[OT]I love horror...And Video Games...I'm a nerd.

Some people like comedy...Some people like action...Some people like adventure. Then there are some people, like myself, that like horror.

It's that feeling of anxiety, that tense feeling of dread when you know that something or someone is out there and you have little to no control over it. You know it's coming, but you don't know when or how. It's exciting and satisfying, while being incredibly unnerving.

I keep asking myself why I like this feeling. I like the adrenaline it gives me, certainly. But I can get adrenaline just as easily by any number of different ways. Perhaps I just like being excited and anxious at the same time, which is true. But I can get this feeling just as well if I bought a lottery ticket and waited for my number to come up.

No, I like horror because I like conquering it. I like how I can overcome my fears and worries and I like the feeling of satisfaction it gives me when I finally defeated that demon, whatever it was, that was coming after me. Certainly I love the feeling of adrenaline, and having the hairs stick up on the back of my head, but those aren't why I fell in love with horror. Horror is in your head, and your mind is your worst enemy. Being able to say that I survived my mind going against me. That I survived my own insanity is a feat not many are willing to admit to themselves.

(To be continued...)

(continued)

The best atmosphere is the atmosphere that's created in your own head. A book, movie, video game, etc. is only good if supplies the cables needed for one to attach their head to to create the atmosphere needed to create the feeling of dread and adrenaline fulled anxiety called horror.

This is where video games have the advantage over other forms of media. I know a book or a movie is going to end eventually, but /I/ am in control of my actions in a video game. I don't know when or IF it will end. I can press on in a book or a movie by turning the page or continuing to the end, but in game I have to press on by facing my demons myself.

http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/276/e/4/amnesia_is_scary_by_redroses19-d300asr.jpg[" alt=""/img]
[b]Yeah, that monster that was stalking me the entire game is now staring me in my eyes........RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/b]



Perhaps it's the fact that I've had to conquer many of my own personal demons in my life that I have the desire to go out and seek more and conquer them. Perhaps one of the reasons Lovecraft was so obsessed with insanity is the fact that our minds are where our demons lie. Thus losing one's mind to the demons is the worst thing that could happen to us. Perhaps I'm just a nerdy kid.

I agree 100% with this. Its the reason I enjoy games like the Silent Hill series(the first three, anyway), The Path and Amnesia The Dark Descent.

I agree 100% with this. Its the reason I enjoy games like the Silent Hill series(the first three, anyway), The Path and Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Silent Hill Downpour I thought was pretty good. It's not a classic like the first 3 are and it has a fair amount of flaws, but I was entertained by the plot and pacing. I don't much care for The Path, but I agree that Amnesia is probably the scariest game out there. It didn't emotionally invest me like Silent Hill 2 did, but it's certainly a must play for horror fans.

Ah yes! Amnesia. That was the first game I have ever had to close because I was cornered and too afraid of the monster that was coming to get me.

I'm very much the same about horror movies, and that's my main beef about 'Horror' as it exists in modern times. The point of horror now seems to be to try to shock and disgust the audience rather than for the catharsis of escaping something scary. These days torture porn and slashers really dominate the genre, and that's sad to me.

Your reason for liking horror and mine are mostly the same, and it reminds me of a monologue from a really great movie called matinee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPI9DxXahM[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPI9DxXahM

Anyway, I love scary stuff, it's one reason I haven't been posting here as much lately. I'm spending most all my free time getting ready for my big Halloween display.

Ah yes! Amnesia. That was the first game I have ever had to close because I was cornered and too afraid of the monster that was coming to get me.

I'm very much the same about horror movies, and that's my main beef about 'Horror' as it exists in modern times. The point of horror now seems to be to try to shock and disgust the audience rather than for the catharsis of escaping something scary. These days torture porn and slashers really dominate the genre, and that's sad to me.

Your reason for liking horror and mine are mostly the same, and it reminds me of a monologue from a really great movie called matinee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPI9DxXahM[]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHPI9DxXahM

Anyway, I love scary stuff, it's one reason I haven't been posting here as much lately. I'm spending most all my free time getting ready for my big Halloween display.

You likely won't find many good mainstream horror movies now-a-days due to big budgets (thus everything looks glossy and pretty) and the aforementioned way Hollywood is obsessed with shock value and jump scares.

