Quote:
Originally Posted by urgeok2
but regarding Ils (or Them as it's called in the US) i found i did care about the characters even though there wasnt a back story - because i was them... I found that it was highly realistic - a day in the life of .. you immediately became one with them and experienced their confusion and terror because it was so realistic... one minute you're asleep, the next you're in a lot of trouble.
No subplots - nothing but survival.. just like it would be if it was real.
I think Chrono alluded to this - but often setting up the characters might make you feel for them in a disney sort of way - but it's usually done in a very contrived manner .. full of bullshit forshadowing and other devices that seperate you from the characters. you care for them - but you are seperate - watching them.
for me - Them made me experience what they were experiencing.
Something i found far more effective than just caring for the characters cause they're nice folks.
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Yeah, that's absolutely the point that I was trying to make - I think that Urge articulated it a bit more clearly. It's not so much "just wanting to see characters in peril," its that, in some cases (though it depends on the film), having little character development turns the characters into an everyman that I can identify with
more. In the case of
Ils, it's essentially a believable young couple living in isolation, a theme which resonates with me particularly because, well, I'm a paranoid who who is convinced that someone is going to break in at any moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by neverending
IMO, if you're a horror fan who happens to enjoy films that give you more than the simple thrill of seeing people in peril, it's perfectly legitimate to complain if you don't get it.
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Yeah, I don't think that I articulated myself particularly well. It's not just simply "seeing people in peril" that makes simplistic movies like
Ils affective to me. This is the distinction that I make between movies like
Saw and
Hostel (which I thought had absolutely no substance and wasn't intelligent at all; pure torture porn masquerading as "intelligent" low budget schlock) and movies like
Ils and
Halloween that focus on pure raw emotion (I'm always impressed with films that can draw emotion from me) without necessarily needing complex plot or character themes.
I think that movies can be successful with character development and plot, but I've also seen movies suffer from excess in characters and contrived plot devices. The same goes for movies that suffer from a complete lack of the aforementioned. I think that it's a matter of striking a balance - You can create substance in other ways.
NE - You should just go and watch
Ils so you know what I mean. :p