At first it seemed innocuous enough just another list designed to sell magazines and perhaps inspire some water cooler talk. It's Time magazine's list of the top 25 horror movies of all time. But the more I thought about it the more I realized that one's taste, perspective and frame of reference in horror flicks can literally define one's personality. Horror movies go back to the 1890's and the Lumiere Brothers and and have had an influence in every decade since. Just think how different generations and genders can bond over the scares scars and sacrilige of it all. Why when I was a boy they didn't have CGI and blood was black and white. And Fay Wray's Daddy was never a Pink Floyd roadie like Naiomi Watts.
The truth is you can really tell a lot about a person by what kind of horror movies they like. On the next blind date there's no need to ask about one's sign or whether the Beatles were more popular than Elvis or even if there is a corolation between certain body parts and shoe size. Your taste in horror movies defines you. I cringe scream and shudder therefore I am.
Don't look for a lot of depth from the slasher freak as an afficionado of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) is probably more Nine Inch Nails than Emo. The Carrie (1976) fan may be trying to warn you that he or she doesn't really play well with others. But sometimes evaluating a person on the basis of their favorite horror movie may not be so easy. For example the Pycho (1960) fanatic could be sending you signals that he is not the kind of person to take home to mother nor the type of person to let anywhere near your shower. But on the other hand he could simply be demonstrating an acute understanding of Hitchcock noir. All of which begs the question of whether Alfred Hitchcock fan like Robyn Hitchcock and vice versa? And did Gounod compose anything else besides the Alfred Hitchcock Show theme?
The Exorcist (1973) fan could have deep religious convictions or perhaps just likes to party in Georgetown. The fan of Bambi (1942) which came in at number 20 on Time's list is very sensitive and probably has a huge collection of Nick Drake CD's. The soul who lists Frankenstein and Dracula as their horror favorites is a Classicist who is very litererary and can spout Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker and may even meet you at the cemetary gates with Keats and Yeats by your side. The George Romero Night of the Living Dead (1968) person has a wonderful sense of humor, can be very tongue and cheek but could harbor a secret collection of leisure suits in the closet. And finally there is the person who replies Phantom of the Opera (1925), Nosferatu (1922) or Arrival of a Train at Ciotat (1896). Beware of this person because he or she is a pseudo intellectual serious film buff who will analyze you and everything else to death.
It looks like Time magazine is on to something here. But what about the Sci Fi fans?
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