Guns, Zombies And Hockey Masks

Introduction

I often share my YouTube videos and slideshows with friends on Facebook on their birthdays. The one above is one I did for Alex Harvey's "Billy Bolero" and it is my fourth most watched video with eight thousand views, one hundred and eighty three thumbs ups. and twenty three comments.

But it got me thinking, why are these things seen as being cool. The images in the video are cool but.......

What If This Were Real Life

If I were walking down a road and some men were walking towards me with rifles and handguns, that would disturb me intensely. A few years ago there were policemen in Newcastle's Eldon Square and Railway Station carrying automatic rifles and that was very disconcerting. While I know in certain parts of the USA men carry rifles like handbags or pacifiers (to prove they are manly), that does not happen in civilised countries. I suppose here the equivalent is a fast car with a long bonnet to compensate for their lack of length.

I think many of the films that carry threats are like a roller coaster, we watch for the thrill, and while that is fine on screen it would be disturbing in reality.

Take Michael Myers's Hockey mask in the film Halloween, it masks a vicious murderer but some people idolise the character as much as any. John Cale was touring and playing in a similar mask around the time the hooded Cambridge Rapist was caught. That more than crossed a line.

Masked murderers are fine in film but when they hit real life they become frightening.

I am surprised, and maybe I have missed that they haven't done a horror film about a Comic Con where some of the real characters intrude and start disposing of the fans who have come for a fun day.

How would you feel if confronted with a Cenobite, a Zombie or Freddy Krueger? I know Robert Englund is an excellent actor and a very nice and engaging man, but would you really want to come face-to-face with the real Freddy?

These characters are safe enough on the other side of the TV screen but when they come into everyday life then that is a disturbing situation.

Halloween sees kids dressing up and I am fine with witches and ghosts, but when I see them wielding toy chainsaws that worries me because it refers to a horrific film that children should not be aware of.

Dressing up can be great fun. We can see some amazing creations, but when you think of the concept of vampires. werewolves, zombies and the accompanying gore and violence, I am fine with them on screen but not in everyday life and certainly not where children are involved.

I am sorry if I come across as a curmudgeon and killjoy. I have dressed up and sung as Elvis (and you need to see the film Bubba Ho-Tep) and I have played first-person shooter games such as Quake and Doom, but I am ambivalent to disapproving of certain cosplay/Halloween costumery, although I am fine if they are for themed adult events.

Conclusion

I do enjoy most genres of horror although ironically one of my favourite films "The Haunting" has no special effects, blood or gore, but was scary as hell, although the remake was an atrocious CGI fest. There were no violent or threatening cool characters in this, No Freddy, No Frankenstein's Monster, No Vampires, No Jason Voorhees, No Cenobites, No Michael Myers just a very creepy environment.

Thank you so much for reading and I would love to hear what you think about this general subject.