Horror has always been a way for filmmakers to make a quick buck on a low budget. I appreciate the existence of the genre, but I don't watch horror movies all that often. I always thought of Scream as a parody of a horror movie that ended up becoming a horror movie. They are great for a date night because they get the heart rate going and they make your date clutch at you in search of comfort :)
I'm always surprised to see Scream rank lists of the all-time greats! I agree with your general appraisal on horror, but I love the simplicity of it. Truly one of my favorite types of movies. Thanks for reading, Walter!
I’m 73. Maybe it’s my age, but I take a shower at least once a day, I can say in all honesty, I’m never in the shower, after all these years, Ido not think of “Psycho”
I so wanted to be scared by that movie and that scene, but I think more than any other genre, horror hinges on special effects, and that for younger viewers, these movies really struggle to hit the mark. Thanks for reading, Suki!
How many times have you solicited a woman’s reaction to Psycho?
I don’t need special effects to find Psycho scary, because it contains so much of what is terrifying to me in real life.
Think about what it’s like to be a woman traveling alone, and renting a motel room. The person she rents the room from violates the sanctity of that rented room with his own key, violates her privacy while she’s naked, and then violates her body - penetrating her repeatedly with a knife. It’s rape and murder in a single act.
There’s a reason the shower scene lives on in so many of our minds. While the specifics of Bates’ mental illness are the stuff of stories, the rape and murder of women is a daily, unchanging reality.
The fact that this woman is more vulnerable because of her own “moral failure” is part of the terror as well. Because we know that we will be judged, as victims of violence, for evidence of our own moral failures.
“Why did you wear that?” “She shouldn’t have been drinking.” “How long had she known him?”
If you don’t understand why people are scared by Psycho, I suggest that’s due to a failure of imagination on your part, not a failure of special effects.
In short, I really don't believe this is anything vaguely sexist on my part at all and my struggle to enjoy the Exorcist is rooted in the very same disconnect. Truthfully, what I can still enjoy about Psycho (it's my favorite of the three movies I've listed here) is a lot of what you describe. Those elements I can totally see the value in. And I also really enjoy the psychological horror component to it, and the twist at the end is amazing. It's been a little while since I wrote this one, but I think that I do at least give that movie some credit. I'd never call it terrible, just not one that's capable of really scaring me personally. And that's okay.
For me, the big failings of the movie are in the two scenes considered most iconic, and I think that hinges entirely on special effects. The climactic scene where we see that guy fall down the stairs just felt anything but convincing and was enough for a lot of the class to laugh out loud. The shower scene we each agreed was similarly unconvincing, and there were women in the class who shared that opinion. The overall discussion of the movie was positive, but our class was pretty much in agreement that many of the "big scares" just don't really land for modern viewers. It was in the societal commentary component that you mentioned and the twist at the end where it really hit the mark.
I am on Medium, and I appreciate the link - I’ll take a look!
I did see in another comment you said you’d watched these movies as a class. I’m not surprised that you didn’t find them scary under those conditions.
I watched The Exorcist in my 1st year of high school, in our English class! (We somehow conned the teacher into that one.)
At 14, in class, I found the pea soup scene more laughable than scary, too. It’s not the intended venue for a movie, in so many ways. We’re aware of others’ reactions, of the need to analyze and assess - rather than experience - the movie, and of the way our own reactions are being watched by those around us.
We experience ourselves watching a movie, rather than experiencing the movie.
I’d be interested to know what a survey of Gen Z viewers thought about Psycho, in particular, after seeing it in a theater, in a small group, or by themselves.
As far as The Exorcist goes… I think maybe you had to be there. That is, I think it was intense at the time it was released because it caught the zeitgeist of the time.
The Exorcist tapped into social fears about the changing relationships between adults and children, about discomfort around female puberty during a time of “sexual revolution,” and about the increasing number of young people turning away from churches and the traditional mores that went with that.
The Exorcist broke out of the usual horror audience demographic, as did Psycho. (Scream, not so much.) They were both wide commercial successes not because they were scary, per se, but because they responded to and amplified a sense of deep social anxiety.
I keep happening onto your articles, often disagreeing with you about some aspects of your take on a given topic, and enjoying the conversation that results from it. I’m hardly your target audience, but I enjoy reading your articles.
