HORROR TELEVISION: A LOVE LETTER IN RESPONSE TO THE WALKING DEAD, FACE OFF, AND MONSTER MAN

Dear O Heavenly Mothers and Fathers of Primetime Cable Television,

I'm not entirely positive what us horror nerds have done as of late to deserve such kindness from strangers, but in the wake of The Walking Dead, Face Off, and Monster Man, I would argue that the decision to have horror themed programming is one of the wisest decisions you have ever made.  Now I've already spent a great deal of time letting fangirl banter drip off my tongue and onto American Horror Story, but the programs that followed the season finale of AHS allowed my horror enthusiast and inner television connoisseur to thrive.  It seems that with every passing late night slot, a new show is waiting on the ready line to jump in and keep my juices flowing.  It is for this reason that I must express my undying love and gratitude for whatever 1% big wig that's allowing these shows the good ol' green light.

Now, let it be known that AMC is respected for cranking out some of the best expressions of cable programming, (I'm looking at you Mad Men & Breaking Bad) but they've also been known to give the go ahead to some downright embarrassing shows.  When it was announced that The Walking Dead was going to become a reality, I was ecstatic.  If there is a single human being on this planet that dislikes zombies, they should highly reevaluate their life.  After an exhilarating first season, I spent a great deal of the second season rushing home from late night rehearsals praying I'd catch the repeat of the episode on Sunday Nights.  Thanks to Talking Dead, I didn't miss a single episode all season.  I gotta say, I was rather impressed.  Anyone who wants to hate on the season should kindly take a step back and read a little rant by John Squires of Freddy in Space on the matter.  I will gladly admit that I was delivered a season of quality character development, a good balance of action and real life antics, a relatively respectful retelling of the original comic series, motherfrackin' zombies, and enjoyable acting jobs.  As far as I'm concerned, this was a highly successful sophomore season and it did nothing more than keep my excitement levels peaked for what they've got in store for us next season.

Another show returning to it's season 2.0 was SyFy's reality makeup competition, Face Off.  This is a show that sheds light on a livelihood that often goes unnoticed and is left without the respect that it deserves.  The show has spent two seasons bringing attention to some of the best makeup artists in the business and helps fuel the passions of genre nerds everywhere with the hopes that these men and women possess the skills to generate horrifying creatures that could help dispose of the remake kick. It takes some wicked skill and creativity to generate critters worthy of composing the symphony of our nightmares, and it's about damn time they get their proper recognition.  Face Off is far more than just some reality television show, it enforces the idea that these hardworking individuals are not creating their art in vain, and that the audience really does appreciate their work outside of the one Oscar dedicated to it a year that usually goes to films that didn't deserve it in the first place (watch your back Iron Lady). 

After Face Off was sent to tuck itself away until season 3, SyFy wasted absolutely no time in presenting another show geared to let horror geeks salivate with pure unadulterated desire.  Coming from a girl who's skirt feels a little cooler in the breeze just thinking about practical FX, the new show Monster Man is a wet dream in the form of prime time cable programming.  In a world where our filmmakers have gone CGI crazy, we have been given an opportunity to witness the creation and execution of good old hand made monsters.  I'm sorry, but the only thing that could make this better was if they recreated all of the FX in The Thing. 

So whoever you are out there in TV land, please continue with horror programming. I no longer feel like the weird kid with the remote control and I finally have something to watch that doesn't make my family hide in shame.  Keep on keepin' on.

Sincerely,

BJ-C

2011: THE YEAR HORROR WENT TO TELEVISION?

As the changing seasonal winds begin to blow throughout my Midwestern campus, I find myself reflecting about the year 2011.  As a proud survivor of TWO raptures and someone who managed to choose a school other than Penn State, I was lucky enough to ultimately deem this year as satisfying.  While my personal life has been decently satisfying, I fear that the world of the horror genre may be signaling a drastic change.  2011 was undoubtedly the year of unoriginality.  A whopping amount of the horror films that were released this year were sequels, remakes, reboots, or films heavily inspired by already beloved ones.  Obviously there were some "little indie films that could", (Hobo with a Shotgun, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?) but as a whole, this year was a little more than lackluster for quality horror films.  To contrast to this, television shows within the horror genre EXPLODED with creativity and entertaining themes. 

Previously mentioned on this blog, Ryan Murphy's sensational hit American Horror Story has completely taken the horror television genre by the collar and threatened it for its lunch money.  AHS is the combined effort of every staple within the genre and shaken all together like a bottle of glitter at a Ke$ha concert.  As a horror fanatic (and I huge Ryan Murphy fangirl) I feel it is my duty as a genre fan to try and expose everyone I know to this masterpiece, and pray that it continues on to earn the viewership it deserves.

Back for its fourth season is everyone's favorite Vampire series, True Blood.  I'll admit...I stopped watching the show halfway through the train wreck that was season three.  My hopes were crushed and I found myself unable to pay attention any longer to the ridiculous storylines and unbelievable character arcs.  A friend of mine is a complete and total diehard fan of the series and assured me that season four was more than making up for season three.  Against my better judgement, I gave the show another chance.  You know something, I'm so very glad that I did.  Season four packs a hell of a punch and Anna Paquin is as cute as ever.  Luckily for fangbangers everywhere, season four was powerful enough for HBO to renew the show for a fifth season to come out this summer. 

Earlier this October, AMC finally brought back the most talked about show of 2010, The Walking Dead.  Even after the very public firing of Frank Darabount, the season premiere, "What Lies Ahead" broke the record for the most watched cable drama in basic cable history, attaining 7.3 million viewers.  Not too shabby for a season opener, eh?  What excites me even more is that the episode was directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton...A WOMAN. Holla. Anyway, TWD has been bringing in the audiences with record numbers and although hitting a bit of a low spot throughout the middle of the season, last nights' mid-finale (directed by another woman, Michelle MacLaren) more than made up for it.  I am thirsting for it to be February just to find out how the rest of the season is going to go.  Last night really hit me in the gut, but it's exactly the jump start the season needed.  Is it a shock that the best two episodes of the season were directed by women? Not. One. Bit.

To put it bluntly, horror movies this year were less than stellar and horror television shows seem to be paving the way for genre fanatics everywhere.  Horror filmmakers everywhere should take a page from the book of these shows.  Remakes and sequels don't have to be the status quo, your audiences are THIRSTING for originality and characters they actually care about.  Quit slacking off and relying on jump scares and CGI and focus on what they teach you the first day of film school...the storyline matters.