Marx is Dead. Terror alone seems to shape otherwise shapeless lives. For three decades we've had an increasingly strong diet of cinematic worms, gnawing away at peoples' ability to see evil in proper perspective. In the world of postmodern film, evil's on the loose and good is running for its life. All of these elements are present to an extent in classic Gothic horror films from Bela Lugosi's Dracula to Gary Oldham s recent portrayal of that classic.
Evil is certainly real and powerful, but also defeatable by a power more powerful.
My, how the themes have changed in 40 years. C.S. Lewis warned that there are two great mistakes people make in dealing with the devil and evil. The rise of the power of evil in films is evident in the late John Cassavetes' Rosemary's Baby, a pioneer postmodern horror film. In that film we were drawn into a world of profound evil swirling with angst and tension for no obvious reason. It is all the more frightening because at first all outward appearances suggest normalcy, wealth and promise with a vague threat looming.