Horror Films Don't Create Fear. They Release

I Came To Terms With Living Mostly In A World Of Horror Pictures Or Genre Pictures.

Last House Offended A Lot Of People. The Results In The Theaters, Even In Boston, Reminded Me A Bit Of Things From When I Was Studying Theater Of The Absurd, And The Rise And The Appearance Of Ionesco Plays, And Things Like That. Thinking, "my God, People Actually Are Getting Into Fistfights. People Are Having Heart Attacks. People Are Actually Trying To Get Into The Projection Booth To Destroy The Print."

I Love The Fact That A Lot Of My Audience Is People From The Inner City. African-americans Love My Films. Whenever I Go To Have A Meeting At Universal, The Security Guard Just Leaps To His Feet And Comes Over, Bumps My Hand, And Says, "thank You! Thank You, I Love Your Films!" And It's People Who Are Kind Of At The Cutting Edge Of Life And Survival, And Being Near The Nitty-gritty, Who Like My Films, And I Like That.

The Experience Of Going To A Theater And Seeing A Movie With A Lot Of People Is Still Part Of The Transformational Power Of The Film, And It's Equivalent To The Old Shaman Telling A Story By The Campfire To A Bunch Of People. That Is A Remarkable Thing, If You Scream And Everyone Else In The Audience Screams, You Realize That Your Fears Are Not Just Within Yourself, They're In Other People As Well, And That's Strangely Releasing.

There Was A Generation Of Kids Who Were Just Kind Of Emulating Distant Heroes And Wearing Peace Symbols, And Parents Who Were Thinking Of Themselves As Liberal And Removed From Barbarity, But It Also Was The Era Of Vietnam. I Very Much Was Influenced - And I Think The Whole Country Was Kind Of In A State Of Shock - For The First Time Seeing The Horror And Cruelty Of War.