Horror Fans - discuss the genre

This is for everyone who considers themselves a fan of the horror genre. You might own every zombie flick ever made, be a Dean Koontz fan, or just really like to play the Silent Hill video games. If you like dark, scary stuff, I want to hear from you. I have a horror novel in-progress and have finished a small handful of short stories. When the novel is done, I'll then be turning my eyes to screenplays.

I'd like to start a discussion about the state of the genre. My focus might favor movies to a degree, but I'm talking the whole package... books, video games, comics, or whatever. I belong to a few writer's groups and have discussions like this with professionals. What I'd like to do now is get thoughts and opinions from the fans... people who don't necessarily care about writing or filming their own stuff, but still appreciate the art form.

So here's my take on the genre as of now: it's still alive, but all is not well. Way too much crap is slipping through the cracks, and I think those in charge of financing these things - movies specifically - have all the wrong idea about what horror is supposed to be.

People are going to horror movies to laugh now. TO LAUGH. That's not right, in my opinion. That is not what horror is supposed to be about. After watching a horror movie done right, or reading a horror novel done right, I should be frightened and a little disturbed. I should have vivid nightmares in my sleep for weeks or months to come. And I should love it. That's the ideal outcome. That physical rush of artificial fear - like that on a roller coaster - is very much a narcotic high, and once you've had it, you crave it and actively seek it out.

Back in the States I would cringe walking through the Horror section at Blockbuster. Way too many of the titles there belonged in the Comedy section. Not just the latest Wayans Brothers' Scary Movie spoofs, either. Some of these movies were packaged and presented as being meant to inspire fear... then when you watched them, it was more spoofs and tougue-in-cheek fare.

Granted, I think most of us can appreciate the value of a movie that revels in its own cheesiness. Those beloved 49-cent rentals you and your friends have laughed over time and again have their time and place. But now we've reached the point that when you straighten up and say, "Wow, that was funny. OK, now let's watch something that's really scary," there's not much there to find. And if you do, it's only after sifting through a bunch of crud that should have been in another category.

I say it's time to wipe the smile off this fuckin' genre's face and get back to what it's really about. Fans who have experienced the Silent Hill game series should already know what I'm talking about. These opinions are my own, and I'm open to discussing others. Whenever you're ready, go ahead...

Thanks for listening.

 

I totally agree! The Exorcist is one of the few movies that still scares me witless - but they're few and far between these days. I think as we're exposed to more horror, blood, guts and whatnot - we get desensitized to a degree - and harder to shock. Still, it just means we require more skill, better storylines, even better titles for a start! I'm with you Ecilam - lets start a revolution .

 

i hear ya. we were gonna rent some scary movies this last halloween and it was sorta difficult to pick some cuz, really, scary movies just aren't made these days.

of course, my wife and her sister were not really into the idea of "really" scary movies. which makes me think, there's a good reason why people don't spend money making really scary movies -- not enough people would see them.

i think this is why good scary flicks are generally made by rogue film makers. big budget flicks just don't survive the marketing process, i guess. scary the audience is probably a major boo-boo to them. but then, i think many people are scared by crappy horror flicks.

 

never really been a horror movie fan but I'll just say that watching The Shining when I was 16 at the midnight showing scared me as much as anything I ever watched.

 

I think that the state of the "genre" as you put it is pretty much relative to everything else these days. Everything has been done to death, so to speak (bad pun intended). Those that tend to have the best impact imo are the ones that draw you in. A good story can be as effective as good special effects and even better imo. We seem to have gotten away from that aspect somewhat. I remember the old black and white Dracula (or any vampire) flicks from years gone by. The European settings, castles and characters of that time drew me in. The story would seem kinda campy now I guess but I still watch them when I happen by them on the movie channels. I got into the Dark Shadows series a few years back on Sci-Fi and tried to follow the story from start to finish. I even set the vcr when my work schedule drew me away from home. The acting was bad, the story got really weird but I was into it. Why? Dont ask me, I guess it was one of those deals where I did'nt want to look away. I had to finish what I had begun. The Omen was a good one too. Good story, cast and horror that we as everyday people could identify with.
Other classics:
Night of the Living Dead - movie
Halloween - movie
The Outer Limits - tv (kinda sci-fi)
Amityville Horror - book
Hexen - game (dont ask)
I know I left some out

