The Primal Allure of Fear in Cinema

Just in case you forgot to flip your calendar over fourteen days ago, you only have about seventeen days left until Halloween, arguably one of the best holidays in the year by thousands of children nation-wide. I doubt very much that you’ve been living under a meteor as large as what’d be required to distract you from this upcoming celebration of adrenaline and fright, and I figure that there’s a fair chance that you’ve already begun to watch your favorite scary movies in preparation for the spirit of this absolutely divine occasion. What sorts of movies are they, I wonder? Are they the traditional ‘70s and ‘80s cult classics like “Halloween,” “The Exorcist,” and “Nightmare on Elm Street?” Are they the modern remade “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” Amityville horror, or “The Omen?” Or, are you more of the full-on classic fan type for flicks like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” “Nosferatu,” and of course, last but not least: Bela Lugosi's version of “Dracula?” Hopefully you’re not the “Casper the Friendly Ghost” sort of person, but no matter what your pill, I bet it’s been on your mind.

Rosemary's Baby, 1968.

Rosemary's Baby was as important to Satanic culture as the Beatles were to music. It doesn't mean that the movie is accurate, but check out that inverted non-satanic symbol hanging over the crib! Hopefully I wasn't the only one who got a kick when the crowd cheered about it being year one at New Years.

We all have a favorite type of genre when it comes to thrills, and mine has always been more on the supernatural vein than anything else. Slasher movies bore me (perhaps if the protagonist weren’t so stupid), Zombie flicks are mind-mucking (it's some 4th wall breaking brain cannibalism), and murderous clowns have only confused me more than ever really scared me. No, that which scares you the best – the very best, I do solemnly swear – is ‘The Unknown.’ My scientific mind loves to break down the logic of these frightful monsters, and the only thing that didn’t make sense to me was that supernatural element: the demons, the angels, the possessed, the aliens (Please consider aliens as in “Fourth Kind” instead of “Men in Black?” Please?), and so on. That ‘Unknown,’ not knowing what they are, where they came from, or how to stop them, was what sent that course of adrenaline through my body and kept my glossy eyes glued to the screen.

It would only be fair to myself to share with you that this affair I had with the supernatural/paranormal fright kink was thriving at a time when I was brainwashed to believe that angels and demons actually existed. This sub-genre of media reinforced the concept that they did because the frame of narrative in movies such as “The Conjuring 2” misrepresents the fantasy of the existence of Hell as an immutable truth. Come to think of it, I believe the 'closure' you get in one of the movies in the Conjuring Saga involves a particular quote from the Warrens, the paranormal investigators who provide the record of experience from which the Conjuring Saga is based, that alludes to the 'truth' of the Devil’s existence—probably through this recorded paranormal activity that they have which could very likely otherwise be explained with the scientific method if desired to be applied, but this is simply not the way that Christian theists want to think. You will remember that these people are often impressed into this belief, and fear is used as a bondage device to their faith.

Watching the movie may enthrall your curiosity and cause you minor stress out of empathy for the characters’ well being, but what strums a chord of fear in religious folk isn’t the story itself. The story itself they presume is fake: it’s the uncertainty that something horrible could happen to them. Unlike the situation of a knife-wielding trespasser donning a ghoulish mask whom they could call police upon, they are entirely without recourse for handling their safety without resorting to plead for help from a deity who has never bothered to return their voicemails.

The Conjuring 2, 2016.

Ed Warren seems to believe that a cross that tiny is going to keep the demonic evil at bay in The Conjuring 2, a Christian horror film that explores the great unknown of the theistic mind by presenting demonic activity as evidence in the existence of Satan, and by extension: Yahweh.

You’d think that we’d be repulsed by this type of emotional maltreatment but surprisingly we’re all rather addicted to it, and before you argue with me that there are people who don’t watch scary movies I’d like to challenge you that they probably still pay attention to the news which performs the very same function that movies like “The Conjuring 2” does: It forces them to confront the possibility that something may happen to them. Of course, after our micro-spike in heartbeat we usually just shut down the media and move on to another aspect of our lives, which is why Halloween is just so wonderful. It’s like an amusement park for that primal part of you that uses fear to avoid potential dangers in the world. It’s not a bad thing to want to experience that rush: if anything, it brings you closer to your primal carnal state, something that Satanism embraces with open arms.

Scare yourself silly this Halloween and live a little. In the process you’ll bring yourself closer in-touch with true you. Tell me what movies you're planning on spooking yourself with this season and why I should watch them too...We fear junkies have to stick together, you know.

Ave Satanas