Best Horror - Round 1 - Group 6

[frik]

Well, aren't we voting on the best film, as film, not scariest?

yes! that's why bears have voted The Bad Seed

Then bears must not have seen The Bride of Frankenstein!

sk

[Jean]

yes, the have, and loved it. But TBS is a much more bears' type of film

[Jean]

I had an argument with my friend one night and he's the most knowledgable person in cinema I've ever known and he was saying what made a great horror film is the atmosphere, where is I agrued that what makes a great horror is a film that can make us care enough about the characters so that we actually care to see them survive or whatever the conflict is because, no matter how good the atmosphere is, when you think of all the best horror films ever made they all consist of very strong characters and this is what 28 Days Later does better than almost any horror film. We care about Jim, we care about Selena and Frank and Hannah and when

Spoiler:

The blood gets in Frank's eye, it's about as tragic a scene you will ever find in a horror

Atmosphere to me is the second and overall enhancing aspect that can make all difference between a good and a great horror, but the characters and how the audience can connect with them is the foundation and without us caring about what the brooding, dreadful atmosphere is threatening, it just doesn't have the same quality to it. This is what separates true horror movies with concept horror movies.

for me personally characters are secondary. I've just discovered it, reading your post, to my own great surprise. If we're talking about films with adequate directing, acting and cinematography (without which, I hope everyone agrees, it's pointless to talk about a film at all), what makes a film for me is the story; what makes a horror film is, indeed, the atmosphere. I think that this is precisely the reason why 28 Weeks Later, being a very decent film, never seemed a horror film to me.

[mae]

This is why I contend that Session 9 is the scariest film of all time. It's almost nothing but atmosphere. I'll be crushed if it doesn't make it fairly far in this thing.

[Jean]

one of the scariest for sure

I only re-watched it yesterday... very, very good

[Heather19]

Pablo, have you seen Ils yet?

[mae]

Pablo, have you seen Ils yet?

Unfortunately no, looks like Netflix doesn't have it.

[mae]

By the way that Psycho trailer is one of the best things I have ever seen to promote a film.

[Heather19]

Pablo, have you seen Ils yet?

Unfortunately no, looks like Netflix doesn't have it.

Try looking under the American title Them from 2007 I believe. They used to have it streaming, not sure if they still do. That's one of my favs when it comes to tension and atmosphere. It's one of the very few films to keep me on the edge of my seat, and scare me.

[fernandito]

This is why I contend that Session 9 is the scariest film of all time. It's almost nothing but atmosphere. I'll be crushed if it doesn't make it fairly far in this thing.

That has one of the best atmosphere of any horror film I've ever seen.

Spoiler:

The part where the young mullet guy is running down the hall as the lights are going off behind and in front of him was creepy as fuck lol.

AND THAT VOICE ON THE RECORDER.

[Jean]

the creepiest part is when

Spoiler:

the guy is standing on the stairs, repeating, "What are you doing here?"

[needfulthings]

Pablo, have you seen Ils yet?

Unfortunately no, looks like Netflix doesn't have it.

Try looking under the American title Them from 2007 I believe. They used to have it streaming, not sure if they still do. That's one of my favs when it comes to tension and atmosphere. It's one of the very few films to keep me on the edge of my seat, and scare me.

IT"S HERE AT NEEDFULTHINGS

[Heather19]

[Ricky]

Unfortunately no, looks like Netflix doesn't have it.

I got it (via the mail) from Netflix. It's been a couple of years, though.

[Mattrick]

I wasn't wowed by Session 9, it was a little tame for my liking but it was an aptly made four star genre film. The characters were interesting enough and the production value of the setting was great. It would be about rounding out my top 20 horrors of the past fifteen years.

[Mattrick]

I had an argument with my friend one night and he's the most knowledgable person in cinema I've ever known and he was saying what made a great horror film is the atmosphere, where is I agrued that what makes a great horror is a film that can make us care enough about the characters so that we actually care to see them survive or whatever the conflict is because, no matter how good the atmosphere is, when you think of all the best horror films ever made they all consist of very strong characters and this is what 28 Days Later does better than almost any horror film. We care about Jim, we care about Selena and Frank and Hannah and when

Spoiler:

The blood gets in Frank's eye, it's about as tragic a scene you will ever find in a horror

Atmosphere to me is the second and overall enhancing aspect that can make all difference between a good and a great horror, but the characters and how the audience can connect with them is the foundation and without us caring about what the brooding, dreadful atmosphere is threatening, it just doesn't have the same quality to it. This is what separates true horror movies with concept horror movies.

for me personally characters are secondary. I've just discovered it, reading your post, to my own great surprise. If we're talking about films with adequate directing, acting and cinematography (without which, I hope everyone agrees, it's pointless to talk about a film at all), what makes a film for me is the story; what makes a horror film is, indeed, the atmosphere. I think that this is precisely the reason why 28 Weeks Later, being a very decent film, never seemed a horror film to me.

But what about films like Pontypool and The Last Exorcism and The Orphanage? These films are entirely about their characters and the atmosphere is great too. I'm not saying atmosphere it totally secondary, but atmosphere alone doesn't make a great horror movie. And it's not just about creepy imagery or strangeness like in the case of The Orphange, that is my favourite horror film because of how strong the characters and the characters struggles are but the atmosphere on top of it, almost start to finish, is positively oozing dread. A movie can be scary yes but those scares fade and upon repeated viewings I think it is definitely how strong the characters are to carry the viewer through the atmosphere. Silent Hill is a good example: the atmosphere and the production value of that movie is top notch and completely engrossing (as it should have been for fans of the games) the script was awful and though the actors in it were most all capable they had little to work with; what Silent Hill was truly missing was a mother/daughter combo who the audience could connect with so they can be involved in her finding her daughter as opposed to it being the plot device, and some goddamn better lines for an awesome actor like Sean Bean, and it could have been one of the best horror movies ever made with that atmosphere. Even a movie like The Exorcist has a lot of time devoted to character and many still consider it to be one of, if not the scariest, movies of all time. I can't think of too many horrors I'd consider to be great films that have awful characters/acting and rely on their concept to get them by.

[Jean]

I said the characters were secondary meaning secondary to the basic value of a film. In Pontypool the characters is what makes the film great, not good. I don't really see any characters in El Orfanato, unless we understand the word differently, and Silent Hill could be a good film if the story wasn't so silly. I still think it's a good horror film, though - not awesome, like El Orfanato, but good.

[mae]

Silent Hill was scary and with interesting atmosphere but it was boring.

[Jean]

yes, the second half was

[Heather19]

I know I've seen Silent Hill, but I have no memory of it. I guess it made that much of an impression on me

[mae]

Gah, how does From Dusk have two votes?

[mae]

Gah, how does From Dusk have two votes?

And it's now in third place? What is going on?

[Jean]

wish I had voted for 1408. The Bad Seed has no chance anyway.

[needfulthings]

[fernandito]

Psycho is going to be a beast this competition.