Author: stevewood

When writing about horror films, no list is complete without John Carpenter’s 1978 independent horror film Halloween. The film has been credited as the first in a long line of slasher films (which were inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho) but unlike many of its imitators, Halloween contains little graphic violence and gore.

Much of the credit for the concept which would become Halloween, must go to its producer Irwin Yablans. He had the concept for a horror film about a psychotic killer that stalked babysitters. As Yablans would say in an interview with Fangoria magazine, “I was thinking [of] what would make sense in the horror genre, and what I wanted to do was make a picture that had the same impact as The Exorcist.” After viewing Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Yablans sought out its director John Carpenter to write and direct the film. Carpenter and his then-girlfriend Debra Hill began drafting a story originally titled The Babysitter Murders, but, as Carpenter told Entertainment Weekly, Yablans suggested setting the movie on Halloween night and naming it Halloween instead. (more…)

We like being scared and this is not a new phenomenon. As a culture, we seem to be craving these intense panic button experiences more and more. Why do we like being scared so much?

When we have the daylights frightened out of us our heart beats a little faster, we breathe a bit more intensely, perspire more and get butterflies in the pit of our stomachs. Experts know it’s not uncommon for people to want to push the envelope just to see just how much fear they can tolerate. There is a great sense of satisfaction when we can prove to ourselves we actually can handle more anxiety than we ever imagined we could. (more…)