Several weeks ago, I attended a big horror convention in Gettysburg called Horrorfind. As part of the convention, filmmakers were allowed to show their movies at the nearby theater. In one group of shorts, I had the opportunity to watch Murderabilia. Throughout the entire running time, there seems to be an underlying sense of dread and tension. At the start, we find ourselves in a prison as we listen to Gordon Wymms chillingly recount how he murdered a young woman. Across the table, a man simply called the Collector records it all on a tape recorder. From there, the movie delves into a truly bizarre sub-culture: the buying and selling of artifacts used in murders... hence the title! What I found truly terrifying was the sense of barely perceptible glee that all three characters showed when discussing murder and death. I was more than certain that before the movie ended, one of the characters was going to be murdered in kind. But no, there's not one scene of violence. What's great about it is that the filmmakers wisely don't reveal everything and leave things up in the air. A lot like life, in my opinion. It works on a psychological level, because I know there are sub-cultures like this. Afterall, look at the JFK conspiracy theorists. Or more recently, the 9/11 theorists. In parts of America, there's a market in selling bones. And how different is that from warriors who collected the body parts of their enemies, or placed severed heads on the top of spikes? So really, I pose a question to you, gentle viewer: Are we really anymore civilized?
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