Jason Gardner explores the ever growing appeal of the horror movie

Jason Gardner

Everyone's favourite nineties film director, Quentin Tarantino, has often been associated with making movies that either nod to, or gloriously rip off, genre classics and fan boy favourites. So films like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill are chock full of references to old detective flicks like Kiss Me Deadly or obscure oriental revenge specials like Lady Snowblood.

His latest offering goes the whole hog though. In seventies America there used to be delightful little cinemas that showed little else but exploitation movies - the type of stuff the eighties would refer to as video nasties. They earned a nickname, yep you've guessed it Grindhouse.

So in tribute Tarantino and fellow director, and long time collaborator, Roberto Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids) are releasing a gruesome twosome under the monicker of Grindhouse- a back to back double bill. Tarantino's effort is Death Proof - a psychotic stuntman stalks people in his souped up motor. Planet Terror is Rodriguez's take on the Zombie flick: where the inhabitants of a small town have to ward off an infection that turns people into crazed killers.

And if that wasn't enough the two movies will be segued together by trailers for films that don't exist - other Grindhouse genre titles directed by the likes of staple horror fans Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses).

Although the films will echo many of the features of traditional 'exploitation' movies, mainly sleaze & gore, they also differ from their seventies counterparts. The originals were extremely low budget and featured unknown actors, the noughties versions feature Hollywood stars like Kurt Russell and Rosario Dawson.

And even though the movies will contain a 'scratchy grain' and the odd dodgy edit to give them that authentic 'cheap seats' feel in fact tens of millions of dollars have been spent on them.

So why the homage to some of the perhaps best forgotten moments in cinema history?

First off both directors are diehard fans of obscure movies. Then there's the fact that you can't throw a stone in Hollywood without hitting someone whose career started in either making or starring in cheap budget horror films. George Clooney, for example, surprisingly missed out on nominations for best supporting actor in Return of the Killer Tomatoes and Return to Horror High. Sam Raimi, director of the Spider-Man films (no 3 is out this summer) also directed the most infamous budget horror film of all time Evil Dead. And Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame kick started his career with a lovely little zombie film called Braindead.

So Hollywood and the almighty box office owe a lot to horror films. It's probably one of the most consistently successful genres of film, a fact that, no doubt Tarantino and Rodriguez are well aware of.

Why so popular? As one film exec correctly surmised it's because the genre is the star. Film makers will keep making horror films because you don't need a big budget or big name stars to attract people to them - as the original grindhouse movies proved - the appeal of horror is horror.

People enjoy being scared and scary movies don't have to work too hard to provide chills and thrills - they create 'instant atmosphere' it's an established formula: creepy keyboard music, check, pretty teenagers, check, false alarms check, (eg noise upstairs turns out to be cat) followed by real alarm, girl turns with cat in arms to face masked serial killer of some description.

It's the same adrenalin rush as a roller coaster ride - you're putting yourself in 'danger' whilst being perfectly safe but your body doesn't know that so you're heart starts beating faster just the same.

And as one film critic put it there's always the 'what if?' factor - the 'mystery' element. What if Aliens invade? What if some apocalyptic event happens? What if you were in that situation? Horror movies confront people with their own mortality - it doesn't matter if you're a young beautiful teen, death could be just around the corner! Being faced with 'life threatening' situations often forces us to ask the big questions about existence and what lies beyond the grave.

Are horror films healthy then? There's nothing wrong with the odd thrill and chill but a well directed 12 certificate film can produce suspense as well as an 18. The kind of excessive gore, sex and violence Tarantino and Rodriguez are looking to portray can surely only feed into an unhealthy obsession in society for media that's 'uncensored.'

So, although I must admit that horror films have always appealed to me, this is definitely one regular cinema goer who, although tempted, won't be going down to the Grindhouse.