252. The Self-Cultivation of a Horror Movie Actor

After returning from the Jiangcheng City Mental Hospital, Lu Ban felt much better.

He came into contact with real mental patients and obtained a lot of first-hand information through communication and conversations with them.

Previously, Lu Ban only had a superficial understanding of mental illness. Like many other ordinary normal people, he thought mental illness was bizarre, difficult to understand, strange, and impossible to communicate with.

But after actually interacting with them, Lu Ban felt that these patients with illnesses were just like ordinary people, except that their way of thinking was distorted because of their illnesses.

For example, a typical case of delusional disorder may seem neurotic, as people are always afraid of or hate things that don't exist. But in reality, they just have frequent fantasies and mistake their imagination for reality. Imagine if there was an ugly creature next to you in reality, wouldn't you want to drive it away? But patients with delusional disorder are just making normal and reasonable decisions. In other words, apart from mistaking their delusions for reality, they are no different from ordinary people.

Furthermore, some patients with delusional disorder construct their own worldview and act in accordance with the rules of this worldview. From this point of view, they are actually quite normal in their own delusions, even more normal than many ordinary people who don't know what they think about every day.

Once this is understood, the thought process of a mentally ill person can be captured.

Lu Ban wanted to study mental patients in order to learn about their irrational characteristics.

As we all know, the scariest part of horror works is the incomprehensible monsters or dangers.

The most terrifying moments are when the protagonists are being chased, killed, or threatened by something they don't know, and they don't know when or where the other party will appear.

If those ghosts and monsters could be understood, seen through, and even destroyed, then the sense of terror would completely disappear.

In horror games, if you only have a flashlight, any random thing that appears can scare you half to death. But if you give the player a gun loaded with bullets, the player will just shout for more monsters to come.

Dangers that cannot be resisted and can only be avoided will cause people to feel uneasy.

And mental patients fit this description perfectly.

In many works, the mere appearance of a mental patient is enough to create a terrifying atmosphere. If this patient is also disheveled, emaciated, and holding a tattered baby doll while singing a nursery rhyme or two, it will definitely leave a deep impression.

When Lu Ban returned home, the TV was still on, playing short videos of industrial manufacturing used to relieve stress online; this time it was about making a mirror.

He saw Lu Ban in the mirror, who seemed to really enjoy watching these things, staring intently at the screen.

The two wisps of steam on the sofa seemed completely unconcerned, as if they were already asleep.

Lu Ban went to the computer, opened the document, and began to record his thoughts and feelings from today.

Three days later, on the last day of April, the May Day holiday was about to begin. On the afternoon of the 30th, everyone was already distracted from work and only thinking about how to spend the holiday.

But for the cinema staff, this holiday was anything but relaxing.

Many films will be released during the May Day Golden Week holiday, marking the start of the summer movie season, including "The Mouth of the Madman".

The pre-sale box office for "The Mouth of the Madman" has reached nearly 50 million yuan, which is an excellent result for a horror thriller. It should be noted that many similar films only gross about the same amount. Horror films, which are naturally associated with B-movie, are mostly synonymous with low budgets and low box office returns.

With such large productions and investments, who would bother making horror movies? Wouldn't it be better to make superhero or disaster movies instead?

Horror movies offer very poor value for money.

May 1st, midnight.

The premiere of "The Mouth of the Madman".

Countless viewers flocked to cinemas at night, just to see what the first work under Lu Ban's horror movie worldview was.

Bai Qiquan, a student at Yannan University of Media, and his girlfriend Pang Zhen are among them.

Bai Qiquan Bai Qiquan been studying horror movies recently. After being exposed to "The Crying," he became interested in horror films. He hadn't watched many before, but he's been catching up like crazy lately, even watching B-movie. He's become very familiar with the tropes of horror movies.

It's nothing more than suddenly popping up something to scare you, using disgusting things to make people feel disgusted, plus ketchup, severed limbs, chainsaws, and scenes like hospitals, mental hospitals, and schools.

He is preparing his graduation thesis this year, and Bai Qiquan is still considering whether to choose a topic of research on horror movies.

As Bai Qiquan entered the cinema, he saw that many people were still smiling.

This is quite normal, because the huge success of "The Crying" brought horror movies into the public eye, and more and more people started watching them. This is also why the pre-sale box office is so high.

In other words, many viewers were just there to join in the excitement of the midnight premiere, and didn't have any prior knowledge of Lu Ban's horror films.

Bai Qiquan felt a bit schadenfreude, but upon closer reflection, he realized he was now sitting in the audience, and it was anyone's guess who would look worse.

He stopped talking.

As the movie began, he calmed down and watched it attentively.

More than a hundred minutes later.

As the credits and end credits rolled, the huge movie theater fell silent.

Bai Qiquan stared at the screen, his mind completely blank.

This is not quite the same as being frightened or feeling scared.

If watching "The Cry" and Lu Ban's other works brought him direct fear, the terror of fear turning into a venomous snake and coiling around him, then this film felt like a bunch of things were forcibly stuffed into his head.

Some people have this experience when they are young: they used to only live in their own home and move between kindergarten and primary school, and they felt that the world was very small, only that big. But one time, they suddenly saw something grand, such as the ocean, the boundless starry sky, or those huge and bustling cities. The feeling at that moment is Bai Qiquan realized.

It was a fear that was beyond one's control, understanding, and cognition. Bai Qiquan cried the moment the credits rolled and the movie theater lights came on.

He felt that his life seemed meaningless, that everything was hypocritical, just like the protagonists in the movie, just like that novelist. He felt that no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop the world from heading toward destruction.

This movie is like a switch; once you press it, you feel completely empty.

"Lu Ban, this person is terrifying!"

During his time of reflection, Bai Qiquan with emotion.

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September's second bonus chapter for monthly pass holders (3/3)