Lately, I have been watching really bad movies, especially horror movies. I am not really sure what brought this on, as I have never liked horror movies before. I like watching good movies usually like Heat, Goodfellas, Fight Club, movies which feature impressive production, a talented cast, and legendary directors. Lately, I do not even recognize the actors or director, the production is poor, and story is pretty shoddy. If there’s a movie with a demon baby, ghosts, killer on the loose, curses, haunting, aliens, zombie viruses, I am all over it. I have pretty much seen every horror film on Netflix at this point, watching at least 200 or so movies in the last few months. Just today, I was scouring the selection of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, but couldn't find a new one to watch.
So why the sudden change? Why do I enjoy watching terrible horror movies? I have a few theories….
I have always been really into movies and cinema. I have seen pretty much everything, and a lot of the greats time and time again. And they don’t seem to make as many good movies anymore in my opinion. I think I been watching the worst possible ones so I could lower my expectations and standards, so that I can enjoy mediocre movies more that are coming out now. It didn’t work though. I really have not been enjoying many movies at all anymore, and just try to hunt for more bad ones. Which leads me to my second theory….
I have become busy with a lot of things in the last year..work, side jobs, running, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Steemit, crypto, sailing, reading, just to name the main ones as well as everyday stuff. Even if I found a good movie, I would probably be too busy with other things to really enjoy it with my undivided attention. I prefer these terrible movies because they are non-committal, silly, and just something to have on in the background.
Netflix, technology, and my current undertakings have drastically changed how I and I believe many others experience entertainment. 50 years ago, you had to go a theater to enjoy a film and it seemed like it was a special event where your undivided attention was honed in on what you were watching. Even when VHS and DVD came onto the scene, I would put a movie in when I had decided that it was time for a movie. Nowadays, we have movies “on tap” (sorry, I had to throw in at least one beer reference). There are movies and shows on the whole time I am home, but I just watch bits and pieces as I am moving about, on my phone, or reading and writing.
I am not complaining, but it’s weird how you never really sense a change until you have a moment of clarity after-the-fact. I have never liked these kind of movies and always strived to watch only the good ones, but now I find myself craving pure horror schlock! The cheesier and weirder the better!
Here are a few prime examples of what I have been watching:
It Follows: A movie about a sexually-transmitted curse. Once you get it, these ghosts follow you and kill you, unless you pass it onto someone else…
Friend Request:
An outcast who feels slighted by the popular girl, gets inside of Facebook, and attacks her Facebook friends.
Final Destination:
A classic. I watched all 5 of them. Premise of all of them is simple: Someone has a vision of a terrible accident, prevents the accident and saves people, but Death comes to collect all the survivors one-by-one with freak accidents.
This really is the tip of the iceberg, I have watched many more and much worse. These are just some of the top of my head.
I hope you enjoyed this post, please follow and/or upvote. If you have any similar experiences or suggestions on how to break the curse, let me know!