many can relate to as some have had to deal with similar individuals. And today social workers are still trying to figure out ways to handle narcisssitic and sociopathic parents that make it nigh impossible to figure out is the child OK?
Candyman 1992
Candyman: farewell to the flesh 1995
Candyman: day of the dead 1999
candyman 2021 (in process)
This is a slasher film centered around a man called the candyman who appears when his name is said three times in a mirror. The first movie follows a Student curious on the mythos. The second follows a teacher curious about the mythos and the third her daughter. A fourth set to be released to take place 28 years after events of the first film following another decendent of the candyman. Many can identify with the horror as following a myth has many led many to the edge of sanity as facts and fiction are few and many and far in between. And many more can identify with the fact that they have a horrible ancestor who did horrid things to people long ago and are as curious as they are disintered in learning the truth.
Jaws 1975
Jaws 2 978
Jaws 3-d 1983
Jaws The revenge 1987
Jaws is an interesting story of a shark that will not stop bothering a resort town. The fourth film sees the same family eventually killing the shark on the bow of the boat after it was electrocuted.
The interest in the sea and the dangrous unseen creatures beneath has been a subject of intrinsic interest for thousands of years. The deep sea is one of the last few unexplored, unexploited, and unmapped areas on this planet. We can all relate as we sometimes ask is that a dolphin or a shark?
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
1910 Life Without Soul
1915 The Monster of Frankenstein
1920 Frankenstein
1931 Mickey's Gala Premier (short cartoon)
1933 Bride of Frankenstein
1935
Hollywood Capers (short cartoon)
Have You Got Any Castles? (short cartoon)
1938 Son of Frankenstein
1939 Hellzapoppin'
1941 The Ghost of Frankenstein
1942 Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
1943 The House of Frankenstein
1944 House of Dracula
1945 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
1948 The Curse of Frankenstein
1957
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
Frankenstein
1958
The Revenge of Frankenstein
Franken-Stymied (short cartoon)
1961 The Evil of Frankenstein
1964
Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare (short cartoon)
Frankenstein Conquers the World
1965 The War of the Gargantuas
1966 Casino Royale
1967
Frankenstein Created Woman
Mad Monster Party?
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
1969 The Horror of Frankenstein
1970 Lady Frankenstein
1971 Mad Mad Mad Monsters
1972
Frankenstein '80
Flesh for Frankenstein
1973
Blackenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein: The True Story
The Spirit of the Beehive
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
1974
Young Frankenstein
Terror of Frankenstein
1976
Frankenstein
1984
The Bride
1985
Fracchia vs. Dracula
The Monster Squad
1987
Frankenstein General Hospital
1988
Rowing with the Wind
Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf
Frankenstein Unbound
1990
Frankenhooker
Frankenstein
1992
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
1994
Monster Mash
1995
House of Frankenstein
1997
The Creeps
Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein
1999
Rock 'N Roll Frankenstein
Van Helsing
2004
Frankenstein
Igor
2008
House of the Wolf Man
2009
Stan Helsing
Frankenweenie
2012
Hotel Transylvania
Frankenstein's Army
2013 I, Frankenstein
2014 Frankenstein
2015
Frankenstein vs. The Mummy
Hotel Transylvania 2
Victor Frankenstein
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation2018
Depraved
2019
Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein (short film)

Frankenstein is an iconic film and story. In the middle ages science was denounced as sorcery in sorts and the church forbade human research and experimentation. Not so with Doctor Frankenstein. He manages to piece together a being and bring him to life with electricty. The creation is akin to a devoted dog to his creator who tries to push him away and the monster not realizing his appearance until he stares into a mirror to realize abject horror of his looks. It is a human story of coming to terms with separation from your parent and growing as yourself and the fear others have of your looks. The story is as varied as it is retold and is timeless and one to which we can all relate in varying ways.
Dracula is a film even more timeless as are vampire films starting in 1920. A full list is at the link. Dracula was the nick name givin to a transylvanian aristocrat called vlad. His father was called Dracul or the Dragon or Devil in Romainian. Transylvania which covered part of Romania in the 1500s was constantly fending off attacks from the the Turks of the Ottoman empire. Vlad Who was known to impale his victims hence vlad the impaler (Vlad Tepes.) His rule was as blooy as was the defense of his homeland from constant invasion. His infamy was gained from his excessive use of impaling which had literally stopped advances from the stench of rotting corpses. He ruled until 1476 45 years after his birth. His corpse was believed to have been found in 1931 but the skeleton mysteriously disappeared. The evil and the spritual are all theemes the echo throughout all of the vampire films and are themes many cope with daily which allows so many to identify with both the villain and the hero. Some could argu Dracula is the origin of Gothic horror.

28 days later 2002
28 months later

28 days later was inspired by the mad cow disease epidemic and follows a man as he wakes up in a hospital room after recovering from a bicycle accident involving a vehicle. The follow up film follows him 28 months later as society tries to rebuild and things repeat. It is a much more personalized and relateable zombie film that many can relate to with all of the bioweapons terrorism going on in the news.

Blair Witch project 1999
This was supposedly to be a real life documentary of students searchin a local myth and they disappear only leaving footage behind. It all turns out to be a hoax for more interest but the public interest made it a good horror film none the less.

alien 1979
aliens cartoon (1980s never aired)
terminator 1984
aliens 1986
predator 1987
predator 2 1990
terminator 2 1991
alien3 1992
alien resurrection 1997
termnator 3 rise of the machines 2003
aliens vs predator 2004
aliens vs predator: requiem 2007
terminator salvation 2009
predators 2010
prometheus 2012
terminator genisys 2015
alien covenane 2017
the predator 2018
terminator dark fate 2019
Aliens Cartoon (2016ish halted because of fox buyout)
(Scott Ridley persists with rumors of another film in the works)
Comics and Novels exist for all of these along with some games and all build on the universe and mythos though not all fit properly together in the same universe...

