By : Jamie Santamore
DISCLAIMER : This blog discusses a very controversial topic therefore I want to make the following statement before you read this blog . The views expressed in this blog are MY views and are in no way, shape or form the views of anyone else associated with Wicked Carnival Productions.
DISCLAIMER : This blog discusses a very controversial topic therefore I want to make the following statement before you read this blog . The views expressed in this blog are MY views and are in no way, shape or form the views of anyone else associated with Wicked Carnival Productions.
I won't be talking about every film in the history of slashers but I will gloss over TCM, Halloween, Friday The 13th and A Nightmare On Elm Street widely considered the Godfather's of the genre. As well as the modern day Godfather Scream Franchise who changed the game and in my opinion SAVED the slasher genre. After I talk a little horror history I will give my thoughts on violence in film Because I have been asked about the subject many times by fans and I think it's time I put my point of view out into the world.
This issue like many others has many sides to it. I look at this question with history in mind lets look back at the start of the slasher horror films and for many the trail starts with 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (preceeded by Michael Powell's Peeping Tom and Hitchcock's Psycho in 1960) directed by Toby Hooper, this film too violence to a whole new level on film.
The level of blood, guts, gore and violence show in this film was like NOTHING anyone had ever seen before. This is one of those movies you either love or hate and the violence is usually the deciding factor and what I mean by that is those that don't like alot of violence, blood, gore etc. hate this movie and say it's a disgrace to film industry. those that enjoy the violence and all that goes with it love this movie and are the reasons it's a classic horror film .These films as the series went on grew in their level of violence, blood and gore.
The level of blood, guts, gore and violence show in this film was like NOTHING anyone had ever seen before. This is one of those movies you either love or hate and the violence is usually the deciding factor and what I mean by that is those that don't like alot of violence, blood, gore etc. hate this movie and say it's a disgrace to film industry. those that enjoy the violence and all that goes with it love this movie and are the reasons it's a classic horror film .These films as the series went on grew in their level of violence, blood and gore.
In 1978 John Carpenter released his film Halloween which compared to TCM was an episode of Bugs Bunny & Friends. Now that's not a slight on Halloween which is my favorite movie of all time. (in any genres
John Carpenter took a 180 degree approach to the level of violence, blood, guts and gore in Halloween and relied more on suspense and the "slow burn" of the story to create a masterpiece of a film.
That's not to say that there was pressure from the studio to make this type of film, this was the type of film John Carpenter always intended Halloween to be a more suspenseful and thought provoking film.
John Carpenter took a 180 degree approach to the level of violence, blood, guts and gore in Halloween and relied more on suspense and the "slow burn" of the story to create a masterpiece of a film.
That's not to say that there was pressure from the studio to make this type of film, this was the type of film John Carpenter always intended Halloween to be a more suspenseful and thought provoking film.
1980 rolled around and the train went off the rails again with the release of Sean S. Cunningham's Friday The 13th. This movie was a Bloody, Gorefest filled with messy kills and an unknown killer until the final scenes where the killer was revealed to be Mrs. Voorhees played by the very talented Betsy Palmer . (RIP) This was the first film to feature a female killer thus shutting down the boy club of slasher killers well until the finale of the film when Jason jumps out of the water to drag Alice into the lake.
These films also grew in violence, blood, gore etc. and they were changing with the culture of the time of the 80's.
These films also grew in violence, blood, gore etc. and they were changing with the culture of the time of the 80's.
1981 saw the first (of many) sequels with the Release of Halloween II directed by Rick Rosenthal, this was a drastic departure from the less is more approach that made Halloween so much different then other films of the time.
The blood and gore were through the roof and the violence was way over the top compared to the first film. This really took away from the story in some ways but didn't kill the momentum of the franchise (they would do that with Halloween III Season of the Witch) From this point on in the series they took the Friday The 13th approach with the violence and gore.
The blood and gore were through the roof and the violence was way over the top compared to the first film. This really took away from the story in some ways but didn't kill the momentum of the franchise (they would do that with Halloween III Season of the Witch) From this point on in the series they took the Friday The 13th approach with the violence and gore.
