Entertainment and Horror

Sarangholic

I just going to throw this out here, but as much as I love playing The Walking Dead, I think there is a fundamental limitation in regards to true horror. Part of this is from my interest in "Body Horror" genre (most iconically David Cronenberg) but basically, traditional horror has a limitation in the extent to which it deals with a danger extant outside of the body and psyche.

While zombies, and more importantly the post-apocalypstic insanity into which the main characters are thrust, gives the opportunity to address humanity in face of disaster, the ultimate fear exists outside the self (whether represented by the inhuman zombies or the rival 'other')

I wanted both to share this and to see what people thought, but It thought the far more compelling horror is the self against the self... Horror manifested as desire, or (again referring to Cronenberg) contamination or loss of self control... Anyway, here's my clip so... go discuss (btw, spoiler for Ingmar Bergman's 'Hour of the Wolf.' It's in my opinion one of the best films ever made, and this is among the last scenes...) Anyway, those unafraid of spoilers, watch ahead:

/watch?v=kE5vJKSeX5o

PuhChewyChomp

I wish I knew what you were talking about.

Sarangholic

Simply put, slasher films or even things like zombie films, the threat is almost always from the outside. Even in the case where it's 'will we retain our humanity faced with somebody like Negan,' the threat is ultimately a response to outside forces.

In a movie like David Cronenberg's 'The Fly' the fear is the transformation of the body itself, and in the case of Bergman mentioned above, it's the physical manifestation of personal desires. Another example is John Carpenter's 'The Thing,' in which the true fear is corruption of the body.

PuhChewyChomp

Well, I would say fear of returning as a zombie exists for the characters. I don't think it crosses over to the audience very well, but it's still there. I wouldn't count The Walking Dead in the horror genre though.

Sarangholic

I don't know, looks like this is become a discussion between us but that's cool ^_^ I just think it's differnet source of fear from some films like these. Admittedly I have a personal penchant, but in the risk of spoiling movies;

I compare with David Cronenberg's 'Scanners'
/watch?v=QD1NeuADd-s

Or 'The Fly' - I can't find a good clip, but it's a remake of the 1950's movie where the protagonist tries a teleportation experiment, but a fly gets in so the scientist has his DNA splice with that of a fly - in Cronenberg's version basically he comes more and more of a fly (1950's one starts out as the wife killing her husband and going back to explain the horrible experiment, the semenal moment being when the detective discovers a fly captured in a spider web with a human head and a human arm screaming 'help me, help me.'
End of 1950's: /watch?v=NzTGSKNjrp4

Basically, the 1980's version shifts on the transformation while the 1950's is the aftermath (oversimplified but la)

Or 'John Carpenter's 'The Thing'
/watch?v=hqVbOSEsJNo

Mixpack

I didn't understand much of what you said tbh, care to explain for someone with less experience in this? Btw that video was pretty creepy indeed

PuhChewyChomp

I've seen all of those films at some point, but I've seen The Thing more times than I can count. I can't really compare any of them to TWD, apples and oranges and such.

Sarangholic

Cool, they're really great movies. I understand it's apples and oranges and that's sort of my point. TWD exists both in the fear of zombies or an external force either threatening the physical wellbeing of the protagonists, whether actually eating them (in the case of zombies), killing them (zombies and other groups), or corrupting them mentally, the 'dehumanization' a lot of people talk about. I'm trying to say, I find horror connected to visceral desire or bodily functions to be far more interesting. I do enjoy The Walking Dead, I'm just saying that those films and topics interest me further. (to return to Hour of the Wolf, horror as the physical manifestation of sexual desire, even heteronormative)

InfiniteDawn

"I dunno know what the fuck you're saying, but I know it's bullshit!"
Sorry, had to say it. I know it's not bullshit, but it confuses the fuck out of me.