THE WIZARD OF OZ: Horror or Fantasy?

[AntonioDelLago]

Since THE WIZARD OF OZ was listed among AFI's Top 100 Thrillers, do you think it warrants the ranking? Is it a twisted version of the children's novel by Frank Baum, or merely a fantasy?

Case in point: this film had many moments which one would deem "thrilling" or "horrific", such as the Flying Monkeys, the Wicked Witch, the Wizard himself (before he was exposed), and those munchkins!

I never found it scary, but it was always a childhood favorite.

Trivia: No, that was not a stunt man hanging himself in the background after Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man depart from the Tin Man's home...it was merely a pelican or some large bird flapping its wings.

I also heard that the adult midgets portraying the munchkins were involved in several on-the-set orgies! Now THAT'S fucking scary!


[This message has been edited by AntonioDelLago (edited 06-17-2001).]

[CAPTAIN BLAKE]

Like most great fairy tales, and movies based upon them, there is a large dose of terror in THE WIZARD OF OZ. From the basic premise (a child lost), to the grisly specifics (the dead witch, crushed beneath a house, her toes curling up...), nightmares run rampant in OZ. There's more to it than that, of course; in the end, the wicked witch of the west is defeated (another frightening scene for a child.."I'M MELTING!"), the heroes rise above their weaknesses, Dorothy finds her way home. THE WIZARD OF OZ is certainly not a pure "horror film", it's a rich emotional tapestry that happens to have more than it's fair share of fear. My own mother finds THE WIZARD OF OZ absolutely unbearable; the flying monkeys, the ultimate boogeymen of her childhood, still hold a terrifying power over her. She's seen THE EXORCIST, she's seen HALLOWEEN, but OZ is the only film that can still cause her to lose it after all these years. It may be wise for fans of the genre to look beyond the strict boundaries of horror films and fiction, as many times I've found it to be more terrifying when malevolence creeps up on you unannounced, surrounded by the beautiful or innocuous...

[andy13]

MOST FAIRYTALES ARE INFACT HORROR STORIES, I BET NOT ALOT OF PEOPLE REMEMBER THE ORIGIONAL "LITTLE MERMAID" TALE, WHEREBY SHE COMMITS SUICIDE AT THE END, OR THE ORIGIONAL SLEEPING BEAUTY, WHERE THE PEOPLE ASLEEP FOR 100 YEARS HAVE INFACT DIED IN THEIR SLEEP, GRUESOME. MY POINT IS THAT THE WIZARD OF OZ IS QUITE THE HORROR STORY (JUST READ THE BOOK) BUT I DO CONSIDER THE SEQUAL "RETURN TO OZ" TO BE MORE OF A HORROR.
THOSE WHEELER PEOPLE.

[Bloodybitch13]

The Munchkins scared me the most. They gave me nightmares...Brrrrrrrr