1984 saw the arrival of a new type of slasher that created another ICONIC character in Fred Krueger (later refered to as Freddy Krueger) what made killer different was he wasn't some escaped mental patient like Michael Myers or a crazy woman seeking revenge for her sons drowning or even a mongoloid seeking revenge for his mother's murder. Freddy was different in that he killed you in the one place you were supposed to be safe, your dreams ...
There was a ton of violence in the ANOES movies and I can understand it in the dream world you can see, do and create anything and I think it was around this time that violence in cinema really started to pick up steam in the media as well.
There was a ton of violence in the ANOES movies and I can understand it in the dream world you can see, do and create anything and I think it was around this time that violence in cinema really started to pick up steam in the media as well.
Scream came out in 1996 and not only changed the slasher game but SAVED it from death. Scream was a playful film that took all the tropes of the genre and made them part of the story. It was also a film that made reference to to the other giants of the genre.
The level of violence in this movie was intense and but made sense for the content and story of the film.
This series (even Scre4m) was a real game changer to the over all slasher genre. The story was amazing and for a change the violence made sense to the story and wasn't there just for the sake of having bloody kills. The killer had a clear motive and all the kills fit the motive..
The level of violence in this movie was intense and but made sense for the content and story of the film.
This series (even Scre4m) was a real game changer to the over all slasher genre. The story was amazing and for a change the violence made sense to the story and wasn't there just for the sake of having bloody kills. The killer had a clear motive and all the kills fit the motive..
Now that I have talked about these films and their many sequels I will give my thoughts on Violence in cinema ....
My Thoughts On Violence In Film ...
Like I said earlier violence in film isn't anything new to people and while it's not an exclusive point of contention to the horror / slasher genre. I think our genre is more often then not singled out by parent groups, critics and the powers that be, as well as the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)
As I stated above I feel around the time of the Friday The 13th sequels and the release of ANOES is the time when violence really came to the forefront with the MPAA and critics alike . The main factor being that the first Friday The 13th film in 1980 really slid under the radar in terms of the MPAA really paying attention to it so they progressively become harder on the horror genre to make up for their apparent lapse in judgement.
I don't believe for a single minute that movies, TV, Games, Music or any other form of entertainment make a person violent. I'm sorry but I don't. Look at this quote Scream "Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative" what this means is that movies don't turn a person into a serial killer however they make a serial killer more creative which I believe is true to a point. I will use myself as an example and while I'm not saying that this is the case for every single person on the planet this is who I am and where I came from .
Note : Yes I understand that the scream quote also means that people can take ideas from movies but I don't think the movie is the reason for their behavior or desire to commit a crime the individual had the thought and desire within themselves prior to watching any film however the film may have given them that final push in the wrong direction, thus the movie is not the sole reason for their crime like you would be lead to believe.
I grew up in an abusive broken home, my mother was married 3 times before I turned 11, I grew up in a house where you could catch an ass whoopin' for looking at my parents the wrong way, when I was a kid in my house drugs and drinking were the everyday normal behavior for my mom and dad and later on my mom's 2nd husband was an abusive drunk. I was sexually abused by a neighbor when I was a small kid, I was bullied all through school because I was one of the smaller kids, now I ask you does this type of upbringing makes for the perfect recipe for a serial killer am I one ? No ! I don't smoke, drink or do drugs because of my straightedge lifestyle. I have never and will never laid a hand on a woman because a man doesn't do that type of crap, self defense is one thing but flat out beating a woman, a real man doesn't do that I'm against any form of sexual abuse of a child and don't put those types of acts into my films.
Lets run down the list of things people talk about when they discuss violence in films. YES I write about gruesome murders, YES I write bloody scenes, YES I sit at my desk all day long and think of creative ways to kill people, YES if I did any of the violent acts I write about I would be arrested and locked away for life, YES I write violent material and I own that, I have never and will never shy away from the films I make. YES I listen to metal and rock music I Love Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ozzie Osbourne and Marilyn Manson. Again I pose the question do these choices make me a bad person or a serial killer ? No, of course it doesn't !! Going back to the Scream quote for a moment "Movies don't create psychos, Movie make psychos more creative" Now take a moment to think about that before you continue reading .....
