Are They Really Horror Movies?

There are certain movies that always sort of get called horror movies, but aren’t really horror movies but people discuss them as if they were or weren’t horror movies. For example Alien. There really isn’t much to call this a horror movie. It takes place in space, involves a literal alien species that takes over a space ship. This is all typical and known sci-fi territory in every sense of the genre. Many times however it gets tossed into the horror section. Here for example Nerdist list as a space horror movie. I have had this argument with @torstenvblog for years actually. But realistically aside from “it scared some people” I have never gotten a real answer on how its a horror movie.

Another one I have heard, and made a list of 70 best horror movies is Jaws (1975) A thriller about a man-eating shark somehow quite often gets tossed into the horror movie category because simply, it scared people. What we really need is some sort of check list to decide this on. Is something being scary simply what decides it? Because plenty of horror movies didn’t scare me so are they no longer horror movies? Clearly being scary isn’t enough imply on the grounds of that being subjective. I also am not sure that simply having a monster won’t do it. Godzilla is a monster and nobody would call those monster movies.

Realistically I think we need to have a few things in place, for example there needs to be some sort of otherworldly or super force in play. Think werewolf or vampire or maybe Freddie/Jason sort of deal. A natural entity such as a shark or Alien alone doesn’t seem to be enough.

On the other side of things, a movie should also be making the attempt to be scary on some level, obvious exceptions are when something is trying to be funny or is clearly setting up something for later. Nobody expects horror movies to be scary constantly. Jaws was a suspenseful movie and had some jump scares, but the movie was never really designed to truly make you scared the same way most horror movies are.

Now I am not pretending to be an expect or to by any means simply dismiss new variations of the horror genre. In fact I love them, but this idea that anything that is scary equals horror movie makes very little sense to me. It is like saying anything that has a funny moment is a comedy which is something nobody ever says.

Anyway, I truly think it is time we recognize that movies like Jaws and Alien are great and classic movies, they simply are not horror movies. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Our Favorites Day 1, Nightmare On Elm Street.

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Nightmare on Elm Street Anyone that has followed the blog long-term knows how much I love the nightmare on else street Movies. This one is on the list because honestly not only did it start the whole thing, it is also one of my first horror movies. I don’t even remember who I saw it with. I just remember that first time seeing Fred Kruger and those claws, and the things he did in people’s dreams. Now I can’t recall if I was scared or not, but considering I laughed when Bambi’s mom got shot I doubt I was, but this movie sent me on a life long love of the genre. It isn’t the best horror movie, and it isn’t even the best movie you will see on the list this month, but it is quite possibly the reason this list even exist. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

October is Here

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October is here, and as you know this is kind of like  Savior Gaming Christmas for @torstenvblog and myself. Last year we focused on horror movies and books and such. This year we are doing something slightly different. For 31 days we will be talking about our 31 favorite horror movies. From the 1st though the 15th will be 15 of my favorites and from the 16th though the 30th will be @torstenvblog favorites, and Halloween night we will both discuss a movie that is Special to us both as a team. So as always thank you for joining us, may the gaming gods bring you glory, and let the scares begin.

Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

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Expected to arrive in October of 2019, the movie of Mr. Rogers starring Tom Hanks and this is the first look. I won’t lie, as I was scrolling around and saw this I actually thought it was just an old picture of the man himself. Granted it isn’t perfect but just scrolling though it’s a close match. I don’t know much about the biopic, but Rolling Stone has more. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods be your neighbor.

Fortnite Season 6

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Fortnite Season 6 is upon us, and as always it has brought a whole host of new things. The verge  has a more complete list, but this one includes many Halloween style items. It is also aptly named Darkness Rises. The new season also brings a haunted castle.

It is actually kind of strange, I first played Fortnite when it was free to play and well before it really took off. I didn’t much care for it then and I am not a huge fan now, it is just odd to see how huge it has become after these 6 seasons. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Telltale Games Facing Class Action Lawsuit

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It hasn’t really been a good week for Telltale games. First their doors get slammed shut and face a ton of backlash for the cancellation of many games and the reveal of their horrible management. Then it comes to light they haven’t always been nice to their employees. So much so that Gamespot and many others are now reporting they are being sued by a former employee in California. The claim is they were required to give 60 days notice prior to closing their doors and clearly failed to do so. If that is true this is a pretty open and shut case and would be more bad news for a financially destroyed company. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

DC Birds of Prey Release Date

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DC has tons of movies going on, seriously a ton. Aquaman,Wonder woman, another Joker movie the works. Now Birds Of Prey, which will at least see Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Not much else is known but we have plenty of time with the February 7th 2020. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Man Up (2015)

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Man Up is the story of a blind date that went wrong mostly because it involved the wrong people. More specifically the wrong woman. See when Jack (Simon Pegg) meets up with his blind date it turns out due to a weird coincidence he meets up with Nancy (Lake Bell) thinking she is his date, Jessica. Nancy is happy to let him think this however since she is surprised by how mice he is. The date is going great actually, that is until she is caught in the bathroom with a guy threatening to blackmail her by telling Jack the truth.

The story itself is pretty nice and is quite original, the problem is much of it is quite cliché. The ending, the date itself, the dance scene. It’s all quite been there done that in romantic comedies which is disappointing. Not that it was done badly, quite the opposite. Simon Pegg and Lake Bell play their roles well and worked well together. The script was also well written, my issue is simply that an original idea falling back on so many old tropes saddened me.

All that being said, I still suggest a fan of romantic comedies check the movie out. It’s still pretty above average and worth checking out at least once. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Child’s Play Creator Less Than Happy With New Chucky

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Recently the Child’s Play Reboot started filming. and creator Don Mancini doesn’t seem to happy. You can see his Twitter post by clicking the link. He isn’t the only one tho. The rumored new plot also seems quite odd. The origin story itself has been completely wiped and been replaced with a guy killing himself after reprogramming it. The odd part of this is the original line of movies will still be going on with Don. See one studio, MGM, holds the rights to the original movie. Universal owns the rights to the sequel. This is how the Reboot can happen while the sequel can keep going.

Personally I am not looking forward to the reboot, but the sequels haven’t exactly been great recently either. We shall see tho, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Witch 2015

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The Witch (2015) is an odd film for me. It involves a family on a farm who have lost a son and is being tormented by a witch. As the movie goes on this family in the 1600’s becomes more and more paranoid.

I won’t get into to many specifics on the movie or its story because honestly the fun of this movie is deeply dependent on not knowing much about the story itself, and I worry by telling you too much I will spoil the experience. The acting is well done and as a period piece it is actually one of the best I have ever seen. As far as I can tell most of not all of ti was filmed using natural lighting or at lighting for that time such as candles. The clothing choices also seem to do a very good job of matching that as well.

The sound of it all is also rather nice, with the actors doing a fair job at talking in an older dialect of English. I do however have a few issues with the movie. First off the movie can only sort of be called a horror or thriller movie since it rarely attempts to do either of those things. There also wasn’t too much excitement to be had. The story was interesting, and the last 20 minutes or so was great but I would have liked a little more.

The movie itself however is only worth watching for certain people. I don’t mind a slow-paced period piece so for me it was a pretty good movie. The story was interesting and the religious zealousness was pretty well done. However, for those looking for a fast paced and exciting horror movie, this is not what you are seeking. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.