Heavy Metal Sophistication?

Is popular music dumb?

The answer for many might be a fairly simple - and resounding - "YES!"

However, blogger Andrew Powell-Morse decided to take a more scientific approach in his search for an answer.

Powell-Morse recently shared a study he conducted which analyzed the intelligence of the lyrical content of the most popular music from the last decade.  To determine the lyrical sophistication of the music in question needed for such a comparison he used an existing writing analysis formula to decide each songs' Readability Score.

Stay with me here: The formula Powell-Morse utilized is typically used to analyze the readability of novels.  It factors in a piece of writing's word count, the number of syllables per word, and several other text attributes. The formula ultimately expresses a writing's score as a grade level based on the U.S.'s education system:  Grades 1-12, with grades 10-12 being the reading level of most high school graduates.

In total, Powell-Morse inputted some 225 songs which had spent time on the #1 spot on the Billboard charts within the last 10 years.  The songs he analyzed represented a variety of genres including Pop, Rock, Country, and Hip-Hop.  The results for each genre were finally averaged together based upon the year of release.

Ultimately, Powell-Morse efforts revealed a number of depressing - though maybe not surprising - findings.  His study found that over the past decade the lyric intelligence of hit music has dropped overall.  

Perhaps what should be most disturbing is the fact that the drop wasn't all that dramatic: The lyrical intelligence of the music from all of the analyzed genres hovered around the 2nd-4th grade reading level.

These results beg the question:  Are artists "dumbing-down" their lyrics to appeal to wider audiences?
After all, it's fairly often that studies such as this present similar results, painting a bleak picture of the intelligence of musicians, their audience, and perhaps society as a whole.

If you're still reading:  Please indulge me a bit further, as I finally get to the point of this post...

I've noticed that the Metal genre is unfortunately overlooked in studies such as this.  It is, of course, understandable considering that popular music is typically being examined due to its reaching the widest audience, while Metal has always been on the counter-cultural fringe.

It is undeniably true that there are countless Metal acts which would fall into the overtly knuckle-dragging metal-head stereotype.  However, we should also take the time to acknowledge that there are also a number of sophisticated lyricists - and insanely talented musicians in general - to be found in the Metal genre if one is willing to give a listen.

To illustrate my point, I have selected some of my favorite songs by a few of my preferred Metal acts and entered their lyrics into a similar online program which analyzes the sophistication of the inputted material and presents an average grade level based on 5 different readability formulas.

Admittedly, my method is a far cry from the analytical and meticulously scientific approach used by Powell-Morse - and severely lacking in colorful graph department.  I have most definitely cherry-picked the music being analyzed, choosing to focus on favorite songs by favorite artists from the genre with no specific time-frame or adherence to Billboard popularity.

You can check out the results below.  If nothing else, it's a heckuva playlist!

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Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth   
       

Average Grade Level:  6.9

Sample Lyrics:  

There comes Fenris' twin
His jaws are open wide
The serpent rises from the waves

Jormungandr twists and turns
Mighty in his wrath
The eyes are full of primal hate

Thor! Odin's son
Protector of mankind
Ride to meet your fate
Your destiny awaits
Thor! Hlödyn's son
Protector of mankind
Ride to meet your fate
Ragnarök awaits

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Meddler by August Burns Red

Average Grade Level:  5.8

Sample Lyrics: 

This moment will too pass us by.

It's this notion inside all of us to prioritize through our selfish eyes.

To be the bull behind the rampage, the reason for all the riot.

We'll feed our flame before wasting time on everyone else's, 

with more problems and less pride.

We'll feed our flame before wasting time on everyone else's, 

our gallows were not supposed to look like this.

