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Originally Posted by neverending
It's a rare film that can get away with not showing the monster at all and make it effective. The director has to really involve the viewer. Blair Witch Project and the first Paranormal Activity are two that come to mind, though audiences are split on whether those films worked or not. I think they did.
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Though I clearly understand & agree with your point but those films didn't billed as 'monster' flicks and in my account, they aren't monster movies as I wasn't expecting to see any full figured 'monster' in them, nor too much eager for a corporeal appearance of a ghostly entity. Cause a ghost story or haunted house films can nicely be done by without showing a real spooky entity or ghostly figure rather than the developing an eerie, unease environment or creepy atmosphere backed up by some cool supernatural or poltergeist sort of events which are more needed at first in those movies. Like you said & we all agree, in
The Haunting (1963) Sir Robert Wise remarkably portrayed & showed the Hill House that becomes a super-spooky character itself and still today that's a rare & unarguably one of the most amazing achievements in horror cinema. I think the appeal & expectations from a Monster film differs from a spooky ghost/haunted house or supernatural horror flick. Monster flicks are more of a creature feature to me. But yeah...I see your point, those films have also used the same formula for ghosts/supernatural entity (demons) like the way monsters were treated in some monster movies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by neverending
I disagree on principle with just about everything you've said here, Roshiq.
Ultimately, a monster movie is not about the monster, it's about the peril the monster puts the human characters in. Showing the creature too much makes it too familiar, and it ceases to be frightening. This is why Cloverfield is so effective- we only bits and pieces of the creature. Mostly we see the effects of its destruction.
Godzilla is both an example and an exception to this rule. We've come to know Godzilla far too well for him to be scary. He's come to be the star of his films, and its his survival we care about.
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Then I'd say we've different 'expectations' or point of view from a monster flick. Agree with you about Cloverfield but that's one of a kind monster flick made so far and it did a fantastic clever job regarding revealing the monster time to time, glimpse by glimpse in its unique fashion as a POV feature.