Horror films have nothing to offer but gore. There has been no call for any kind of horror icon except someone/thing who wants to kill in as gory a fashion as possible.

The turning point was probably Hitchcock's Psycho, where filmmakers discovered that people loved to watch women being sliced up. Since then, studios and filmmakers took that sales factor and ran with it. It wasn't necessary to ask any questions about life, death or existence, as classic horror films did. The more gore and despair poured into these films, the more the audience flocked to it.

And some of you are shocked about Abu Gareb, Blackwater and the sadism of our troops in Iraq. Gee, wonder how they got inured to creating genuine death without care?

I appreciate what Andrew O'Hehir is saying, but come on, Salon -- why do you post these incredibly short, one-idea videos? If I'm going to watch Andrew O'Hehir talk, why can't I hear him talk more at length about something than a single soundbite?

Why not get Andrew O'Hehir and Stephanie Zacharek together for a discussion about horror films and the ways they use suspenseful build-up to maximum effect? I do wonder -- are these little Salon mini-discussions an advertorial tie-in somehow? I mean, here he's using the new "Halloween" film as a springboard for a subject, and in the previous installment Zacharek and the dweeby guy were touting movies that haven't been released yet (the Cate Blanchett/Bob Dylan thing, and the Coen Bros. thing), presumably to generate buzz. If this is somehow advertorial then you owe it to your audience to disclose.

I agree with O'Hehir, that "Aliens," "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "The Haunting" are decent examples of where build-up was as effective or moreso than gore. But if you translated this bit into writing, it would only be worth 2- or 3-sentence paragraph. More substance, please.

"Horror films have nothing to offer but gore."

...Except for the hundreds or horror films that offer philosophical ideas, satire, social commentary, slapstick entertainment, reflections on mortality and morality, etc.

"The turning point was probably Hitchcock's Psycho, where filmmakers discovered that people loved to watch women being sliced up."

Women were put in peril long before "Psycho." Hitchcock's shower scene was a stunt and a way to shock the audience's expectations, but there's much more to "Psycho" than just its central scene.

"It wasn't necessary to ask any questions about life, death or existence, as classic horror films did."

Which classic horror films? Names? ("Invasion of the Body Snatchers" would be my choice.) Plenty of post-"Psycho" films address these themes. Perhaps only a minority, but I doubt the majority of pre-1960 films did either. If you want some examples, the original "Night of the Living Dead" is full of social subtext. Recent films like "Hostel" are interesting, if incomplete, explorations of our own relationship to cruelty and dehumanization. (Though I think those films go too far in their depictions of gore.) There's certainly a lot more exploitation in modern horror films, granted. But there are still movies like "The Ring" which get mileage from almot no gore at all.

"The more gore and despair poured into these films, the more the audience flocked to it."

Not necessarily true. Usually it has to be done with at least a modicum of skill, wit and originality. I am not a fan of cookie-cutter horror movies either -- they appeal primarily to teenagers looking for a kick -- but horror films that deftly play into our fears and expectations can be enjoyable, even if they don't have much subtext. Then there are crazy, stunt-like horror films such as "Evil Dead II" and "Dead Alive" which are sheer, unbridled entertainment.

"And some of you are shocked about Abu Gareb, Blackwater and the sadism of our troops in Iraq. Gee, wonder how they got inured to creating genuine death without care?"

Hey man, at least I can spell Abu Ghraib. I do agree our troops have behaved sadistically, and I don't think the culture has been any help (read the article from several months ago about troops' tendency to use Jack Bauer's behavior in "24" to justify harsh interrogation/torture methods). Personally, I think bad parenting, ignorant politics and poor education are more to blame than anything else. The tendency of Americans to massively rationalize away what should be common sense can not be pinned exclusively on Wes Craven or John Carpenter.

I just went to look for Stephanie Zacharek's appearance in the previous installment, and it appears to have been taken off-line.

What's going on here?

And second, like most gorehounds, you're in denial. I can't afford that luxury. Long before I got a case of PTSD, I was uncomfortable around modern horror films. Now, if I were placed in proximity of Anne Rice - the woman who made sex murder popular among women - I wouldn't be able to restrain myself in beating the crap out of her, and I probably wouldn't desire such restraint. And that's why I've tried to figure out why modern horror is so different from the versions made before 1960, the last year when I could tolerate such movies.

What is the redeeming message of your buddy Freddy Krueger? Don't go to sleep? Don't have children? Well, if that's uncertain, there are some clear messages in other modern horror films. Don't put people in asylums; mental illness is incurable, and you're better off killing the insane before they kill you. Kindness, compassion and caring for people will write your tombstone for you, if there's enough left of you to bury. Kids, don't have sex, ever. Don't even have friends. That gets you into situations where the maniacs will get you. Especially don't go around with black kids, since they get killed first.

Oh, don't trust science, either. It only creates monsters. And anybody who is strange or odd-looking or eccentric in any way is going to kill you; here's a gun, you know what to do. Funny how all these messages sound like the hellfire-breathing versions of the Christian Right, and how close they are to standard right-wing prejudices. Maybe that's why Christians have nothing bad to say about violent horror films, but come down hard on any films with sex, love or affection. Wes Craven and Rob Zombie are promoting the work of the Westboro Baptist Church, whether they admit it or not.

Okay, Xanadu, flame on.