These films hold a special place to me and are among my favorite films. Aliens, terminator, and predator are all linked in comics, novels, and films. Dutch who survived predator got put on ice supposedly and ended up being the template for the terminators. Cyberdine Systems got renamed to hyperdine systems (Burke's employer in Aliens). Weyland Yutani was the group trying to capture the predator in predator 2, Aliens versus predatorP Requiem shows WY getting the weapon at the end to a miss Weyland. In Alien it was always theorized the company knew about the organism and wanted to capture it. In aliens an Alien3 that was also a question, but Ripley always threw a monkey wrench into things and defeated them. James Cameron visualized one of the best sequels of all time with Aliens and created a world and technology that is only now being replicated. Even the AI aspect in terminator is only coming to reality now along with the whole cybernetics and robitics aspect actually becoming possible. Predator was one of the most classic flims as it went from a military film to a horror survival film out of nowhere. Much like how Psycho surprised us by killing the lead character in the beginning. AVP was all about the hunt as was predator 2 and AVP:R. But all three were great films on their own merits in many ways. Predators was another great example of a survival horror, but many feel it could stand to have a sequel.

The horror survival and the showdown with the bad enemy by the female heroine were both exemplified and glorified int he ALien and Terminator franchises and that struggle has set them both as franchices to hopefully stand the test of time as they keep coming out with releases every few years as the fan base is so large.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Me, I just enjoy a form of entertainment where good fights evil and generally wins. Unlike real life, where evil all too often wins.

Well actually the following franchises, the following villains would get off scott free today were they to exist in real life:
Friday the 13th
Halloween
Hellraiser
Nightmare on ElmStreet
Dracula
Frankenstein
 

Meadowlark

Has No Life - Lives on TB
If you want to know how bad mental assylums can be, watch the documentary called the Titticut Follies.

The patients were treated horribly and you are left with the impression that funny farms are roach motels. You go in and never come out again.
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Well actually the following franchises, the following villains would get off scott free today were they to exist in real life:
Friday the 13th
Halloween
Hellraiser
Nightmare on ElmStreet
Dracula
Frankenstein

Mass murderers like Voorhees and Myers would assuredly be locked up, assuming you could actually GET Voorhees locked up. It might be possible but you'd need several tons of chain and a motorized flatbed with crane to carry him where you needed him to go. "Jason X" assumed he could be cryogenically frozen, so that may be an opportunity. Myers actually WAS locked up for a while, but his holding cell was mysteriously blown up. I think that was done by the Cult of Thorn that was following him around in the later films trying to give them some continuity.

Krueger was set on fire by the Springwood parents.

Pinhead is already in a state of eternal suffering but apparently he's come around to enjoying it somehow? I'm not sure how Barker planned for that to work and the whole series is vile anyway.

Frankenstein is a case of grave desecration, so the doctor would probably get a misdemeanor fine and the monster would be studied in a government lab.

Dracula, well...assuming he's not hauled up on murder charges and escapes the trial via a mist form or as a bat, he might get locked up in a mental hospital somewhere.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Mass murderers like Voorhees and Myers would assuredly be locked up, assuming you could actually GET Voorhees locked up. It might be possible but you'd need several tons of chain and a motorized flatbed with crane to carry him where you needed him to go. "Jason X" assumed he could be cryogenically frozen, so that may be an opportunity. Myers actually WAS locked up for a while, but his holding cell was mysteriously blown up. I think that was done by the Cult of Thorn that was following him around in the later films trying to give them some continuity.

Krueger was set on fire by the Springwood parents.

Pinhead is already in a state of eternal suffering but apparently he's come around to enjoying it somehow? I'm not sure how Barker planned for that to work and the whole series is vile anyway.

Frankenstein is a case of grave desecration, so the doctor would probably get a misdemeanor fine and the monster would be studied in a government lab.

Dracula, well...assuming he's not hauled up on murder charges and escapes the trial via a mist form or as a bat, he might get locked up in a mental hospital somewhere.


In the case of Frakenstein the doctor would be recruited to a skunk works lab to replicate the work for weapons of war.

Krueger was set on fire be he went to exist on a separate plane of existence and never really died. Maybe Constantine or a priest would get called in to help?

Dracula would probably form his own cult following and become immune to things.

Jason and Michael would be a real toss up on what would happen...
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
In the case of Frakenstein the doctor would be recruited to a skunk works lab to replicate the work for weapons of war.

Krueger was set on fire be he went to exist on a separate plane of existence and never really died. Maybe Constantine or a priest would get called in to help?

Dracula would probably form his own cult following and become immune to things.

Jason and Michael would be a real toss up on what would happen...

Good points on Frankenstein and Krueger...those should be about right. Though the "dream demon" connection to Krueger is a bit shaky; a lot of people like to ignore the canon of the last few films.

Jason and Michael have been locked up before, which suggests they can be locked up again. Michael was actually locked up with close to conventional means, if it hadn't been for that jailbreak at the end of Halloween 5. Jason, meanwhile, takes a whole lot to lock up. I mean a LOT, too...first you have to actually bring him down long enough which requires some kind of catastrophic trauma event--chaining up beneath a lake, multiple direct head impacts, or sufficient small arms fire to reduce him to parts--and then a kind of secure lockup facility that will withstand his inevitable resurrection and attempts to escape.
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
I HATE horror films...

