The Bite #126

The Kids Aren’t Alright: Why Now Is The Time For Teen Horror, THE FOG Limited Edition LP, And More!

September 15, 2020

In this Issue:

Horror History: The Kids Aren’t Alright: Why Now Is The Time For Teen Horror
Image of the Week: This Is Halloween
Tiny Bites – This Week’s Best Horror Headlines
Things We Love: There’s Something In The Fog
Hey, That’s Us! – Shudder in the News

HORROR HISTORY

The Kids Aren’t Alright: Why Now Is The Time For Teen Horror

Horror movies have long been favored by teen audiences. But as I teen I can tell you: today’s horror isn’t hitting home for us.

As a horror-obsessed teen myself, it’s disheartening to see the lack of genre fans my age. Some of the only recent horror films most teens know are It (2017) and Hereditary, and when it comes to the former, most are surprised to find out it’s a remake. The general (and wrong) consensus among my peers is similar to our Gen-X/Baby Boomer parents; that horror is full of cheap gimmicks to scare you but doesn’t have much in the way of substance.

The truth is that we aren’t seeing ourselves represented in modern horror films, and watching reboots of 80’s movies doesn’t give us the same sense of nostalgia that appeals to Millennials and Gen-Xers. We want filmmakers to see us, to point out our specific fears and dilemmas.

The things that scared previous generations are realities for us. Gen-Z was taught to stay safe from serial killers and kidnappers from a young age. I know to look for all the exits/hiding spots in every room I enter in case of a shooting. My previous high school (30 minutes from Newtown) and the majority of high schools in the area have received multiple bomb and shooting threats. Gen-Z is terrified and we feel isolated from the previous generations that didn’t have the same extreme concerns. We need outlets like film to validate our anxieties about the current world and show us that it’s survivable.

It’s time to produce original horror content to serve the next generation. Gen-Z doesn’t want another remake or a decades-belated sequel. We also don’t want a generationally hyper-aware movie about a Tik Tok-murderer. Therein lies the rub; the few horror films that are targeted at Gen-Z audiences either miss what we really want or don’t get noticed.

A film like Tragedy Girls is a promising start. It seems to come from a place of teen angst and have vivid messages about the new generation. Meanwhile, films like Becky and Daniel Isn’t Real tackle the impacts of childhood trauma and violence.

We need to see more of this.

A small percentage of my peers enjoy horror, and even fewer are passionate about making it. In a couple of decades, my generation will be running the horror industry. Most people currently running the show reference films from their childhood that fostered their love for the genre. If horror filmmakers want the genre to progress and grow in the future, they need to be inspiring the next generation as the previous one inspired them.

Cory McCullough, better known as Gory Cory, is a 17-year-old horror blogger and aspiring filmmaker. She runs GoryCory.com where she discusses social messages within the horror genre.

IMAGE OF THE WEEK

This Is Halloween

Kick-ass girl group album cover, or promotional still from 1978’s Halloween? These scream queens are still horror squad goals.

TINY BITES

FREAKY, THE ART OF HUMAN ANATOMY AND MORE

Halloween will be a little different this year in LA County as new guidelines and regulations are implemented to keep citizens safe while trick-or-treating.

This piece has some excellent recommendations for how to safely get in the Halloween spirit.

If you’ve already started your spooky celebration, these tweets are most definitely for you.

Get more horror in your life with these 20 best horrorcore albums.

Ben Wheatley’s Rebecca adaptation got a haunting first trailer…

… as did Adam Sandler’s upcoming family-friendly horror-comedy (yep, you read that right), Hubie Halloween…

… while Blumhouse surprised us all with the trailer for Freaky, the Freaky Friday-inspired slasher we never knew we always needed.

Men’s Health weighed in with their picks for the best horror films from the 80s.

Alt Press made a list of 90s horror movies that still hold up that includes classics like Misery alongside lesser-known gold like Cemetery Man.

This piece figured out the scariest holiday based on (roughly) how many movies exist about it. SPOILER: it’s not Halloween.

The New York Times has some recently-released horror non-fiction recommendations from Weird Women and The Art Of Human Anatomy to Gothic horror guidebooks and Cursed Objects.

After almost 40 years, the abandoned sequel to 1976’s Grizzly starring Laura Dern, George Clooney, and Charlie Sheen is being released.

Syfy Wire’s Fangrrls wrote about why the nightmare in-laws trope is such perfect fodder for terror gold.

Synchronic filmmakers Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson and producer David Lawson released a statement urging moviegoers to safely see their latest film at home.