Fright films with smarts gain ground

LOS ANGELES -- In addition to raising the hair on the back of your neck, some recent movies about ghosts, monsters and other things that go bump in the night are raising questions about the meaning of family and religion, life and death.

M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director of "The Sixth Sense," has been at the trend's forefront, saying frightening films are ideal vehicles for examining serious themes.

"Fear is a skill that you have as a creature on this planet, that protects you," Shyamalan said. "You take inventory of your life real quick when you're afraid, and usually find out what you really care about."

The horror genre has always included cheesy monster and slasher tales -- the parade of splatter-fest sequels to "Halloween," "Friday the 13th" and "Nightmare on Elm Street," for instance -- as well as more sophisticated attempts at creating fear.

In the tradition of "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," Shyamalan's latest film -- "Signs" -- joins recent movies such as "The Others," "The Devil's Backbone" and "Frailty" in the new wave of philosophical and psychological horror films.

This classier breed of fright film often employs creepy atmosphere to create suspense, rather than simply eviscerating teenagers to arouse disgust.

"Horror movies are getting more and more sophisticated," said David J. Skal, film historian and author of "The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror." "They can be read as metaphors for cultural or metaphysical issues not often addressed elsewhere in secular society."

In "Signs," Mel Gibson stars as a widowed minister who discovers strange crop-circle markings in the fields outside his farm that suggest the presence of hostile extraterrestrial life.

"Basically, the movie developed into a parable about a man's faith," Shyamalan said. The movie's alien threat "is really a metaphor for (the minister's) demons, fears and the things that cause him to question his faith. If such an event could occur, could there be a God up there?"

Some of the most renowned thrillers -- many adapted from books -- have prompted subtextual interpretations.

"Frankenstein" -- and later, "Jurassic Park" -- questioned the risks of unethical scientific experimentation. "Dracula" -- and later, some of the franchise-starting slasher movies -- were deconstructed as morality tales about the dangers of sexual promiscuity.

In this spring's "Frailty," Bill Paxton played a kindly father who tells his young sons that God has instructed them to butcher people who are really demons.

"One idea behind 'Frailty' is that you should not trust something just because you want to believe it. Whether it's coming from a parent, or the police or the government ... it's important to be independent and critical-minded," said screenwriter Brent Hanley.

Similarly, "The Others" featured a mother (Nicole Kidman) who preaches a harsh brand of religion to her children while supernatural forces bombard their home. In part, it demonstrates "how very strong beliefs and the way of teaching them can be dangerous for children," said writer-director Alejandro Amenabar.