Afterdark Horrorfest: Its appeal

I've always liked the afterdark horrorfest movies. The films included in the bunch are a mixed bag of stories, genres, and production value. But to me they are a throwback to my nostalgia pre-teen years where I experienced the bulk of my horror movie enrichment. The appeal here is in the uncertainty of the movies. Granted one could look up the trailers through the world wide web, but for me I choose to remain in the dark on the plots and premises of the films. Also the popularity of this ongoing fest is miniscule enough for me to escape any commercials or exposure. So in a sense I come into the films blind. The appeal to me is that I know that they are horror movies, but the films themselves are fresh and my mind at the pinnacle of its inquisitiveness. Something I feel that a bombardment of trailers, be it from television and/or movie previews dissipate the movie going experience. Case in point is my nostalgic experience with watching my horror movie of choice The Thing.

I'm whisked back to the late eighties or early nineties. One of the weekend mid-day I had virtually nothing to do, I had not yet acquired the greatness that is my first gaming console, the first playstation(I know a deprived childhood I did suffer) and the bulk of the weekend morning cartoons had passed. I searched about the channels for some sort of entertainment and by chance happened on a scene of a man in a helicopter chasing after a dog in some frozen land. The initial violence of the chase drew my attention, but that soon waned as the movie progressed to the interactions of the characters. Bear in mind through all of this I had no idea what I was in store for. Up until the dog-pen scene. As soon as the renegade husky exploded into tentacles, I had seen heaven. The violence and gore that soon ensued resulted in a movie that I till today consider the best horror movie I've seen.

I suppose, in retrospect, the effects and novelty of the movie could have been enough to draw me to hold the film in similar regard. But coupled with my young impressionable age and the non-expectance of anything, the film's appeal was magnified exponentially. I did experience the same with the movie Taken. The appeal the Afterdark horrorfest films follows the same appeal, though somewhat self generated, it is one that injects a sense of nostalgia and adventure into my horror movie going experience. As paradoxical as it may sound for a blog that is directed at reviewing horror movies.