- Sep 22, 2013
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Why do Americans love horror films?
Americans arguably make the best horror films, and the 'Big 4' of horror cinema --- Michael Myers (Halloween), Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Jason (Friday the 13th), and Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) are all American.
Maybe America's brand of multi-cultural pedestrianism is conducive to 'everyday fears' about life turbulence.
American horror films delve into the shock of unexpected strangeness and the allure of 'empiricism consciousness,' which is why comic books perhaps are so popular in America (since comic books speak to layman curiosities about the 'experience of the other-worldly').
The great American writer Herman Melville explored the fascination with everyday experience and how it can be elevated to the level of metaphysics in strange stories such as Moby Dick and Bartleby the Scrivener.
The Halloween American horror film franchise examines the perceptible eeriness of masquerade and how it speaks to the 'experience of being surprised by a stranger.' We see a ghoulish masked serial killer named Michael Myers who prey on our sensibilities about suburban mingling.
After all, Americans make experience-rich films such as Barefoot in the Park and Toys.
So I thought it would be interesting to put an 'experience-heavy' spin on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre storyline by positing that two American Civil War soldiers (brothers) go through a time portal during a battle and end up in modern-day Texas where they both decide to become the chainsaw-wielding super-ghoul Leatherface and in the process discover the strange reality of 'American bigotry.'
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Daniel and Robert were brothers in Virginia during the American Civil War and had enlisted in the Union and Confederate armies, respectively. Daniel was the older brother and very focused on civics and frustrated about democracy corruption. Robert was the younger brother who opted to enlist with the South and was very passionate about American tradition, even if it warranted criticism.
Daniel and Robert found themselves face-to-face at the Battle of Vicksburg. Daniel couldn't believe he was shooting his rifle towards his own brother, and he became paranoid about the strangeness of politics. Robert was less concerned about brotherly betrayal but wondered what his deceased mother would think about her two sons fighting on opposite sides, and the idea excited him, oddly enough. Suddenly, the two brothers, sitting on opposite ends of the battlefield, both saw a vision of an angel opening up some kind of portal. Daniel and Robert both decided to walk through these portals.
Daniel realized he was somewhere in Texas but at some point in the future. He was still dressed in his Union outfit and wondered where his brother Robert was, and Robert was also in Texas somewhere at the same time and wondered if he could find his brother Daniel. Daniel stumbled into a saloon in Austin and asked around about the date and time, and the laughing patrons told him it was September 1995. Robert was at a hardware store where he stole a chainsaw.
It was Halloween Eve, just one month later, and Daniel and Robert were both wandering around Austin. Robert was dressed as a monster carrying his chainsaw, and he walked upon Daniel who was wearing a similar costume and also carrying a chainsaw. "So, brother, you're in Texas in 1995 too. I suppose you walked through a portal of your own. Well, I found this nifty little devastating chainsaw tool at a hardware store myself, and I suppose you're calling yourself Leatherface too!" Daniel stated to his brother Robert who couldn't believe he was seeing a mirror image of himself.
Robert knew he wanted the mantle of Leatherface, and he was willing to kill his brother to win the dubious honor. Robert asked his brother why time-travel had turned them both into monsters, and his older brooding brother Daniel coldly told him that human beings were not meant to travel through time. The two chainsaw-wielding lost souls ran towards each other, and with one swift and accurate swipe, Robert killed his older brother on a field in an Austin park on Halloween Eve. As Robert stood over the fallen body of his brother Daniel, he looked up into the sky and eerily said, "The Devil never pardons political crusaders!"
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Americans arguably make the best horror films, and the 'Big 4' of horror cinema --- Michael Myers (Halloween), Freddy Krueger (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Jason (Friday the 13th), and Leatherface (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) are all American.
Maybe America's brand of multi-cultural pedestrianism is conducive to 'everyday fears' about life turbulence.
American horror films delve into the shock of unexpected strangeness and the allure of 'empiricism consciousness,' which is why comic books perhaps are so popular in America (since comic books speak to layman curiosities about the 'experience of the other-worldly').
The great American writer Herman Melville explored the fascination with everyday experience and how it can be elevated to the level of metaphysics in strange stories such as Moby Dick and Bartleby the Scrivener.
The Halloween American horror film franchise examines the perceptible eeriness of masquerade and how it speaks to the 'experience of being surprised by a stranger.' We see a ghoulish masked serial killer named Michael Myers who prey on our sensibilities about suburban mingling.
After all, Americans make experience-rich films such as Barefoot in the Park and Toys.
So I thought it would be interesting to put an 'experience-heavy' spin on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre storyline by positing that two American Civil War soldiers (brothers) go through a time portal during a battle and end up in modern-day Texas where they both decide to become the chainsaw-wielding super-ghoul Leatherface and in the process discover the strange reality of 'American bigotry.'
====
Daniel and Robert were brothers in Virginia during the American Civil War and had enlisted in the Union and Confederate armies, respectively. Daniel was the older brother and very focused on civics and frustrated about democracy corruption. Robert was the younger brother who opted to enlist with the South and was very passionate about American tradition, even if it warranted criticism.
Daniel and Robert found themselves face-to-face at the Battle of Vicksburg. Daniel couldn't believe he was shooting his rifle towards his own brother, and he became paranoid about the strangeness of politics. Robert was less concerned about brotherly betrayal but wondered what his deceased mother would think about her two sons fighting on opposite sides, and the idea excited him, oddly enough. Suddenly, the two brothers, sitting on opposite ends of the battlefield, both saw a vision of an angel opening up some kind of portal. Daniel and Robert both decided to walk through these portals.
Daniel realized he was somewhere in Texas but at some point in the future. He was still dressed in his Union outfit and wondered where his brother Robert was, and Robert was also in Texas somewhere at the same time and wondered if he could find his brother Daniel. Daniel stumbled into a saloon in Austin and asked around about the date and time, and the laughing patrons told him it was September 1995. Robert was at a hardware store where he stole a chainsaw.
It was Halloween Eve, just one month later, and Daniel and Robert were both wandering around Austin. Robert was dressed as a monster carrying his chainsaw, and he walked upon Daniel who was wearing a similar costume and also carrying a chainsaw. "So, brother, you're in Texas in 1995 too. I suppose you walked through a portal of your own. Well, I found this nifty little devastating chainsaw tool at a hardware store myself, and I suppose you're calling yourself Leatherface too!" Daniel stated to his brother Robert who couldn't believe he was seeing a mirror image of himself.
Robert knew he wanted the mantle of Leatherface, and he was willing to kill his brother to win the dubious honor. Robert asked his brother why time-travel had turned them both into monsters, and his older brooding brother Daniel coldly told him that human beings were not meant to travel through time. The two chainsaw-wielding lost souls ran towards each other, and with one swift and accurate swipe, Robert killed his older brother on a field in an Austin park on Halloween Eve. As Robert stood over the fallen body of his brother Daniel, he looked up into the sky and eerily said, "The Devil never pardons political crusaders!"
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