If I pay money, I want to laugh or see things explode.

I want horror, I look out the door.

Well, you can always get your horror cut with action. Some very good ones in that vein. Ever try "Eight Legged Freaks"? Giant spiders in that one. They blow up pretty nice. Anything in the "Resident Evil" vein. The "...of the Dead" set will give you explosions aplenty. "Land of the Dead" comes with a customized RV with roof-mounted rocket launchers.
 

Dozdoats

On TB every waking moment
Pretty much every human goes through life as either a Somebody's, an Everybody's or a Nobody's. Either you essentially belong to Somebody - or Everybody - or Nobody.

Humans generally do better as lifelong Somebody's. Somebody's baby, Somebody's kid, Somebody's girlfriend/boyfriend, Somebody's husband/wife, Somebody's mom/dad. etc. But Somebody's.

Everybody's don't really "belong" to anyone special, just whoever comes along and wants to give to them/take from them. That's a pretty tough way to live a life, but some people get through it and do reasonably well. Foster care, group homes, boarding school etc - all ways of being Everybody's. There are worse ways than those, too.

Nobody's for a variety of reasons fail to 'belong' to ANYONE consistently over time. There may be worse ways of being, but I am hard pressed to imagine them.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Good points on Frankenstein and Krueger...those should be about right. Though the "dream demon" connection to Krueger is a bit shaky; a lot of people like to ignore the canon of the last few films.

Jason and Michael have been locked up before, which suggests they can be locked up again. Michael was actually locked up with close to conventional means, if it hadn't been for that jailbreak at the end of Halloween 5. Jason, meanwhile, takes a whole lot to lock up. I mean a LOT, too...first you have to actually bring him down long enough which requires some kind of catastrophic trauma event--chaining up beneath a lake, multiple direct head impacts, or sufficient small arms fire to reduce him to parts--and then a kind of secure lockup facility that will withstand his inevitable resurrection and attempts to escape.

Actually on Jason and Michael I halfway thought, hell the government would figure out a way to apply mkultra type stuff and make them a some what controllable cannon and just drop him in insurgent areas. Going Jiha as he kills of the Jihadis so to speak. I could just see Amanda Waller struggling to figure out how to use them as assets...
 

Blacknarwhal

Let's Go Brandon!
Actually on Jason and Michael I halfway thought, hell the government would figure out a way to apply mkultra type stuff and make them a some what controllable cannon and just drop him in insurgent areas. Going Jiha as he kills of the Jihadis so to speak. I could just see Amanda Waller struggling to figure out how to use them as assets...

...actually, that'd probably make a pretty crackerjack way to bring the slasher genre back. Very "Cabin in the Woods" if you do it right.

Some undead juggernaut from the 1980s--you even come out and say "Isn't this the guy who turned all those campers to hash back in the 80s?"--and you weaponize him. Better yet, midway through, the whatever you use can burn out somehow--"What do you expect? We wired the chips to the most solid chunks of brain we could find! And THOSE had more holes in them than a sea sponge!" --and it runs amok somewhere, having to be brought down. You can even use different methods in the sequels.

...I'd rent that.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
...actually, that'd probably make a pretty crackerjack way to bring the slasher genre back. Very "Cabin in the Woods" if you do it right.

Some undead juggernaut from the 1980s--you even come out and say "Isn't this the guy who turned all those campers to hash back in the 80s?"--and you weaponize him. Better yet, midway through, the whatever you use can burn out somehow--"What do you expect? We wired the chips to the most solid chunks of brain we could find! And THOSE had more holes in them than a sea sponge!" --and it runs amok somewhere, having to be brought down. You can even use different methods in the sequels.

...I'd rent that.

Or there is a super evil A.I. and they need evil to defeat evil and the form the revengers, a super A-list team of evil villains to take on the A.I. as the evil forces are too unpredictable for the computer to see what is coming.

Even Neural networks have to sleep...
 

coalcracker

Veteran Member
I enjoyed the OP. Thanks, Knoxville's Joker.

The psychology of horror storylines is fascinating on many levels. Isn't it interesting how the villains in our lifetime have failed to take personal responsibility for their heinous crimes?
It's not their fault! There is always somebody else to blame. The felon is always somehow the victim.

In today's local newspaper, the courthouse news quoted a man who had violated his parole. After hearing he was going to jail for a few months, the man said, "Jail isn't helping me." Poor guy is convinced he is the victim.

We are living in a "blame others" culture. Personal responsibility has become an unknown concept; therefore, our movie villains must also have an excuse.

It would be refreshing to see a villain referred to as a rabid animal that had to be put down. As someone said earlier, "take out the trash."

In other words, Bates, Jason, Freddy etc. are all evil people WHO CHOSE to do evil things. No need to give them an excuse, or a reason. And that, my friends, is why I carry my Glock.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I enjoyed the OP. Thanks, Knoxville's Joker.

The psychology of horror storylines is fascinating on many levels. Isn't it interesting how the villains in our lifetime have failed to take personal responsibility for their heinous crimes?
It's not their fault! There is always somebody else to blame. The felon is always somehow the victim.

In today's local newspaper, the courthouse news quoted a man who had violated his parole. After hearing he was going to jail for a few months, the man said, "Jail isn't helping me." Poor guy is convinced he is the victim.

We are living in a "blame others" culture. Personal responsibility has become an unknown concept; therefore, our movie villains must also have an excuse.

It would be refreshing to see a villain referred to as a rabid animal that had to be put down. As someone said earlier, "take out the trash."

In other words, Bates, Jason, Freddy etc. are all evil people WHO CHOSE to do evil things. No need to give them an excuse, or a reason. And that, my friends, is why I carry my Glock.