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A Horse Called Golgotha by Baroness

Average Grade Level:  8.6

Sample Lyrics:

Call the boy

He's down the hallow

Cull the tide

Distill the rye

Now it's time for medication

Stallions on the eiderdown

The stained horizon

Ablaze with revolvers

Stampedes and bridles

Exorcise the family demons

Stallions on the eiderdown

The stained horizon

Of the dark rein and rider

The steed named Golgotha

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Beneath These Waves You Sleep by Demons & Wizards

Average Grade Level:  10.6

Sample Lyrics:

Come all you mast-heads

Come all you harpooners

Sing out for him, well

My order shall be clear

All you mast-headers

You've heard these words before

It's your blood money

This broad bright ounce of gold

Somewhere deep within

I am forever Ahab

And this whole act is immutable decreed

Somewhere deep within

Let revenge be mine

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Oblivion by Mastodon

Average Grade Level:  8.0

Sample Lyrics:

I tried to burrow a hole into the ground

Breaking all the fingers and the nails from my hands

The eyes of a child see no wrong

Ignorant bliss, impending doom

Lost love

Bright eyes fading

Faster than stars falling

How can I tell you that I've failed?

Tell you I failed

Falling from grace cause I've been away too long

Leaving you behind with my lonesome song

Now I'm lost in oblivion

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The Thing that Should Not Be by Metallica

Average Grade Level:  9.2

Sample Lyrics:
Messenger of fear in sight
Dark deception kills the light

Hybrid children watch the sea
Pray for father, roaming free

Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Great Old One
Forbidden site
He searches
Hunter of the Shadows is rising
Immortal

In madness you dwell

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I, Voyager by Nevermore

Average Grade Level:  9.5

Sample Lyrics:
If you view life as a mission
For truth and purity in vision
You can become as the anointed
And fade away from the disjointed

In observation, I analyze
All the aspects of humanity that I despise

I am the voyager
I have tasted pleasures of the flesh
And drunk the pleasures of the mind
To reach the point I've attained
Clear focused and defined

Those who don't create dictate
The structure of our world and preach hate
Drifting out of languid boredom
To destroy the structure of our kingdom

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The Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish

Average Grade Level:  6.5

Sample Lyrics:
The end.
The songwriter's dead.
The blade fell upon him
Taking him to the white lands
of empathica,
of innocence
Empathica
Innocence

The dreamer and the wine
Poet without a rhyme
A widow writer torn apart by chains of Hell

One last perfect verse
It's still the same old song
Oh Christ, how I hate what I have become


Take me home
Get away, run away, fly away
Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway
I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more
I cannot die, I, a whore for this cold world
Forgive me,
I have but two faces
One for the world, One for God,
Save me!
I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more

I cannot die, I, a whore for this cold world

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The Light that Blinds by Shadows Fall

Average Grade Level:  7.7

Sample Lyrics:
A crack forms in the foundation
Fault line through your defenses
Illuminating the essence
Once clouded by a myth

Store bought conformity,
Force-fed duality, 
I warp reality!

The comfort that you will find,
As you remain hidden.
The light betrays,
casting your true self away,

They remain blinded.

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Long Live the Misanthrope by Soilwork

Average Grade Level:  9.8

Sample Lyrics:
Where's the notion
That I would be left out
I wish you'd take me away with you
I know I cursed you
I know I had no doubt
That all of you were the thorns of life

Misanthropic tendencies
I was the one who could never believe
You broke my trust, all was lost
You're all the same to me
I made peace with solitude
A farcical interlude
The wrath made me a lonely soul

The misanthrope lives on
Through the burning sun
A champion for the ages
The hatred lives on
The world goes numb
A provocateur of life

You won't affect me, I'm in control

When I take the role of the misanthrope

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Notice that even the lowest scoring song - August Burns Red's Meddler - managed to nearly reach the 6th grade reading level, placing it well above the average score for the songs featured in the original study.  Meanwhile, the rest of the songs were comfortably within the 6th-10th grade range.

Another point of interest that I didn't realize until after I had already compiled my list of songs to be analyzed is that three of the selected songs had literary roots with their lyrics being derived from works of literature or folklore:  Demons & Wizards' Beneath These Waves You Sleep is based on Melville's Moby Dick while Metallica's The Thing That Should Not Be pays homage to the works of H.P. Lovecraft.  Additionally, Amon Amarth's Twighlight of the Thunder God obviously owes its inspiration to Norse Mythology.

I'm not going to be so bold to suggest that Metal artists are more intelligent than artists in any other genre.  Certainly there are numerous other Metal songs that would score lower, even songs by the very same artists represented here!  However, I do think that this serves to demonstrate a certain level of sophistication within a genre that is often looked down upon due to unfair stereotypes.