The 1970s and 1980s was the time when horror movies were at their prime due to the fact of technology being more readily available and it being low quality enough to make the environment created look ugly and unsettling. People actually had to work with shadows and lighting to create atmosphere. And since special effects were primitive, it allowed for more resources to be used to create the dread of 'demon' rather than making it so that the 'demon' is on screen for the majority of the flick. Horror is more effective when 'demon' isn't on screen shaking his bum around (like it is in most horror movies today). This allows the viewer to become more unsettled as they know something is wrong and they can't control it, but they don't know who or what is causing it and they don't know when or if it will strike.

There are many good independent horror movies back from those days. Though my favorite horror movie is probably "The Blair Witch Project" and it's probably as good as horror movies get. I would rate "Alien" a close second.

Halloween is over a month away and your getting ready for your display already? I wish I had your spirit. Halloween was my Christmas for many years, but I grew up. :/ Still that is quite early. I'd like to see pictures if you're willing to post them.

I would say my favorite Horror film is Psycho(the Alfred Hitchcock original,of course).

After all, nobody expected the infamous shower scene. But sadly, after three memorable sequels(yes, they were pretty good), Psycho got what is probably the worst, most laughable horror film remake in motion picture history(I even make fun of it here http//arthursknights.deviantart.com/#/d5dhmlf ).

The Alien series is legendary, Alien 3 and Prometheus included. Alien Resurrection on the other hand can fade into obscurity, because it was terrible.

And Slasher flicks are a case where older = better. Because films in that genre now are pathetic.

I'm not a horror film fanatic by any means, but there are many horror/suspense films that are longtime faves (Psycho, Poltergeist, Rear Window). But if you want real horror, and I do mean real horror, then buy or rent The Killing Fields. No ghosts or demons or other uglies stalking people in the dark, just the true-to-life depiction of people who are monsters to the depths of their souls committing unspeakable atrocities against fellow humans.

BTW, it has a great musical score by Mike Oldfield, one of my favorite musicians of all time.

I wouldn't call The Killing Fields a horror film, not because nothing supernatural happens, but because we know who and what is committing the acts of atrocity and we know their power. There's a face to be put on the ones bringing the terror, and it isn't scary. I would have to watch the film again (It's been like 10 years), but just seeing acts of violence and brutality isn't really a horror film. It all depends on your definition of a horror film, really. A film can raise tough questions, like The Killing Fields does, but it isn't a horror film, IMO. It doesn't fill me with fright.

If you're talking about actual labels and categories, then no, The Killing Fields isn't a horror film per se. My point was that real horror, i.e. depictions of real-life events, of supposedly ordinary human beings committing the worst atrocities imaginable against fellow human beings, is what we should really be scared of.

I have too seen The Killing Fields. Great movie and a haunting score by prog legend Mike Oldfield.

A classic horror movie that should be mandatory is the original 1963 version of The Haunting (don't watch the remake, it sucks). This was the movie that pushed the idea that the scariest things are the things you don't see. The suspense is really great and with the use of sound effects. Add in that our main character shows signs of being unstable therefore the questions exist if what is happening is real or in the character's head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQxyaI74v7U

Going off of the idea of what you don't see is scarier than what you do see is Paranormal Activity. I know some people hated this movie but frankly I love it because of how simple it is. No score, no visual creatures, just a quiet house at night and footsteps moving around the house as the couple sleeps in their bed. The movie filled me with dread because as the movie goes on and the dumb male character taunts the demon the incidents at night get worse and worse and when the night scenes come up you dreading whats going to happen.

And finally a somewhat rare movie: the 1983 gothic film The Keep. This film was notable director Michael Mann's second film and it has his trademarks which would carry on into his following works like Manhunter, Heat, and the TV show Miami Vice. The film takes place during WWII in Romania. German soldiers set up in a strange village outside a castle. Little known to the Germans inside the keep is a dangerous entity that is trapped within the keep. Of course through the actions of a pair of dumb soldiers the entity is released and night after night soldiers are killed off. Matters get only worse when an SS division arrives with its Nazi commander to try and contain the situation. A professor and his daughter are brought to keep from a concentration camp to see if they can uncover the mystery of the keep. Meanwhile a mysterious stranger is altered to the entity's release from the keep and travels to Romania to try and stop him.

