[excelsior]

Scream's reflexivity was surely a landmark for the genre. and revivifying... despite the fact that its injection of new life resulted in endlessly piss-poor derivative remakes... come to think of it Kevin Williamson has a lot to answer for... although I like The Faculty - The Faculty and Scream are very good at what they do...

but none of these films can hold a candle to the pure, visceral, adrenaline fuelled horror of films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Last House on the Left... they were blazing a furious trail back then. the sheer horror has become diluted by postmodern irony to such an extent that a back to basics approach is now inescapably, itself an ironic statement.

wait, what am I saying? I don't know. seventies horror and exploitation is wonderful stuff and still very powerful. the current rash of remakes sickens me: it is patronising to assume that your audience is too stupid to get over its hang-ups with dated aesthetics and production-values. there is decent horror material coming out here and there though, of course. Funny Games and Audition are to exemplary movies, but I suppose they are quite old school now... Come to think of it FG is a film that is deeply reflexive, yet this doesn't mitigate its power in any way whatsoever...