Embrace Something You Dislike
I don’t watch horror movies. Or thrillers.
If it’s got a werewolf, a vampire, a zombie or any of their first cousins, I’m out. I don’t even care for the scene in The Sound of Music when the Von Trapps hide from the Nazis behind the Abbey tombstones.
So for my author challenge to embrace something I dislike, I summoned my eldest son to suffer alongside me and watch Red Riding Hood with Amanda Seyfried.
I chose this thriller from a list of much worse options. Titles with dripping-blood-font never even made the cut. But I stopped at this well known story, curious to see how a dark children’s fairytale might translate into a full blown adult thriller.
It didn’t hurt that the setting and time period appealed. A medieval snow-bound village, reminiscent of what might have been on the other side of Hansel and Gretel’s wood.
But the gingerbread cuteness didn’t last long before the sinister wolf threat, (and the mysterious and elusive villager who transformed into him every red moon,) took over. The scenes transfixed me. Each one worse than the previous one. Each one closer to finishing off Red Riding Hood in lurking shadows, those wide panicked eyes of Amanda Seyfried's, bigger and more tear filled with each passing death threat. (The bigger to see you with...)This is when I pressed back into the couch.
But, be proud.
Instead of taking a convenient bathroom break I let myself sift through the myriad of twists and hints to work out who the villain might be. I pushed through the instinct to hide behind clenched fists. Kept taking in the picture perfect snowy scenery where hideous murders took place. I breathed through heart stopping music designed to heighten my fear and make me believe a wolf might actually be ready to bust through my own front door.
Why did I push myself to embrace this much-avoided movie genre?
To remind myself that in fiction, characters need to demonstrate the capacity to change. If they did not, readers would not be very interested in following their struggles.
Did I change? Did I break a long held barrier? Will I return to the Foxtel list of thrillers and chance another movie in this genre?
Perhaps. If I have someone with me. And all the lights on. And the volume on low.
Perhaps. If I have someone with me. And all the lights on. And the volume on low.
The real test might come in a darkened cinema with surround sound and my Beloved beside me, agreeable to severe bruising and perhaps a fractured finger bone or two.
Are you a thriller or horror fan? What film/book genre do you most dislike?
Blessings for a wonderful weekend,
