Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Let’s Talk…Scary stuff. And I why I shouldn’t watch it.

It’s that time of year again. 

Halloween is right around the corner, and so I get the urge to watch scary movies. 

That being said, I know I should not watch scary movies.

And that’s why I’ve decided to discuss this matter today for Talk To Us Tuesday, hosted by Impulsive Addict and Shawn.

Talk2Us

I enjoy a good scare.  Or at least, I think I do.  I tend to forget that scary stuff traumatizes me.  And after watching it, I have to sleep with a light on for days.  Living pretty much by myself doesn’t help.  (There, another reason I need a husband:  So that I can watch Criminal Minds again.)

As I get older, it seems to get worse.  When I was in high school, my friends and I had sleepovers and watched scary movies all the time.  They didn’t seem to really bother me back then.

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but I can pinpoint the time I realized I shouldn’t be watching creepy horror movies anymore.  It was during my college days I believe; the night my friend Sara & I decided to go see the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Bad idea.  VERY BAD.

We spent 97% of the movie hiding behind our coats, looking at each other and asking ourselves why the hell we had paid $10.00 (plus popcorn expenses) to do this.  It felt like the longest two hours of my life.

Since then, I’ve limited the scary stuff I watch, and usually it’s movies I’ve already seen – favourites of mine include Halloween: H20 (hello, Josh Hartnett), the Scream series, The Sixth Sense, Pet Sematary, Idle Hands (more funny than scary)…stuff like that.

But Saturday evening, after deciding I should watch a fright flick to get in a Halloweeny mood, you know which one I picked?

Ghost.

Ghost

Whaaaat?!  Is that even considered a scary movie?!  NO.  It’s  a romance, for crying out loud!

But as I stood there, debating between The Exorcism of Emily Rose and Scream, I ended up picking Ghost.  Because I knew Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg wouldn’t give me nightmares.

How lame am I???

Okay.  Gimme a break.  I redeemed myself last night.  Sort of.

I’ve been reading on a few other blogs about this new show called American Horror Story.  It started airing in the United States a few weeks ago.  Canada got the premiere last night on CityTV, as a sneak peek for the new digital cable channel coming called FX Canada.

AmHoSto S1 EW 02

So that means, I have no idea if American Horror Story is going to continue on CityTV, or if I only get one episode.  I’m not sure it really matters, because it’s a miracle I survived.  I’m not sure I’d be able to tune in again after that debacle.

The reasons I wanted to watch it:

  1. Other bloggers said it was cool.  And I always want to be cool.
  2. I liked the names I was hearing for the cast.  Connie Britton is one of my faves from my beloved Friday Night Lights.  Dylan McDermott is hot.  Jessica Lange is larger than life.  These are some powerhouse names, people.    
american-horror-story_320american-horror-story-pilot-review

3.   It’s almost Halloween, and I needed to recover from my lame choice of Ghost the other night.

These are not good enough reasons to scare myself, people.

See, Monday night is laundry night at my house.  My basement is dark and cobwebby and creepy, and also the home of my washer and dryer.  So I force myself to go down there once a week to do laundry, even though I really don’t want to.

When American Horror Story started, I still had one load of laundry in the dryer.  And of course, the show features a very scary basement.

The story revolves around a couple that has just moved to LA with their teenaged daughter to try and save their marriage after the wife, Vivienne (Britton), had a gruesome miscarriage, and shortly thereafter caught her husband, Ben (McDermott), having an affair with a much younger woman.  They move into a huge, old Victorian home that comes cheap because of it’s dark past.

You got it.  Haunted house.

And a cast of unsettling characters living in their neighbourhood that could send a shiver down your spine:  the eccentric neighbour (Lange) whose special needs daughter, Adelaide, keeps showing up telling them, “You’re going to die in there!”; the strange, psychotic boy who is Dr. Ben’s new patient and is making a disturbing friendship with his daughter, Violet; the mysterious housekeeper who magically appears, and seems determined to seduce Ben (creepy, since she’s an old lady, but he somehow only sees her as a sexy young maid); and the scarred peeping tom who hangs out in their backyard amongst the sheets hanging on the line, looking up at the house and smiling strangely.

AMERICAN-HORROR-STORY-FX-Home-Invasion-4-550x366

Did I mention all the really scary stuff happens in the basement?

And that I had a damn load of laundry waiting for me in my basement right after the show ended?

Frig, frig, frig.

When the show ended, I was left with a very disturbed feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I debated leaving the laundry down there.

But then I told myself, “Oh, come on.  It’s just a show.  Fiction.  Be a big girl and go down there and get your laundry.”

