Two Teenagers, Two Horror Classics, and the Unexpected Power of Being Earnest
Why film literacy matters…
Film literacy doesn’t happen in one big moment.
It doesn’t strike like lightning and no one suddenly sits up at age 13 and says,
“I want to understand cinematic language today.”
No.
Film literacy sneaks up on you.
It seeps in through the cracks of curiosity.
It grows quietly, through repetition, exposure, and hunger.
That’s exactly what I realized after a little experiment I didn’t even know I was running, one involving my 14 year old kid, my 14 year old niece, and two of the most iconic horror films ever made. One film they rejected. One they ended up loving. And the reason why says everything about what it means to become earnest about film literacy.
Back Then: When They Weren’t Ready for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
A year and a half ago, both kids were 13… typical modern teens. They love anime. They love video games. One loves D&D and tabletop RPGs, the other plays soccer. They have the attention spans of modern youth (which is not an insult… it’s literally how the world seems to be now).
And like a lot of younger viewers, they both liked the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) Netflix soft reboot. It’s clean, digital, colorful, fast, and made in the modern visual language kids already speak.
So I thought: if they liked that, surely they’ll love the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre from 1974, one of the pillars of modern horror.
Nope.
They thought it was slow, “weird,” and too raw. The grit didn’t land. The heat didn’t land. The documentary style realism didn’t land.
Why?
Because they weren’t film literate enough yet to read what Tobe Hooper was doing.
To them, it wasn’t scary, it was just old.
And that’s the thing about film literacy:
You can’t appreciate a style you don’t understand yet.
Fast Forward: Showing Them The Exorcist at 14
Cut to now. They’re both 14. They’ve grown a bit. Their tastes have broadened. They’ve watched more movies, more YouTube essays, more Dead Meat videos, more games like Dead by Daylight that introduce them to horror icons and lore.
We put on The Exorcist, the 4K remastered version, and suddenly something clicked.
My niece gave it a 9.5/10.
My kid gave it a 7/10, which for them is like an A++++ (older horror movies usually get a 2 or 3).
They not only enjoyed it, they were invested.
They weren’t bored during the slow build.
They weren’t complaining about the pacing.
They weren’t confused by the lack of jumpscares.
Instead, they were engaged.
They asked:
“When does it get scary?”
Not because they were impatient, because they knew, culturally, that something big was coming.
And when the hospital scene hit, the needle tapping the jugular, the squirt of blood, both kids recoiled and squirmed.
For once, they were experiencing an old horror film the way it was meant to be experienced:
with openness, attention, and no ironic detachment.
Full disclosure: it took some effort to pry my niece’s phone out of her hands, she kept trying to doom scroll Instagram. But by the time The Exorcist tightened the tension, she stopped scrolling. That’s film literacy at work. When a movie is good enough, it forces even a 14 year old to look up.
Why The Exorcist Hit When Chainsaw ’74 Didn’t?
There are a few reasons:
1. The Exorcist is more famous and globally iconic.
Ask a million people worldwide if they’ve heard of The Exorcist, and most will say yes.
Ask if they’ve heard of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and unless they’re horror fans, younger people might not have a clue.
Kids today know The Exorcist because:
- it’s referenced constantly
- possession tropes are everywhere
- it has a “scariest movie ever” legend attached
That reputation creates anticipation.
Anticipation creates attention.
Attention creates literacy.
2. They’ve absorbed horror literacy through games and YouTube.
Modern film education happens in weird places:
- Dead by Daylight teaches killer lore
- Dead Meat teaches history, tone, and context
- TikTok edits teach pacing and iconography
- YouTube teaches meta-analysis through osmosis
Dead by Daylight alone exposes kids to:
- Pinhead
- Myers
- Leatherface
- Sadako
- Ghostface
When you play as a killer, you want to know their movie.
That curiosity is earnestness.
When you watch Dead Meat, you want to understand the kill count.
That’s literacy.
They didn’t watch The Exorcist as clueless teens.
They watched it as horror apprentices without realizing it.
3. Quality and format matter.
We watched Exorcist in 4K.
It’s a gorgeous restoration.
The lighting, the clarity, the film grain, everything looks modern enough to be approachable.
With TCM, I might’ve thrown in an older DVD.
And let’s be real:
Chainsaw is meant to look ugly.
That’s the point. But younger viewers don’t have the vocabulary yet to interpret that aesthetic.
The Exorcist’s 4k polish makes it easier for modern eyes to accept.
Games, YouTube, and the Modern Path to Film Literacy
I can’t stress this enough:
Never mock a kid who gets into horror through Dead by Daylight.
Never mock a kid who gets into horror through Dead Meat.
These are legitimate gateways.
Kids who spend time with:
- lore videos
- kill counts
- reaction breakdowns
- game mechanics based on movies
- YouTube deep dives
…are already developing foundational film literacy without even knowing it.
That’s why my niece and kid were suddenly ready for The Exorcist.
That’s why it landed.
Would They Have Liked Chainsaw Now Instead of Then?
It’s an interesting thought experiment:
If I had reversed the order…
- shown them The Exorcist first a year ago
- then shown them Chainsaw ’74 now
…would they appreciate it more?
Honestly? Probably.
Not because Chainsaw has changed.
Because they have.
Film literacy isn’t about age.
It’s about readiness.
They’re more open to older styles now.
More patient.
More curious about context.
More willing to understand rather than judge.
That’s the entire point of film literacy.
So What Does It Mean To Be Earnest About Film Literacy?
It means:
- you approach movies with genuine curiosity
- you’re willing to slow down
- you’re open to different filmmaking languages
- you understand that “old” doesn’t mean “boring”
- you crave the history, not just the scares
- you learn to appreciate why films work, not just if they work
Film literacy isn’t elitism.
It’s not snobbery.
It’s not gatekeeping.
It’s culture.
It’s sophistication.
It’s the ability to read movies, not just watch them.
And for two 14 year olds who rejected Chainsaw but embraced The Exorcist?
It’s proof that earnestness can grow quietly, invisibly, and then reveal itself all at once,
usually when the right film finally hits them at the right moment.
That moment was The Exorcist.
And now?
They’re ready for much, much more.