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Post by ohstate411 on Feb 13, 2014 3:35:45 GMT -5
After sitting through some recent horror films, something came up in my mind. Are horror films dead? I think the horror genre is pretty much dead… for now. While some new horror movies are great (Evil Dead, The Conjuring, and Sinister), most of them are just awful. They don’t even try anymore. If it’s a slasher flick, it’s always a group of attractive dumb people in a house or area getting slaughtered. If it’s a horror remake, it’s a group of attractive dumb people getting slaughtered in a house or small town. If it’s a paranormal film, it’s an attractive dumb couple in a house getting killed or slaughtered. (Slaughtered is more violent than dying) It’s the same trend over and over again.
We’ve seen these films a thousand times; even horror movies with a unique idea are still doing the same thing. Look at the Purge, the movie has a unique idea and what did they do? It was a group of people in a house waiting to get slaughtered. They could’ve of done so many things with that concept and the ruined it. It was easily one of my most disappointed movies from last year. The sequel looks like it might use that idea better.
The biggest crime that most horror movies commit is not being scary. Where’s the horror in the horror film? Horror films today just try to gross people out and focus more on jump scares. Back in the 70’s and 80’s, it was tension. Horror films used to have great tension and didn’t rely on gore to scare their viewers. I’m not saying that old horror films didn’t use gore, they used gore the perfect amount. Now it's just someone getting cut up.
Another thing that’s killing horror films is found footage. Those movies are made so cheap and so fast. They don’t give anyone time to work out the script or try to get better acting out of their actors. Since they have such a low budget, they can make another one the very next year. Restarting the cycle to repeat and repeat. I don’t get why horror movies have to have bad writing and acting. They used to try so much harder, they just don’t try anymore. So I think they’re dead at the moment. Maybe one day, more than one person with talent will make better horror films.
P.S. I didn’t include Cabin in Woods with the great new horror film because I see it as more of a satire of horror film clichés.
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Post by woundedcycad on Feb 13, 2014 9:01:25 GMT -5
Here is a good rule of thumb: The answer to "Is ________ dead?" is always NO.
Just because we are currently in an environment where horror films are seen more as a quick buck then an actual creative pursuit doesn't mean that the genre is over and no one will ever come up with anything interesting or creative in horror films ever again. That is fucking retarded and a fucking retarded conclusion you have jumped to. When a genre is dead that means it is creatively drained and has nothing left to contribute. You in your post name three horror films released last year that you call "great". How the fuck would the genre be dead? Because the release a lot more shitty horror movies then good ones? I'm going to let you in on a little secret... that is true for every genre ever. There is always more bad releases then good ones for anything.
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Post by el woospo on Feb 13, 2014 11:02:53 GMT -5
the remake of Evil Dead is great? what in the shitting fuck?
horror is not dead it's just that mainstream horror is shite.
You could state the same argument to every genre therefore your question is invalid.
edit, what he said above...
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Post by ohstate411 on Feb 13, 2014 21:36:49 GMT -5
Here is a good rule of thumb: The answer to "Is ________ dead?" is always NO. Just because we are currently in an environment where horror films are seen more as a quick buck then an actual creative pursuit doesn't mean that the genre is over and no one will ever come up with anything interesting or creative in horror films ever again. That is fucking retarded and a fucking retarded conclusion you have jumped to. When a genre is dead that means it is creatively drained and has nothing left to contribute. You in your post name three horror films released last year that you call "great". How the fuck would the genre be dead? Because the release a lot more shitty horror movies then good ones? I'm going to let you in on a little secret... that is true for every genre ever. There is always more bad releases then good ones for anything. For one, I said for now. I didn't say it's gone forever. Nothing will never be dead forever, I think it'll come back. I know that half of a movies in a genre is bad, but not all of them. But with horror, about 95% of them are bad. Those three films I named were the best horror films since 30 Days of Night. That was the last horror film that I thought was actually great. You really need to chill out, dude. I'm just some guy on the internet that thinks horror is dead or since you don't like the term dead, I'll say it's very lackluster. You got so offended over me saying dead.
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Post by ohstate411 on Feb 13, 2014 21:41:16 GMT -5
the remake of Evil Dead is great? what in the shitting fuck? horror is not dead it's just that mainstream horror is shite. You could state the same argument to every genre therefore your question is invalid. edit, what he said above... Dude, Evil Dead was awesome. Sorry that you don't have the same opinion. When I said horror is dead for now, I meant in film. Horror in video games is so much better. Horror in video games is so much alive. I chose horror because it's the genre that's suffering the most. Out of all the horror movies that has came out in the past five years, I can think of three-five good ones, that's pretty bad. When compared to other genre, horror is the weakest. So my question isn't invalid.
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Post by el woospo on Feb 14, 2014 1:56:48 GMT -5
Westerns dude, westerns...
