A RANTING

which has no business in criticism, but I'm not criticizing, I'm lecturing . . .

I am not talking about the intentional humor of 1955's Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy, or some of those William Castle abominations, or, more recently, Scream. No, this is Plan 9 from Outer Space territory where the original production was erstwhile or plainly avaricious, and the ceaseless mocking from the public came afterwards. In these cases, parody is the regrettable side effect engendered when the acceptance of your effort is strictly based upon the narrow parameters of a reaction like fear, horror, or disgust as experienced by the audience right this minute. Try watching White Zombie. Now, are you screaming or laughing? What about the thousands of other out-of-date films that make up the vast majority of Horror's canon? Even half-way respectable shockers like Mad Love--another three-make, followed by chucklefests like The Beast With Five Fingers and 1960s The Hands of Orlac--or The Thing--the 1951 original, not Carpenter's 1982 version--deflate from unintentional guffaws.

© copyright 10/12/2006 by Larry Crawford