Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, “direct-to-video” titles for me were often met with low expectations, a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew and a large Pizza Hut pizza. Sometimes, I’d be pleasantly surprised by what I saw. If it was bad? Well, I knew what I was getting into because it was “direc-to-video.” These days, however, going to direct-to-DVD or VOD is dissolving that stigma. There has been an increase in horror films we’re seeing on these platforms that are actually good, sometimes great. They’re films that need our support on sites like this one and they need the word of mouth of you viewers out there.
The nature of direct-to-VOD had me reflecting on other stigmas that I’ve seen turn around. Another big one is “they can’t pull horror off on television.” For me, Stephen King’s IT and the myriad adaptations that followed were sometimes disturbing, but as a budding horror fan, I knew they could push the envelope a bit further. Network limitations would avoid the big gore gags or extreme material. Today? Why thank you Walking Dead for bringing us insane gore into our living rooms. AMC basically made it okay for networks like NBC to allow exposed entrails and throats on shows like Hannibal.
I pose to you this question: What stigmas about horror – beliefs that we all had as horror fans at one time – have been washed away? Any out there that you have seen? Strides in the genres that have turned certain stigmas around? Weigh in using our comment boards below!