What sorts of pieces do you enjoy reading? I joke whenever asked about my "target audience." Whoever likes politics, film, philosophical screeds and the occasional Club Penguin-related satire? Hahaha. There are a few subjects I often return to, but there's not a whole lot that I don't enjoy writing about. I think a lot of the fun in the process for me, too, has been jumping erratically between subjects. I'm surprised people have been willing to subscribe to this nonsense hahaha (please don't feel insulted if that's you!)
I think you're very right about the class environment. That did take away a lot from Psycho. Exorcist I agree, too, is more of a "you had to be there" experience. I tried watching that one alone in the dark recently and it *just* was not cutting it for me hahaha. I can enjoy both of the other two quite a bit more than that one. Scream is a fun movie. But I've always been stumped by its inclusion on horror lists. It feels far more like an outright satire. And in that light, I can really appreciate it.
Curious to hear your thoughts on the other piece if you have the time! And nice to know you're on Medium, too!
I read about politics, and social justice issues. I *enjoy* reading about books, movies, and the cultural zeitgeist.
Scream will always have a piece of my heart - it was the gateway for my teen to get into horror movies. He got to explore the tropes while getting his feet wet in terms of “scary” movies.
He’s 18 now, and gulps down horror movies like I do. So that’s fun!
Have you read Stephen King’s nonfiction book on the horror genre, *Danse Macabre*? It’s worth reading. I see there’s a version just coming out on Audible; I’m hoping it’s the updated version I’ve been wanting him to do for years, but it might just be an abridged version of the original.
I enjoyed your piece on Medium. It struck me as being more fully developed than the Substack article.
I think both Medium and Substack, alongside independent podcasts, are the best things to happen to journalism in a few decades. Especially since all mainstream journalism is corporate owned and operated.
I couldn't disagree more, but you're entitled to that opinion! Certainly part of what determines whether a movie has aged well is whether it can still be widely appreciated by a more modern audience. In both the case of The Exorcist and Psycho, an entire class full of college-aged lit of film students struggled to restrain laughter at both during its "scariest" scenes. We didn't find nothing to appreciate, certainly, but we were in unanimous agreement as a class that these movies just don't hit the mark in the scare department in the way that movies like The Shining still can. That's an opinion, of course, but I've spoken with many many people my age who share it. I would have loved to be alive back when the Exorcist and Psycho could scare me in earnest, but sadly I was not. I'll always envy people who had that experience.
I do urge you to try again with both of them — without an audience and its tendency towards self-conscious derision — and, before going in, try to marinate yourself to the aesthetics and idiom of the period...say by watching some Billy Wilder or Truffaut before "Psycho," or by watching "The French Connection" or "Five Easy Pieces" before "The Exorcist."
Appreciate the recommendation! There are plenty of cases where I've been better at suspending disbelief. The Twilight Zone, for example, I think has aged terrifically. It's never a willing choice on my part to not like movies considered "greats"! Thanks for reading, Jordan.
"Twilight Zone" was an absolute class act — made with care and respect and without the slightest element of "slumming" or genre-contempt, by very serious people (starting with Serling) who took the show seriously and worked as hard as they could to craft their campfire tales into sophisticated social commentary.
If you haven't, I strongly recommend you get a hold of the high definition transfers of the show (whether streaming or by means of the excellent Blu-ray edition from a few years ago). The visuals and the music are particularly rich and accomplished.
If you want to enjoy Psycho, you should not have the expectation of seeing a regular horror movie. There are psychological dimensions that make the movie valuable, rather than the horror effects.
For me, the best horror aka scary movies have less to do with blood, violence, and gore, and are more about building tension coupled with shocking twists that catch the viewer off guard.
Those movies, especially Psycho, moved away from formulaic horror, e.g., Vincent Price movies or The Blob, and electrified audiences.
In the interim, fresher films have rendered Psycho et al formulaic. The next wave will render today’s movies formulaic.
By the way, I’m rewatching the twelve seasons of Murder She Wrote. It’s funny how often that show pokes fun at classic murder mysteries and horror. One even used the Psycho house as part of the plot.