The film has an all star cast with Jürgen Prochnow, Alberta Watson and Ian McKellen, Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne and Robert Prosky. The cinematography is great and the synth score by Tangerine Dream is awesome. Unfortunately this film suffered at the hands of the studio who edited it down from an over two hour film to 96 minute movie. The movie flopped at the box office and was criticized for its confusing plot. Sadly the film has not received a DVD release nor a directors cut from Mann which is shame because it be worthwhile to restore it to its full length.
The film is available for viewing on netflix and youtube.

A video collage of the film with Tangerine Dream's score
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlXxt-FbTEE

Halloween is over a month away and your getting ready for your display already? I wish I had your spirit. Halloween was my Christmas for many years, but I grew up. :/ Still that is quite early. I'd like to see pictures if you're willing to post them.

Actually I got started in August. This year I'm doing a Steampunk ode to Frankenstein. I've got a picture of the monster himself, the centerpiece of my display, but not a ton of other pictures just yet.

http://i.imgur.com/qDvME.jpg[]http://i.imgur.com/qDvME.jpg

(As a warning, he's a little more gross than your average Frankenstein's Monster, and yes, he and the machine are completely home-made.)

As for the movies, I agree, even some of the older slashers are good. Halloween is great, so is Nightmare on Elm Street. But the sequels of both, I feel landed really far from the tree.

Some of my favorites for horror are The Haunting of Hill House (the original black and white version)and The Fog (again, the original with Jamie Lee Curtis). I love Poltergeist and Poltergeist 2 as well, but they're rather guilty pleasures.

The Alien series is legendary, Alien 3 and Prometheus included. Alien Resurrection on the other hand can fade into obscurity, because it was terrible.

Alien 3 was alright. Watching it again recently I was really surprised to see Tywin Lannister was in it! Prometheus actually just wasn't scary to me. It lacked a lot of what made the first film really frightening and fell more into the body-horror genre with most of it's scary material. Also they could've made that movie SO much less confusing by just saying LV-223 and LV-426 were across the galaxy from one another. Putting the two planets in the same system actually opens a bunch of plot holes that could've been so easily avoided.

Eh, I don't have much to say about horror, but I'll give my imput.

I don't remember any movies that I curled up into a ball and cried about, mainly because I'm not easily scared and haven't watched very many horror movies. I'd have to say the movie that scared me most as a kid was Dante's Peak(It's one of my favorite movies right now).

But games are another matter. The scariest game I've ever played is Minecraft, which is actually very frightening at times(Example: You're right next to a lake of lava, your pockets are full of diamonds, you turn around and a creeper is right in your face). I've watched a LP on youtube for Amnesia, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. But I've never played the game myself.

Eh, I don't have much to say about horror, but I'll give my imput.

I don't remember any movies that I curled up into a ball and cried about, mainly because I'm not easily scared and haven't watched very many horror movies. I'd have to say the movie that scared me most as a kid was Dante's Peak(It's one of my favorite movies right now).

But games are another matter. The scariest game I've ever played is Minecraft, which is actually very frightening at times(Example: You're right next to a lake of lava, your pockets are full of diamonds, you turn around and a creeper is right in your face). I've watched a LP on youtube for Amnesia, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. But I've never played the game myself.

Most horror games you really have to be playing for yourself. I thought Slender looked really silly and not at all scary until I played it, and then it made me nearly jump out of my skin a few times.

I can tell you that after playing 6 hours of Leon's campaign from Resident Evil 6, that it's a complete garbage of a game. I think that game is doing everything in its power to make me hate it, and I really wasn't expecting anything good from it to begin with.

V/H/S is a decent horror flick, though it's not for everyone. I thought it was a pretty good anthology film though.

Aliens Colonial Marines.....Don't play it. Please don't play it. If you see a copy of it on the street, smash it into pieces for me.

Go play AVP2 instead.

Alien Resurrection on the other hand can fade into obscurity, because it was terrible.

I like Alien Resurrection, even more than Alien 3. Prometheus is the one that can fade into obscurity. It's just boring and raises more questions than answers.