OPINION In Defense of the Horror Fandom
Contrary to what a certain reviewer claims, horror fans are an amazing community
Three days ago, Spiral: From the Book of Saw opened in US theaters, and director Darren Lynn Bousman took to Twitter to share some of his favorite reviews of the movie. He also screenshotted an excerpt of the New York Post’s review, to not give additional traffic to the outlet in light of the explicitly offensive statement featured in said review.
Specifically, this was the section Bousman – and multiple other horror personalities and fans online – took issue with: “Fans of these films — whom I so look forward to hearing from! — are depraved lunatics who should not be allowed near animals or most other living things. Their arguments in favor of the genre’s most egregious titles — they harness the beauty in the grotesque; they expose the animalistic underbelly of humanity — are total BS.”
The reviewer was referring specifically to the so-called “torture porn” subgenre, citing examples like Hostel, The Devil’s Rejects and, hilariously, Lars von Trier’s Antichrist. And yet, the phrasing is not that far removed from what one would say about the horror genre as a whole, and it is indeed what some have said about people who enjoy scary films.
Like most people I ran into online after Bousman denounced the review, I took exception to the characterization used by the writer: I consider myself a fan of the Saw movies (I even enjoy rewatching individual scenes from the entries I dislike), and I’m also the happy owner of two dogs. To suggest I would ever harm them – even in what appears to be hyperbolic jest – is appalling.
Furthermore, I found that review offensive from a professional standpoint, as one should never judge a movie based on its target audience (especially if you’ve made up said audience in your head). Granted, it was presumably an instance of professional trolling, but why go after the one movie fandom that is arguably harmless?
Online toxicity in the film community has produced multiple headlines over the past ten years or so, starting with Rotten Tomatoes electing to shut down its comment section after overly passionate fans of Christopher Nolan decided to threaten the handful of critics who gave The Dark Knight Rises a negative assessment.
The same site also eliminated the “Want to see” function after trolls started abusing it to post negative pre-release reviews for movies like Captain Marvel and Shazam! (in the latter case because star Zachary Levi openly asked people to stop harassing Brie Larson). The bad apples in the Star Wars fandom could fill an entire book, and Zack Snyder had to explicitly condemn the vocal minority of his admirers who resorted to personal attacks against the likes of Ava DuVernay, James Gunn, Patty Jenkins and Henry Cavill, among others.
The horror community is largely immune to this. In fact, it generally pushes back against toxicity: when the most recent Black Christmas remake was preemptively derided by some for being “woke”, fans of the original pointed out there were themes of female empowerment the first time around as well (the abortion subplot).
Similarly, when Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man came under fire from a contingent of male viewers for making the titular character the embodiment of toxic masculinity, horror fans were quick to point out that he’s mostly been depicted as a villain, starting with the original H.G. Wells novel where he’s a ruthless killer (additionally, the 2020 film is not the first time he’s been abusive to women, as Alan Moore and Paul Verhoeven would gladly confirm). And with the exception of a handful of diehard Jeepers Creepers fans, the community in general has been vocal about Victor Salva still being allowed to make movies.
Beyond all that, horror fans are also among the most fun people to hang out with at events and such: since 2015, I’ve been a regular attendee of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, where the mood is generally convivial and I’ve made a lot of great friends, and the Turin Film Festival, whose genre strand is always a blast (particularly the now discontinued Horror Night, which would let you watch three movies for the price of one, with coffee and croissants included, from midnight until 6 AM).
I really missed those events last year (Neuchâtel did a limited program online, and Turin I couldn’t attend at all, even remotely, due to geo-blocking), just like I missed chilling after screenings with friends like the Night Visions team or whoever I might have been sitting next to while watching some new chilling affair. Overall, these are people who flock to the movies because they’re passionate about these things and want to share that excitement with others. And unlike, say, comic book fans, none of them have ever threatened to beat me up over a review. So yeah, the New York Post might want to reconsider what they deem acceptable to print, assuming they’re interested in being taken seriously again.