What is the world coming to: Horror Movies

(Disclaimer: I have not seen many of the movies mentioned in this blog myself, but have read about them or heard about them from others)

At the very outset itself, I would like to state that this particular blog entry is different from the prior ones.  Though I wish to dedicate this entire blog to my daughter and my experiences with her, I felt I can occasionally write on things that I feel about in general, and which may indirectly apply to my daughter or her life as well.  In fact, I think I will on and off write on topics that concern me and will all name them in a similar fashion so that it shows that these topics are distinct.

I realise it looks very weird that I start off this topic with 'horror movies', but I came across something these days what enraged me so much that I felt I had to write on it.  

Everyone likes a good scary movie at times.  Who hasn't felt the pleasure of spending a lazy afternoon on a couch with a good horror movie on?  And the more people are in the room, the merrier.  I have heard from my sister how she and our cousins have watched entire horror movies on mute only reading subtitles!!!  And yet we like watching them.  We like screaming when the 'monster' appears.  We fear along with the characters in the movie.  We wish the music was less ominous.  We wish people wouldn't stray away from their groups and become the villains next prey...etc.

During the times of my parents, horror movies constituted of movies like Jaws, Dracula, Frankenstein and so on.  Alfred Hitchcock and Jack Arnold were people who were masters of the genre and could provide a good scare.  These are considered classics even today.  Then when it came to my times, the genre slightly diversified and movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and the like came out.  Then came movies like I know what you did last Summer, Scream and so on and so forth.  There is a change in horror from what it used to be like to what it is now.  In fact, today's youngsters hardly find the classics to be scary...and vice-versa, grown-ups hardly find the horror movies of today worth watching.  This is still understandable.  

However, in recent years, I have found horror movies to have taken a completely new direction (ok, it used to be there before, but not so pronounced) that sickens me.  This subcategory of movies is known under the name 'torture porn'.  I guess the name speaks for itself.  Call my diction limited, but I have heard the term 'gore' only with respect to war movies before (and I think it was 'Saving Private Ryan' where I heard it for the first time).  But now, the term is lavishly used to describe these kind of horror movies.  I am not going into details regarding what is shown in which movie, as it might sound (sadly so) intriguing to some.  

I would like to say some things however.  I myself do not think that movies depicting torture should be labelled horror.  The victim in the movie might be experiencing abject horror, but that doesn't mean it is horror for the viewer.  The very term 'torture porn' explains that there are people among us who feel aroused and fascinated by these kinds of movies.  I have seen people who love these movies, and enjoy them, the more brutal the better.  I have heard of people searching for related games on computers where they can conduct torture on people in a fantasy set-up.  In olden days, people were on the side of the victims.  Now, the sadistic mind of the villain fascinates people.  And there is no lack of movies nor fans in this stream.

This has been going on for some time now, and I can still stomach this.  But I have recently come across an article sent to me by a friend about a movie that disgusted me to the core of my being.  In fact, when I even mentioned it to my colleague, she left my desk in disgust.  

I guess almost everyone knows what a 'centipede' is.  In simple terms, it is a worm with many legs (I know, I might be technically inaccurate here, but I guess my interpretation helps in getting the right picture).  The particular movie I am speaking about is called 'The Human Centipede'.  It's about a sadistic doctor who creates an 'Siamese triplet' by joining three people he kidnapped and joining them head to a**, with all three sharing one digestive tract.  The movie apparently is not very violent.  But the gore seems to be when the viewers imagine how these three people live after their have been conjoined, how they walk, how they conduct their bodily functions and so on.  

Is this horror?  Would this even appeal to those who love 'torture porn'?  I cannot think of anything but that this is sick.  What kind of 'normal' person would want to see this?  If you Google this movie, people are praising the 'vision' of the director, who already seems to be thinking of a sequel!!!  What kind of people watch these kinds of movies?  I know I wouldn't feel comfortable around people who support and enjoy this kind of 'entertainment'.  

If this is what movies are coming to, if this is the kind of fright people enjoy in future, I pity my child.  Ok, she always has a choice to stay away from such things...but I am talking about the general mentality.  If violence to this extend is seen as a means of entertainment and if people are insensitive towards it, it makes me wonder what people will be sensitive towards.  Movies can address issues...movies can inspire people...movies can provide lessons....movies can make one appreciate live....movies can be just fun....movies can temporarily take you out of your day-to-day life to a fantasy world...and that's what movies should do.  I just wish that people would take a conscious stand and avoid watching movies that degrade humanity and emotions and that glorify the evil that exists.   I firmly believe the world is in dire need of kindness and love today...more than ever.  If we could only provide the right ideals and examples to our kids, I guess our work on this planet is done.