Where does horror go from here?

[Je Suis Phnomne]

With all the remakes, and whatnot in todays "horror" world. Do you guys think it is possible to get oringinal straightforward horror anymore?

By original I mean something that hasnt been done already. *if its even possible to give us a new monster to invade our minds*

By straightforward I mean something that is that actually horror, not sci-fi, not thriller, etc.. Just horrifying.

[maximus]

All the films ive watched lately are japanese/asian. They are the best i reckon lately.

[bwind22]

I would say the closest films to what you are looking for that came out in the past 5 years would have to be Jeepers Creepers, Wrong Turn, and Cabin Fever. (IMO)

[Egekrusher]

I don't think horror will ever change much, to be honest. As soon as an original idea comes out, it is cloned and recloned until the idea is so used up that, if it were a child, even Michael Jackson wouldn't touch it.

Original material is a HUGE problem, but not for script writers. The problem is getting studios to take a gamble on something completely original. I'm sure there are hundreds (if not thousands) of completely original and unique stories out there that just can't get the necessary backing and support to bring to the screen.

Studios like to play it safe. However, it is up to the consumers to show them that it is their responsibility to take a gamble sometimes. It can really be worth it. Take The Ring. In American cinema, noone had ever really done anything like it before, and it was HUGE! That alone should have been a clue to these cautious studios that people want a change. When it comes to movies, change is GOOD.

[newb]

Wer'e gonna have to look at independent film makers to supply us with new and refreshing material. Every once in a while we do get something different ,such as [ and I know this wouldn't fall into strictly "horror" ] Bubba Ho-Tep.

[Hate_Breeder]

Where does horror go from here? The answer is..................drumroll please.....................
























































down the shitter

[movieman64]

It's going to be hard to go somewhere Horror hasn't already been. The haunted house, possesions, slashers, entrapment, etc...

[Egekrusher]

Originally posted by movieman64
It's going to be hard to go somewhere Horror hasn't already been. The haunted house, possesions, slashers, entrapment, etc...

They need to start making geniune monster movies again. Jeepers Creepers is the first new monster movie I've seen in a LONG time. That was kind of crappy too.

[orangestar]

I know peoples opinions here are pretty much split on M. Night Shyamalan, but I think his movies so far have been really original. He could be the next Wes Craven at the rate he's going now. The Village looks like it has potential. I loved 6th Sense and Signs was pretty good for an alien movie; a genre I usually hate.


Except Unbreakable. That was pure shit. Pure pointless shit. Thank God that wasnt horror.

[bwind22]

I don't consider any of his horror, not just Unbreakable. The Village may have a shot at being genuine horror, but I'll reserve judgement until I see it.

Unbreakable is a super-hero movie.
Signs is an alien movie.
Sixth Sense is a ghost/suspense movie.

I don't think of him as anything like Craven. Hitchcock maybe, but not Craven. He goes for the suspense (a la Hitchcock) as opposed to the gore/horror that Craven likes so much.

That's just my opinion.

[nine9]

I think the foreign films hold the key to this. These directors seem to be able to take a familar theme, and take it to a fresh new level! Especially the Japanese right now. I think it just takes a great imagination! Hollywood though is definitely in a rut, riding on sequels.

There are endless possibilities within all the different categories of horror films...........:)

[orangestar]

Originally posted by bwind22
I don't consider any of his horror, not just Unbreakable. The Village may have a shot at being genuine horror, but I'll reserve judgement until I see it.

Unbreakable is a super-hero movie.
Signs is an alien movie.
Sixth Sense is a ghost/suspense movie.

I don't think of him as anything like Craven. Hitchcock maybe, but not Craven. He goes for the suspense (a la Hitchcock) as opposed to the gore/horror that Craven likes so much.

That's just my opinion.

Right. I didnt really think through my comparison to Craven. I just happen to be watching Scream :)

I just meant that if he keeps going in this direction, he could become a good horror director. I thought the 6th Sense was a horror movie, but it's all how you look at it.

[ShankS]

just get into italian films like me.... endless hours of fun :D

keeps zwoti amused and he dont throw his toys out the pram :D

[Hate_Breeder]

Originally posted by ShankS
just get into italian films like me.... endless hours of fun :D

keeps zwoti amused and he dont throw his toys out the pram :D

i would like to watch some. Give me some ideas! Dont know where to find em though :(

[zwoti]

Originally posted by ShankS
just get into italian films like me.... endless hours of fun :D

keeps zwoti amused and he dont throw his toys out the pram :D

goo goo gaga

http://www.thecorkills.co.uk/pictures_of_elizabeth/original_pictures/playing_with_toys/pram_toys.jpg

[zwoti]

Originally posted by Hate_Breeder
i would like to watch some. Give me some ideas! Dont know where to find em though :(

watch some argento, good start. we can work from there.

