Anna Sibilia

David Steiling

Weird, Inventive, and Horrifying

It is not surprise that the horror genre has an ever changing dynamic in relation to the public’s taste; with each new trend, hundreds of new scary stories and films bombard the silver screen and other media whilst clamoring for attention. During the beginning stage of each new wave is a small group, something that sets the example for the rest of the genre. The ‘Weird’ is a slightly alien part of the encompassing genre, as the outliers that linger there are usually thinking and morphing their ideas at a faster pace, evolving and bringing new elements into the horror genre. 

For instance, the newest exploitation of these trend setters is the revitalization of the Zombie sub genre, bringing the undead back to the forefront of horror and the public’s view. One of the most popular forces in this was the Walking Dead series, originally a series of novels written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Tony Moore that introduced the audience to an Earth where all notions of zombies had never existed and therefore everyone was ill-prepared for the shambling rise of the Walkers. AMC had discovered this Weird installment and translated it into prime-time television, which only spread the influence of the genre further. The gritty, realistic take on the zombie horror sub-culture exposes more than just rotting flesh in its writing, often pitting up morality and practicality; the conflict of individual survival versus sacrifice for the whole; this series began ripping apart humanity (literally) and displaying the notion that maybe man is as monstrous as the very things people are trying to protect themselves from. 

As time passes, I’m sure the Weird will reinvent the horror genre countless times again,  yet I’m not too sure where it will go. As of late, there has been quite a recurring theme of demonic horror movies hitting the mainstream cinema screen, mostly in part of works like Sinister, Paranormal Activity (the first one anyways), and Insidious, though I cannot think of where the next focus may be. My guess lends itself to the more psychological side of horror, wherein writers have their stories blend hellish imagery and nightmarish themes in with the daily decomposition of the mind as madness starts setting in. Yet this is already a prevailing theme in modern horror and I am unsure of whether or not it will be considered ‘old enough’ to be reworked into a ‘new’ facet of popularized culture.