"Think of the plot of The Fly. Two attractive people fall in love. The man suddenly contracts this incurable disease. He goes downhill in a horrible and hideous way as his mate watches and then he asks her to kill him and that's the end of the movie. Now, people would not accept that. You could not deal with that in a normal, realistic fashion. It's just too upfront and too hard and too despairing. If you gave Hollywood that plot, they wouldn't make the movie. And yet, because it was sci-fi, fantasy, horror, no one ever questioned how dark it was. That's another good thing about horror—it allows you to come to grips with the nitty gritty and at the same time gives you a little cushion, a little protection as well, because it is fantasy."