With what you have said, this begs a better question. Are the horror films genre a contributing factor or reason for the blame others game? Or is the genre merely a personification of individuals that are representative of the ill members in society? Have horror films contributed to the volumes of psychology and a contributing factor to the current , blame others culture?

Ironically when you start digging into the original scripts and play writes, many of the villains and characters are representative of actual people the author had to deal with in real life. And a big reason why so many things are so very relatable and very personal.

Now I did leave out swaths of the genre and only tried to focus on the franchises that are centered around individuals and kind of the section of the genre focused more on gothic horror and are iconic. Not on things or the thing or aliens perse, OK, with hellraiser the whole center piece is a box, but that box represents a gateway, but the individuals past that door way are what the whole story is about...

Terminator/Aliens/Predator are very human centric stories and are all about the struggle of the man or woman against an unstoppable robotic force. But at the core and especially with Terminator, Alien, and Predator the stories are really about people, there just happens to be a killer robot and alien factor added to step up the thriller and horror factor several fold. The movies are works of art just with the physical special effects alone, and then you actually add a great plot, AND an awesome show down? But is there a whole relational matrix where skynet is the system and some people think that it is a system that is at fault? Or with the predator people just think people are out to hunt them and single them out when in fact it is their own actions causing them to get noticed and get hunted but such individuals are so indoctrinated they never see the problem for what it is, them and their actions? There are myriads of ways to spin the plots and literally twist them to apply to the modern day antics and many disturbing ways.

Last action hero actually dealt with your whole point where the villain said this reality is not like the movies, I do not get caught, I can get away with things. For a cheesy film parody comedy with Arnold, it was actually a pretty decent film that struggled with the conceptual bias of good and evil in movies versus reality.
 

Walrus Whisperer

Hope in chains...
I'll pass on the horror crap. I love the Christian end of the world films, watch tons of others that aren't horror. Presently am watching the entire Touched by an Angel series. Gonna take a while, only on disc 3 of the 1st box of dvds. And rats, it's not captioned. .
 

usmcpackrat

Veteran Member
Awesome post thanks!
Sci-fi and horror have always been among my favorite genre of movies to watch.
Tagged for additional review and reading in October........
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
BTTT, I am doing a minor rewrite as Michael myers was an actual mental patient. He died in his thirties in the sanitarium after killing multiple nurses and having black eyes(think possessed.)

And I did not even cover the Texas chainsaw massacre which was also based on true events...
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Halloween based on real life psych patient?
“This blank, pale emotionless face. Blackest eyes. The devil’s eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him and then another seven trying to keep him locked up, because I realized what was living behind that boys’ eyes was purely and simply evil.”
John Carpenter in “Halloween – A Cut Above the Rest”

It could be based on Stanley Stiers, who went on a killing spree in Iowa in the 1920s, Nurse switched babies with another couple unbeknownest to the family. Other family dies along with baby. Other family that lives treats stanley stiers like trash and after they have a daughter he snaps one halloween after being disallowed from trick or treating. He then kills everyone, even his bullies, and the story kind of gets weird and vauge as some say he did not exist, others say he did. Rumors that it was covered over as the government did not want things to come out.


John Carpenter does admit to seeing a 13 year oldish boy that had a blank stare and dark blank, black eyes at a psych ward when he was studying for his degree in college.


Violent psychiatric snaps from long term abuse are not unknown and it is possible everything was covered up as the story is something that would have shown the dark side of the medical community and the community itself that did not stop the abuse. Something in the 20s that did not need to come to light as a new story that would have run far given all the depression era stuff going on at the time and break of news takes would have made it nationa/international or one could posit that was the fear. Also worth noting is that in the 1920s Germany was perfectin the weaponization of psychology to controll the public at large so such a story would have also played negatively on many levels and the story could have been killed for some angle on that basis.


Texas Chainsaw massacre
The inspiration is said to be from an Ed Gein who was suspected of murdering several victims between 1954 and 1957. He had a face and head he wore and to contain his desire to be a woman he had a full woman suit with genetalia and breats he wore above his own. His activities were inspiration for the movies: Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Silence of the Lampbs, Psycho, Deranged, Ed and his Dead Mother, Child of God, and 3 on a meathook.

 

thompson

Certa Bonum Certamen
I'll pass on the horror crap. I love the Christian end of the world films, watch tons of others that aren't horror. Presently am watching the entire Touched by an Angel series. Gonna take a while, only on disc 3 of the 1st box of dvds. And rats, it's not captioned. .
I've never understood the attraction that other people have to them. Just never been my thing. :shr:
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I've never understood the attraction that other people have to them. Just never been my thing. :shr:

I think it is the variety folks miss in life that attracts them. THe mental health and real life story basis brings the curiosity factor. plus the gothic horror which is mostly what I tolerate is good versus evil that most relate to...
 

ainitfunny

Saved, to glorify God.
I don't like horror films.
And horror films based on real events are even MORE horrible. Not entertainment AT ALL.
How do people feel AFTER they see slasher/dismember/ horrific films especially when the perp commits suicide or is not caught?
 
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Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I don't like horror films.
And horror films based on real events are even MORE horrible. Not entertainment AT ALL.
How do people feel AFTER they see slasher/dismember/ horrific films especially when the perp commits suicide or is not caught?

In DCS world there is a saying: garbage in, garbage out. constant exposure to this stuff from a young age can create a less stable society as a whole. There have been links to broadcast TV and increased violence in society, but most of the information is anecdotal. Probably has to do with something about not wanting to kill money making industries.
 

