The video above is an ad I made for an article I wrote over on my horror website, HorrorFam.com, called “13 Memorable Horror Movie Food Scenes.”
Now, you might be thinking, “Oh, ho ho, Lauren. You said this list included the number one scene you have to look away from, but it’s about food. Clearly you’re just goofing on us.”
I most certainly wasn’t kidding. The first entry on my list is a scene I’ve had to look away from every time I’ve watched the film its in because it’s just too dang gross. The post overall, and that section in particular, was very difficult for me to write because I kept getting queasy. So, um, I’ll understand if you don’t want to read the whole thing… But I’d really appreciate it if you clicked over to the post and at least scrolled through (with your eyes closed if you gotta!) so that I can at least get a nice web traffic boost for my struggles. Thank you.
And I know you probably expected me to point to something bloody/gory as my number one “I had to look away” scene in a horror movie. I don’t blame you. Most people choose scenes like that. And there was a scene in a horror movie late last year that gave me a pretty gnarly PTSD flare-up because it was a bit too realistic in terms of gore effects and hit my brain in the “let’s remember a similar incident from our real life over-and-over for the next week!” section.
So, while I’m willing to share why most gore in horror movies doesn’t effect me adversely (leading to my number one “look away” scene to involve a tainted custard/pudding rather than an over-the-top kill), I’m going to have to give a “trigger warning” that – as I hint at in the article itself- the reason involves some real life traumas that’s not for people who can’t handle blood. So, if you’re one of those people, stop reading this post now because, while I think gore effects can be cathartic (goofy, gory movies like Evil Dead II and Dead Alive helped me laugh through a lot of IRL stuff that wasn’t nearly as hilarious), I also don’t want to cause YOU any unintentional harm. You know you best. Peace out if you gotta – I’ll still love ya!
Why I Don’t Need to Look Away from Most Gore Effects
I have a couple explanations for this: The first is that my parents were horror movie special FX artists, so pretty much from birth I was exposed to things like fake blood and rubber monsters. I was fully aware that most movie gore was just “corn syrup and latex” (as my bestie puts it) and that’s a big reason why fake gore doesn’t phase me: I’ve always known its fake.
And, for the bulk of my life (I’m currently 39 and a half), even the very BEST effects artists couldn’t get gore to look really real. Which, I feel, is part of what made it good. But I’ll get into that a bit more later on.
The other half of the equation is that, as I briefly mentioned in my article, by the time I got into the gory side of the horror genre, I’d already seen so much real-life blood that the movie blood was laughable – cathartic even! It made me feel stronger to know that I’d handled certain situations far more stoically than horror heroes like Ash Williams. (Now, as an adult rather than a judgmental teen, I’m more of an “everyone handles traumatic events differently” person – but my younger self needed to feel like I’d had a win and was Brave with a capital B).
When I was seven, my babysitter was chopping vegetables while crying (her husband had stormily left her earlier that same day) and she accidentally chopped off her index finger down to the first knuckle. I won’t go into describing it beyond that, but it was graphic, to say the least, and one of my first experiences with real life gore. It was a moment that, er, helped me define the line between reality and special FX. (It also made me have 32+ years and counting of anxiety whenever someone’s chopping produce!).
And, of course, longtime readers already know that my menstruations were ridiculously heavy. From when they started at age 12, right up until age 36 when my tumor-filled demon uterus had to be surgically removed. My heavy periods landed me in the hospital more than once in those 24 blood-soaked years. Iron deficiency was a constant struggle. My very last period lasted 404 days and included, on a few “stand out” days, clots the size of my palm. Again: real gore. And real trauma. As much as I want to help other women avoid having to go through what I did, uterus-wise, it’s difficult for me to talk about at length – so I just say what I can, whenever I’m able, even if it’s just one paragraph in a post primarily about horror films.
Last, in August 2014, was my suicide attempt. I won’t go into details on that either, but it was… extremely bloody. But it isn’t the blood that stuck with me, when I looked down at what I’d done to myself — it was the fat.
Which is why, last year, when my husband and I watched Saw X in theaters, I had to look away during a certain scene. The effects were too realistic. Too detailed in ways only those who’ve experienced real gore would know… Too, dare I say it, triggering.
I can’t help but admire the craftsmanship – there’s no denying that the special FX artists for the horror of today are massively talented. But, I also can’t help but think of Jeff Goldblum’s most famous rant in Jurassic Park about how they (in this case, FX artists and filmmakers) “were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
Personally, I don’t think more realistic gore effects are “better” in any way. In fact, as a horror fan so loyal to the genre that I created an entire website dedicated to it, I would say that gore effects that are too realistic are detrimental not only to the genre but its viewers. You’re going to turn away those new to the genre because they’re going to think that “this is what horror is” when it’s truly not (or, at least, it wasn’t – and I’d like for it to not be going forward). And you may lose fans who grow tired of having their cathartic escapism entertainment blending too seamlessly with the graphic memories of their own scarred realities. It goes from being a way to help and heal to being an antagonist who derives glee from poking open fragile wounds.
Also, I can’t help but think of tweens and teens — those at the perfect introductory age for horror — and how finding scary films that are appropriate for them becomes more difficult every year. And it makes me sad that girls going through insane puberty woes like I did might not have new films, with characters relatable to their generation, that can make them feel Brave with a capital B without giving them nightmares.
My therapist once told me that “the treatment you accept is the treatment that will continue.” Which is why I wanted to voice my concerns regarding realistic gore effects before it became a trend that continued. My husband and I went to see Abigail in theaters for our 5th wedding anniversary in April and it’s a very bloody, very gory movie… but the effects were still, clearly, effects. And I loved the film! It didn’t need absolute total realism — no film does. We have reality for that. Film needs to be something other.
I’d like to implore today’s horror filmmakers and FX artists to keep their gore looking just a lil fake. It doesn’t have to devolve back into the “poster paint” red blood from some of the old giallo films or anything like that, just don’t go too far. Because as much as I love horror, I love the audience even more.
Plus, I’d like to continue being a lil weirdo who only looks away from defiled food.
Speaking of which, if you made it this far, first I’d like to thank you. Second, I’d like to once again direct you to my most recent post over on HorrorFam.com: “13 Memorable Horror Movie Food Scenes.” It’s kinda gross, but I worked really hard on it.
As always, thanks for reading my rambles.
–Lauren*
0 comments