I don’t watch horror slasher/spatter films because it’s never really interested me, but I found the Weapons trailer intriguing. The way all those kids ran away from their homes in the middle of the night. There was some pretty great cinematography and choreography in this film. I was there mainly the mystery solving and fantastical elements.
Unfortunately, the supernatural element wasn’t explained. It borrowed from familiar witchcraft tropes, but didn’t go anywhere. So many questions. Then it became… gruesome. Exceedingly so. (And yes, I know it was more mild than other films.)
Anyway. I’m just lost. What draws people to these kinds of gruesome films? If it’s something you love, what excites you about it? I feel as though great stories can be told really well without being this explicit. But perhaps great storytelling isn’t what people are looking for in horror films?
Perhaps it is the fear and suspense it brings out of you? Or maybe the squeamishness of not being able to look at the screen at times? Maybe some people look forward to the gore, which adds value the more gruesome it is? 😬
I feel like I am not getting something. I love fantasy. I love stories. I feel like there was a lot of great potential in this film for storytelling, but it never came to fruition and was kind of ruined by focusing on the wrong things. And that’s probably because I don’t understand what makes a good horror film good in the first place?
Thoughts?
Update: Some comments helped me refine what it was that bothers me. I had to look it up and the Wikipedia article helped a lot by breaking horror down into subgenres. It’s “slashers” that I don’t understand, but particularly “splatter” films. When I look at lists, it turns out that I enjoy a lot of “horror” without realizing it’s classified as horror. But gorey, body mutilation… that is the form of horror that I struggle to understand the appeal of.
Weapons employs mutilation at the end and I was wondering why I needed to see this. The filmmakers added it because they wanted me to experience it. They thought it added to their film, but my experience was the opposite. I thought the story was doing great on its own and then… ugh… wtf… who wants to see this? 😅
So this is what I was really asking: For those that enjoy and seek out gorey mutilation, what is it that attracts you to that?
Thanks for this. It was insightful.
Your post helped remind me how diverse horror really is. I look it up and the Wikipedia article helped a lot by breaking horror down into subgenres. It’s “slashers” that I don’t understand, but particularly “splatter” films. When I look at lists, it turns out that I enjoy a lot of “horror” without realizing it’s classified as horror. But gorey, body mutilation… that is the form of horror that I struggle to understand the appeal.
Weapons employs mutilation at the end and I was wondering why I needed to see this. The filmmakers added because they wanted me to experience it. They thought it added to their film, but my experience was the opposite. I thought the story was doing great on its own and then… ugh… wtf… who wants to see this?
So for those that enjoy and seek out gorey mutilation, what is it that attracts you to that?
And yes, I also wanted to know more about the story and lore of Weapons. That little tree. The magic. It was all interesting, but I realize now that none of that was really what the film was about. It was just a mechanism enabling what they were trying to accomplish elsewhere.
And also yes, I completely get your sentiment when it comes to jump scares.
Ooh… And on ratings… I realize now how I don’t really pay attention to them like I once did with the advent of streaming. I need to be more intentional about that. It was easier when it was written clearly on a physical box at the movie store.