Delta

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I found the history of sanitariums and orphanages in the OP very interesting and informative.
 

West

Senior
I think that for the past 40+ years of the ample and dominant zombie themes and their escapades of eating brains etc... is just conditioning for when it really happens.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I think that for the past 40+ years of the ample and dominant zombie themes and their escapades of eating brains etc... is just conditioning for when it really happens.

No the zombie or fugue states are a natural thing with folks in trances from schizophrenia and other mental disorders. Psychopharmaceuticals are now being overused but have allowed permanently deficient folks to actually function productively in society. The issue once you are institutionalized is that they dope you up so you are not a danger to them, others, and yourself. That is what causes the zombie stare and was most likely the inspiration for many zombie films.

However, voodoo medicine and the resurrection rituals in the caribbean were a much more recent source of fear.

Plus if you dig into the vampire genre. Sure you have Vlad the impaler. but most of the mythos was from a lack of understanding of being near death, comas, and what true death is. The fact that blood does not all harden after you die so your corpse could literally bleed. Most of the vampire genre was mere superstition from lack of scientific knowledge and understanding that we now understand quite well to a point. There is nothing to say that in 200 years we are practicing voodoo whitch medicine...
 

pauldingbabe

The Great Cat
Here is something to noodle for you.

In theory we are all vampires.

Humans are mammals in which we carry our young in a womb to gestational survivability.

Every 24-28 days, blood collects in the uterus forming and preparing for a zygote to attach to the uterine wall where the umbilical cord is established to pass nutrients and filter waste for the fetus to thrive.

So therefore we are indeed vampires.

That's a rough and dirty explanation. Doesn't mean it's not true.

How's that for a brain thumper?
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Here is something to noodle for you.

In theory we are all vampires.

Humans are mammals in which we carry our young in a womb to gestational survivability.

Every 24-28 days, blood collects in the uterus forming and preparing for a zygote to attach to the uterine wall where the umbilical cord is established to pass nutrients and filter waste for the fetus to thrive.

So therefore we are indeed vampires.

That's a rough and dirty explanation. Doesn't mean it's not true.

How's that for a brain thumper?

For some that requires some mental bleach. You are not wrong though.

How did mister Garrison put it in south park? I don't believe something that bleeds for a week and then lives to actually be alive...
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I redid the write up:

This is just a brief history of the medical field and things to help give a focus on what has contributed to the horror films and how we might identify with the characters.
Sanatariums as we know them today are more commonly associated with TB cases in the early 20th century before vaccines and antibiotics came into being. By the 1950s with vacccines and antibiotics in play most sanitariums were closed and many had already been demolished years before. Some that still stand are interests to urban explorers and ghost hunters. Some that had still stood were converted to psychiatric hospitals but most all of those are closed or torn down today.


Separately Psychiatric hospitals were established in the 1800s to help deal with individuals with acute mental illness. Initially the patients were put into rooms in isolation to protect other from them and their dangerous behaviors. In the 1900s there was a push to try a moral treatment of patients and rehabilitate them so that they can rejoin society by giving patients privilidges, meaningful work, and recreation.


Things changed over time (1890s or there abouts) and definitions and treatments to deal with the elderly and other undeisirable societal population elements caused them to also be forcibly admitted into the santariums by the 1890s. This created a funding paradox and some creative solutions such as placing nursing training schools in the same institutions so as to have cheaper staff to support the patient population.


By the 1950s nursing homes popped up to care for the elderly. new medications came into being that helped treat and even cuare some of the most long standing psychiatric problems.
The 1960s saw the beginning of modern EMS (ambulance drivers) to officially founded with the EMS Systems act of 1973. previously it was just the funeral home driving a hurst to the hospital to deliver patients.


In 1968 ATT announced the intention to establish 9-1-1 as the emergency doe throughout the United States. This was after some high profile deaths occured from out of town visitors that did not know the local phone number for the police.


A series of scandals that came out and published works basically called for the closure of almost all psychiatric hospitals. This was more or less done around 1960-1970. This was also the same time there arose a sex and drug epidemic world wide. Today 90% of the homeless possess mental health issues and with ample support mechanisms in place it is a choice to be homeless for more than a few days.


In 1970 Nixon signed the Controlled substances act and in 1971 declared the war on drugs which many now argue has been lost.
The HMO act of 1973 made it legal for a hospital to make a profit from healthcare. Prior to that all healthcare was done as a not for profit endeaviour, fundamentally changing the face of healthcare and leading to the rise of the healthcare insurance industry and the coming healthcare crisis of the coming decades.
In the 1700 and 1800s orphanages were created to house children whose parents were either killed in indian raids or whoose parents died in epidemics. around the 1900s progressive movements gave rise to the foster care system at the conclusion of World War 2. Orphanages more or less disappeared after the Georgia Tann scandal with the Tennessee Children's Home Society orphanage that kidnapped children and created illegal adoptions where thousands of children were adopted into prospective families. Tann died in 1950 before the state cold release its findings on her activities. She had most all paperwork destroyed surrounding the adoptions so the true number of children she was involved with may never be known.


The family court system in the united states was established in 1910 via the family court act (varies by name and state bus is generally under that or a similar name) and was established to deal with legal problems arising out of family relations and is a consolidation of severly types of courts dealing with narrower family problems such as children's and orphan's courts. This also got rolled into the juvile court system as well which focused on the needs of the child with a hand towards rehabilitation versus incarceration. As it stands right now anything in family or juvinile court disappears off of a persons record after they reach the age of 18 and below the age of 18 basically a person falls under a different set of much more lenient rules. This disparity of rules creates its own set of quirks with in the greater society at large with youth that were not receptive to help or received insufficient help during their developing years as they ran into issues and this issue has persisted throughout the decades.


