Those who know me well know that scary shows aren’t really my thing. As a teen in the 80s when watching horror shows at slumber parties was all the rage, I mastered the art of falling asleep during them. Why? Because while they don’t really bother me while I’m awake, I generally get nightmares for six to eight weeks afterwards. Losing that much sleep is just not my idea of a good time.
Given this, you may be wondering why I would even try to watch horror shows. I mean, given the above information, why not avoid them altogether? It’s not like watching them is necessary to living daily life. Well, the answer is simple, if not a bit odd. My favorite actor, Steve Byers, is known for filming a large number of horror and/or otherwise scary, suspense, thriller-type series and movies and was even nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series in the Canadian Screen Awards. As a huge fan, naturally, I have long wanted to watch Steve in it. The problem? I really didn’t want to have him haunting, and hunting, me every night in my dreams. Moreover, I really value my sleep!
Previously, I didn’t want to publicly admit that I hadn’t seen Slasher. I mean, who in their right mind would tell the world that they hadn’t seen their favorite actor in one of his most well-known roles? Now, however, that I have found a way to remedy the situation, I don’t mind sharing how I did so, or my thoughts on the matter. Some people will find this humorous and perhaps others will find it heartwarming. You could, however, just find yourself amongst those who just think I’m strange, and that is okay too! After all, normal is overrated.
How did I do it? What did I do to be able to watch Slasher nightmare free? Well, part of it was in how I watched the show, using a creative approach. The other was in my mindset after the show. That really helped a lot.
I took a multi-pronged approach to watching Slasher. The first step was turning off the volume of the show completely and using closed captioning instead. Not hearing spooky music really helps lighten the mood. Second, I sped up the viewing speed to 1.5x. Things look less scary when people are moving quickly. This allowed me to follow the story without being spooked. Then when Steve Byers’ non-scary character, Cam Henry, came on screen, I turned the volume up and slowed the speed down to normal. After all, I had to see his acting and hear his lines as they were meant to be heard and viewed.
Next, as a soon as the show was over, I turned on music— not my favorite music as that is K-pop but I don’t speak Korean so I can’t sing along to that. Nope, I turned on the cheery, funny music that I enjoy, laugh to, and can sing to because I have all of the lyrics memorized. I chose the music which was most likely to get stuck in my head—the music of Weird Al. “Party in the CIA” came on. I listened and sang, poorly, but I sang. Then I crashed.
I was very pleased when the Executioner did not visit my dreams. In fact, pleased doesn’t cover it. I was over the moon! Did I wake up before my alarm with a vision of Steve wearing that dreadful mask in my head? Yep. But it wasn’t a problem. I was prepared and I had thought this through.
I had decided that what I really needed to do was focus on who was in the costume and not on the character. When I woke up with Steve’s face, completely obscured by the dreadful Executioner mask stuck in my head, I did what I do best—I decided to think about it. A lot. I’ve been told that I ‘overthink’ most things, but in this case, doing so was called for. I started wondering how he could breathe in that mask. I mean, I made my own for cosplay and mine fits very loosely below the nose so I can breathe. Even so, it can still be hot to wear. How on earth could Steve breathe in the mask he was wearing on camera? I don’t know. Maybe he will share that information sometime.
Then I wondered what the weather was like during the filming of Slasher, season 1. As Cam, Steve is walking around in short sleeves, supposedly comfortably given the weather, but I know that Steve Byers is a great actor so it could be subzero temperatures and he would still look comfortable on camera even if he was losing feeling in his extremities. In that case, the Executioner costume would be a welcome thing as boots, pants, a cassock, gloves, a mask, and whatever shirt was worn under the cassock, would be much warmer than the short-sleeved police uniform. If, however, the show was filmed in the heat, then the Executioner costume would be pretty miserable to wear. I wore my cosplay version around for short periods of time only and I know it must have been much cooler than Steve’s on-screen outfit. I was sweating buckets, and I’m sure Steve had to stay in his for long periods at once. Naturally he looked like it wasn’t a problem when watching him on screen because he’s very good at his job.
Having exhausted that train of thought, yet still being awake at an insane hour, unable to get back to sleep, I moved on to the next part of my thought process. While I don’t know a great deal about Steve’s wife, I would be willing to bet that Slasher is something she could really, wholeheartedly enjoy watching with him. So yeah, at 5:00 a.m., not very long before my alarm for work goes off anyway, I was envisioning my favorite actor and his wife in front of a roaring fire (Canada gets cold so you’d have to have a roaring fire, right?) with a fuzzy blanket and a massive bowl of popcorn (the only right way to eat popcorn) watching Steve pretend to be all evil on television. I found this heartwarming, so the whole ugly mask thing and terrifying character was no longer scary. It was sweet—like a scene out of an old Cary Grant movie or a Hallmark Christmas special, but starring Steve and his wife. Which, incidentally, since she is an actress as well, would be a pretty cool thing to see.
To sum things up, my mindset enabled me to envision that hideous costume and smile, rather than being afraid, because I really love watching my favorite actor on screen and as much as he makes me smile, if I genuinely think a role was perhaps a great deal of fun to for him play or watch at home, that makes me happy. As does the fact that I have finally figured out how to watch some of his well-known work that I previously hadn’t seen.
Horror will never be my favorite genre, but now at least I can appreciate what may be some of the upsides of it for my favorite person to watch on screen.
