[urgeok]

i always thought that the 70's was one of the greatest decades for filmmaking.. (especially for horror and action) and the end of an era...

I used to wonder why .. was it because i was first watching films then ... was it because they had more grit - more texture ...

then it hit me ... in the 70's horror films were for the most part - movies staring adults .. seasoned actors - mature themes.

In '78 Carpenter came along and showed us how things would change .. an effective, wildly successful film featuring mostly teenagers being dispatched by a madman.. which would set the pace for the next couple of decades.
Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St ...tons of others ..
The focus was on the teenage demographic.

So now we have a horror film culture that is primarily teen based.
Another major player in this was the VCR. In the past serious horror films were mostly rated R. Kids couldnt get in ..
but now with the VCR kids are seeing more horror films .. becoming more 'jaded' and ate the stuff up creating a demand .. for more teen horror films.

We all know this trend is still strong today with few exeptions.
Its the kids that pay to see films. Adults seem to find it a chore to go to the theatre, and when they rent films for the weekend ... well its generally not some grade c slasher flick.
(i'm talking average joe here - not the folks on this board)

Anyway - this is was the long way of explaining why some people love The Omen and some dont.
You'll find the latter to be young people .. who want to see young bodies in the roles, not people the age of their parents ...which is too bad.
The Omen is one of my favorite films - and i saw it when i was a kid ... but i enjoyed seeing adults being put through the paces .. it seemed far more believable to me than a bunch of sex starved teenage morons being sliced and diced in an abandoned mall.

So when i see a film like the 6th Sense, or The Others come along now, it gives me hope ..
I'm finding it tougher and tougher to enjoy films with shitty actors ..and most teens are just that ...

Not to diss the teens on the forum ... remember .. i felt the same way when i was (gasp) one of you ...