Why The Hunger Games Reminded Me of a Horror Movie

How many people do you know who read The Hunger Games in a weekend or less? Of the sequel, Catching Fire, my cousin wrote on her Facebook that she couldn’t “get her eyes out of it.” However, It took me two and a half weeks, culminating in a four hour marathon reading session at the local coffee shop, just to get through book one.  Reading The Hunger Games was a chore.  I knew a dedicated reading session in public was the only way I’d ever finish it (also, I’d hoped to use it to meet women… and at least half of my plan worked).

When I first started the book, I recognized it as a story with staying power, unlike, say Twilight, which has the shelf life of a Beanie Baby.  No, despite the lack of a Newberry medal, I think The Hunger Games will be read in classrooms for discussion and at home for entertainment for many years to come.  Katniss Everdeen’s battle against herself, her peers and ultimately the government offers up so many topics for intelligent discussion.  In some ways it’s not so different from The Giver or even Ender’s Game.

Pictured: Vicious Killers

 For all you who haven’t read the book or seen the movie (which is probably none of you), I’ll summarize.  In the not-too-distant future all of North American has been united by a totalitarian government into a single country, called Panem, which is broken up into 12 districts.  At some time in the past the districts tried to start a revolution.  Every year since then, the government demands that each district offer two children between the ages of 12 and 18, called tributes, to compete in the Hunger Games as a reminder of who has the power. The Games  are a combination of Survivor, American Idol and gladiatorial combat.  The novel follows the journey of Katniss Everdeen, tribute from lowly District 12.  The Hunger Games novel is 1984 for the Jersey Shore generation.

As I reached the end of the book, however, it began to remind me of a movie—hillbilly horror film Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil.