 I get caught in genre ruts. As is the case right now I will immerse myself in b-movie heaven for months on end.... consuming copious amounts of rarities and cultish trash. But then I can snap into a month of wisdom, watching as many historical films and documentaries as possible. Every genre of film is covered by these moods and as I mentioned, right now its 80s sci-fi B-movies! The one recurring figure in my latest phase is Charles Band. In my recent review of Doctor Mordrid I described him as an Auteur of B... from Demonic Toys to Trancers... Puppet Master to Gingerdead Man. There's no denying that a huge amount of his catalogue is crap, particularly from the year 2000 onwards, but it's the type of crap I can happily spend time consuming. Amongst them there are some gems... some that shine above the rest. Doctor Mordrid, Trancers, Arcade & Re-Animator are obvious ones. But it occurred to me recently that my (some would say) mystifying love of such things dates right back to early childhood and that Charles Band is responsible for this passion.  One of the earliest film related memories I have is from when I was 6 years old. I recall vividly spending an afternoon at a neighbour's house with a whole bunch of other kids. The older brother of one of these kids also had his teenage friends over and they were watching horror movies. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and Ghoulies were brand new releases at the time and with the parents nowhere to be seen, us little ones sat on bean bags and stared wide-eyed at these movies. A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 didn't phase me. Sure, it scared me but I could hack it.... but it was Ghoulies that scarred me for life. The terrifying and menacing presence of Freddy Krueger was nothing compared with the blood curdling, nightmare-inducing horror of Ghoulies. The funny thing is that NOTHING in the movie affected me.... but rather the tagline. One of the older kids read the video cover out aloud. “They'll get you in the end”. My six year old brain went ballistic. WHAT?? They'll GET ME? Those creepy little demons will actually GET ME? FUCK THAT!! The movie was only half way through but I wasn't taking any chances and so I picked my ass up and ran all the way home. Enjoy the movie suckers!
Upon reflection, that flash of terror felt exhilarating and I have been chasing it ever since. This explains my deep seeded love of horror and b-movies. I am forever looking for that feeling... and while I occasionally come close, I will never again be struck with such a powerful and motivating terror like I was that one afternoon... Thank you Charles Band.
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