I have dubbed this week as horror week. This is not a national holiday nor is it October but it is 6 days away from the Horror Hound horror convention that is coming to my home town September 7-9. So in anticipation of this show I thought it might be enjoyable to explore our favorite horror movie experiences and share with you at home.
My earliest memory of the horror movie genre was going to the local theater with my mother and seeing Poltergeist. It was 1982 which would have made me 6ish and I loved the film all the way up to the end with the coffins popping up through the houses floor. This scared the happy out of me and I remember having trouble sleeping for a couple of weeks afterwords. Even though I was young I could appreciate having a work of fiction affect my emotions and I loved it even though I was afraid of every bump in the night for a while. I can honestly say that is the first and last time a movie actually scared me.
The next horror film I can recall seeing shaped and changed my expectations of a horror film for the rest of my life. It was 1985 and a humid fall night if I remember it correctly. My father loaded up the cooler with sodas (in glass bottles) and snacks and we headed to the local ABC drive-in in Noblesville. I can’t remember the other movies playing but I remember staying up late to experience the slasher movie everyone (adult around me) was talking about. Nightmare on Elm Street was the late movie playing and it took everything I had to stay up to experience. My parents really expected me to be asleep (like I normally was) by the time the late film started but I made it. I look back now and realize how lucky I was to get to experience such a ground breaking film on its first run, at a drive-in, and sitting on top of the family van. To this day it is still my favorite horror movie and Freddy is my favorite movie monster. Robert Englund is without question my favorite horror movie actor and I own all the movies and use to collect everything Nightmare. Wes Craven created a masterpiece with this film that has never been trumped.
Now I know there are a lot more wonderful horror masterpieces out there but I felt it was best for me to share with you all my earliest experiences with the genre. I feel like I lucked into building a solid foundation for many titles to come and in the following days I plan to share a lot more and even get into doing some lists. Remember to check out our Facebook page as it will have even more tidbits for all to enjoy.
