Scary movies and my new "mom" POV

Hubby and I haven't been to the movies in four years and five months. I know this exact figure because the last movie we saw in the theater was "The Prestige" with Christian Bale, and it was released in October 2006. But this isn't such a bad thing. We save a ton of cash by avoiding $12 ticket prices, $10 in snacks, and $25 babysitting fees for an evening. Instead, we are Netflixers. And this presents ridiculous (but not serious) arguments in our house.

I manage the queue. This is because Hubby is never online (and it's usually best that he avoids technology in general). So I pick movies that a) I want to see, b) are up for awards, c) I think Bret would like too, and d) flix that are recommended by someone else. And despite how much Hubby complains about the movie selection every time a red envelope appears in our mailbox, he is usually satisfied after watching.

My latest selection was "Shutter Island" because it was recommended to me by some of my students (I teach high school English). The synopsis read something like this: "WWII veteran turned US Marshall (Leo DiCaprio) investigates a disappearance at a mental institution for the criminally insane." Paired with the previews I saw when the movie came out, and knowing that Martin Scorcese was the director, I thought I had a good idea of what to expect—a creepy, psychological thriller.

Let me digress for a moment. I have always been one to enjoy horror movies. This began when I was about 12-years-old when I saw Hitchcock's "The Birds" and the horror classic "Poltergeist." But over the last 10 years or so, the new trend in scary movies is gratuitous violence rather than creepy situations. I'm completely disgusted by movies like "Saw" or "The Hills Have Eyes" and ever since I saw the latter, I have refused to watch these types of horror movies (and look back nostalgically to the days of the good ole haunted house, Amittyville-horror-type movie.)

But "Shutter Island" seemed like it was inspired by the roots of horror—pure creepiness. **SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen the movie and care to see the movie, do not continue!** And it starts off super creepy, establishing the remote island for the insane asylum, the hurricane that conveniently traps the investigators because the ferries cannot run, and of course, the disturbing inmates/patients. But 3/4 way through the movie, I was completely disturbed, in the not-expecting, not pleasant way. Leo regresses into his memory to remember that his wife drowned their three small children in a pond behind their house. And this scene, the memory of him finding his dead babies, lasted forever—at least 10 minutes of screen time. At this point, Hubby wanted to kill me for choosing this movie, and I was equally regretful of my selection. But how could I have known??!! To reveal this scene in the synopsis would have been giving away a main ingredient of the twist.

The movie itself had a great plot line, if you just think about the development of stories in general. It had a great twist and even presents some ethical questions to consider by the end. BUT I DO NOT WANT TO WATCH MOVIES ABOUT MURDERED CHILDREN. This movie probably wouldn't have bothered me before I had Cavan, but now that I'm a mom, I am hypersensitive to the safety of children, particularly my own. I do not want to watch movies that make me picture scenarios of kidnapping or violence because I do not want to ever imagine myself dealing with that devastation.

I mentioned to my students that I was completely disgusted by the movie. They couldn't understand it. They all thought the movie was "awesome." But they are not viewing it with the lens of a parent. I told them that they would all understand after they had their own children (and then I thought to myself, god, I must sound like a lame old fogey to them. Oh well.)

So for the record, please do not recommend any movies like this to me without a mommy disclaimer. I will not like you much if you are the reason I have nightmares!