Bloody Diamonds

For most of my life I have believed that I don't have a favorite genre of movies. Just as it is with books, food, places and most other experiences, except maybe with people, I am open to experimentation. And I actually do enjoy all sorts of movies. But in recent times I have realized that if there's one genre that I can watch no matter what mood I am in, it's the Horror/Thriller genre.

There are various kinds of horror movies. There are out-and-out ghost capers like House on the Haunted Hill, which are probably the least horrifying.

There are zombie movies, which are fun to watch, but not when you are having your food. Those zombies could use a little make-up.

There are slasher flicks, like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, which I like mainly because of the guessing game of who drops dead next, and in what manner.

A slight variation of these is the Final Destination series, which is even more innovative as far as ticking people off is concerned, and I loved all three. My favorite scene from the series, in fact one of the all-time favorite ones across my lifetime movie watching experience, is the pile-up in Final Destination 2.

Then there are the ones like The Hills Have Eyes, which is a mix-and-match of a zombie/deranged killer movie and a slasher movie. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the older one of course, is a classic.

My third most favorite sub-genre is of the kind made by Ruggero Deodato, Cannibal Holocaust being a prime example. The absolute gruesomeness of the whole thing, the disregard for human or, even worse, animal life is intriguing and extremely satisfying.

My second most favorite sub-genre includes movies like Saw or Hostel, where people are killed without any apparent reason. And in much more gory manner in each sequel. I absolutely loved Hostel 2 for the inanity of torturing young people to death for the fun of it. That's what killing should be all about!

But my favorite genre, by far, is the psychological horror flick. The Shining. Identity. 1408. I just finished watching 1408, and I was blown away. By John Cusack's acting. And the effectiveness of the whole thing. It does not scare you as much as unnerve you. 1408 even does a twist on the whole movie being a nightmare or imagination thingie.

Wes Craven, Dario Argento, Roman Polanski, Eli Roth are some of the members of the pantheon of great horror film makers. Argento's contributions to the Masters of Horror TV series have made me a huge fan of his, despite the dated movies he has made in the past.

I haven't seen any of the Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street movies, unfortunately. And I am sure I'd love most of them. I wonder if we'll have movies like these in India any time soon. They did remake Identity into a C-grade trash of a movie starring Juhi Chawla and Shilpa Shetty along with lots of has-beens and never-had-beens. Of course, even Shilpa Shetty was a has-been then.