Scary Movies

Thinking back to when I was growing up in the 50s and 60s in the world of black and white television (often with horizontal hold problems), it was a wonder we were ever able to be frightened by the scary images we saw when compared to the technical realism that we see on screens today. Were we just more naive back then or are we more callused today?

I was talking recently with a contemporary that stated her entire family was nearly frightened to death every year when the Wizard of Oz was broadcast. Though they all knew how the story ends, as soon as those flying monkey came out, the family literally screamed every time. This woman tried to convey how frightening that scene was to her kids and they looked at her and said, “You must be joking!”

I recall my first time seeing the Monster from the Id on Forbidden Planet. I recall being frightened by The House of Wax, House on the Haunted Hill, Frankenstein, Wolfman, the Mummy and the Crawling Eye. In the theater there was "Wait Until Dark", where every theater totally darkened the house lights; exit signs included for the last seven minutes of the movie. These films pale in comparison to the horror films of today. Even Attack of the 50 Foot Woman was scary, but fortunately she was pretty hot and personal fantasies overpowered any fears that one might have.

There used to be magazines dedicated to the monster trade, Monster, Creep and a few more I don’t recall now. I think I can safely equate the movies I watched as a kid as something akin to a starter drug and the movies that come out today are like crack or heroine. The stuff we got off on back then is nothing like the stuff needed to get the masses off today. It's a wonder we haven't all been frightened to death.