I believe in most cases people are predisposed to violence, rage, anger and the desire to harm and/or kill people and I may well be wrong, I mean if you believe some of the stereotypes of the killers in these movies and the profile of most real life serial killers, I was destined to become a serial killer with my upbringing and yet I've never hurt anyone and I've never been in trouble with the law, ( I was in placed in handcuffs once by an officer but never arrested that's a different story for a different blog) never been to jail, hell I have never had a bad conversation with a Police Officer. (Chris you don't count) watching movies, playing video games and/or listening to music doesn't make you a bad person but that is what you are told by critics who oppose the music, films, TV shows and Video Games we enjoy when something horrible happens that is when these people get on their soap box and start preaching about violence in these mediums and how it's ruining our world and the lives of the people in it.
If Reality Doesn't Check You..... I Will !!
What it boils down to is instead of holding people accountable for their own actions the media, MPAA, Critics, Parent Groups etc. have to blame someone so why not blame movies, music, TV, Video games because the we simply can't blame the person who committed the act(s) of violence because that would make too much sense.
Movies, Music, TV, Games don't make us murdering psychopaths, bank robbers, rapists, or anything else and I really can't explain what does but in my opinion it's none of these things for the most part, again I could be wrong ..
As I stated above I feel around the time of the Friday The 13th sequels and the release of ANOES is the time when violence really came to the forefront with the MPAA and critics alike . The main factor being that the first Friday The 13th film in 1980 really slid under the radar in terms of the MPAA really paying attention to it so they progressively become harder on the horror genre to make up for their apparent lapse in judgement.
I don't believe for a single minute that movies, TV, Games, Music or any other form of entertainment make a person violent. I'm sorry but I don't. Look at this quote Scream "Movies don't create psychos, movies make psychos more creative" what this means is that movies don't turn a person into a serial killer however they make a serial killer more creative which I believe is true to a point. I will use myself as an example and while I'm not saying that this is the case for every single person on the planet this is who I am and where I came from .
Note : Yes I understand that the scream quote also means that people can take ideas from movies but I don't think the movie is the reason for their behavior or desire to commit a crime the individual had the thought and desire within themselves prior to watching any film however the film may have given them that final push in the wrong direction, thus the movie is not the sole reason for their crime like you would be lead to believe.
I grew up in an abusive broken home, my mother was married 3 times before I turned 11, I grew up in a house where you could catch an ass whoopin' for looking at my parents the wrong way, when I was a kid in my house drugs and drinking were the everyday normal behavior for my mom and dad and later on my mom's 2nd husband was an abusive drunk. I was sexually abused by a neighbor when I was a small kid, I was bullied all through school because I was one of the smaller kids, now I ask you does this type of upbringing makes for the perfect recipe for a serial killer am I one ? No ! I don't smoke, drink or do drugs because of my straightedge lifestyle. I have never and will never laid a hand on a woman because a man doesn't do that type of crap, self defense is one thing but flat out beating a woman, a real man doesn't do that I'm against any form of sexual abuse of a child and don't put those types of acts into my films.
Lets run down the list of things people talk about when they discuss violence in films. YES I write about gruesome murders, YES I write bloody scenes, YES I sit at my desk all day long and think of creative ways to kill people, YES if I did any of the violent acts I write about I would be arrested and locked away for life, YES I write violent material and I own that, I have never and will never shy away from the films I make. YES I listen to metal and rock music I Love Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Ozzie Osbourne and Marilyn Manson. Again I pose the question do these choices make me a bad person or a serial killer ? No, of course it doesn't !! Going back to the Scream quote for a moment "Movies don't create psychos, Movie make psychos more creative" Now take a moment to think about that before you continue reading .....
