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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 9:11:16 GMT
So, what was it that first got you into horror? For me it was a combination of two things. At the time I was only knee high to a grasshopper when I crept downstairs one night and turned on the TV to watch a late night showing of 'Horror Express'. I'd seen it listed in the TV guide that day and was determined to watch it. I remember the brief description of the film sounded sooooooooo scary that there was no way I ws going to let it pass me by. Around the same time I managed to pick up a copy of James Herbert's 'The Rats' from a school summer fare. I can't remember if it was 'Horror Express' or 'The Rats' that actually came first, but they were around the same time. I was now firmly on my way to becoming converted for life...
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Post by ian on Aug 11, 2009 9:28:55 GMT
Strangely enough, it was The Rats by James herbert that flicked THAT switch back when I was a kid.
But I became a serious horror book collector in October 1988.
The beginning of that month started with me being put in hospital for two weeks after getting the living shit stamped out of me. My taste in music changed from synth pop to metal and I started gobbling up books at an incredible rate.
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Post by TheWalkinDude on Aug 11, 2009 10:43:59 GMT
i always loved horror and as a child i read all sorts of nonsense. point horror, Christopher Pike (i still have Monster and have read dozens of others) but my first adult read was also The Rats. my bro came into my room one day and ghave me the book, then i was addicted and have been since!
it seems to me that either JH or The Rats seems to be a right of passage for most individuals, the bridge between reading children/teen books to adult.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 11:44:26 GMT
I too have noticed that 'The Rats' is a popular first horror novel for people. Stephen King stuff is also a popular introduction to the genre.
The only children's/teen novels that I read were good old Raul Dahl books. I didn't do any of this Point Horror malarky. From 'The Witches' to 'The Rats'. It's was a hell of a ride...
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 13:47:00 GMT
A combination of Universal Horror and ITV.
I was allowed to stay up late one day of the week as a kid, and whenever a horror film was on, that's the night I'd choose.
Lugosi, Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr etc. I caught them all quite early on. A tiny bit later came the Hammer horrors introducing me to Cushing and Lee and so on.
I was an avid collector of Monster Mag - and started buying novels.
I have no idea what the first novel I read was, but I'd hazard a guess and say it was The Exorcist by Blatty. The film was huge at the time, in the newspapers, and breaking box office records. But I was too young to go and see it (under 18). So the next best thing was the book - which no-one cared about who read. Turns ut the book is more scary than the film!
However I read a lot after that from GNS to Herbert, and just lots and lots more.
I have mostly retained my love of horror cinema. My favorite movie period is between 1910 to 1950's. Silent cinema is probably my favorite these days. However, I'll watch most things if it has a horror topic (watched something called Banshee last night, even though it was very very poor).
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 14:10:31 GMT
I bet you're a fan of Tod Slaughter then...
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 14:38:05 GMT
Slaughter is great - love his Sweeney Todd performance! Anything he was in was terrific though.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 15:31:59 GMT
Slaughter is great - love his Sweeney Todd performance! Anything he was in was terrific though. 'The Crimes of Stephen Hawke' was one of his finest moments in my somewhat uneducated opinon. Although I have to agree with you on his performance of Sweeny Todd. A mate of mine is really into all that silent film malarky. He bought a laserdisc of Georges Méliès's work which I had to sit through whilst he copied it off onto tape (I have a laserdisc player and he doesn't). Was actually quite interesting....but I wouldn't sit down to watch it all over again in a hurry.
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 15:45:17 GMT
I have the complete works of Melies on DVD. It runs for around 13 hours or so, if you watch the whole thing (multiple discs, of course).
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 15:47:19 GMT
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 18:14:13 GMT
Have you watched the whole thing yet? My money's on 'no'.
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 18:21:27 GMT
You'd lose that bet!
I love early cinema, it's magically, awe-inspiring. More so than anything modern cinema I've seen.
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 11, 2009 20:19:44 GMT
Fair do's mate. Anyway, how long before someone mentions Friedrich W Murnau on here? I'm guessing another one of your fav's Vaughan??? P.S. I've kind of stretched my silent movie knowledge almost to the limit now...
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Post by Vaughan on Aug 11, 2009 20:25:30 GMT
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Post by Dreadlocksmile on Aug 12, 2009 8:46:27 GMT
They say a picture speaks a thousand words... Only joking handsome. Well, you're clearly quite passionate about silent cinema. If only you could meet my mate Kip Zuel (yes...that really is his real name). I've dabbled here and there with a bit of silent cinema in the past. Seen some quite enjoyable pieces. Sat through some Laurel and Hardy silent films that were quite cool. I know it's a long shot, but have you seen Clive Barker's 'Salome' or 'The Forbidden' short films. They're silents...and damn damn fine pieces of creepy cinema. Well...when I say that they're silents, they do have creepy atmospheric soundtracks that accompanies them. But no 'actual' sound other than the backing score.
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