In my review of Universal Studio's Halloween Horror Nights, I mention chainsaws a lot. Some characters had weapons specific to their movies, but the vast majority of the weapons were chainsaws.
(Also, when you were not in any specifically themed haunted house, the main threats -- so the main holders of the chainsaws -- were clowns.)
I was not scared, but I did not particularly enjoy this. That being said, I totally get the value of the chainsaws.
Besides evoking The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, they vibrated. Obviously they were fake and were not going to cut you, but there was real sound and vibration. When one hit my purse, I felt the vibration through that. (Touching things on you appears to be a loophole around not being able to touch you.)
For striking that important balance between real and not real, where people can enjoy suspending disbelief, those chainsaws were probably in the sweet spot.
My sweet spot is analyzing things like that.
Many years ago I wrote about a year where I went through a lot of haunted houses and really enjoyed it. I was wondering why they don't appeal to me now.
I suppose part of the issue is just that it's harder to be scary.
One reason we thought going to Universal for Halloween would be cool is that they were the home of the classic monsters and their movies: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and even King Kong. For the other side of it, the Munsters' house is still there, though it looks more like a regular house now.
None of that was featured. There is still a 3-D attraction with King Kong, but that stuff is corny and not scary. I get it.
If you ask me about my horror preferences, I may mention that scene where the playground is filling up with crows from The Birds for the growing dread. I am more likely to mention this old cable movie from 1988, Gotham or The Dead Can't Lie. It probably doesn't really count at horror.
It is listed as a "thriller", though I am not sure that is representative. It is a ghost story, just not in the way you expect.
I suppose what I like about it, besides some really beautiful moments, is that the people who are trying to do right end up being okay. Things aren't great for the people who are horrible.
I know happy endings aren't always realistic, but there is this flip side where people will get a kick of how twisted and ugly they can make things. I care about that for reality, and learning more about things to try and fix them, but I don't find it amusing.
I know there are people who love horror films and people who love haunted houses. I am sure there is some overlap between those groups, but I am not in them.
I finally figured out that when I was enjoying haunted houses, it was because I was figuring them out. This is how they work, this is what would make an ideal group for going... things like that. I even toyed with the idea of designing one, maybe focusing on creepiness instead of fear, because fear can be so difficult to create in these cynical times.
Nonetheless, I got the hang of it, and once that was done it not really being to my taste became more insurmountable. Now it is just kind of annoying, especially because scaring you is their job, so if you don't seem into it they pay more attention to you and...
So another thing that I have tried and don't really care for is interactive theater.
I do like speed and movement, so once I got over my fear of going upside down on roller coasters, I kept on riding them.
I still sometimes worry about my glasses flying off. It's never happened, but sometimes I put a hand up to my glasses before the loop, and I think maybe I should just get an eyewear strap.
I am glad for that year where I went through all the haunted houses; trying new things is valuable.
Not everything sticks.
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