And about you? Tell me about you.

I like horror movies. They're a standing point in popular culture, that not only defines us as a society but should also make us feel a little bit bad for ourselves. See, we're just as fascinated by violence as we are disgusted and shocked. Sure a vast majority of us reel back in horror as we hear some guy has had a steak knife driven through his chest by his crazy ex-girlfriend but the moment some director recycles his past 5 movies but throws in a bit more topless blonds and a bit more bodily organs falling about the place, we lap it up. Horror directors realize this and in this they see a quick buck to be made. Ironically it's horror directors killing the genre, with most modern horrors falling into a steady pace of a a couple of jump scares, some scene where the hot actress gets her top off in anyway she can and a ton of blood flying about the place.

Take the 1999 Takashi Miike movie Audition. A female lead who's clothes remain firmly on, a drawn out sense of tension throughout; free of the 'silence, silence, silence, BOO!, oh thank god it was just my best friend' convention, and the majority of the film's violence contained in the later end of the movie. This tension and this eventful climax of violence make it all the more shocking. Now, I'm no guy to get shocked; you can put this down to numerous internet shock videos that have made the horror genre all the more redundant for me. But the violence in this film is so intense and so visceral, that it had even my attention. I won't detail it, words don't do it justice and anyway, I hope this blog post influences you to watch this movie, but lets just say you wont look at needles the same.

So now I ask- Do you agree with my views on the overabundance of violence and the lack of tension in horror movies? Or are you the polar opposite and find topless women and blood is all you need? Oh and do yourself a favor and watch Audition.

Cheers mates.