How important is sex in your horror films?
 

*Can a MOD please add a poll to my thread here so people can choose one of the three option below?

This poll is simple and i thank you all for your interest and honesty. I want to ask three questions here and you can select the corresponding number for the poll above.

EDIT: I made the post more female friendly. :)

Scenes of a sexual nature and nudity in horror films are. . .

1) Not important at all for me - I notice an erect penis or pair of milk-producers like the next man/woman but quite honestly I'm more interested in the next death scene!

2) Quite important for me. I enjoy the horror genre and when i pick up a DVD from my local supermarket I'm expecting a healthy amount of boobs,ass, penis and balls for my hard earned £10!

3) A necessity for me. If it hasn't got tit's it's not a hit! and a sex scene isn't complete without a penis! Honestly... when will full on penetration be in horror films, it's only sex for Christ sake!


Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not doing this to judge anyone. if i took the poll i would choose number 1. i find myself arguing with my friends and family that Horror films are more than just dull pornographic films with a few murders in them. i would love to see how some of my friends here poll IF they are willing and also if a MOD doesn't scrap this thread for being indecent.

Thank you!

As the forums resident feminist, why only talk of 'boobs'/'milk-producers'(!)/'tits' (or breasts, to give them the long word)?

Why does the forthcoming poll not mention the male penis?

Right from the off, can I point out that females watch horror films as well!!!

Suzi i kid you not i was just here thinking 'Why did i not mention dick and balls for suzi?' that's my mistake, i'm sorry. :)

I like porn and I like horror but I am not bothered if a horror film has no sex or nudity but I am bothered if my porn is that way. As to the amount of nudity/sex in horror films, I imagine the target audience for them is a 14 year old male...

I actually find it refreshing when there's none. It usually just feels like a distraction, to fill in run time, or appeal to the 12 year olds.
Only really works for me in 'arty' horror - Lynch, Cronenberg etc.

I would have too say one, for me at least 90% of the time it distracts from the movie and adds nothing to the story. As others have said sex seems to be added to appeal to adolescent boys.

Poll added. :)

I'm of the opinion where I'm not bothered if a horror film has any sex or nudity, and whilst it certainly won't put me off watching a particular film, I actually find that it's a device that is used to hook in a young (usually male) audience, but a device that is usually executed rather poorly within many modern horror efforts.

Agree with all of the above. :nod:

Thank you for adding the poll Biz, i appreciate it. Also I'm really happy to see so many of you guys adding your opinions and taking the poll. This is going very well. :)

What a bunch of prudes. :tongue1:

I take it you all watch the "clothed US versions" of Paul Naschy's films then?

Sex and nudity is a staple of horror especially Gothic horror which i love. Do people seriously think The Vampire Lovers, Vampyres, etc would be superior viewing without the titilation that "distracts" you so much? Perhaps Linda Hayden, Ingrid Pitt, Yutte and others should have worn polo necks, would The Blood on Satan's Claw have been half as memorable over the years without Hayden's full frontal strip in front of The Master, er' sorry the vicar.

Sex has been linked with horror since Stoker wrote Dracula, eroticism has been part of the genre for ever.

Some slasher films work very well without couples on the make i agree, but you watch any doc or read any article on the genre and sex is an integral part of it, Jason Vorhees was born to kill lust filled teenagers, even Michael Myers became as he is because he caught people shagging.

You remove that annoying nudity from Ursula Andress in Mountain of the Cannibal God and you lose the whole film.

Take From Beyond is the sight of Barbara Crampton in S&M gear so bad? Does it detract from the rest of the movie? Or is it the most talked about and well remembered scene in the whole film?

I won't even begin with our family favourite Giallo's.

For God's sake Edwige!...put some clothes on....you're ruining the film for Cult Labbers.

I'm not voting in the poll because there isn't a category for me.

It's a necessity for the films in some genres.

Not important so long as the film is really good, but at the same time I won't turn off a film if some bush or balls shows up, in fact I'd be happy to see it.

