There is a certain quirky eerieness about today, Friday the 13th. Strange superstitions and an overall scary aura surround every Friday the 13th, but especially this one, in October, just a few weeks before Halloween.
Today, much like Halloween, has developed a plethora of creepy superstitions.
And always there to support this growing creepiness is the famed and much-loved - as well as sometimes hated and avoided - horror film genre.
“I think the thing people like most about horror movies is the adrenaline rush they get from being scared, but still having that sense of safety,” said Jennifer White, director of the 2001 East Lansing Film Festival. “Personally, I like the surprises. It’s not really the raw blood and guts that scares, that mostly just ruins the suspense.
“A truly good horror movie has to be genuinely creepy. I liked ‘Psycho’ as well as ‘The Blair Witch Project.’ That movie freaked me out at the end.”
Many films have been added to this genre in the past few years. Some of these films,such as “The Sixth Sense” and “What Lies Beneath,” use more traditional horror techniques, while some, such as “The Blair Witch Project” and “Stir of Echoes,” innovate the growing genre. And there are also old standbys like “Halloween” and the “Friday the 13th” series.
And still to come, almost guaranteed to make the list of greats, are horror films such as “Lost Souls,” which stars Winona Ryder and is set to open today; “Book of Shadows: Blair Witch II,” spawned from the original, a film that broke practically every independent film box office record in the book; and the long-awaited “House of 1,000 Corpses,” a true horror film from musician-turned-filmmaker Rob Zombie.
But these aren’t the only movies waiting to come out and scare audiences. There are always more to come, if only for re-release. Just recently rereleased was one of the world’s best-known horror films: “The Exorcist.”
It’s films like these that make people in the audience bite their lips, cover their eyes, grab the person next to them, sit on the edge of their seats and most importantly - and to some most annoyingly - scream out loud in the middle of a crowded theater.
The history of this genre reads like a list of the scariest, most frightening stories ever told, going all the way back to the original vampire classic “Nosferatu” in 1922. The list, if the horror fan desired it to, could then move on to the lighter side of it with “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” in 1948, or get straight to the point with 1973’s “The Exorcist,” or build off of novels, such as 1994’s “Interview with the Vampire,” based on a novel of the same name by Anne Rice.
Either way, the terror is bound to be there, and as many movie-lovers tend to go for the thrill of fear, it’s no surprise that most have a favorite.
“My favorite horror movie is Stephen King’s ‘It,’” criminal justice sophomore Kristen Grzybowski said. “It gave me nightmares after I saw it the first time.”
It’s no surprise either that many share the same favorites. Some movies just have a certain effect on certain people.
“I’m afraid of clowns, so ‘It’ has got to be the scariest movie for me,” education freshman Tommy McGlinnen said. “But my favorite is probably ‘The Exorcist.’”
Forgetting about films like “The Exorcist” and “Night of the Living Dead” is practically blasphemy for horror-film buffs. But for most students, these aren’t the films that they remember.
When deciding on a favorite, many forego the classics for something a little more modern.
“I like newer horror movies like ‘Final Destination’ and ‘What Lies Beneath’ - mostly ones with more suspense than horror,” no-preference freshman Jamie Krebs said. “I think the older ones are cheesy.”
And many agree with Krebs; The horror genre in the last decade has turned some heads with some major changes.
“My favorite horror movie is ‘What Lies Beneath’ because it was not what I expected,” no-preference freshman Jenny Gabel said. “I didn’t think it was going to be so frightening. It had a lot of good twists.”
Trendsetters such as “Scream” and “The Sixth Sense” altered the genre forever, therefore altering the opinions of viewers.
“The scariest movie I have ever seen, which is probably my favorite, was ‘Scream,’” said Tim Winegar, a building construction management sophomore. “I saw it in an old, scary theater and that made it even worse.”
There is another side to the horror audience, though: There are some who don’t like the classics or the new-wave scary flicks.
“I watch most horror movies through my hands,” no-preference sophomore Kara Nygren said. “So I can’t really have a favorite.”
