The Horror Crowd
My journey with horror has been a winding one. While my mom was fine showing me stuff like “Jaws” and “Creepshow” as a kid, when I expressed interest in slashers at 9 and 10, she was reluctant, but pulled back because she did not like how I became attached to telling my own stories about Jason coming back to life and killing people. That is fair, and I didn’t really seek out horror again until high school. As I started to watch just about everything that came out, horror was a natural part of that, including exploring classics of the genre. In 2002, I began my Month of the Macabre, namely because, I had a Hell of a lot of horror films to watch in my Netflix Queue. I’m not quite as aggressive with that as I used to be, but I always try to make room for horror films- and discussion of horror, every October on the podcast.
I share my own history with horror because Ruben Pla’s documentary, “The Horror Crowd,” is basically 90 minutes of filmmakers, actors, and writers sharing their histories with the genre. The movies they watched that were formative, the filmmakers and writers that inspired them, and then, their own attempts at the genre. Among those who are interviewed include: Lin Shaye (“Insidious”), Darren Lynn Bousman (the “Saw” franchise), Russell Mulcahy (“Razorback”), Ernest Dickerson (“Demon Knight”), Clare Kramer (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Oren Peli (“Paranormal Activity”). It’s a very laid back affair, with Pla just wanting to get together with people and talk about horror, and the horror community that has everyone’s back.
As you know if you’ve followed me on here, I’ve attended the Renegade Film Festival (formerly the Women in Horror Film Festival) the past two years it has gone on. One of the things I’ve loved about that festival is how much of a community it fosters between filmmakers, fans, organizers and critics. Partially because it’s all in one place, if people aren’t watching films they’re in the lobby talking to each other, and it’s honestly invigorating to be in the middle of. “The Horror Crowd” reminded me of that in the best way, as Pla breaks down- with his subjects- the appeal of horror, the reason for its enduring popularity, and the different ways the genre can be bent into other stories and ideas. I don’t know that I would say I learned much more about the genre than I already knew, but I appreciated it as a 90-minute hangout documentary of people just enjoying discussing something they love. Ultimately, that’s the appeal of any documentary about the larger appeal of film- you want to hear from people with a passion for watching the art form, and why they love it. “The Horror Crowd” provides that.
