by Anthony Avina

Created on: May 10, 2008

The use of gore in movies is a very sensitive subject. Although many people are disgusted and offended by the gore in movies, I believe that the use of gore is very reasonable in horror movies. Although I believe that excessive gore is just a waste of time and does not help the story flow at all, if a scene should call for the use of gore, then it helps emphasize the terror of the movie and keeps the story moving.

Recently I watched one of this years 8 Films to Die For, titled, Borderland. Now this movie was very terrifying, but what really put emphasis on it and the terror the people in the movie experienced was in fact the gore. It showed how ruthless the killers in the story really were, and how far their evil intents would go. I believe that if used properly, gore adds detail that shakes us down to the bone, which is in fact, the point of a horror movie.

As much as I love horror movies, there are some movies that use gore for no purpose whatsoever. If there isn't a point to it, or if it doesn't move the story forward at all, then why use it. In the movie Turistas, the director uses gore to emphasize certain deaths and tortures, but the way he tells the story, the gore in the movie doesn't really blend. Its movies like these that have people concerned.

The one thing I really want to emphasize is that gore and violence in movies don't cause people to go into "murderous frenzies". Its like my mom always says, "Movies don't kill people, People kill People." It is made clear that the gore, although very real looking, is fake, and the gore actually helps illustrate the madness and evil of killers and monsters.

In conclusion, is gore a good thing? Yes, I believe it is. Gore moves the plot-line forward, and shows the very real like nature of the film. As long as its used properly, gore is a good thing. Gore in movies is often used as an excuse or reason for a real killers intents and mental state, and the cause of many peoples deaths. I believe that people who kill are already somewhat disturbed by their own childhoods or dramas, and the movies are just used to write off their already disturbing behavior. Gore and horror movies is a form of Hollywood entertainment. People who watch romantic movies or movies involving affairs and cheating spouses don't influence people to go out and do the same thing. It's just another form of entertainment, just like horror.

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