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Post by ohstate411 on Feb 14, 2014 8:34:25 GMT -5
Westerns dude, westerns... It's not like westerns are dead. It's more like no one makes them anymore, which saddens me deeply.
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Post by George Knight on Feb 14, 2014 11:25:07 GMT -5
Sorry, going to have to agree with woosp on this one. Evil Dead (2013) was pretty bad.
While I can appreciate it trying to take a somewhat different approach to the story and tone, it ultimately fails to deliver as both a serious horror film and as an Evil Dead remake. It lacks the charm and fun of the original film on one side of the spectrum, and lacks the actual scares on the other. The gore effects are in the film are well done, but that's really all it has going for it. It relies purely on shock value, but lacks any real punch now that we live in an era where genre fans have seen EVERYTHING.
The nicest thing I can say about the film is it's not offensively bad. It doesn't shit all over the originals or anything, it's just kind of there. It'll be forgotten in a year or two, most likely never brought up again.
Also thought Sinister was pretty meh. I enjoyed The Conjuring, but I thought Insidious was better. (Mainly because it was so fun.)
Moving on though, horror as a genre is definitely not dead. If anything, it's just as big as it's ever been. The thing is that it's constantly evolving along with society. What people found scare decades ago no longer equates to what people today find scary, and this is often dictated by something that does well early on and Hollywoods attempt to emulate it. In the 50's we had giant monster/alien invasion flicks, the 60's and 70's brought about the demonic possession films and birthed the slasher genre, the 80's was all about gorey slashers/creature features, the 90's was all about trying to recapture the 80's, and the early 2000's brought us "torture porn" and found footage". Right now, it's spooky ghosts and found footage. Soon this faze of SPOOKY GHOST MOVIES and found footage will pass for the next big fad when general audiences are no longer scared/interested anymore.
Mainstream horror is and always has been a machine that shits out turds left and right, with the occasional gem granted. If you're looking for good horror films though, I recommend checking out the lower budget circles.
With that said, remember that there are generally two types of horror films: Serious and atmospheric and tounge-in-cheek and fun.
Both are good, it all comes down to personal taste. Since you're looking for some "actually scary" horror films, I'd say you're looking for the former. Here are some random "modern horror" recommendations off the top of my head. Note that I'm more a fan of tounge-in-cheek horror though.
-The Bay: I know you've stated your distaste for found footage films, but I highly suggest giving this film a try. While not a great movie, it builds an excellent atmosphere and accomplishes everything it sets out to do almost perfectly. It's a genuinely creepy film with some well done and effective gore effects.
-V/H/S and V/H/S 2: A series of found footage style films that also do their jobs quite well. I'm a real sucker for anthology films. While some of the segments may be hit or miss, there's some great variety and creativity to be found in these films.
-Ti West's House of the Devil and The Innkeepers: Ti West is one of the better up and coming horror directors in my opinion, and these are two great examples of his potential as a horror filmmaker. Both are really slow burn films, but they're definitely satisfying.
-You're Next: Another one that's more of an "okay" film than a great one, but it's still a pretty decent update on the slasher genre with some genuine thrills here and there.
-The Possession: It's one of those mainstream spooky ghost movies mentioned above, but one that I feel is slightly underrated. The concept of a Jewish exorcism movie felt fresh and kind of fun, and the film has enough decent moments in it to warrant a watch. Great to watch with non genre-savvy people, like a girlfriend, a group of friends, or even a young kid trying to get into horror.
-Trick 'r Treat: One of my all time favorite films, period. An anthology film similar to Romero's Creepshow, this film is aboslutly fantastic. Clever writing, memorable characters, and fantastic practical effects. Not a single one of the film's individual stories falls flat, and the way the the film comes full circle and weaves it's collection of self contained stories into a cohesive story/universe is nothing short of brilliant. It's the perfect Halloween film.
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Post by el woospo on Feb 15, 2014 8:46:26 GMT -5
Westerns dude, westerns... It's not like westerns are dead. It's more like no one makes them anymore, which saddens me deeply. Exactly my point, if horror were dead no one would make them, that would be the meaning of a dead genre. You seem to be confusing dead with the mass production of shite. If you cannot find quality horror you are stuck in the mainstream or expect to be effected by horror in the same way you were when you were 10 years old. Like I said in my previous post, every genre can have the same half arsed argument you give... comedy sucks nowadays because I don't laugh... thrillers are bollocks 'cos I don't feel thrilled... editing has fucked up action shite because there is no action and just cunt dumb editing... ect ect ect Modern cinema is a deep and thriving beast, look beyond Hollywood cinema and yi shall find what yi seek. I guess my real point is, read some fucking subtitles and you will find the answer no matter the genre...
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Post by minasa on Feb 16, 2014 20:04:53 GMT -5
Horror in video games is so much better. I hope you're not referring to Slenderman or Dead Space.
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