 

so true


there are a few old black and white films that don't even need blood to scare the hell into you. most horror movies of today are too cheesy, this seemed to start in the 80's with the nightmare on elm street series. btw, i live on elm street

 

I agree....all is not well at all in the way of horror movies. It's been years since I have seen anything new that has interested me. I am the fan that thinks the bloodier the better..I like to see how good they can make the gore look....and how well they incorporate it into the story.


That's not to say that a movie has to be gory to be scary...not at all..but I love the gore.


Unfortunately, there are very few movies coming out that are either gory, scary, or both.

Like Ecilam said, most movies are trying to get people to laugh...


I remember seeing Poltergeist when I was 10 years old, my sister made me sit in the front row, and had to hold me down to keep me from leaving when thaty fucking clown came to life.

Tha was scary shit.


There are a couple of recent flicks out of Japan that look promising, one called Wild Zero the other Junk. Both zombie flicks i think.

It seems that horror/gore fans have to rely on Europe or Asia to deliver the goods.

Maybe the remake of Dawn of the Dead will live up to the original, but I have my doubts.

And Honeygirl, I think one of your greatyest national treasures is Peter Jackson. His 3 early films , Bad Taste, Dead Alive, and Meet the Feebles are 3 of the best lo budget horror movies ever made, bar none.

 

I'm with you on that. I'm of the opinion that a creator looking to create a genuinely frightening movie would have hell getting it produced. The studios would turn it away, saying it's "Too dark." "Too grim." "Too disturbing." "You should lighten it up." "Put in some hip-hop humor and weed jokes."

So as a result, writers and directors dumb down their material, and soon every horror movie breaks down to this plot:

"Once upon a time a group of fluff-brained young people went somewhere. They were brutally murdered one by one. But it was funny. The End."

You don't see this so much in novels. Indeed, novels can get away with stuff that would never make it onto the screen - small or silver. Those who have seen the adaptations of "It" and "The Stand" by King know what I'm talking about. Then read a story like "The Revelation" by Bentley Little, where a town is overrun by a legion of murderous undead unborn babies, and imagine the poor agent trying to pitch that at a Hollywood power lunch!

 

Another problem I see is on the part of the writers (again, this pertains more to screenwriters than novelists). When writing a horror screenplay, little effort is given to create interesting, believable characters that grow and change. I've discussed this with other writers and fans, and the answer I often get is, "Well, that's just the genre. Characters and plot aren't as important as the kills and blood."

I say, screw that! Novelists get away with it all the time! A good novelist can craft a character that is more than a cardboard stereotype, who by the end of the book you consider a beloved friend. That's the power of story. I'm of the opinion that this element has been squeezed out of the horror filmmaking process by the constraints of market demands and presupposed "expectations."

We all know the power of a good film to move us... Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan... hell, if you're a chick, Steel Magnolias. What do these movies all have in common? They're stories that are focused on people, characters, and the obstacles they overcome. I propose that the fundamental storytelling principles of all great stories can be used to great effect in movies that are considered to be horror. The filmmaking industry must simply have the balls to let it be done.

 

Desensitization does play a role, unfortunately. For jaded viewers, it becomes harder and harder to suspend disbelief.

Then again, when I really think about it, some of the most disturbing and nightmare-inducing works I've seen were by David Lynch. Here's a guy who can freak you out with little blood or none at all. Hell, he could film a little old lady in an old house with velvet paintings of ducks on the walls and make it scary. Style can be as effective as content, if not more so.