[Editorial] Editor’s Note: Curating Your Own Horror

As horror fans we often rely on other outlets, fans and critics to help curate the way in which we watch films. If we see our favourite film journalist tweeting away about a particular film that blew their mind, there is a high chance we will go and seek it out.

But during a discussion on the new social media site Clubhouse (yes, I’m now obsessed with yet another social site, grrr), Phil Nobile, editor of Fangoria, asked if we don’t seek out films through the aforementioned means, how do we curate watchlists?

He caught me out on the spot and I didn’t have a particularly good answer, but it got me thinking about how we curate our own horror and our viewing habits when choosing what to watch. Typically yes, I would naturally look to peers or people I admire (like Phil himself) for recommendations on what to watch, but sometimes you just need to curate your own horror. Lately I’ve been taking two approaches to this; the first being filling in blind spots that I may have missed over the years. For instance I wanted to revisit some classics that are revered as some of the most enigmatic horrors ever created, or at least they’ve earned a respected name in the industry. One of those films was Rosemary’s Baby (1968) which in some ways I avoided because the director is a rapist pedophile, so I made sure I streamed this illegally because fuck contributing to that guy’s paycheck. It absolutely astounded me, and it's got me working on a new article just because it is a film that holds such a sheer power, especially from a woman’s perspective. Then I dove headfirst into What Ever Happened To Baby Jane 1962, a film that made for a wonderful double bill and also holds an immense power regarding sibling rivalry, jealousy and the overwhelming feeling that life has gotten away from you. After watching these two films, I realised that filling in some blindspots and looking at classics provided me with such a different viewpoint on certain aspects, and in retrospect meant that I could see the influences of said films flowing through more modern pieces of work. Approaching the curation of horror by revisiting older films has been an effective way for me to discover some gems that I had missed. 

There has been one other way recently that I’ve been curating my horror watchlist and that all comes down to mood. I have always been incredibly affected by my current mood and state of mind, and often find that depending on this there is a need to alter the way or what is on my watchlist. Sometimes it could take the form of being particularly vibing extreme violence and sexuality, but other times it could be something like female serial killers. Recently my inner mood has craved slow, oppressive films that linger with you for days after, which isn’t necessarily the most uplifting type of film to watch but it can feel quite emotive. That led me to a re-watch of Robert Eggers The VVitch 2015 which holds such an immense power that it feels quite overwhelming at times. I hadn’t seen this one since it was released and I watched it alone at midnight whilst living on my own… Bad idea. This time however, I showed my partner this film and safe to say we both were left reeling afterwards, which was, I’m sure, the desired effect of Eggers. After this it was time to rewatch Snowtown 2011 by Justin Kurzel, which might just be one of the most incredibly horrific films someone could watch. Based on the real Snowtown murders which happened in Australia in the 90s, this film depicts the true events regarding John Bunting and how he manipulated his girlfriend’s son to help murder 11 victims through torture, placing their bodies in barrels afterwards. I wouldn’t recommend this film to many people because it’s exceptionally gruelling to get through, but for me I do consider it to be one of the best tellings of real serial killers. Simply curating a list of films to watch isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially when you’re unsure of what you want to watch but I’ve found both of these methods, visiting classics and following my mood, really allow me to watch a selection of films that all bring something different to the table. And as for figuring out exactly what films fit the bill for either of those two points, it just comes down to research, research and more research. 

So how do you curate lists of horror films to watch? I’d be very interested to hear other viewpoints on this and some other ways in which people put together lists of films to watch. It feels like quite a personal experience and one that opens the viewer up to a new selection of films and ways to discover films. 

Send us a tweet over on Twitter or message us on Facebook or Instagram with your thoughts on this and how you curate horror!

Love and guts,

Z x

RELATED ARTICLES

---

---

GHOULS GANG CONTENT

EXPLORE

---

MORE ARTICLES

---

---