Horror has always been a way for filmmakers to make a quick buck on a low budget. I appreciate the existence of the genre, but I don't watch horror movies all that often. I always thought of Scream as a parody of a horror movie that ended up becoming a horror movie. They are great for a date night because they get the heart rate going and they make your date clutch at you in search of comfort :)
I'm always surprised to see Scream rank lists of the all-time greats! I agree with your general appraisal on horror, but I love the simplicity of it. Truly one of my favorite types of movies. Thanks for reading, Walter!
I’m 73. Maybe it’s my age, but I take a shower at least once a day, I can say in all honesty, I’m never in the shower, after all these years, Ido not think of “Psycho”
I so wanted to be scared by that movie and that scene, but I think more than any other genre, horror hinges on special effects, and that for younger viewers, these movies really struggle to hit the mark. Thanks for reading, Suki!
How many times have you solicited a woman’s reaction to Psycho?
I don’t need special effects to find Psycho scary, because it contains so much of what is terrifying to me in real life.
Think about what it’s like to be a woman traveling alone, and renting a motel room. The person she rents the room from violates the sanctity of that rented room with his own key, violates her privacy while she’s naked, and then violates her body - penetrating her repeatedly with a knife. It’s rape and murder in a single act.
There’s a reason the shower scene lives on in so many of our minds. While the specifics of Bates’ mental illness are the stuff of stories, the rape and murder of women is a daily, unchanging reality.
The fact that this woman is more vulnerable because of her own “moral failure” is part of the terror as well. Because we know that we will be judged, as victims of violence, for evidence of our own moral failures.
“Why did you wear that?” “She shouldn’t have been drinking.” “How long had she known him?”
If you don’t understand why people are scared by Psycho, I suggest that’s due to a failure of imagination on your part, not a failure of special effects.
This is actually something I've thought quite a bit about and have written a whole piece on if you're willing to listen to me expand a little more! Are you already on Medium? https://medium.com/fan-fare/the-dilemma-of-the-modern-viewer-d8f2e20914c2 I can give you a friend read link if not.
In short, I really don't believe this is anything vaguely sexist on my part at all and my struggle to enjoy the Exorcist is rooted in the very same disconnect. Truthfully, what I can still enjoy about Psycho (it's my favorite of the three movies I've listed here) is a lot of what you describe. Those elements I can totally see the value in. And I also really enjoy the psychological horror component to it, and the twist at the end is amazing. It's been a little while since I wrote this one, but I think that I do at least give that movie some credit. I'd never call it terrible, just not one that's capable of really scaring me personally. And that's okay.
For me, the big failings of the movie are in the two scenes considered most iconic, and I think that hinges entirely on special effects. The climactic scene where we see that guy fall down the stairs just felt anything but convincing and was enough for a lot of the class to laugh out loud. The shower scene we each agreed was similarly unconvincing, and there were women in the class who shared that opinion. The overall discussion of the movie was positive, but our class was pretty much in agreement that many of the "big scares" just don't really land for modern viewers. It was in the societal commentary component that you mentioned and the twist at the end where it really hit the mark.
I am on Medium, and I appreciate the link - I’ll take a look!
I did see in another comment you said you’d watched these movies as a class. I’m not surprised that you didn’t find them scary under those conditions.
I watched The Exorcist in my 1st year of high school, in our English class! (We somehow conned the teacher into that one.)
At 14, in class, I found the pea soup scene more laughable than scary, too. It’s not the intended venue for a movie, in so many ways. We’re aware of others’ reactions, of the need to analyze and assess - rather than experience - the movie, and of the way our own reactions are being watched by those around us.
We experience ourselves watching a movie, rather than experiencing the movie.
I’d be interested to know what a survey of Gen Z viewers thought about Psycho, in particular, after seeing it in a theater, in a small group, or by themselves.
As far as The Exorcist goes… I think maybe you had to be there. That is, I think it was intense at the time it was released because it caught the zeitgeist of the time.
The Exorcist tapped into social fears about the changing relationships between adults and children, about discomfort around female puberty during a time of “sexual revolution,” and about the increasing number of young people turning away from churches and the traditional mores that went with that.
The Exorcist broke out of the usual horror audience demographic, as did Psycho. (Scream, not so much.) They were both wide commercial successes not because they were scary, per se, but because they responded to and amplified a sense of deep social anxiety.
I keep happening onto your articles, often disagreeing with you about some aspects of your take on a given topic, and enjoying the conversation that results from it. I’m hardly your target audience, but I enjoy reading your articles.
