I DIDN’T SEE THE ORIGINAL I Spit on Your Grave
until 2001, when I fell in love with it. Eight years ear- lier, I had woken up to a knife to my neck and a serial rapist on top of me. He had broken into my apartment while I slept. He raped me. I think he wanted to kill me but not in my apartment. Luckily, I was able to convince him to take my money, work cheque and jewellery and leave. The bullshit I went through after the rape – going to three different hospitals to get a rape exam, the cops telling me that I didn’t lock my door and asking what I had been wearing (but not tak- ing the clothes as evidence), them never catching the guy– all made sure I got fucked a second time by the US injustice system. I tell this true story of surviving a rape so you understand that when a movie comes out that shows a survivor taking her revenge, well, I get a little catharsis. After the rape, I had several fantasies of finding the rapist and giving him what I knew he deserved. I will never have that satisfaction, but while watching both the original and the remake of I Spit on Your Grave, I got a small bit of satisfaction, even though I know it’s only a work of fiction. Rape scenes in movies are hard to watch, but I hope they give peo- ple a small glimpse into the real horror that rape sur- vivors go through. I thought the first I Spit on Your Grave was genius, and I loved the remake even more! For people who are callous to rape survivors, I want to ask them to imagine it happening to their mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, girlfriend, wife or them- selves, then maybe they would have a little empathy. RENAE BRYANT – CORONA, CALIFORNIA
I’D LIKE TO CONGRATULATE Dave Alexander on
the excellent defense of the horror genre in his Note From Underground (RM#108), when he ripped into the utterly pretentious new term “elevated genre.” How dare director Matt Reeves patronize and essentially dismiss the genre by describing his remake of Let the Right One In with: “The best thing about elevated genre stories is that they’re always about something else.” What a load of bol- locks. Horror has always had deep roots in, amongst other things, psychological analogy, socio-political allegory, dysfunctional romance, twisted sexuality and, of course, satire and black comedy. It seems younger filmmakers and critics are trying to be media savvy by coining new turns of phrase in order to sound hip. What it actually il- lustrates is their ignorance and arrogance. As Dave writes, “the edges tell us a lot about the centre.” Gareth Edwards’ Monsters was my favourite movie of last year. Chuck Zuber from Detroit [RM#108’s Post-Mortem] has no idea what he’s talking about! What’s wrong is that it was completed snubbed by
the Academy at this year’s Oscars. Now that indeed smacks of elevated arrogance! BRYN TILLY – SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
LIBRARY OF THE DAMNED in RM#107 spoke to
many of my frustrations with genres in general, not just horror. Vampire/zombie fatigue, mash-ups (I didn’t read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies when it came out, I admit, but my gut sensed something evil and ad nauseam on the horizon), rehashed and underbaked ideas, plush Cthulhu dolls – it’s all very depressing. But I don’t agree that it’s all doom and gloom for the genre. I think it’s part of a larger cycle. After all, the regurgitated pulps of the ’20s and ’30s gave way to Bradbury and Matheson, and Universal almost had to make Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Son of Dracula before there could be a Val Lewton. But Mon- ica’s solution is spot on. Genre fans should have more self-respect and respect for the genre will follow. BRIAN J. SHOWERS – DUBLIN, IRELAND
THE ANTI-HOLIDAY ISSUE, RM#107, is one of the
best yet. Loved the article on Eerie Publications. As a young teen, I used to hate those comics; I only bought them when the superior Warren books were not to be found. To Eerie’s credit, their covers did inspire some pretty wicked nightmares. Then again, that might be blamed on Hormel [canned meat products]. Also, the Classic Cut on The Twelve Terrors of Christmas was the perfect way to end a perfect issue. Only Ed Gorey could see bat wings in holly leaves. FRED R. KANE – ADDRESS WITHHELD
EDUCATORS ARE CONTINUALLY encouraged to
teach using material that students can relate to, or find interest in. Unfortunately, in public schools there is very little for the horror lover, because a great deal of the material would be deemed “inappropriate” for a classroom setting. So, I just wanted to thank you for a couple recent articles, because as a horror fan I con- tinuously come up empty-handed when trying to lo- cate interesting material for my high school English class, and I was quite excited to have found applicable material in my favourite magazine, Rue Morgue. Both “Ghoulish Grins: The History of the Jack-o’-Lantern” by Last Chance Lance (RM#105) and “Krampus Comes Calling” by James King and Alice Jaroschek (RM#107) were an awesome addition to my current unit of study. My students were much more willing to locate a thesis statement when the content was so interesting. I think it’s really great that Rue Morgue offers the gore and gratuitous violence that I desire, but from time to time also provides me with suitable classroom material! Keep up the great work, and thanks!
EVELYN CONLEY – MURRAY, KENTUCKY
TRUE HORROR FANS are tired of wimpires and glit- terpires. Ever since Interview with a Vampire, our beloved creatures of the night have become less and less scary. Who can truly cower in fear from an angst- ridden teenager pining away for a whiny, self-loathing teen? Dracula would walk into the sunlight if he saw what his brethren of the night have become. Enter the zombie. Small chance of these flesh-eating, rotting undead becoming a love objects. We see all kinds of rationalizations about mass consumerism, fear of being a faceless part of the herd and other mumble jumble about why people love zombie movies, but the truth is we are horror fans! We want to see something that scares us. We want blood and horror and fear and all that good stuff. TV series like The Walking Dead balance out stuff like The Vampire Di- aries. So thank you all who are giving us our mon- sters back. For finding the way to our hearts and brrrrrrains again. TONY RESENDES – SWIFT CURRENT, SASKATCHEWAN
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