I believe in most cases people are predisposed to violence, rage, anger and the desire to harm and/or kill people and I may well be wrong, I mean if you believe some of the stereotypes of the killers in these movies and the profile of most real life serial killers, I was destined to become a serial killer with my upbringing and yet I've never hurt anyone and I've never been in trouble with the law, ( I was in placed in handcuffs once by an officer but never arrested that's a different story for a different blog) never been to jail, hell I have never had a bad conversation with a Police Officer. (Chris you don't count) watching movies, playing video games and/or listening to music doesn't make you a bad person but that is what you are told by critics who oppose the music, films, TV shows and Video Games we enjoy when something horrible happens that is when these people get on their soap box and start preaching about violence in these mediums and how it's ruining our world and the lives of the people in it.
If Reality Doesn't Check You..... I Will !!
What it boils down to is instead of holding people accountable for their own actions the media, MPAA, Critics, Parent Groups etc. have to blame someone so why not blame movies, music, TV, Video games because the we simply can't blame the person who committed the act(s) of violence because that would make too much sense.
Movies, Music, TV, Games don't make us murdering psychopaths, bank robbers, rapists, or anything else and I really can't explain what does but in my opinion it's none of these things for the most part, again I could be wrong ..
I would just like to say that this blog while talking about a subject that tends to get people anger, that isn't my intention at all, I'm not someone who looks to start trouble or create controversy at all. I'm simply trying to give the perspective of an Indie Film Maker and my view of the subject. While I know there have been horrible crimes committed in the name of films like Scream and Natural Born Killers as seen on the show Copycat Killers which airs on the Reelz Network (Check Your Local Listings) While I feel for the victims and their loved ones I refuse to believe that watching a movie even repeatedly (I have seen a Halloween over 100 times and have never got the urge to dawn the Myers mask and kill people) turned these people into killers overnight, they had the impulse to do this prior to seeing those films .
I feel these incidents are few and far between and really are a VERY small section of the murders that happen every day in this country if not the world. STOP blaming movie's music, TV, and video games and place the blame where it belongs that being the person or people who committed the horrible crime(s) ladies and gentlemen the person or people are the one(s) made the CHOICE to act on the idea NO ONE ELSE, You simply can't BLAME anyone or anything other then the person or people who committed the crimes in question.
For the most part I feel that the continual raising of the bar in terms of the level of violence, blood, gore etc. in films is reflective of the changing of the times back in 1974 Toby Hooper released The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and set the world on it's ear.
In 1978 John Carpenter did a 180 degree turn and made a suspenseful film that relied heavily on the story to carry it jump forward 2 years to 1980 and Friday The 13th and we were off to the races again with the rising level of blood, guts, gore and violence being elevated higher with every film in these series and many many more films of the time. Now in 2016 you have gore that doesn't even make fans flinch not even a little because we're so used to it because we are genre fans and have watched all the movies of our generation and for those of us that are genre nuts we watch the films that came out before our time.
The world has always been a scary place it's nothing that happened after the release of Peeping Tom, Psycho, TCM, Halloween o any other slasher film.
A great example would be Jack The Ripper one of the world most famous killers he did all his crimes without movies, TV, Music or video games and his crimes are still talked about to this day much like Jeffery Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, The Zodiac Killer, Son of Sam, Charles Manson or The Black Dahlia they have all become a part of pop culture . Which brings me to the Internet and how that creation has changed this world forever the advent of the internet and the ability to see literally EVERYTHING happening in the world at the touch of a button. We now see every horrible act taking place across the street or across the globe I'm not blaming the internet for ANY crimes committed, what I'm saying is now we SEE everything all the time unlike yesteryear when word traveled through postal mail, news papers, magazines and local and nation news that only aired three times a day (6 am noon and 6 pm)
Genre fans don't bat an eyelash at the level of violence in a film now a days it's the non fans, critics, media and parents groups and the MPAA (it's their job) complaining but folks it's really up to individual parents to decide what is appropriate for their children / young adults to watch, listen to, read, and play . Don't you think so ?