[Hate_Breeder]

Alright cause im interested just i dont know where to watch any....

[zwoti]

Originally posted by Hate_Breeder
Alright cause im interested just i dont know where to watch any....

can't help you with where to find the films, but i can help out with a list.

p.s.
so this is where i posted this response.

[Stingy Jack]

I think horror films (and stories) really reached its peak back in the 70's. People then were living with the horrors of the Vietnam war and the results of the 60's counterculture revolution. And horror writers really played on these feelings. Here you have Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, and Stephen King's early work.

However, when the 80's came along, horror began to suffer. It stopped being about "scary" and became more a contest of which film could produce the highest body count. It had abandoned intelligently made stories where the scares came in calculated doses (like Psycho, Hell House, Something Wicked This Way Comes), and merely tried to heap on the gore by the shovelful. It really began to parody itself, actually. I think this type of horror actually got its own name: splatterpunk. I'm not a fan of this kind of horror, and my losing interest in it through the early to mid-nineties had a lot to do with this.

But then horror writers began to make classic scare stories again in the late nineties up to now. The Sixth Sense is a good example. Bwind says this is not horror, but it is. It is a ghost story, after all. And it did more for the ghost story using suspense, suggestion, and mere glimpses of horror than the previous two dozen ghost films before it. The Blair Witch Project and The Ring both are great films, too. I know that many people here hate Blair Witch (people moving rocks around ... "ooo, scary"). But, the thing that made that film great was the fact that all of the scares were in the mind of the viewer ... not shown on the film. And I've said before (and will say it again) that what the viewer can imagine is often (if not always) scarier than what can be shown on film.

I think that with terrorism being the threat it is, and the state of paranoia that most of the civilized world is living in, that horror writers will be able to use this to start creating true scary films again. The Japanese are really doing a great job reinventing the old ideas (The Ring and The Eye -- and possibly the original Aswang (which I have not seen)) are some good examples. And when I left the remake of Dawn of the Dead, I turned to my wife and said: "I'm glad horror writers are beginning to take their craft seriously again."

[Egekrusher]

Still the King.

Just one comment from me- The Blair Witch Project was a huge, steaming pile of horseshit.

[Stingy Jack]

Why was it bad? I don't get it. Here's the chance for someone to defend this film by saying something other than "people moving rocks isn't scary." See, when they found the rocks, there were seven piles ... each one representing a kid that Rustin Parr killed. Then, when the three wake up, there are three piles outside of their tent. It's all in suggestion, and is actually pretty creepy (to me.)

[orangestar]

I think that since horror writers are starting to try to scare us again ie:The Ring, Blair Witch, Sixth Sense, The Others, the genre will keep improving. I remember before I really enjoyed watching horror that Blair Witch scared me pretty bad. When I watch it today its more creepy than scary, but those same elements are still there. I think its actually a good horror movie, but I can see why people dont like it.

I think most of us would agree that movies that actually scare you are better than ones that are just filled with gore and 'boo' scares. There are thousands of possibilities for stories that scare us out there, and if the production companies will continue taking chances on original ideas like they did with The Ring then the genre can keep improving. Since the Ring made so much money its definetly a possibility.

[Egekrusher]

It may have been an ok film, if not for the fact that it was marketed as a "true" film. It was supposed to be based on fact, but the whole thing was a farce. For that reason alone I can't stand it.

[Stingy Jack]

Yeah, but that was just to add to the creepy atmosphere ... to heighten the scare. If you remember, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" claims to be based on a true story for the same reason Blair Witch did.

[movieman64]

Originally posted by Stingy Jack
Yeah, but that was just to add to the creepy atmosphere ... to heighten the scare. If you remember, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" claims to be based on a true story for the same reason Blair Witch did.

I think so many people were pissed that BWP fooled them into believing it was real, that they wont admit it was a Horror film.

New/diffrent Horror films have always been striking to persons familiar/intrested in the genre. Movies of the 30's spawned offshoots of the original, (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein) these were considered unimaginable horrors to many for the time.
The 50's gave us many of the classic, campy movies we enjoy with our children today. The films of the 70's and 80's were "shock" films catering to our acceptance of more and more gore, and less implied violence. Today in times of Jerry Springer and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, it is going to take alot to satisfy moviegoers, who are intrested in gore, violence, (nudity), etc...

[Egekrusher]

Originally posted by Stingy Jack
Yeah, but that was just to add to the creepy atmosphere ... to heighten the scare. If you remember, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" claims to be based on a true story for the same reason Blair Witch did.

The only reason I like TCM is because it's considered a classic. BWP, on the other hand... well, I've already voiced my opinions about that.