Dem's a 12 year old boy! Ban him! :mob: :tongue1: ;)

I do get where your coming from in some respects though Dem, but I've never found it to be a necessity. Even in the sub-genres you've mentioned, I've never found myself thinking: "that really could of done with more sex and nudity" once a film had ended. They're just secondary elements (added bonuses if you will) and whilst sometimes beneficial, never really take precedence over the plot, atmosphere, cinematography, effects, score etc. - they are what constitute the bulk of the film package for me, sex and nudity is often just the bow on top ;)

I didn't want to explore sub-genre Dem just the general genre of Horror. Whilst i understand your not countering this argument i would mention that I'm not advocating nudity to be removed from horror just asking how many of use feel it would be missed if not included at any level.

I can't imagine Sleep away camp would be the same film if we didn't see the todger at the end for example. I am just fed up of trying to argue that nudity (whilst in most horror films) really isn't all just tasteless attempts to see a couple of nipples in a forested area.

I'm currently watching Funhouse by Tobe Hooper and he has a carnival that has three nude women modeling. I can't say that an American carnival of it's time wouldn't have had this kind of entertainment but it MAY be safe to say that the male characters egging the female characters (Whom they are trying to date and ultimately get intimate with) to 'take a look' would be somewhat alien IF those women are anything like the women i have ever taken on a date. so when i watch the film and say for example the other half notices i have three nude women on my screen, it can make for a difficult occasion to try and explain WHY i watch these films and WHY Arrow should take some of our low income per month... my issue is, im loosing the fight - i enjoy films about messed up monsters that want to eat people in a carnival setting BUT i personally couldn't give a hoot if i saw any nudity or not in said films BUT i do live with people who DO care and i can't always give good reasons for me wanting these films.
So i thought (rather than pack my Tutu and Arrow film collection then movie in to Ron's basement) i would try and find some better reasons from guys who know lots more than i do. (that's all of you).

I can see that the poll is going very well and lots of you guys are like myself - nudity is a 'take it or leave it' kind of thing in horror movies. And even if we have folks here that do want nudity in horror films that isn't a bad thing, I'm not against it or wanting it gone.

If that didn't settle your mind i am happy to have you add the fourth entry to the Poll and see if that helps others take the poll too. :)

and again i can;t thank you all enough for respecting this issue to the point where we can debate it with some respect as we are. at this stage i am usually dodging coffee mugs in our house! :)

It's quite important as I'm quite a fan of exploitation cinema and you can't have exploitation without piles of pointless, random nudity. Quite a few sub genres demand it! It goes hand in hand with the eroticism of the vampire myth. A few scenes are needed in a good slasher movie. Linnea Quigley's filmography etc. etc.

I'm obviously not gonna complain about the lack of it in something that's aiming to be suspenseful like Ringu (nude girls coming out of the TV would have made that a completely different movie altogether!).

So it all depends on what type of horror you're talking!

Exactly.

I love Franco and Rollin films, i'm not going to be hypocritical and say their films would be better off without any sex or nudity.

So just as Shel says it all depends on the genre of horror we intend to watch. You don't need exploitation in The Others however if you watched The Nude Vampire you'd feel a little short changed without the exploitative elements.

I wouldn't argue against these well observed points Shel and yourself have given (That i would also give IF i were trying to watch exploitation flicks at home) i would say exploitation is a genre with Horror being a sub with in it's ranks.

so this poll is just your opinion on average straightforward horror films. try to avoid going to far from the path of your general horror - EG: Friday 13th skinny dipping scene sort of nudity.

I'm asking if you feel Funhouse needed to have a tent in it's many tents of the carnival with nipple tassel dancing... not weather or not Argento should be making his actresses wear burka's in all of this films. :)

i will leave censorship to those who feel they have sh*t that smells better than everyone elses. (BBFC) this poll has an alternative point to make (if it doesn't translate as different i haven't explained myself well enough)

Perhaps the more important question is: who enjoys having sex whilst watching horror films?

I wasn't meaning censorship i was referring to the film makers.

The Funhouse didn't need to be made full stop. :lol:

Now you're starting to sound like the wife.... :doh: I can't let her win this argument! HAHA!

I want to watch horror movies and sometimes they have nudity or sex but i don't buy the films for those scenes even if they don't bother me too much.

Again thank you all for making this debate fun and also respectful.

This is pretty much what I took your post to mean Vipp, except I class Exploitation as a multi-tiered genre entity which whilst encompassing some horror, is more style driven and includes all manner of genre films. Genre is subjective though of course.