In Closing : I'm the proud father of three autistic children and while I don't face all the same pitfalls as parents of typically developing children I'm still hawkeye dad when it comes to what my kids watch, listen to & read . My oldest will be 15 at the end of summer so I know what his teenage mind thinks about, I was 15 once, surprisingly he's not interesting in girls or boys ( I don't care if my son were to be gay) at all and he has no interest in violent content other then Pokemon, Minecraft and stuff like that but he knows it's not real and it's all make believe. My other two kids like the classic stuff, my daughter is into My Little Pony, Barbie and Shopkins and my youngest boy is into all the ols school cartoons Snoopy, Tom & Jerry and Bugs Bunny and newer stuff like Spongebob and PJ Masks we watch cartoons together a lot .
Again I want to express that I'm not trying to start anything with ANYONE this is simply how I view the issue of violence in film. If you would like to discuss this further feel free to email me at wickedcarnivalproductions@gmail.com . I will gladly discuss this or any other movie related topic with anyone who would like to reach out to me.
STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :)
I feel these incidents are few and far between and really are a VERY small section of the murders that happen every day in this country if not the world. STOP blaming movie's music, TV, and video games and place the blame where it belongs that being the person or people who committed the horrible crime(s) ladies and gentlemen the person or people are the one(s) made the CHOICE to act on the idea NO ONE ELSE, You simply can't BLAME anyone or anything other then the person or people who committed the crimes in question.
For the most part I feel that the continual raising of the bar in terms of the level of violence, blood, gore etc. in films is reflective of the changing of the times back in 1974 Toby Hooper released The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and set the world on it's ear.
In 1978 John Carpenter did a 180 degree turn and made a suspenseful film that relied heavily on the story to carry it jump forward 2 years to 1980 and Friday The 13th and we were off to the races again with the rising level of blood, guts, gore and violence being elevated higher with every film in these series and many many more films of the time. Now in 2016 you have gore that doesn't even make fans flinch not even a little because we're so used to it because we are genre fans and have watched all the movies of our generation and for those of us that are genre nuts we watch the films that came out before our time.
The world has always been a scary place it's nothing that happened after the release of Peeping Tom, Psycho, TCM, Halloween o any other slasher film.
A great example would be Jack The Ripper one of the world most famous killers he did all his crimes without movies, TV, Music or video games and his crimes are still talked about to this day much like Jeffery Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, The Zodiac Killer, Son of Sam, Charles Manson or The Black Dahlia they have all become a part of pop culture . Which brings me to the Internet and how that creation has changed this world forever the advent of the internet and the ability to see literally EVERYTHING happening in the world at the touch of a button. We now see every horrible act taking place across the street or across the globe I'm not blaming the internet for ANY crimes committed, what I'm saying is now we SEE everything all the time unlike yesteryear when word traveled through postal mail, news papers, magazines and local and nation news that only aired three times a day (6 am noon and 6 pm)
Genre fans don't bat an eyelash at the level of violence in a film now a days it's the non fans, critics, media and parents groups and the MPAA (it's their job) complaining but folks it's really up to individual parents to decide what is appropriate for their children / young adults to watch, listen to, read, and play . Don't you think so ?
In Closing : I'm the proud father of three autistic children and while I don't face all the same pitfalls as parents of typically developing children I'm still hawkeye dad when it comes to what my kids watch, listen to & read . My oldest will be 15 at the end of summer so I know what his teenage mind thinks about, I was 15 once, surprisingly he's not interesting in girls or boys ( I don't care if my son were to be gay) at all and he has no interest in violent content other then Pokemon, Minecraft and stuff like that but he knows it's not real and it's all make believe. My other two kids like the classic stuff, my daughter is into My Little Pony, Barbie and Shopkins and my youngest boy is into all the ols school cartoons Snoopy, Tom & Jerry and Bugs Bunny and newer stuff like Spongebob and PJ Masks we watch cartoons together a lot .
Again I want to express that I'm not trying to start anything with ANYONE this is simply how I view the issue of violence in film. If you would like to discuss this further feel free to email me at wickedcarnivalproductions@gmail.com . I will gladly discuss this or any other movie related topic with anyone who would like to reach out to me.
STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :)
RSS Feed
