Look out! He's got a knife!

Sexy Horror

A few years back my friend Cal asked me, "Why horror?" (At the time she was my new flatmate, and seemed a little disturbed by my appetite for gruesome movies, which she doesn't get into at all.)

I didn't have a coherent answer, and six years later I still don't have one but I do think about it every now and again. After much musing and contemplating, I think the best answer is:

SEX.

Horror is sexy. Horror is sexual. Horror is about the body, horror is about life and death, and the same is true of sex.

More importantly though, fear itself is intimately involved with sex. Being scared is sexy and scaring someone else is sexy. It's exciting, it's a rush. Just as great sex often follows a big argument, it also often follows a big scare. Sex can be comforting if you are afraid of something that's going to happen, it can be made more exciting by being just a little afraid of your partner, it can be more passionate if you're afraid of losing them.

Being into someone and not knowing if they are into you can be scary. Ringing them up can be scary: you want to talk to the person, but you're half-hoping they won't answer because if they do you'll need to make your move or chicken out.

Fear is sexy. Just admit it.

OK I know there are probably some people who don't like being scared, just as there are possibly some people who like their sex to be dull and predictable. Too bad for them.

But if you're one of those people, think about this: Remember a time when you inadvertently scared someone you found attractive. Maybe you just walked up behind them and said "Hi" when they didn't know you were there, and they jumped and maybe squealed a little, then you both laughed. You got a little thrill out of that, didn't you? Wasn't it just a little bit sexy?

No doubt someone will misread this as being sadistic. "I like to scare people, it gives me power." I'm not talking about that. That crap can just go away.

I'm talking about going to see a scary movie and clutching your partner's arm in the good bits. (Even Cal admits to having done this.) I'm talking about walking through a dark and spooky alley on the way to your beloved's house and being that much more eager to fell into their arms when you get there. I'm talking about the good scary, not the bad evil "things are genuinely going to harm me" scary.

OK, it's not the most profound or original thing anyone's ever said. It's not even the most profound or original thing I've said this week. It was just on my mind.

Next up, Chick Flicks For Guys.

Posted by joey at April 20, 2006 5:26 PM