Exploitation is a completely different scenario as sex and nudity was a very big factor in films of this type - often being the core theme, but exploitation as a genre is pretty much dead nowadays and these pseudo 'grindhouse' exploitation films hardly cut it when compared to the grimy oddball sleaze-fests of yesteryear. They go all out to 'force' the exploitation aesthetic, which in turn leads them to fail as you can't truly reproduce a product of a different time and mentality.

As I mentioned before, my feelings are that nudity in general horror especially nowadays is just a needless device that pushes the envelope to reel in the teen audience and entices them go and see the latest bland piece of shit from Platinum Dunes et al, just because some bimbo who can't act gets topless. This is why it is certainly not a necessity for me.

It's an interesting topic Vipp, with no real black and white perspective. :nod:

I don't think anyone buys horror films for nudity or sex.

I buy them to be entertained, thrilled, chilled and yes, even titillated, as these are all elements of horror cinema, perhaps not at the same time, but all still essential in the genre we know and love.

But never for sex and nudity. There's the whole of cyberspace for that. :nod:

Agreed 100%...

...So therefore you're saying it's not a necessity then! :tongue1:

You're misinterpreting me and you know it. :tongue1:

The titillation part usually requires sex or nudity....or goats MTDS.

;)

To me it normally ruins a film, mainly because these sex scenes just come out of nowhere and serve no purpose to the story.

Although I voted 'Not Important' nudity was one of the main reasons I originally got into the films of Jean Rollin and Jess Franco and started collecting 'Redemption' VHS tapes, (none of which sadly I now own). But as I've gotten older not so important now.

I disagree. Often they are the catalyst for the next murder. For example, girl goes skinny dipping then you know the killer is about to strike.

Even Hitchcock made viewers believe they'd seen Janet Leigh naked in the shower at the time Norman Bates offed her.

Sex is a primal instinct. With that being said I agree with many of the sentiments shared in this thread. The way most films use it is completely distracting and gratuitous. There are exceptions as Dem has pointed out but most of the time it just feels like they're reaching for an easy way out. I suppose I would be 1 but I'm sort of neutral as I don't think it affects the entire film negatively, even when it's over the top. Also, it appeals to the inner, pubescent boy in me. [emoji14] (female nudity that is)

Actually I saw Psycho the other night on blu and I'm almost certain I saw nipples behind the shower curtain!

Between you all, you've nailed it, really. :nod:
We all love and appreciate a good solid horror film with no nudity for what it is, a scary adventure like the Universal monster movies or the paranoid 50's mega monster flicks.
However most of us like the view of the naked female form (soz Suzi - and naked male form!) which filmmakers soon gathered and it was probably Hammer that first started mixing the two which made them such a famous company in their day.
None of us would say we wouldn't watch a horror movie if it had too much sex and nakedness in it like I Spit, Serbian, Bunny Game and even Cannibal Holocaust ......would we?
Personally if I watch a horror film that is good I don't get to the end and think, "You know, it would have been so much better if it had T&A in it." I also have never watched a film and thought, "Too much fornication for me!"
Certain genre's require red stuff, some pink. I like both but as the question was How Important Is It In A Horror Film then it is not important all......but desirable sometimes!
:)

I think perhaps the main issue is how film makers use sex in a horror film.

To utilize both sex and horror properly isn't that easy in today's PG rated horror society. Both elements require thought and build up to have any impact emotionally. Without this, films just become a series of flashy ineffectual jump scares and tit shots or pointless fumblings.

In a way Wes Craven's Scream and it's often derided rules of horror really come into play. Simply because the sex or nudity is more often than not the catalyst for the next murder. Applied the right way, such as by directors like Cronenberg and Lynch, horror and sex go hand in hand.

:clap::clap::clap:

But did you?

From Wikipedia:

"the censors in charge of enforcing the Production Code wrangled with Hitchcock because some of them insisted they could see one of Leigh's breasts. Hitchcock held onto the print for several days, left it untouched, and resubmitted it for approval. Each of the censors reversed their positions: those who had previously seen the breast now did not, and those who had not, now did"

That's one way of messing with them lol

I actually voted quite important,but really,it don't matter.

Richard Johnson,Claire Bloom and Julie Harris not having a threesome in The Haunting ain't gonna stop me watching it!

Can you survive................The Porking

:laugh:

Porky's in a haunted house, yes please.

.