So I did.  Gold star for me.  But of course, while I was down there, I started hearing noises.  Bumps and stuff like that.  It sounded like someone was walking around upstairs.

Have I mentioned I have an imagination?

I ended up throwing all the laundry in the basket, not bothering to fold it, and raced up to my room.  When I went to bed, I kept a light on, of course.  And I didn’t sleep very well.  At all.

I should’ve just stuck with Ghost.

Has anybody else seen American Horror Story?  Thoughts?  What are your favourite scary movies?

Or are you like me, and try to avoid it all?

15 comments:

Sarah said...

Scream MASK..haha. I know you'll know what I mean :) I still have it!

Amanda said...

I'll have to remember to watch this next week.

Impulsive Addict said...

Oh girl I'm with ya! I did all the scary movie watching when I was a lot younger. Now all they do is give me nightmares. I haven't gotten over Pet Cemetery yet. Or that trucker one with the CB radio. I've blocked the name out of my mind--for good reason.

Anyway, I think Ghost was an acceptable choice. I haven't heard of American Horror Story so that makes me one of the uncool kids. DAMNIT.

Thanks for linking up with us! It is greatly appreciated!

Happy Tuesday!

Robin said...

I don't do horror movies. AT. ALL.

I can't handle them and I can't watch criminal minds... it's too real.
As a child, I couldn't watch scooby doo!!

Anonymous said...

I watched the Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Sunday night - Casey was in the basement and I was upstairs all by myself and watched it anyway! The part that freaks me out the most: he RUNS after his victims, RUNS! I can't handle that at all. Most scary movies show the killer just walking along behind them but not this crazy guy! I couldn't change the channel though. I also ended up having to get up and do something while the movie was playing so I wouldn't feel so scared so I opted for cutting my cauliflower and celery into snack sizes for lunches lol! It helped but I was still scared to go to sleep and I have 2 men in my house, Jill - 2! So don't think that having a male in the house will help, it doesn't - it actually might even make it worse cuz they like to play pranks or scare you when you're already scared stiff :(

Anonymous said...

I am still trying to understand it all. I noticed that the story jumps around but by the end of each episode resolves that story. Pixie and I have some theories on who Latex Guy is. Who the neighbor and Maid are (which you should now get after this weeks show) and how they all tie in to the house. So it is becoming more clear but is still REALLY messed up . Scary Scary WEIRD.

I am glad though its innovative -albeit bat poop crazy - writing. We needed something new that wasnt vampires or stuff.

Amber said...

Yup - I got caught up on AHS this past weekend actually. I like scary stuff though, but I'm hesitant on sharing it with people because I know a lot of scaredy cats. I wouldn't exactly call it scary but it is pretty high on the creepy factor.

Connie said...

I can't do scary movies!

The best I can do....Beetlejuice!

Stacie said...

I am such a weenie, I cannot do scary. And I hate having to go in the scary basement to do my laundry, gives me the creeps!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, fell asleep halfway through......weenie!!

Mrs. Match said...

I'm the world's biggest chicken. I got scared of the movie Ernest Scared Stupid. True story. I cannot handle scary movies. Books are even worse because my imagination goes crazy! I love halloween with the decorations and costumes but I HATE scary movies!

Nicole said...

So 6th Sense was my first "date" with a guy who I really didn't wanna go on a date with but my parents said I should... he laughed at me the entire movie :(. Then Texas Chainsaw Massacre I went on a date with another guy (supposed to see Scary Movie 3 but he already saw it with his cousin saying I told him I wanted to see this one... NOPE!) and I got freaked so bad my head was in his armpit the whole movie I swear then driving home I refused to sit on the passenger seat of his truck so I slid in the middle and he's like, you know they came through the middle of the vehicle so I laid down across the middle & passenger seat to which he laughed at me! Then I saw Jawbreaker which is kind of scary (I think that was the movie) and I sat between 2 guys (friends, sitting on a dorm couch in college) and had death grips on both of their arms to the point they both lost circulation. I'm with ya, I don't do scary movies!

Jill said...

Did somebody just call me a WEENIE up there?! MEANIE!

Shawn said...

If you know anonymous I'll let it go, if you don't to him/her I say SUCK IT AND LEAVE JILL ALONE!

I'm with you on the scary movie thing, I do not like them! I can handle stupid, unrealistic scary but the crap that can really happen like abduction and home invasions that stuff has no place in my home!

I think American Horror Story is the show my friend was telling me about. If I'm right there are some pretty serious sex scenes in that show!

Thanks for linking up!

CoolHandLucy said...

LoveloveLOVE AHS. It's been awhile since I've been impressed with a television series that's meant to be creepy, and I'd say this did it's job.