Deeper themes haunt new horror films

By Anthony Breznican
Associated Press

Mel Gibson wrestles with the meaning of crop circles and issues of faith in "Signs." Associated Press

M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director of "The Sixth Sense," has been at the trend's forefront, saying frightening films are ideal vehicles for examining serious themes.

"Fear is a skill that you have as a creature on this planet, that protects you," Shyamalan said. "You take inventory of your life real quick when you're afraid, and usually find out what you really care about."

The horror genre has always included cheesy monster and slasher tales — the parade of splatter-fest sequels to "Halloween," "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street," for instance — as well as more sophisticated attempts at creating fear.

In the tradition of "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," Shyamalan's latest film — "Signs" — joins recent movies such as "The Others," "The Devil's Backbone" and "Frailty" in the new wave of philosophical and psychological horror films.

This classier breed of fright film often employs creepy atmosphere to create suspense, rather than simply eviscerating teenagers to arouse disgust.

"Horror movies are getting more and more sophisticated," said David J. Skal, film historian and author of "The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror." "They can be read as metaphors for cultural or metaphysical issues not often addressed elsewhere in secular society."

In "Signs," Mel Gibson stars as a widowed minister who discovers strange crop-circle markings in the fields outside his farm that suggest the presence of hostile extraterrestrial life.

As the characters wonder whether the patterns are real or hoaxes, they begin to question whether there are any patterns in life. Gibson's character asks if belief in a higher power can be maintained in the face of disaster.

"Basically, the movie developed into a parable about a man's faith," Shyamalan said. The movie's alien threat "is really a metaphor for (the minister's) demons, fears and the things that cause him to question his faith. If such an event could occur, could there be a God up there?"

Some of the most renowned thrillers — many adapted from books — have prompted subtextual interpretations.

"Frankenstein" — and later, "Jurassic Park" — questioned the risks of unethical scientific experimentation. "Dracula" — and later, some of the franchise-starting slasher movies — were deconstructed as morality tales about the dangers of sexual promiscuity.

Some admirers see Jack Nicholson's mad, ax-wielding rampage in "The Shining" as a metaphor for the destructive effects of alcoholism on families. "The Exorcist" has been seen as using a girl's demonic possession to ask whether the soul can be satisfied by science alone. And director George A. Romero's zombie-attack saga "Night of the Living Dead" is sometimes described as a critique of racism, with the black survivor being shot to death the next morning by would-be rescuers.

In this spring's "Frailty," Bill Paxton played a kindly father who tells his young sons that God has instructed them to butcher people who are really demons.

"One idea behind 'Frailty' is that you should not trust something just because you want to believe it. Whether it's coming from a parent, or the police or the government ... it's important to be independent and critical-minded," said screenwriter Brent Hanley.

Similarly, last summer's sleeper hit "The Others" featured a mother (Nicole Kidman) who preaches a harsh brand of religion to her children while supernatural forces bombard their home. In part, it demonstrates "how very strong beliefs and the way of teaching them can be dangerous for children," said writer-director Alejandro Amenabar.

As in the classic Henry James paranoia story "The Turn of the Screw," in which a beleaguered governess becomes frantic when she can't prove her mysterious experiences are hauntings, these films create chills by disconnecting the senses, rather than overpowering them with gore.

Bumps and scrapes are heard on walls or floorboards; shadowy figures are seen in fleeting glances; silence and darkness often overwhelm the characters as they attempt to feel their way to safety.

Even some video games have taken a more intellectual approach to terror than the traditional, thinly plotted shoot-'em-ups do. The Nintendo GameCube thriller "Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem" is constructed as a series of stories in which people from different historical periods struggle against a supernatural evil and everyday temptations, exploring the notion of fate vs. free will.

"We realize that if video games are going to earn respect as a dominant art form in this century, we have to bring something to the market that is both entertaining and meaningful," said Denis Dyack, lead designer of "Eternal Darkness."

Fans of the haunted-town puzzler "Silent Hill 2" have speculated that the Konami game is an allegory for the afterlife, with its protagonist trapped in a type of hell as he grapples with his past.

And in developer Tecmo's "Fatal Frame," the main character is a girl who vanquishes deadly specters by snapping pictures of them with a camera — representing the idea that technology can overpower myth and superstition.

"You can engage horror entertainment as mindless fun," Skal said . "But it's really about coming to terms with ultimate things: death and life and the afterlife."