On the occasion of the opening of the new horror flick HERIDITARY, one of GEP’s favorite authors Jason Zimmerman (SHOCK VALUE) writes about a new era of horror in The New York Times.
From the article:
Moving into territory once the preserve of prestige dramas, horror has never been more bankable and celebrated than it is right now. And while evil clowns and serial killers at sorority houses still haunt young viewers (and make tons of money), we’re in the midst of a golden age of grown-up horror. Hushed and character-driven, this mix of indie fare and blockbusters works ferociously on adult anxieties in an age of dislocation.
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Part of the reason horror has long targeted young viewers is that it’s harder to scare adults. We have seen too much, including other scary movies. But that experience can be used against us. H.P. Lovecraft famously wrote that the strongest kind of fear was that of the unknown. But the older you get, the less unknown there is. Vampires, werewolves and zombies don’t frighten like they once did. But ghosts still do — when they remind us of what we have lost.
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