I ran across the video, Bad Conservative Horror Movies by In Praise of Shadows, when I was doom scrolling through Twitter, avoiding getting up to face the world during a hangover from a late night watching gloriously bad 80s slashers. Recently, I’ve started to really enjoy longer video essays on Youtube, especially about horror, and thought this would be a good one to listen to while I got ready to face the day. Instead, I ended up glued to the screen, hyper-focused on IPOS and his statements about things I also have seen going on in the horror community.
IPOS took down this video after some pretty harsh push back from fans of the people he criticized. I think its sad and wish he left it up or put up an edited version because even without the stuff about Wenigoon and others, the video had some awesome points.
“Horror has a modern internal problem with conservatism and fandom based centricism that excuses that conservatism and reinforces its power.”
IPOS covers in several chapters how this slow leech of conservatism is rearing its ugly head. Supporting sexual predators, attacking art critics in the horror review community without actually bothering to listen to what they said (and choosing only to listen to meme-ified versions of it by outrage creators), ignoring the inherent political nature of horror,
This video essay was exactly what I needed to watch as I still reel from the situation I just saw in the horror community around Hellbound Books and their transphobic, fatphobic, and pro-AI work (followed by their fake apology that they openly admitted that they only made so that they could attend StokerCon…and StokerCon still allowed them to attend despite Hellbound Books making it clear they are not safe to have around). So if you are thinking IPOS is out of left field with this work…please take a look around and see the examples daily that aren’t mentioned in the video.
Horror is Queer Punk
Existing is inherently political. This is something I believe in especially as a disabled queer person but it is the case for everyone no matter if they are in a minority or not. Art is also inherently political and horror, which is considered fringe and other by the majority of people who imbibe media, is not only political but queer af. This is something that others have discussed with much more space and eloquence than I have so I will recommend you look here, here, and here. “horror has always been intrinsically queer. From the early work of the Gothicists to F.W. Murnau, James Whale, and Daphne Du Maurier to Patricia Highsmith, Clive Barker, Elvira, Don Mancini, and so many more, horror is shaped by queer creators who first formed the collective cultural imagery with which we dream.” ~ Queer Horror.
Punk itself can be argued to also be inherently queer. It is “other” it is outside the norm and it openly points out fascism, how the majority is clinging to safety nets and promises of money at the expense of the minority, and more.
Horror being queer and punk is something those of us who appreciate horror as art already understand. Horror from its beginnings with stories liek Frankenstein give an icon and symbol for those of us who are other to relate to. Its a way for us to show the shocking reality of our existence in a way that society doesn’t immediately stomp on. Why? They expect to be shocked, horrified, and made uncomfortable. That’s what horror does. So by putting the uncomfortable reality of our lives on the screen or page along with this, we can begin to build the conversation of “oh you do agree that this isn’t ok? Then lets take the conversation off script and discuss how to stop it in real life.” (Not that its always overt of course, each piece of art and message varies.)
IPOS points out that Horror, like Punk, also has to deal with Nazis trying to infiltrate their spaces. It immediately made me think of the tweet thread story about a bartender kicking out a Nazi because you have to nip it in the bud as soon as you see it.
Horror spaces need to be more punk in how we handle these infiltrators.
Let me say, I get it. I am VERY conflict avoidant. My immediate response when attacked is freeze followed by fawn (fight and flight were beaten out of me a long time ago by abusers and its something I am working on).
However, if we’ve learned anything in the past 4 years of political unrest in America (where I’m writing from, sorry for readers outside of the US, but I’m sure you can find a way to relate as well) is that confrontation of wrong is necessary. We can’t let people with a boot on our neck tell us we need to be polite and that is exactly how conservatives in the horror community want to be – boots on our neck telling us what is and is not ok for us to say in response as they then tell us what kind of art we can and cannot make.
Outrage Bait vs Criticism
This video pops up during what is essentially a shit storm of outrage baiting coming to a head in social media and media in general. More and more people are realizing that clickbait videos, posts on Twitter by people paying for blue check marks, and more are wanting to piss people off to get paid through interaction. Seeing this, more people are doing things like screen-shotting and sharing so the original poster doesn’t get the views or are being the “paragraph guy” for folks in comments breaking down a video so that people don’t necessarily have to watch it to know what is going on.
While I have no doubt whatsoever that
1. This video will piss people off and cause them to watch, comment, share, and discuss because of outrage
and 2. that IPOS is doing this to make money (he does discuss his YouTube business in the video and in this necrocapitalist society I do not blame him for trying to make a living doing what he loves – watch horror movies and discuss them as an art form), I don’t think Bad Conservative Horror Movies is rage bait.
This video is more like a guest lecture at Horror University about the current political climate in our community. Does it piss you off? Good. It should. Hopefully because you also hate that the mindset that IPOS is calling out is indeed infiltrating and hurting our community.
IPOS Fanby?
I can tell someone is going to read this post and think I’m just becoming an IPOS fanby (fan-enby…not fangirl…explaining because I was asked). I know this is going to happen because I’ve been online long enough to see it coming.
I will say that I don’t agree with everything in the video. For instance, I ADORED Abigail. I thought it was a genuinely fun movie that is in my re-watch pile. IPOS’s critique of it is valid – a movie set up like a mystery when the audience knows already what the twist is, does show the creatives or at least the marketing team dropped the ball. That said, if it had been marketed as a mystery, I wouldn’t have watched it unless someone spoiled it for me so -shrugs-. In the same light, I was frustrated by Barbarian’s ad campaign and once someone FINALLY told me what this movie was about (for which I had asked several people so that I could check to see if my personal triggers were in it) I knew I would not enjoy it and would have been PISSED if I’d paid to see it in theaters.
That said – the point IPOS is making is not that Abigail is bad (they didn’t like it but it still wasn’t their point) but that we need to be open to criticism especially of companies making bank on us. That we need to also look at fascist red flags in our community trying to stop us from being critical by using evangelical propaganda language. THAT I agree with. If that makes me a Fanby, sure. I like being a fan of logical points and people that make them that are trying to also make the horror community a good place.
Also, I am probably one of the people that IPOS doesn’t think is acting in best faith as a horror reviewer. Not only do I make horror content (TTRPGs specifically and soon books and yea I would jump at the chance to work on a movie), I receive free horror media to review and invite horror creatives on my podcast to discuss their work. Based on his discussion about reviewers being too close to creatives and that coloring our reviews – yea, I probably am too close to those making the media in a lot of ways. Like I said, IPOS and I aren’t in the same boat entirely in our discussions. That doesn’t take away the importance of what they are saying.
What to do?
So we know that this leeching into our community is bad. That we need to stand up and say no to things like Zionism, predators being paid to be in our community spaces and events, transphobia, and more. That boycotting things like the new Scream movie, Hellbound Books, and Mad Monster Party is obvious and necessary. Not taking sponsorships and gifts from companies like Blumhouse (or giving them our money either). And Not watching, subscribing, or giving views (money) to people like Wendigoon and similar.
But what can we do to build up the voices of minorities in our space and make it loud and clear what we DO support in horror as a community?
For me, this means buying and sharing content by indie creators that are POC, LGBTQ+, and Disabled. This means uplifting voices on social platforms (and hopefully soon on my podcast now that I’m back to interviewing again). This means discussing matters like this on socials and my blog.
It also means opening it up to you all, my readers. What do you think we can do to raise minority voices and make it clear to fascists that would harm us and our community that they are not welcome?
