Saturday, August 13, 2005

Scary Movies

I don' know if this will be said right, after I"m not a writer. What I"m about to write has been a part of my life since I was a young kid. And at times has been responsible for the way I picked my apartments, firearms, and in one case my first house.
OK, here it goes. Back when I was a kid my folks took me to the drive-in. At least I think I was the only child to be taken. I don't remember my sis or bro being there. Anyway, the movie was Night of the Living Dead. I was just 9 yrs old back in '68. I remember sitting in the back of the 56 Chevy scared to death. I would freak out every time someone would walk by the car. That movie gave me nightmares for years. (Ask Callie) The fear of what the movie depicted was not enough. A month or so later my mother died. I had never seen a dead body before and seeing my mom laid out there scared me half to death. It seems that any little thing that would remind me of that movie would set off a week or so of nightmares. When I was old enough I learn how to use any firearm I could find and use it well. The marines made it clear that ammo can be picked up easy enough if you just kill your enemy and take their weapons. After military life I had to make sure I was always safe so every apartment I had was easily defendable. With just a little effort I could hole up safely. I have tried lotsa different ways to get over this fear in the back of my head. All the other movies that have come along have'nt effected me the way the first one did. Callie, at my insistence brought home the latest version of Dawn of the Dead. The original put the idea in my head that supplies will be needed along other living needs. Callie was less than thrilled to hear I wanted to see the movie. Finally she broke down and rented it. That movie had the one thing that brought back the original fears. The living dead moved just like normal folks. No rigga, they were fast and ran when they chased their victims. Now it seems that these old fears of mine come flooding back depending on which way I go to work. The hwy by the house has losta folks commuting, the back road (which is faster) is dark, lonely and very eerie. I must admit that with all this I have managed to live with the realization that I'm wacked. I guess movies have more of an impact on the young than I would've guessed. Now that I'm older and have kids of my own I'm more aware of what they see and what I'll let them see. Besides, Callie would've never liked the gun belt with a loaded revolver hanging on the bed post or a rifle or shotgun by the door. Not sure why I wanted to post this lil bit of info, but I recently have been taking the back road to work. Boo

16 comments:

Danikabur said...

Yikes. I don't think I could have handled that movie at that age either.

Mark said...

Watch your 6, that's all I'm saying...

Reminds me of a neighbor kid who was a couple of years older than me, he bugs his parents endlessly to take him to see Friday The 13th when it came out. They refused for about a month, but he just wouldn't quit asking and whining.. so they broke down and took him.

He ended up having endless nightmares and I think he ended up seeing a shrink too.

Callie said...

Mom took me to see Amityville Horror when it came out. I was about 10 at the time, I think. I loved Horror movies, and would stay up late and watch them with my friend. After that movie, however, I refused to sleep with the light off for over a year. It freaked me out. To this day, I refuse to watch it on TV, and have never seen any of the remakes or sequals to it. I just can't.

JR said...

When I was a kid, I was allowed to rent any movie I wanted from the local store, and my movie of choice was Friday the 13th (any of them).

I think I watched them all, several times. Now, the only effect I have from them, is that those types of movies bore me. The only scary movies that get to me are the freaky ones, like "Signs" or "The Ring" that sorta' thing. The mass murder ones, like Texas Chainsaw and Nightmare on Elm, those do nothing.

-Justin

Joe said...

Nine years old at Night of The Living Dead? What the hell were your parents thinking?

I love zombie movies. I wrote a post a few months ago on why I like zombies, and why I think they're scary. If you'd like, you can read it here.

Mark said...

You self-promoting bastard. LOL

Kal said...

Dad let me see "The Exorcist" and this really awful movie about an ancient indian medicine man being born from a tumor on the back of some poor women (I think it was called "The Manitou" or something like that) when I was about nine.

Scared the crap out of me and I didn't sleep right for years after that (particularly in that old house my mother owns that she insists is haunted).

It's amazing I'm even slightly normal.

Joe said...

Mark - Lick me where I pee. :P

lowk said...

Thanks digi. Zombie movies really don't get to me. Just that very first one. I just hope this does'nt get worse as time goes on.

Mark said...

That's really not my thing, Digi.

Joe said...

Mark - Ah, that's alright. I wouldn't want to lick your mom's chest either.

heh, heh

Mark said...

Why I oughta..

Joe said...

Tell me you're not going to use that line the first chance you get, Mark.

Mark said...

Oh, for sure. It was good, and I didn't see it coming.

Chris said...

Yes, you have to be careful. It is harder for those little guys to realize that what you are seeing is fake. We were watching Lost and I did not realize my 3 year old was in the room, and they had one of those shots of the airliner when the tail fell off and he was terrified. I felt so sorry for him.

Jodie P said...

when i was 6 i watched this movie about an Indian doll that would come to life if the chain around it's waist came off...it when around killing, I had nightmares for 6 months after until my father showed me how "they used puppets with katchup and a butter knife" after that I was fine. I don't remember the name of the movie though...Child's Play was another one (the first one)