A History of Horror: Conclusion

I'm not going to say that I've become some expert or aficionado when it comes to horror films. In fact, I still see myself as a fairly casual movie watcher in general. Part of the exercise of me doing this blog, as well as one of the purposes of "A History of Horror" movie marathon, is to be a more educated and considerate movie watcher. So with the conclusion of this movie marathon, I feel I have gained a better appreciation of horror movies. Different than the affinity I had before for them, but a stronger love for them now that I can appreciate the genre's beginnings and progressions to where horror movies are today. The biggest, most pleasant surprise was definitely the silent film, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The biggest disappointment was "The Bride of Frankenstein," especially when compared to its overwhelmingly positive reviews. I really like the slasher era of the 70s and 80s. Ridiculous movies that are meant to be ridiculous have a very special place in my heart. Ridiculous movies that aren't meant to be so have a very not-so-special place. Despite a few great ones in recent years, I'm not sure we'll ever see great horror movies like we saw from the 30s through the early 80s. But unlike other genres, a horror movie doesn't necessarily have to be horrific or scary or cause me to jump to be good. Proficient filmmaking in creating even subtle tension and emotional character interaction can lead to a good horror movie. I would never again try to watch so many movies in such a short amount of time (usually watching a movie six out of the seven days in a week, sometimes two movies a night) but I am definitely more excited about the genre as a whole. And I look forward to seeing where it will go in the future.