31 Flavors Of Horror is a thing I decided to do in anticipation of Halloween, as a way to celebrate the horror genre. October is thirty-one days, if I’m not mistaken. That means thirty-one blog-items. That number also carries the ice cream association, which may not be seasonally appropriate, but sugary treats are, so I’m going with it. If the title seems corny, well, just think of popcorn, which is another appropriate foodstuff.
Seems ambitious, particularly since I haven’t been around these parts as much lately, but I’d like to try. It’d be a labor of love. I love this time of year. I love Halloween. Monsters and candy: What’s not to love? I love movies. Daydreams in dark rooms. Combine all these things and there’s not much better about life. I can’t claim to be the world’s foremost horror fan, but I do know a few things, and beyond that, I’d like this to be a voyage of discovery.
Here’s how I’ll define horror for these purposes: scary movies, thrillers, suspense pictures, monster movies, and even science fiction as long as creepy creatures are involved. I’ll mostly stick to movies because that’s where the lion’s share of my knowledge lies, but I may also spotlight novels, comic books, cartoons, music, and any other media as long as the subject matter applies.
I love recommending movies because I love watching movies and I love talking movies, both of which are activities that work best when other people are involved. It makes me happy to turn people on to movies they may not have seen yet, or to look at movies they may have already seen several times in a new and slightly different way. That’s what I hope to do with this column. Horror fans are a passionate and opinionated bunch, and I hope I offend no diehards with my “ugly American” ways. I’m coming at this from a positive place; I hope to drum up some enthusiasm for the things that need the extra attention, and to share in the enthusiasm for the things that already are feeling the love. If I engage in any shit-talking at all, I’ll make damn sure it’s at least funny.
But for now I’m headed back to school. First up will be one of the classics: James Whale’s Frankenstein.
From this moment until November 1st, I’m not going to stop unless I’m told to. So if you hate what I’m doing, feel free to let me know – although effusive praise is equally appreciated.
If not in the comments section below, Twitter has become the most efficient place to love me or hate me:
Recommendations and requests are particularly welcome, so let me know if there’s a horror flick you’d love to see spotlighted.