Whew.

How are you taking care of your hearts today, CoSo?

@MLClark: My usual way, i.e., doggos, gatos, horror movies, reading, and the box fan is on.

@thedisasterautist

Heck yes. Horror movie season is such a quaint way of controlling the terrors of the real world, no? 👌

@MLClark: Horror movies in general, all year. For me they're not therapeutic, just interesting, though sometimes irksome for very deeply geek reasons.

The world doesn't hold much terror for me, really. Seen too much of it, the world. I stopped trying to control or feeling as if I should control things I cannot control long ago.

@thedisasterautist

That's good.

I find horror movies fascinating, because each region's flicks unwittingly show the *actual* limits of a culture's fears. Sometimes it's through tacit coding of who on screen is allowed to be brutalized or killed; other times, through the family value lessons underpinning the story. I also love the films with atheists, because they're almost always *very* good at responding to new evidence.

For me, they're great storytelling lessons - cozy viewing to that end!

@MLClark: I like horror, suspense, and mystery/thrillers because I find they're the most flexible and, I believe, most engaging. I find that's especially the case quite often if a fair amount of comedy is sprinkled through. It isn't just rising and falling tension so much as a sort of psychological punctuation. Also, suspense/mystery and comedy engage the intellect, even on a subconscious level, the same way. Horror engages emotions and instincts. So get all of them together, and it's a party.

@MLClark: The right balance can be highly engaging for the audience *and* as a bonus, not treat them like they're stupid. (I really hate movies that treat viewers like they're stupid... or indicate the filmmakers were stupid.)

@thedisasterautist

I haven't seen A Haunting in Venice yet, but it's supposed to be an interesting intersection of whodunnit and horror. It's always neat to see how the beats of different narrative structures play together.

Suspense is my utter favourite - real suspense, patient and building dread - but I love putting on mysteries to "hear" the story beats when I'm working on a major writing project. As you note, they're quite flexible, but in part because the "bones" are so familiar.