Long time no see... I mostly use Facebook these days in preference to blogs and Twitter and was not sure where blogging sat any more. Now I know - it provides me somewhere to 'go off on one' without cluttering up the Facebook Wall...I was having a chat with Tom (son, nearly 13) as to what sorts of horror films he could (certification notwithstanding) watch. He is an avid CSI viewer, so is quite used to quite graphic body FX - with blood and gore aplenty. However, as he will freely admit, it is still the implied and psychological horror that still unsettles him. Case in point the original Doctor Who episodes with the Weeping Angels.
The Saw films are something he asks about frequently and he will no doubt sit through them as soon as he gets the chance. My advice to him is to leave it a while longer - not so much for the gore but for the fact that it could happen. Jigsaw could be behind Tom one dark night or could be in the corner of his bedroom, whereas he is less likely to discover Grissom picking over the grisly remains of another victim on his pool table when he comes home from school.
I wonder what my advice will be on the Human Centipede series that is up and coming. I'm not going to comment on the film itself - The Guardian did it far better than I ever could. But it did get me wondering what a tough gig it must've been for the actors. I have a lot of sympathy for all those up and coming stars when all they can get is 'first victim' or worse still 'unclothed corpse' - when there is no acting skill required save for not breathing or getting goosebumps.
Do you think there were arguments among the actors as to who got to be at the front - like a perverse pantomime horse ? Strict rules on diets? Agreements on how long it was acceptable to have your face up a colleague's bottom before you could have a break? Wiki describes how the film makers designed"... hardened underwear for the actors to wear with a rubber grip for the actor behind to bite onto..."
I don't think Tom will need guidance on this franchise - he will doubtless make the right choice on his own.