What sorts of pieces do you enjoy reading? I joke whenever asked about my "target audience." Whoever likes politics, film, philosophical screeds and the occasional Club Penguin-related satire? Hahaha. There are a few subjects I often return to, but there's not a whole lot that I don't enjoy writing about. I think a lot of the fun in the process for me, too, has been jumping erratically between subjects. I'm surprised people have been willing to subscribe to this nonsense hahaha (please don't feel insulted if that's you!)
I think you're very right about the class environment. That did take away a lot from Psycho. Exorcist I agree, too, is more of a "you had to be there" experience. I tried watching that one alone in the dark recently and it *just* was not cutting it for me hahaha. I can enjoy both of the other two quite a bit more than that one. Scream is a fun movie. But I've always been stumped by its inclusion on horror lists. It feels far more like an outright satire. And in that light, I can really appreciate it.
Curious to hear your thoughts on the other piece if you have the time! And nice to know you're on Medium, too!
I read about politics, and social justice issues. I *enjoy* reading about books, movies, and the cultural zeitgeist.
Scream will always have a piece of my heart - it was the gateway for my teen to get into horror movies. He got to explore the tropes while getting his feet wet in terms of “scary” movies.
He’s 18 now, and gulps down horror movies like I do. So that’s fun!
Have you read Stephen King’s nonfiction book on the horror genre, *Danse Macabre*? It’s worth reading. I see there’s a version just coming out on Audible; I’m hoping it’s the updated version I’ve been wanting him to do for years, but it might just be an abridged version of the original.
I enjoyed your piece on Medium. It struck me as being more fully developed than the Substack article.
I think both Medium and Substack, alongside independent podcasts, are the best things to happen to journalism in a few decades. Especially since all mainstream journalism is corporate owned and operated.
First, "Scream" has nothing to do with the other two.
Second, the other two are timeless masterpieces that have aged like fine wine.
I couldn't disagree more, but you're entitled to that opinion! Certainly part of what determines whether a movie has aged well is whether it can still be widely appreciated by a more modern audience. In both the case of The Exorcist and Psycho, an entire class full of college-aged lit of film students struggled to restrain laughter at both during its "scariest" scenes. We didn't find nothing to appreciate, certainly, but we were in unanimous agreement as a class that these movies just don't hit the mark in the scare department in the way that movies like The Shining still can. That's an opinion, of course, but I've spoken with many many people my age who share it. I would have loved to be alive back when the Exorcist and Psycho could scare me in earnest, but sadly I was not. I'll always envy people who had that experience.
Well, I can't ask for anything fairer than that.
I do urge you to try again with both of them — without an audience and its tendency towards self-conscious derision — and, before going in, try to marinate yourself to the aesthetics and idiom of the period...say by watching some Billy Wilder or Truffaut before "Psycho," or by watching "The French Connection" or "Five Easy Pieces" before "The Exorcist."
Appreciate the recommendation! There are plenty of cases where I've been better at suspending disbelief. The Twilight Zone, for example, I think has aged terrifically. It's never a willing choice on my part to not like movies considered "greats"! Thanks for reading, Jordan.
"Twilight Zone" was an absolute class act — made with care and respect and without the slightest element of "slumming" or genre-contempt, by very serious people (starting with Serling) who took the show seriously and worked as hard as they could to craft their campfire tales into sophisticated social commentary.
If you haven't, I strongly recommend you get a hold of the high definition transfers of the show (whether streaming or by means of the excellent Blu-ray edition from a few years ago). The visuals and the music are particularly rich and accomplished.
If you want to enjoy Psycho, you should not have the expectation of seeing a regular horror movie. There are psychological dimensions that make the movie valuable, rather than the horror effects.
For me, the best horror aka scary movies have less to do with blood, violence, and gore, and are more about building tension coupled with shocking twists that catch the viewer off guard.
Those movies, especially Psycho, moved away from formulaic horror, e.g., Vincent Price movies or The Blob, and electrified audiences.
In the interim, fresher films have rendered Psycho et al formulaic. The next wave will render today’s movies formulaic.
By the way, I’m rewatching the twelve seasons of Murder She Wrote. It’s funny how often that show pokes fun at classic murder mysteries and horror. One even used the Psycho house as part of the plot.