Cinema Therapy

Five horror movies prescribed by The Movie Doctor to help you heal this Halloween season Creator of A Ballad for Allison Porter recommends scares from Stephen King, Pinhead, Charles Manson, Ridley Scott and more

As you take in Paranormal Activity 2 or Saw VII in 3D at the multiplex this Halloween, one of the things furthest from your mind might be that the terror you’re seeing on the screen is somehow helping you heal. But according to Dr. Gary Solomon, aka The Movie Doctor, some of your favorite horror movies can do just that.

A viral video for a project based on his book A Ballad for Allison Porter premiered on ArrowInTheHead.com (https://www.joblo.com/arrow/index.php?id=24761) earlier this week. To compliment the teaser trailer, which he is currently not commenting on, here is a list of five horror movies Dr. Solomon recommends.

1. Alien (1979) – This Ridley Scott film starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skeritt and Ian Holm offers healing themes of confronting the evil in all of us, Dr. Solomon says. “The symbolism in this movie forces us to look inside ourselves,” Solomon wrote in his book The Motion Picture Prescription in 1995. “It begs us to ask questions about how we live our lives.”

2. Helter Skelter (1976) – The CBS made movie about Charles Manson and his family of killers is perfect in helping people take back their own lives, Dr. Solomon says. “In my hippie days, I spent time on the commune that was next to
Manson’s,” Solomon wrote in his book Reel Therapy in 2001. “I wonder what my life would have been like had I chosen to be one of his group?” The commune life wasn’t for Dr. Solomon and he hopes people that view this film can see the effects drugs and alcohol can have on the mind.

3. Hellraiser (1987) – When you can’t let go of an obsession, Dr. Solomon says this is a good film to watch. “Hellraiser offers one more way to see that life can not take a healthy course if all you do is search for that next ‘ultimate high,’” Dr. Solomon wrote (The Motion Picture Prescription). “(Pinhead) represents evil and its lure towards degradation.”

4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) – Victor Fleming’s classic, like Alien, begs us to look within ourselves. “Have you ever known someone who seemed to switch personalities at the snap of a finger?” Solomon asks (The Motion Picture Prescription). Dr. Jekyll would turn evil after taking drugs. Some people have changes in their personality from no substances. Others may change after taking drugs, food, coffee, cigarettes or alcohol. “Dr. Jekyll’s life ended up in disaster,” Solomon wrote. “Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late.”

5. Misery (1990) – From a Stephen King book, to a William Goldman script, to the screen via director Rob Reiner and actors James Caan and Kathy Bates, this was a wonderfully executed, yet horrifying look at stalking. “It’s a terrible thing when one human being controls another against their will,” Dr. Solomon wrote (Reel Therapy). “You do not have to give your life over to your sickness, nor do you have to be a person who lives in fear over someone’s being obsessed with you.”

Movies and horror are two things Dr. Solomon, who will appear on KNPR’s State of Nevada on Oct. 28 at 10:30 a.m., definitely knows about.

The psychotherapist is the Godfather of Cinematherapy and has prescribed movies as a cure for everything from addictions, abuse, stalking, money, abandonment, alienation, bigotry, martial conflict, adoption, sex, physical illness and much more. The College of Southern Nevada professor spent close to 30 years practicing in the field of psychology.

“Life is scary enough without having to go around and intentionally scare people,” Dr. Solomon said.

Just recently, Dr. Solomon coined the term HOA Syndrome, which he explains as a two-tailed disorder. Homeowners as victims are on one end and Homeowner’s Association board members, property management companies and their attorneys are on the other end as predators, knowingly inflicting emotional, psychological and physical damages.

At the first public announcement of the disorder earlier this month, Dr. Solomon played the classic episode of The Twilight Zone titled The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street. The clip was used to demonstrate how neighbors can turn on and hurt each other due to hysteria caused by an outside source.

At the same time, his book A Ballad for Allison Porter, which tells the story of an All-American girl next door that dismembers her neighbors, is receiving rave reviews.

“A truly delicate and heart-wrenching tragedy,” is what Hamdhoon Rashad called it in his review on BookPleasures.com. “(It) will shock you with such force that will shake you to the core.”

Published by Aslan Publishing, A Ballad for Allison Porter is available in paperback at Amazon.com. The Motion Picture Prescription: Watch This Movie and Call Me in the Morning: 200 Movies to Help You Heal Life’s Problems and Reel Therapy: How Movies Inspire You to Overcome Life’s Problems are also available.

For more information on Dr. Solomon and his many endeavors, please visit Facebook.com/BalladforAllison, ABalladforAllisonPorter.com, Cinema-Therapy.com or HOASyndrome.com.