Before anyone takes this whole thing too seriously, please keep in mind that we are trying to attribute a numerical score for what is meant to be a purely subjective form of expression and entertainment. I hope you found this exercise as interesting as I did and I welcome your thoughts and opinions on the matter.

An Examination of Zombies in Popular Culture

With tomorrow night bringing our town's annual Zombie Walk festivities, the undead have been preying on my mind (not literally, thankfully), so I thought I would share a post on zombies that has been in the works for quite some time.

The zombie is unique among the various supernatural creatures that are presented within popular culture.

Many of our monsters have roots in literature, owing much of their origin to classic works.  For example, many of what we consider to be the essential traits contributing to our idea of what exactly defines a vampire is owed to Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

The genesis of the zombie, however, is rooted actual tradition and folklore, only later to be further molded by popular fiction and movies until morphing into the modern incarnation we most widely recognize today.

Zombies of Voodoo Tradition

Traditional zombies are the product of Haitian Voodoo rites.  In fact, the term we use today is derived from the Haitian word "zombi" which means "spirit of the dead".

In Voodoo folklore, priests known as Bokor could seemingly kill a targeted individual through the use of a powder derived from the poison of a blowfish.  When ingested, this toxin could apparently slow a victim's heart-rate and breathing to a near standstill.  Their physiology  would be so adversely affected that even their body temperature would drop dramatically.  Thus, the afflicted would be presumed dead and ultimately buried by friends and family.  Later, however, the Bokor would return to the still-living victim's grave site to retrieve them.  The newly "resurrected" zombi would have no memory of their former life and would henceforth live as a mindless servant to the whims of the Bokor.

There are apparently actual accounts of real-life accounts of zombis.  Such accounts have been reported by Western scientists since the 1930's and serious medical studies have investigated and documented the zombi phenomenon even as recently as the 1980's.

In popular culture White Zombie, I Walked with a Zombie and other horror films introduced zombies to a wider audience.  These first films to feature zombies relied heavily on the folklore traditions of voodoo practices, but often took creative liberties.  The Voodoo practitioners or witch doctors in such films controlled their unthinking victims through hypnotism or some form black magic.  These brain-dead drones would carry out nefarious deeds to satisfy their wicked masters.

Some films, such as the zombie movies produced by the British studio Hammer Films, presented the idea that zombies could be the resurrected and reanimated dead.  In Plague of Zombies, for example, rotted corpses burst forth from coffins and erupt from their graves. Thus, future undead incarnations found their influence.

Undead Revenants

Across cultures there are tales of the dead rising again to seek vengeance against those who wronged them in life.  Whether it be ghosts or reanimated corpses, revenants also play an important role in the history of zombies.

A revenant is generally defined as one that has returned from death (or a long absence).  In fantasy fiction, a revanant could be a vengeful spirit or a reanimated creature that was resurrected for the sole purpose of seeking retribution and are primarily supernatural in origin.  Revenants have a long history in folklore and were commonly manifested as ghosts returning to torment those that had wronged or even killed them in their former life.  However, some stories actually featured living corpses rather than phantom spirits.

It was EC Comics (and other comic publishers around the same time) that popularized this form of zombie which would often appear in their warped morality plays in titles such as Tales from the Crypt.  Usually a revenant undead would return after previously being betrayed or murdered by someone they trusted previously in the plot (usually a love triangle affair of some kind).  The revenants in these stories were generally depicted as horribly decayed corpses (regardless of how long they had actually been dead) and they usually dispatched of their intended targets in some grisly, ironic fashion.

  

Creepshow, a horror/comedy anthology film influenced heavily by EC Comics has two segments featuring undead revenants.  In "Father's Day" the murdered patriarch of the family returns in a decomposed form to exact revenge, while in "Something to Tide You Over" two drowned lovers come back to return the favor.  This particular feature, a sentient will and definitive motivation (though limited), sets revenant undead apart from other zombies.  Other features that make this group unique are the capability of speech, possessing superhuman strength that belies their rotting state or sometimes other supernatural powers.

Romero's Zombies

In 1968, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead forever changed the popular perception of zombies.  In this film, zombies were depicted as mindless, reanimated corpses that had only one motivation:  a cannibalistic need to feed on the flesh of the living.  These undead were resurrected by mysterious, ambiguous means.  The film hints that reanimation could be a result of radiation emitted by a recently returned space probe, but Romero contends that there is no explanation aside from "God changed the rules; Hell is full."

While not actually called "zombies" at any point (they're referred to as "ghouls" in the first film), Romero's Living Dead series (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead...  and eventually others) cemented several tropes that we commonly associate with zombies to this day:

1.  Zombies function on the most basic of  instincts.  They have an insatiable craving for living flesh.

2.  A zombie's bite is fatal and contagious.  Victims will die, but then reanimate themselves.  Zombies generally lack memories from their previous life and will therefore attack anyone, including friends and family.

3.  Zombies are generally slow moving and weak due to their decomposing state.  Alone, they pose little threat, but in large groups, they can easily overwhelm their victims.  Zombies never tire and never sleep.  They are relentless in their single-minded need to feed. 

4.  Zombies cannot be stopped by most normal methods.  Since they are undead and feel no pain, dismemberment through bullets and blades generally have little effect.  The only hope is to either incapacitate a zombie by some extreme means, or to simply aim for the head and destroy the brain.

In addition to establishing these rules, the Living Dead series presented an inescapable aesthetic that would accompany most zombie fiction, whether it be in film or any other medium.  The decomposition, of the reanimated, the diet of zombies, and the means needed to dispose of the undead necessitated the use of gore.  Like the slasher genre, this has led to creators endlessly ramping up their attempts to top one another through more realistically/creatively decomposed zombies, scenes of increasingly disgusting zombie feasts, or ridiculous methods of zombie maiming/killing.  Even Romero found himself falling into this sort of competition with himself in later films.

 

Although reportedly inspired by Richard Matheson's book, I Am Legend, the Living Dead series also introduced the apocalyptic scenario of a societal collapse which would come to be inexorably entwined with zombie stories henceforth.  As the dead rise and their ranks subsequently swell, humanity begins to break down.  Survivors typically do not trust one another as bleak desperation and grim inevitability sets in.  Mistrust and paranoia reign and careless mistakes can be fatal errors.  Often, it is not the dead that pose the greatest threat, but the living.

The comic book and the television series The Walking Dead famously focuses just as much on the drama of the interactions between the survivors as it does on their struggle with the undead hordes.  Many would argue that the survival aspect of zombie fiction is just as appealing and fascinating as the horror of facing a reanimated corpse.

Exceptions to the Rules

While Night of the Living Dead established tropes and rules that much of zombie fiction adheres to, there are always exceptions... And they too have had an impact on the ever-evolving concept of the living dead.

Return of the Living Dead is... interesting...  for a variety of reasons (many of which we will not discuss at this time).  Return of the Living Dead is not an official sequel to Night of the Living Dead but interestingly enough does reference Romero's film, stating that it was based on true events (very meta!).  This movie however, eschews the series and bleak tone of the Living Dead series, taking a comedic, slap-stick approach to zombie horror.  Return of the Living Dead is most notable because it featured zombies that could verbalize, thereby giving us another, as yet, unlisted zombie trope:  "Brains!"  That's right, the reason we associate the groaning and moaning of zombies for "Brains!" is thanks to this film and the ever-loving Tar-Man zombie.

Zombies in video games are a natural fit because of the survival horror aspect of the genre.  First- person shooters and role-playing games put players themselves into the fray against undead assailants.  However, to break up the monotony of fighting just one type of zombie, games such as Resident Evil, Red Dead Redemption:  Undead Nightmare, and  Left 4 Dead feature a variety of classes of undead typically unseen in other mediums.   These special types of zombies may vomit acidic bile, possess the ability to rush at survivors in short bursts, or be nearly unstoppable masses with superhuman strength.  

Then there is the most recent incarnation of zombies... the so-called "fast zombie". Films such as 28 Days Later and the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead introduced audiences to a new breed of the undead that was able to achieve a full-on sprint as it stalked its prey (It is worth pointing out that the creatures in 28 Days Later are arguably not zombies, but rather "Infected", it is undeniable that they share much in common with zombies which is why I and others generally lump them together).  While purists will contest that sprinting zombies aren't a realistic (Wait...What?) portrayal or representation of actual (Again...What?) zombies, they are an integral part of history of the undead in pop culture, like it or not.  Personally, I'm not a fan, either, but the rise of the "fast zombie" is an important side note as this type of zombie helped usher in the current resurgence in the popularity of zombies.