The Child abuse and prevent act of 1974 exploded the foster care system. The Adoptions assistance and child wilfare act of 1980(AACWA) provided better fit for children's needs. A system which was modeled after the system put in place in nazi germany to place children with outstanding german citizens starting in the 1950s.


With the passage of the ACA (passed March 23 2010) it doubly hurt hospitals as things became a quagmire ore regulations changes and healthcare reimbursements and contract change with insuring entities. Plus there was the changover of hospital coding from ICD-9 to ICD-10 (implemented Oct 1 2015). When it was changed to ICD-9 (implemented in 1968) from ICD-8 there was a 5-10 year period that insurance companies figured every creative way to get out of paying medical entities. THey were prepared for that possibility this time around.


Now it gets even worse. Within the past 20 years, the City of New York closed 20 hospitals. This led to a health crisis of international notice during the COVID-19 epidemic. The same homeless and mentally and/or chronically ill patients are recurring visitors to hosptials and are not a recurring source of revenue for the hospital as most state and federal funds barely cover costs of such patience as they have no money and one can not squeeze blodd from a turnip. It also creates a catch-22 as any entity that receives federal or state funds can not refuse a patient in emergent need, and defining that emergent part and accurately diagnosing the issue without further endangering the patient's health is the stickler indeed.

Now all that said this made for some great material for horror movies and stories.


Michael Myers: Was he an autistic kid? Did he realize what he was doing was wrong? Did he have ill intent from the get go or was he ruled primarily through other means? Who was the inspiration for him? John Carpenter does admit to seeing a 13 year oldish boy that had a blank stare and dark blank, black eyes at a psych ward when he was studying for his degree in college. But really many argue it was Stanley Stiers, who went on a killing spree in Iowa in the 1920s, Nurse switched babies with another couple unbeknownest to the family. Other family dies along with baby. Other family that lives treats stanley stiers like trash and after they have a daughter he snaps one halloween after being disallowed from trick or treating. He then kills everyone, even his bullies, and the story kind of gets weird and vauge as some say he did not exist, others say he did. Rumors that it was covered over as the government did not want things to come out. Depending upon the source information you read the story is always different. Myth, legend, or fantasy? You decide.


Jason Vorhees: autistic kid Dies (or did he?) of drowning due to negligence of staff but then camp is closed and then has a curse or is haunted in some way. horror ensues. He proceeds to kill any of the counselors at the camp as it always tries to re-open. Was this revenge for lack of care? Was he unable to vocalize his frustrations? Did lack of socialization and a horrible mother create a monster that killed so many through so many movies? Was it his mother? What inspired the movie?


What was friday the 13th based on? Halloween (movie series) was said to be the inspiration in part for the movie series. Others argue that the Lake Bodom Murders on June 5 1960 were the inspiration where three teens were brutally stapped and bludgeoned to death while camping at lake bodom near espoo, finland. Nils Gustafsson was arrested in 2004 for the murders in 2004 but was later found not guilty. No one has been positively identified as the killer despite several confessions over the years and even more suspected murderers. Was it the two fishermen spotted in the area that night? Was it kiosk owner Karl Valdemar Gyllstrom with a bad temper and whoose wife confessed she believed he was the murder? Was it Pentti Soininen the violent criminal with his self confession of admission? Those events were chronicled in the 2016 film Lake Bodom


Freddy Kreuger's mother was a sanitarium nun who got pregnant after accidentally getting locked in a dangerous part of the asylum overnight and gave birth to him. The other children in the town as a kid always taunted him as the son of a thousand fathers. This touches on a unique aspect of the sanitariums before things were shut down it was common practice to sterilize patients upon entry as it was unwritten but known that shenannigans occured that could give rise to such circumstances. Freddy then grew up and had a child who was later taken away from him as it was discovered he was mutilating people and animals. He was chased to a the school where he disposed of the bodies in the boiler and burned to death but made a pact with some spirits that gave him the power to enter dreams of others and kill them in their dreams as he was being burned alive. He used this power to gain revenge upon those who had tormented him as a child and wronged him as an adult. The last film kind of painted him in a pedophile picture as he was using a child as a medium to go after the protagonist. He knew what he was doing was wrong or did he?... He was a creation and a monster that acted the way that those around him made him. Could he have turned out better had he gotten help and been removed completely from the town where everyone knew his family history? Do we need to ensure foster children are given more access and help with their mental health, could that have stopped him from becoming a monster?


But what really inspired Freddy Krueger?
In 1975 Laos became a communist country under Russian influence. In the 1970s and 1980s the LA times ran stories of unexplained night deaths of asian men. Of note were the deaths of the Hmong Laotian (Laos) refugees that died in their sleep (a total of 13 last being in 1978) with no identified causes and a speculation by coronors that it was nerve agent exposure. By the time the movie was released a 100 people had died of Asian Death Syndrome from several asian countries. The yellow rain incidents over Laos aafter the area was under communist control, were quickly dismissed by government agencies as a cause, but investigations and allegations were filed against the country for using nerve/chemical agents. The syndrome was later identified as a genetic defect, but many still speculate that nerve agents were the actual cause. The headlines from these cases were enough to give notice to Wes Craven to start the story for Freddy Krueger.
But where did the name come from? As a child Craven was bullied by a Fred Krug. What about the shirt? It was inspired from DC's plastic man. The claws? the claws of a bear. The hat? A drunk that scared Craven as a kid that would wake him as he walked down the side walk.


