Horror

[Albertosaurus Rex]

The vast majority of stuff I watch, I watch with my dad. One side-effect of this, of course, is that I don't really get to see stuff my dad doesn't like unless I go out of my way to watch it. (And let's face it, watching things on your own isn't as much fun. I like to discuss the things I've seen with others.) And my dad really doesn't like horror.

Last sunday I watched I Am Legend with my dad and my younger brother, at my brother's suggestion. This movie drove home once again why we don't watch horror. Everyone has different tresholds for creepy and scary stuff, but my dad doesn't have a treshold but a ditch. You know scenes like Robert Neville going into that dark building after his dog, while he knows the mutants could be anywhere? My dad cannot handle scenes like that and actually left the room to make himself a cup of coffe at that point.

Given that I rather enjoyed the movie, which isn't that scary for the most part, and having enjoyed Prometheus last year (which I watched with a friend), I'm wondering what I'm missing out on. My brother actually suggested watching Saw next, but you can imagine the reaction that got. (Even I don't want to see it. I think I could handle those films, but I just find the concept distasteful.) I have very, very little experience with the genre, so again the question: what am I missing out on?

(One more anecdote. When I was a kid, I remember going to a friends' tenth or eleventh birthday party, which had us and a couple of other boys watching a movie together. That movie was one of the Hellraiser films, either the third or the fourth. For those who aren't familiar with the films, they involve a puzzle box that when solved will summon demons that rip people apart with chains and hooks. I don't remember being frightened but I do remember finding it very unpleasant. To this day I still don't understand how he ever got it through his parents. It's not appropriate in the least for ten year olds.)