Zombie Nation

Speaking of the popularity of the zombie genre, we are living in a unique time in which an appreciation for the undead is unprecedented.  At one point, such a rabid fanbase for such a gruesome subject would have been considered a subversive subculture at best, but thanks to many of the aforementioned films, video games, comic books, and TV shows, zombies in popular culture are as pervasive and inescapable as they are in their fictional universes.  The love for zombies has manifested itself in a variety of ways, including:  Zombie walks in which large crowds of people dress and act like shambling undead, zombie 5K's feature runners taking on the role of survivors and actors portraying zombies engage in a flag-football type competition, and even zombie weddings which see the bride and groom dress as reanimated corpses.  

The Walking Dead television is a phenomenon in and of itself.  I can't tell you how many conventions I've been to where actors from the show (who portrayed either survivors or zombies) are met with huge crowds of fans.  The fanbase ranges from the old to the surprisingly very young and is as devoted as those who might be to a teeny-bopper pop-star

Of course, this rise in popularity has its pitfalls.  The recent surge in demand for all things zombie has flooded the market and, inevitably, overexposure is taking its toll.  Zombie films, comics, and products which used to be quite rare, have increased in quantity, but not in quantity.  It's only a matter of time before the trend dies down...  But, of course, zombies are known for their sudden, unexpected comebacks!

Zombies on the Brain:  The Symbolism of the Undead

Erudite Zombies

It's time to get psychological and philosophical:  The great thing about monsters in general is that they are manifestations of a variety of fears.  Zombies are no exception.  The undead can be interpreted as representations of numerous real-life threats.

Zombies of the voodoo tradition reveal a fear that continues to be pervasive:  The loss of free will and the hopelessness of being enslaved as a mindless drone.  The cannibalistic tendencies of a zombie horde can be likened to rampant consumerism (This, after all, was the point of Romero's Dawn of the Dead being set in a mall) or simply the dangers of mob mentality.  The unpopular "fast zombie" is generally associated with rapid pandemic outbreaks of viral diseases (In fact, a group of scientists actually used the concept of a zombie apocalypse to help explain and understand how viruses spread within populations).

Of course, the classic lurching zombie serves as a stand-in for the basic human fear of mortality. Just as a lumbering zombie is easily escaped today, it's just a matter of time until one catches up to you and grasps you in its clutches.  Zombies, at the root of it all, force us to face our own ultimately inevitable demise.

Well...  That's depressing.

Conclusion

The living dead, as we know them today, have had a very interesting and varied history.  From the zombis of Haitian Voodoo folklore to the familiar shambling, brain-eating hordes we see on our movie and TV screens today, it is clear that zombies are destined a permanent fixture of our popular pscyche and culture.

Opinion: Shark Week Bites!

I must admit, I have become quite agitated with the Discovery Channel's "Shark Week" programming.  What used to be a "must see TV" event I annually marked down on my calendar with eager anticipation has become a mind-numbing ordeal of frustration as I'm expected to overlook pseudoscience for the sake of entertainment.  As you know, I enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy as much as the next guy, but I take exception when people are being misled.

Last year the network tried to entice viewers with a fake documentary entitled Megalodon:  The Monster Shark Lives which was about a surviving Megalodon stalking submarines and chowing down on whales despite the species being extinct for about 2 million years!  The misleading program flashed a very brief disclaimer vaguely alluding to its non-factuality before launching into segments featuring paid actors posing as scientist presenting fabricated evidence.  This year they're at it again with their Shark of Darkness and Monster Hammerhead.  At this rate they might as well try to pass off the Sharknado movies as fact!

Don't they realize that sharks are fascinating enough without having to make stuff up?

Anyway...  Enjoy the awesome Jaws artwork by Casey Callender.  We're gonna need a bigger boat!

Opinion: Gore in Horror Cinema

I may take some flak for this, but here it goes...

