Eulogy

I like movies. The first movie I ever saw in a movie theater, to my knowledge, was the original Star Wars. I also have memories of watching Jaws with my parents in a drive-in theater. The Jaws memory must predate Star Wars by two years, which means I was probably around two years old at the time. The only thing I really remember about Jaws was the opening credits and the beach scene. For all I know, I fell asleep in the car.

Nightmare fuel for ten year-old me.

Though I didn't really understand the concept of horror movies when I was two, and I certainly don't remember being scared by Jaws, I came to appreciate them more when I was in junior high school. The appreciation started with Alien, to be honest, but I'd dabbled in horror films before. I distinctly recall seeing a preview for John Carpenter's The Thing on HBO and begging my mom to let me stay up late so I could watch it. She relented and I stayed up, took the film in, and then raced to my room convinced that some extraterrestrial beast was going absorb me. That damn movie gave me the worst nightmares of my life for several weeks, but today it's one of my favorite movies of all time.

My father liked scary movies. He would often force my mother and I to go to the theater with him and sit through whatever film he wanted to see at the time. They weren't all scary, mind you, but they were the films he wanted to see, not the ones we were interested in. I remember sitting in a dilapidated Panamanian movie theater, with bats flying in front of the movie screen as The Manitou played. I think my mom eventually got sick of the movie and took me out to wait with her in the car while my dad remained in the theater and got his money's worth out of the film.

My mom hated scary movies, I know that for a fact. I was none too fond of them either at that young age, but it's not like I had much choice. My dad was pretty selfish about how our family outings were conducted. Sometimes I wonder if my dad's tastes have affected my own. They probably have, to be honest, as much as I'd prefer to disassociate myself from the man. Some of my tastes have come to be largely on their own, though, so I'm definitely not a carbon copy of him (thank God).

Once I was old enough, in the range of 12 or 13 I would imagine, I started to develop a taste for horror movies. I'm really not sure why, but it probably had something to do with my love of special effects. Plus, it's fun to be creeped out, especially when you're safe and cozy in your living room or tucked away inside a movie theater. You're removed from the action, separated by a fourth wall. You're being told a story through a medium that, at its best, can make even the toughest of us shed tears, or laugh, or experience relief or joy.

Anyway... this blog of mine. It might not last. I might give up on it. But then again, I might continue to write my little reviews here for a long while. It's mostly for me, mind you. A place to keep track of the horror films I've seen, which ones I've enjoyed, and which ones I probably should've avoided. But if you, dear reader, find it interesting or useful or entertaining, then it's like an added bonus. Don't be afraid to tell me so, too, if you feel so inclined.

Is this really an explanation of who I am? Probably not. I suppose you can learn something else from my Blogger profile, though I'll admit, it's a bit of a minimalist overview. Let's just say I'm a husband, a father, a writer, a game designer, and a gamer, and leave it at that. I used to be a frequent movie-goer, too, but the kids have put that on hold until further notice.

So yeah. That's that for now. Just do me a favor and check back every so often. If you read something here you like, let me know. If you want to comment or disagree or whatever, do that, too.

Gary