Posts Tagged ‘horror movies’

Movies that genuinely horrify are few and far between, and many feel it's been too long since the last one. It would appear American horror faces yet another threshold.

In order for a horror film to be affecting it must accomplish an array of feats that manipulate its audience in a way that steers it toward a desired end, which is usually one of disenfranchisement, disgust, dismay, or paranoia. But one key element to effective horror that goes largely unmentioned is the importance of pity. When a horror film does not take seriously this pivotal aspect, or neglects it altogether, what usually results is a campy flick that allows, if not promotes an audience to react with disinterest or laughter instead of shock, terror, or other sorts of psychological distress. In order to properly convey the importance of a scary movie’s ability to make an audience pity we must first examine precisely what pity is and how it works to assist a movie’s efforts to jar its viewers. From doing this we can hopefully discover the major faults of modern American horror, and see what needs to be done to revive it.

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Short Take: Has everything an exploitation movie requires, including controversiality

Directors: Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror, Sin City), Ethan Maniquis

Screenwriters: Robert Rodriguez (Planet Terror), Ãlvaro Rodri­guez (From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter)

Cast: Danny Trejo (Spy Kids, Heat), Jessica Alba (Good Luck Chuck), Robert De Niro (The Good Shepherd), Jeff Fahey (Grindhouse, The Lawnmower Man), Michelle Rodriguez (TV’s Lost, Avatar), Steven Seagal, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan

Length: 1h 45m

Synopsis: A widowed ex-Federale who relegates himself to being a day laborer on the border between Texas and Mexico gets offered an opportunity to earn $150,000 if he assassinates a senator hell bent on closing the border between the two nations. Double-crossed after taking the job, the man, known only as Machete (Trejo), must do what he can to stay alive and avoid capture. He receives help from an understanding Customs officer named Sartana (Alba) and an underground pro-immigration network headed by Luz (Rodriguez), a food truck worker. Together they will try to clear Machete’s name and uncover a conspiracy that aims to make voters sympathetic to the bigoted senator’s platform. It would appear that the bad guys just f****** with the wrong Mexican. Read the rest of this entry »