Funny Games: Not A Horror Film

While watching the movie, “Funny Games” I did not feel as Carroll described. I did not feel repulsed in addition to being attracted to this film. I felt completely repulsed. The manner in which the film was done repulsed me, the storyline repulsed me, and everything repulsed me. If I were not already invested in the movie for this assignment, I would definitely not have watched any longer than maybe five minutes. I believe this statement should be revised to one where the question is, why are we so entertained by something that ordinarily we would find so repulsive? There may be those who find themselves with the feeling that they “just can’t look away” despite how gruesome it is, but I also believe there are those who are genuinely intrigued and entertained by the gory and evil situations that take place within horror films, like myself. The curiosity and entertainment are the only attractive characteristics of horror movies in my opinion, and if I were to be truly repulsed I would no longer continue to subject myself to such a thing.

In Carroll’s, “The Paradox of Horror,” he says that being in an emotional state is “invigorating” and if we do not have the pay the consequence for this emotional state, i.e. being in fear is often spurned by an actual event of being in danger, but because we do not have the pay this price, we are left feeling bewildered. We are able to enjoy this in a way that is not directly or negatively affecting ourselves. This is a statement that I highly agree with.  We are able to enjoy this sense of bewilderment rather than be fearful of the given situation because we are not physically a part of it other than the viewership of it. There is a detachment. However, this as Carroll explains, does not explain the attraction to horror movies in completion. Within the movie “Funny Games” I did find myself completely apathetic to the family because I did not identify with them which is to further my feeling of detachment. Wondering how the movie would end invigorated me. I was captivated in knowing why Paul and Peter were harassing this family. It made no sense to me that these two rich, college age, reasonably attractive males were doing what they were doing to this family. And by the end of the movie I there was still no answer. It was a senseless, needless, and ultimately fruitless movie. There was nothing to take away from this movie, not even entertainment as I see it.