hemi culture
THE MONTH AHEAD
JAY L. CLENDENIN/CONTOURBYGETTY IMAGES
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ONHISHORROR INITIATION
“The first scary film I sawwas Truth or
Dare. Iwas5or 6.Mybrother is seven
years older, and he used to rent these
films andwatch themwithhis friends,
so Igottoseethem. It’saboutaguywho
comes home one day and catches his
wife inbedwithhisbestfriendandspins
out of control. He has these imaginary
gamesoftruthordare, thenstartskilling
people. Irediscovered it inmyearly20s,
and itholdsup. It’sbad in thebestway.”
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ONTHEHORRORS INTOLKIEN
“There are a lot of frightening ele-
ments and characters in Lord of the
Rings—Sauron is terrifying. I’ve met
younger kids who have seen the
films, and I’m not sure this is a bad
thing. Sometimes it’s not so good to
shield children from dark material.
I think there is something healthy
in being exposed to frightening
elements—it’s a safeway to deal with
internal fears. You’re able to compart-
mentalize them, to recognize that this
is just a story. Having said that, these
filmsmaybe a little too scary for kids
under6.”
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ONHORROROVERLOAD
“There’s a French film calledMartyrs,
which, forme, put the final nail in the
coffin of this subgenre of gore and
intenseviolence. I thinkmovies like this
relymoreonshockand lessoncharacter
and story development, and that gets
a little tiring. I’mnot saying I don’t like
violenceandgore,but itdependsonhow
it’sdone. The Texas ChainsawMassacre
isapieceofart. It’s terrifyingandgrue-
some, but it’s also strangely beautiful.
Youcan’t takeyoureyesoff it.”
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ONTHEHORRORSOFFAME
“Oneunsettlingthing ishavingsomeone
findoutwhereyou liveandshowupon
yourdoorstep. I’vehad that acoupleof
times. It’sa tricky thing. Idon’twantmy
privacy infringedon. Iwant to feel safe
athome.Butat thesame time theseare
people,andyouwanttotreatthemwith
respect. There are other things. I don’t
get stage fright, but public speaking,
standing in front of a group of people
and speaking—I find that pretty terrify-
ing. That’sa real, genuine fear.”
28
OCTOBER2015
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
Dial ‘M’ForMordor
ElijahWood
rose to famebyplaying the cutest hobbit in the
Shire, but his own taste inmovies tends to runa littledarker
bullet points
G
iven the prominence of his big-footed, wide-eyed hobbit in Lord of the
Rings, and his near-legendary good humor off screen, ElijahWood isn’t
exactly thestuffofnightmares. Yet, repeatedly, the34-year-oldactorhas
beendrawn tomacabre roles—thecrazedserial killer in2012’sManiaccomes to
mind. In thismonth’sTheLastWitchHunterheplaysagoodie, apriestwho teams
upwithVinDiesel todeliver theworld fromevil.Whilemore fantasy romp than
chiller, the filmdoeshavewhatWoodcalls “stressful”moments.Here, heshares
his thoughtson thehorrorgenre,whichhedescribesasa “passion.”
—CW
(OCT.23)
