For our resurrected Horror Through My Eyes feature we caught up with Jeremy Kransky, director of horror feature The Quiet Man, The Hushed Judge and The Borrowed Man.
The horror film that makes me sick — THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE
The concept alone is enough for me. Horror can make me uncomfortable in a lot of ways, but there are certain ideas where the psychological reaction is stronger than anything that actually needs to be shown.
The horror film that scares me the most — THE EXORCIST
What gets me is the feeling of something incomprehensible invading an ordinary home and family. The atmosphere and loss of control are far more frightening to me than a conventional monster.
The horror film I can only watch alone — HALLOWEEN (1978)
HALLOWEEN works best for me alone, late at night, with no distractions. Carpenter uses silence, negative space and that incredible score so effectively that you start watching the empty parts of the frame and expecting something to be there.
The horror film I own but secretly hate — JEEPERS CREEPERS: REBORN
I own it because I followed the franchise, but it is easily the entry I have the hardest time defending. The atmosphere, tension and sense of menace that made the earlier films memorable never really came together for me in this one.
My horror guilty pleasure — NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988)
I don’t feel particularly guilty about it. It has this wonderfully unapologetic Halloween-night energy. Sometimes horror should simply be atmospheric, wild and fun, and that film understands exactly what it is.
The horror film with a better cast than its script — IT CHAPTER TWO.
The cast is exceptionally strong and completely committed, but the movie can feel more sprawling than focused. There are individual performances and sequences I like more than the screenplay as a whole.
The horror film I have rewatched the most — HALLOWEEN (1978).
It is one of those films I can return to and notice something different about the construction every time—the framing, pacing, score and especially how much Carpenter accomplishes by simply making you look into an apparently empty space.
The horror film I have owned on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray — A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET is one of those horror franchises that has stayed with me as formats changed. Freddy and that world were something I kept returning to, so the series followed me from VHS to DVD and eventually Blu-ray.
My scariest cinematic experience — THE CONJURING.
The sound design and anticipation are what stayed with me. Horror is particularly effective in a theater when an entire audience becomes quiet at the same time because everyone senses something is about to happen.
The horror film I need a shower after watching — THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974).
It has this oppressive, grimy atmosphere that almost feels physical. What makes it so effective is that it feels less polished and more like you have stumbled into somewhere you were never supposed to be.
The horror film that made my jaw hit the floor — THE THING (1982).
It is the combination of paranoia, isolation, creature design and practical filmmaking. Even after you understand what kind of film you are watching, it keeps finding new ways to make you question what you are looking at and who can be trusted.
A horror film I used to love but now despise — HALLOWEEN: RESURRECTION.
I used to have a lot more fun with it simply because it was another chance to see Michael Myers return. Over time, though, the gimmicky tone and some of the creative choices have become much harder for me to overlook, especially compared with what I love about the earlier HALLOWEEN films.
A horror film I disliked but grew to love — THE SHINING.
The first time through, its deliberate pace and emotional distance can be challenging. The more I revisited it, the more I appreciated how precise the filmmaking is and how much unease Kubrick creates without explaining everything.
The horror film I laughed at the most that isn’t really a comedy — THE HAPPENING.
There are moments where the performances, dialogue and extremely serious tone collide in ways that make it difficult not to laugh, even though that clearly is not always the reaction the scene is trying to create.
The craziest practical effect I have seen in a horror film — HELLRAISER.
The resurrection sequence immediately comes to mind. What I love about HELLRAISER is how tactile everything feels. There is a physical presence to the practical effects that gives the supernatural imagery a reality that is incredibly difficult to fake.
The horror film I introduced to someone and later wished I hadn’t — TERRIFIER.
I introduced someone to TERRIFIER thinking they might appreciate how uncompromising it was, but it turned out to be simply too intense for their taste. Their reaction made me realise pretty quickly that it was one recommendation I probably should have thought through a little more carefully.
If you’d like to take part in Horror Through My Eyes, please email bloodyflicks@gmail.com.
