Horror Business

A Film Nerd's Mix Tape

Last night Christine and I found ourselves at Oriel in Chinatown for dinner. Over a bottle of Chateau Flotis Fronton Si Noire (one of my favorite cheap bottles that never disappoints) we found ourselves discussing horror movies. Apparently she has suddenly decided now is the time for her to start watching some of my favorites. As excited as I am to share this passion of mine, in the moment I felt a bit self-conscious. Where should I begin?

Do I introduce her to the weird fringe-y titles first? Or do I start with more traditional films that have been approved by the masses? I decided to treat this mission like I’d been chosen to teach an entry-level college course on the history of horror movies. My “syllabus” would include five titles across the entire spectrum that would give her a good idea of what the genre has to offer. When I was a sophomore in college I took a film class where we had to watch Jaws, The Great Escape, Blowup, The Conversation, and Walker. I used that class as my blueprint.

Then I enlisted my sister and Adam to help. They immediately responded with films like Hanger, Murder-Set-Pieces, A Serbian Film, and Grotesque. My sister’s friend Liz chimed in with her own list, which felt pretty close to my ideal: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Human Centipede, Inside, and Poltergeist. Christine has seen Texas Chainsaw and I tried to show her Inside, so I can’t include those on my list.

My first draft of the watchlist is: The Hills Have Eyes, Suspiria, Don’t Look Now, Possession, and The Exorcist. I’m still tweaking the list because maybe I can do better?

…I don’t know, how would you approach a mission like this?

Horror movies have been on my mind all day today, and interrupted my mixtape-in-progress. I shelved the theme I was going to explore this month and instead put this one together, which compiles songs that share titles with some of my favorite horror movies.