We had an opportunity to get out of the house a few weeks back and see a movie. Something happened there that has been 'haunting me' so to speak. We saw a preview for a new horror movie titled 'Stay Alive'. The premise of which was a typical twist on a typical theme in films of this genre; in this one, if you die in the game you die for real. Whatever. That's not what's haunting me.
And it's not the fact that this tripe continues to be released, and makes money. It's not the fact that the line of what it takes to gross out and terrorize has been so excessively violated and crossed over that it's now visible on the horizon ahead. It's not the fact that I believe these shallow efforts by the studios to make a quick buck only contribute to the numbing and callous removal of our society from concern over the violence and brutality that exists in the real world already. And it's not the extreme insult to my own intelligence that is represented by every flash of a disfigured face, an exaggerated ringing of a telephone, a sudden pulse of screeching violins or gratuitous and exceedingly gruesome displays of the most disgustingly violent concepts... an envelope that's been pushed farther than Paris Hilton's uterus.
What haunts me, and disgusts me, is that I was a captive. I had no option but to be subjected to this disturbing vision and sound. And if you've been to a theatre these days, the surround sound is blasted so loud it'd make Pete Townshend wince, so there's no easy out of closing your eyes and turning away. We were forced to sit through it, like Alex in 'A Clockwork Orange' undergoing experimental reform treatment.
Here's where it really gets ridiculous: This preview was shown before playing 'Capote'. Capote is as 'art-house' of a film as you can get. When I walked into the theatre to find my wife in our seats, the first thought I had was that every single person in this theater had stopped putting their children in diapers no less than 10 years ago, and many probably were wearing a pair themselves. This was not the 'target market' for a blaring preview of a film in with game addicted 20-something's were dispatched in unison with their virtual counterparts.
Maybe because the book Capote writes in the movie is about a murder, the studio lumped them into the same category. Or perhaps the thought was that the mature adult audience would be so annoyed and bothered that they'd insist their own kids [or grandkids] not go see this, which in turn would ensure they do. OR perhaps the thought was that the vision of the premise would be one of secret delight... a way of thinning out their ranks a bit.. a perverse view on the force of evil combining with the force of nature and weeding out the idiot. I must admit, at that angle, I'm intrigued.
Before you scoff and bring up all the lame rationalizations that movies and games like this are just entertainment, hold your tongue there, Mr. Peabody... Sherman says you're you're an idiot. I won't go off on this tangent here, but there's more than enough evidence that shows that violent films and violent games result in increased violence in children, and worse, severe detachment from the reality of violence on the whole. I struggled with this very concept when Pulp Fiction was release and I embraced it as one of the best films ever made. I still consider it so, but I also recognize that it's something I'd hesitate to show to anybody under 25, and its context is vastly different; it was a brilliant character study and interwoven story with violent currents, not a river of boilerplate horror plot for the sake of terror alone. Oh, and the preview's were nowhere near the level of disturbing as those for Stay Alive are.
Just imagine taking one of the few opportunities you have in a chaotic daily life, choosing to venture out with your spouse and spend your hard earned money on a subtle, intellectual art-house documentary about a renowned writer, and having to first sit through a full volume full-screen trailer like this.
It could have been worse though. It could have been the trailer for 'Staying Alive'. Now that... that is horror.