HellRaiser has many comics and novels further expanded the mythos and story line.
The whole story is around a puzzle box (lament configuration) that opens a gateway to a different dimention and gives access to the creatures three called the cenobites. Pinhead or Helllord is the leader of the labyrinth called hell and upon solving the puzzle box with the lament configuration access grants a request of the handler of the box. But really their purpose is to harvest human souls. The movies cover various aspects of mythos around the box, its creation, the family lineage of the cration and what pinhead ultimately wants to do after appearing to lament his creation and desiring to regain a human form and seek salvation only to later desire the form of the person he once was as a cenobite.
The appeal to the series is the carnal aspect of offer of otherworldly levels of pleasure as your soul is harvested and how evil has a way of turning on itself and those around it. An irony and evil that many can relate to in various ways. Hell Raiser is a creation of Clive Barker and other than some mentions of the candyman killer there is no real cites as to the inspiration for hellraiser.


This is a story of the Freeling family who moves in to a house that was built over a cave of cult followers that believed the end of the world was upon them. Through the daughters closet (Carol Anne) is a portal but they talk to her through the TV. The ghosts are under the control of a demon known as the Beast and the ghosts are attracted to Carol's life force believing she can lead them to the light and abduct her through her closet to accomplish this. A medium named Tangina Barrons and a group of parapsychologists eventually retrive her from the other side following a second attack by the beast that revealed the ghosts originated from an improperly relocated cemetary underneath the neighboorhood. The second film follows Carol Anne and adds an alternate explanation to the ghosts and the beast's origins. The Third film follows carol anne as she is relocated to skeptic relatives who live in a skyscraper as the ghosts attempt to contat her and abduct her again with Tangina rescuing her again. The actress who played Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) mysteriously died after the film and some of the other actors had as well. The 2015 reboot follows the same basic story as the first.
Many can identify with this story line as there are so many stories of haunted houses and many, many stories of improperly relocated cemetaries or cemetaries that were never relocated at all. A grim reminder that we need to respect our dead and study the history of the properties that we live upon. Inspiration for Poltergeist comes from the happenings of the Hermann Householde of Long Island New York with Popper the poltergeist who inhabited the house.


The plot centers around an archaeologist that became possessed and was later exorcised. The second follows the priest who investigates a priest killed during hte exorcism of Regan MacNeil and the church questions to possibility of the possession posthumously. The third one follows a detective from the first film who investigates a series of serial killings around the time of the Macneil exorcism. The fourth follows a WWII vet turned archaeologist into a dig and investigation on a seemingly perfectly preserved church the the evil surrounding it. The fifth follows a priest who hooks up with some arcaheologists seeking a church buried for centuries and helps the archaeologist battle the demon Pazuzu same demon referenced in the Exorcist. Possessions and evil entities have been a curiosity and obsession by many. Many can relate to seeing folks possessed and that evil exists. Exorcist makes it personal and you connect with the protrayls through the story as you wonder, was it a posession, or, something, else. Inspiration for the film series comes from the exorcism of Robbie Doe, who became possessed sometime after playing with an Ouja board, and the 1634 Loudon posessions.


The first surprise act murder of the star in a film shocked many and created the slasher subgenre. This touched upon the vulnerability of run aways and how much in danger they are. That appeal and ability to relate makes this such a stock film many can relate to and inspiration for many more films to follow. The Second film follows Norman Bates after his release from a mental institution 22 years later and is a road to insanity and a repeat of history. The third is a prequel of sorts that follows Norman as he becomes a psycho killer. The bates motel is the story of Normans Sanitarium room mate and how he has to deal with some insanity on the outside surrounding the bates hotel which he inherited. Psycho IV covers the creation of the monster Norman Bates and his alter ego Norma which does the killings. The 1998 reboot is a retelling of the original story. The TV series is loosly based on the novels and movies and covers the story of what made Norman crazy.
Many relate to Psycho as insanity is not always something that happens overnight. It is something that goes on for months, weeks, years, of abuse. Alternate personalities are a way of a mind to stay sane and deal with trauma and as the full story unfolds you almost feel sorry for the villain and what he became from the monsters that raised him. Ed Gien was the inspiration for Psycho.


Scream is a parody film that is credited with revitalizing the horror genre. Parodying many films and leaving not so many things untouched at all. We all can relate to it as the humor is as horrifying as it is entertaining. Scream was oroginally titled Scary Movie and was based loosley on the 1990 case of the Gainsville(Florida) Ripper case. Danny ROlling commited committed five college students in August 1990 and was so named the Gainseville Ripper and executed in Florida on october 25, 2006.


A story of flesh eating zombies and their containment. It was one of the most gross scenes that grossed out many and the effects still top any cgi you could do today arguably. Retold different ways. But a stock of horror. This film really started the zombie genre. The story made many think of how useful attics can be. But many can relate as some feel that hordes are out to get them and choose to hide from society to cope with things. Zombie films tend to be popular during downturns in the economy as it can be an allegory to hordes of people with issues though on the flipside in economic upturns, vampire and werefolf flims are popular. Romeros initial inspiration was I am Legend, aka Last man on earth he just added a flesh eating twist and literally spun a whole new genre inventing horror overnight.
 

Knoxville's Joker

Has No Life - Lives on TB
A story surrounding a psychotic narcissitic cannibal, Hannibul Lectur who was a psychologist tho served his victims to his guests and had as patients some of of the psychopaths on the rampage that FBI Agent(Jodie Foster) was trying to catch one that cross dressed and collected women's well moisturized skin. The allure to the whole story was how manipulative Hannibul was and how damaging and disturbing a narcisstic could be and the later is something that many can relate to as some have had to deal with similar individuals. And today social workers are still trying to figure out ways to handle narcisssitic and sociopathic parents that make it nigh impossible to figure out is the child OK? Ed Gien was the inspiration for Hannibul Lectar.