I consider myself a fan of horror, but I am not a fan of gore.

Maybe I'm just squeamish, but gore does not frighten me, it merely sickens me.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good zombie movie.  I can appreciate the occasional splatter and rolling decapitated head.  Evil Dead 2 is one of my favorite rainy day movies.

In spite of all this, I'm simply not a fan of gore for gore's sake.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of "horror" is as follows:

1     hor·ror     noun     \ˈhȯr-ər, ˈhär-\

: a very strong feeling of fear, dread, and shock

: the quality of something that causes feelings of fear, dread, and shock : the horrible or shocking quality or character of something

: something that causes feelings of fear, dread, and shock : something that is shocking and horrible

Other definitions state that the meaning of "horror" includes a sense of revulsion and general repugnance.  Gore certainly fits in with this category, it is indeed horrific.  I do think that gore has its place in the realm of horror movies, but I think that it is just one of many tools that a filmmaker can use to frighten and shock their audiences.

However, I think that gore is very much at risk of being overused in the genre as of late with many filmmakers being over-reliant on gore in a way somewhat akin to the directors of major blockbusters in recent years having become dependent on CGI set-pieces as a means to compensate for a weak plot and unengaging characters.

It seems to me that gore has overshadowed other elements of horror cinema and has been taken to a level of disgusting excess which is almost pornographic in nature.

For example:  I recall watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre many years ago.  I found it amusing that this movie had this reputation of being such a gory movie and yet I found that, for the most part, the gore was much more alluded to than actually shown.

Take the infamous meat hook scene for instance.  This scene depicts Leatherface carrying his victim into the room with the meat hooks, him lifting her up, and then a shot of her feet dangling with blood dripping down.

Compare this to the remake of Texas Chainsaw Massacre that came out in 2003.  This same scene plays out very much in the same way with one major difference:  This time we see the meat hooks penetrate the victim's back.

Was it necessary to show this?  What did this add to the experience?  Was it suddenly more terrifying because we saw the meat hooks cut into the skin?

One difference between the "classic" horror films of the yesteryear and the modern movies of our generation is the strict rating system and censorship that the filmmakers had to adhere to.  Censorship is bad, yes, but one positive is that it forced filmmakers to be very creative in their storytelling techniques.

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho is a great example.  Obviously, a gory scene depicting the titular psychopath actually stabbing a woman in the shower was not going to survive the censors in the early 60's, so the innovative director made modifications.  Employing some clever editing using quick cuts between the murderer and its victim, the audience is tricked into believing that they are witnessing a very brutal act in its entirety... when in fact nothing is actually being shown, but merely alluded to.

I would argue that the end result is much more effective.  The lighting, editing, music and a host of other elements combine to create something uniquely terrifying an much more memorable.  Your imagination fills in the gaps.

“There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” 

“Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more the excitement..."

― Alfred Hitchcock

Paranormal Activity is one of my favorite horror films in recent years.  The scares in this movie were proceeded by long, slow burns of tension and suspense that paid off at various times throughout the film before leading up to a final, terrifying climax.  Sure, it took a while to get there (probably an eternity by the standards of today's audiences), but the scares were very effective.

Any time it shifted to a night scene I could feel an almost tangible sense of dread welling up inside me.  The scenes of onscreen terror stuck with me and I had trouble sleeping many nights afterward (It probably didn't help that after I left the theater that I had to go home to an apartment that looked an awful lot like the townhouse in the movie).

I was disappointed to find out that there were many who did not like Paranormal Activity at all.  Yet I was surprised at the reason they didn't like the movie...  It turns out that most of these folks were very much into slasher films.  It was almost as if a cinematic experience wasn't "scary" to them if there wasn't blood oozing across the screen every five minutes.

Perhaps that is an issue with today's audiences.  Or perhaps it's an issue with today's filmmakers.

Maybe filmmakers think that we lack the imagination to "fill in the blanks" and that's why they end up tossing all subtly out the window.  Or maybe they just feel like they need to "push the boundaries" and (unfortunately) the only way they know how is by ramping up the gore and violence.

I don't know what the answer is.  I just know it's not for me.  And you're certainly welcome to disagree.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the matter:  What do you think about gore's role in Horror cinema?