Blood and Gore

Did you see Hitchcock's classic

PSYCHO when it was first released?

That was back in 1960--

Before our thirst for blood increased.

 

Hitchcock teased us with the camera

And was a master at building suspense,

Which for many who saw the movie

Turned out to be too intense.

 

The unforgettable scene in the shower

Made some viewers too afraid

To shower when staying at home alone

For years after the film had been made.

 

The intensity of that frightening scene

By modern standards is shallow or thin.

They say there's only one split second

That shows the knife touching skin.

 

In movies now heads go flying,

Bodies explode, throats are slit,

Blood gushes, sprinkles, and splatters--

The butchery never seems to quit.

Eyes pop out, insides ooze,

Bodies are sometimes split in half

Or burnt to a crisp before our eyes.

After a shriek, the viewers laugh.

 

Are we more sophisticated

Or just immune to blood and gore?

Scenes that scared us way back when

Do not scare us anymore.

 

It's refreshing when directors use

Restraint and wisely resist temptations

To show it all and leave so little

To the viewers' imaginations.

 

(11-5-15)