A Question of Desensitivity

As a film critic, sometimes I like to challenge myself by watching movies that most people would say, "Oh, hell no!" to. I suppose in a certain regard, I'm kind of throwing myself under the bus to endure the movies that most rational people wouldn't touch with a 50-foot pole. I tend to gravitate towards horror movies and some of the most shocking films that have been committed to film are horror movies. Granted people thought that Friday the 13 and Nightmare on Elm Street were shocking. But I'm talking about movies like Audition and A Serbian Film. These are some of the most depraved movies I've ever seen. After having seen A Serbian Film, nothing shocks me anymore. And on the other side of the coin, no other movie prior to A Serbian Film has shocked me. I guess that would say something about how desensitized I am to violence on film, that it takes that one movie to actually make me genuinely feel something. I don't regret seeing A Serbian Film, hell I own a copy of it on Blu-Ray. But I have a copy to remind that not all movies are rosy. Some will drag you through the dirt and the muck. I just recently viewed The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence. It was hyped up to be brutal and gross, and it certainly delivered. I won't review it here. I posted it on The Dead Centre, a small horror community that I'm a staff member of. I appreciate a good horror movie, but sometimes I end up getting more than I bargained for. Then again, I AM a fan of horror movies, and the fans of the genre are always looking for stuff that's going to push the envelope.

The genre isn't for everybody, and even those that claim to be hardcore fans, there are certain dark corners of the genre that they won't peek into. As a film critic, I feel it's my obligation to seek out the particular films that no-one has heard of, the controversial and the bizarre. I remain as objective as possible when I review movies, but A Serbian Film reminded me that it's not that easy to stay objective, because there are certain subjects that tend to get my blood boiling. But as reviewer, the trick is to not let emotion take control of the review, which I have seen happen before from other critics. Some critics have a blatant disregard for the horror genre, and to me that's dishonest. Horror is as legitimate a genre as comedy, even though it's geared towards a certain audience. I think if you're going to enjoy the genre, be careful, because there are films out there that will pummel you if you're not ready. If you're curious about the horror films that I've reviewed, I will point you to: www.thedeadcentre.com.