This is a slasher film centered around a man called the candyman who appears when his name is said three times in a mirror. The first movie follows a Student curious on the mythos. The second follows a teacher curious about the mythos and the third her daughter. A fourth set to be released to take place 28 years after events of the first film following another decendent of the candyman. Many can identify with the horror as following a myth has many led many to the edge of sanity as facts and fiction are few and many and far in between. And many more can identify with the fact that they have a horrible ancestor who did horrid things to people long ago and are as curious as they are disintered in learning the truth. The Candyman was inspired by serial Killer so named the Candyman killer dean corll who raped and murdered at least 28 boys and men in the early 1970s.


Jaws is an interesting story of a shark that will not stop bothering a resort town. The fourth film sees the same family eventually killing the shark on the bow of the boat after it was electrocuted. The interest in the sea and the dangrous unseen creatures beneath has been a subject of intrinsic interest for thousands of years. The deep sea is one of the last few unexplored, unexploited, and unmapped areas on this planet. We can all relate as we sometimes ask is that a dolphin or a shark? Inspiration for the film came from his experiences fishing for sharks as a child and the USS Indianapolis disaster where only 317 men survived out of a crew of 1196 men due to lack of life boats in shark infested waters and lack of survival supplies.


Frankenstein is an iconic film and story. In the middle ages science was denounced as sorcery in sorts and the church forbade human research and experimentation. Not so with Doctor Frankenstein. He manages to piece together a being and bring him to life with electricty. The creation is akin to a devoted dog to his creator who tries to push him away and the monster not realizing his appearance until he stares into a mirror to realize abject horror of his looks. It is a human story of coming to terms with separation from your parent and growing as yourself and the fear others have of your looks. The story is as varied as it is retold and is timeless and one to which we can all relate in varying ways.


Dracula is a film even more timeless as are vampire films starting in 1920. Dracula was the nick name givin to a transylvanian aristocrat called vlad. His father was called Dracul or the Dragon or Devil in Romainian. Transylvania which covered part of Romania in the 1500s was constantly fending off attacks from the the Turks of the Ottoman empire. Vlad Who was known to impale his victims hence vlad the impaler (Vlad Tepes.) His rule was as blooy as was the defense of his homeland from constant invasion. His infamy was gained from his excessive use of impaling which had literally stopped advances from the stench of rotting corpses. He ruled until 1476 45 years after his birth. His corpse was believed to have been found in 1931 but the skeleton mysteriously disappeared. The evil and the spritual are all theemes the echo throughout all of the vampire films and are themes many cope with daily which allows so many to identify with both the villain and the hero. Some could argu Dracula is the origin of Gothic horror.


28 days later was inspired by the mad cow disease epidemic and follows a man as he wakes up in a hospital room after recovering from a bicycle accident involving a vehicle. The follow up film follows him 28 months later as society tries to rebuild and things repeat. It is a much more personalized and relateable zombie film that many can relate to with all of the bioweapons terrorism going on in the news. The inspiration for the films was the mad cow epidemic that swept through europe.


The Blair Witch project released in 1999 was supposedly to be a real life documentary of students searchin a local myth and they disappear only leaving footage behind. It all turns out to be a hoax for more interest but the public interest made it a good horror film none the less. This was all a publicity stunt and movie release in the early days of the internet.

Alien was a creation of Dan Obannon and drew inspiration from his crohns disease as a child which makes one feel like they are giving birth to something when it acts up, and a desire to contradict typical horror genres after his failure of a comedy with dark star. He cast the main victims to be men that get impregnated by an alien with a desire to make men cross their legs. and again playing with stereotypes by casting the hero as a female that saves themselves without the help of men. Even the other woman was a transgender and ripley was the only female in the whole crew. The artwork and design of the alien and derelict ship was inspired from the night terrors and nightmares of HR Giger. Aliens was written by James Cameron and he went with the theme that this time it is war. Terminator was inspired by a dream Cameron had while sick with a fever in a cheap pensione in Rome in 1981 with an image of a chrome skeleton emerging from a fire. Note that during this time the height of the cold war and war with Russia seemed like an ever increasing possibility. The inspiration for the predator design came from a rastafarian warrier warrier painting in Joel Siler's office. The idea came out of a joke after Rocky IV that Rocky Balboa had run out of earthly opponents and would have to fight an alien if a fifth film were to be made and from that joke came inspiration for a screenplay written by Jim and John Thomas. Predator was also argued to set the stage for the manly men trend in action films going forward with a trend for more chisled actors, especially after the success of films such as Rocky, Commando, Rambo, and others.
 

QWERT123

Watching...
Very interesting, but littered with spelling mistakes and transposed letters, could use a good proof reader.
 

PghPanther

Has No Life - Lives on TB
The only film that ever scared me to near insanity happened to me at 4 years old in 1958 when I was all alone in the living room. My mother told me to sit down and watch TV and that she will be right outside in the front yard talking to our neighbor if I needed her.

Then after the end of "I Love Lucy" or something like that............this movie comes on........jaw dropped and frozen in place on the couch, I had no idea how to separate this from reality at that age which lasted through most of my grade school years.......

........and to some extend it seems I've been trying to work out those anxieties ever since.....

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Near the end of the movie I managed to get off the couch and drag my mother into the living room and asked her "what is is spooky thing on tv?"...............she saw a last shot of it and said......"why that is a dinosaur".........

....when I asked her what they were and found out they actually existed on earth at one time.............well that messed my head up for good.
 
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