Is there a new direction for horror?

[Darkthoughts]

It seems to me that horror, like fashion, has lost a bit of its originality and we're now just rehashing old genres as fashion does old styles (incidentally, I'd like to see a horror where the fashion designer who bought back the 80's look is horribly and gruesomely killed )

Has horror reached the end of the spectrum of possibilities with the likes of nothings-shocking-so-we'll-gross-you-out films like Hostel and Saw? Which direction will it take next?

Thoughts please afficionados

[Mattrick]

Horror has been bad for a long time (well, almost forever) besides a few gems and some guilty pleasures. I like some bad horror movies but I know they're bad.

I think horror movies need to go really psychological. I hate when I go to a horror movie and I think 'oh, here comes a jump scare (often the common random cat)' and everyone screams, then talks about how freaky it is. Jump scares should be used once or twice in a movie and should be enhanced by setting a good atmosphere.

Too many horror movies are about going over the top; blood, gore, deaths, monsters etc. I'd like to see more horror movies use very subtle things. Horror movies work best when the situation is realistic and believable. If you utlize the supernatural in a highly realistic setting it works as per The Exorcist in a normal house and a little girl. I enjoyed Silent Hill for it's atmosphere but some dull parts, bad script and acting killed it.

There are three key things to a creepy, gripping horror movie:

1. Music/sound. I put this as number one because it supplements the visuals to intensify the experience. In some cases, no sound adds the chill.

2. Visuals. Now, by visuals I don't mean CGI and fancy stuff. Just finding the right shots, angles, lighting, colours, environtment to set the right mood.

3. Story. Many horror movies have gotten by with a basic story but number 1 and 2 are done great (descent). For a horror movie you just need a gimmick or an attraction: monster, ghost whatever. To have a good story to go with an original/semi-original gimmick is huge. I like The Ring for all these reasons. You can see with crap like Hostel how a gimmick is everything as the movie has no substance.

Horror movies are just slapped together now. I hate it.

[Matt]

I have been very disappointed with horror lately, but probably not for the same reason. Its too damn gory man, just because we can do something doesn't mean we should.

I am more of an intellectual thriller kind of guy so I don't go for the slash stuff anyway but I think the actual head coming off could be done in silhouette like the old days.

[Darkthoughts]

Matt, I agree with you completely!

[Hannah]

I've noticed that horror movies are pretty much just as lame as they were when I was growing up, only in different ways. I refuse to watch movies like Hostel or Saw. I don't want that sort of graphic imagery in my head.

[Matt]

I agree, you can't unsee stuff.

[Jean]

I agree, you can't unsee stuff.

it depends on whether your perception is primarily visual, audial, or verbal. I can easily "unsee" whatever I see, not only horror, but I can't "unread" anything, so horror books are a lot more "horrible" for me than movies.

[Matt]

Hmmmm...that is a good point. I am that on all levels.

I can't unsee, unread, unhear, unrealize anything.

[Brice]

I don't really mind gore, jump scares, or anything like that. I mean done properly they can be useful in a horror movie.

I'd agree totally with mattrick's three key elements and I'd probably put them in the same order.

Honestly though I liked Hostel (although I'd never argue it was a great horror movie and I thought The Ring was abysmal. I didn't understand why people liked it. I guess I just didn't get it. Generally though I've seen very little Japanese horror that does anything for me, with the exception of Takashi Miike who does often lean toward the gory end of horror.

As to the original question of whether the genre has lost it's originality. I think it's been a long time since it had any. They are all new twists on old archetypes. It is just how you choose to use those existing archetypes. There seems to be a tendency to put focus on getting a few creatively gory kill scenes in (which I don't have a problem with) and neglecting the development of the story.

[Wuducynn]

Honestly though I liked Hostel (although I'd never argue it was a great horror movie and I thought The Ring was abysmal. I didn't understand why people liked it.

While I was the opposite, I didn't think much of Hostel and loved The Ring..the second The Ring I thought was awful. The Ring scared me, thats why I liked it. I love a good scare and it did it.

[Matt]

And without being too gory.

The Ring didn't scare me but I would almost rather that.

[Mattrick]

More horror movies need for focus on it's characters as well as setting the mood. Both should co-exist as per The Descent.

It's funny how horror movies now rely on shock effects when in essence it really isn't all that shocking. Gorefests have ruined the effect of loosely used gore in other horror movies. Gore should reflect the type of movie. Some movies gore cannot be avoid but it can be exploited. A zombie movie needs to have gore for realism, while a vampire movie needs an emphasis on blood. High gore used well if it's spaced out but if it's constant, well, what's the point?

[Wuducynn]

I loved The Descent too, great horror movie.

[Girlystevedave]

There is defintely a difference in horror movies now. I grew up on Freddy, Jason, Vampires, Werewolves...just good scary stuff. People can't be very creative when making movies anymore, maybe it's because so much has been covered. Now, creators have turned to just plain disturbing stuff. Scary movies are just about psycho, torturing, murderers now. It's one thing to pull the covers tight because you almost worry that a monster may get you in your bed (that's in good fun), but I don't want to go to bed thinking about how demented PEOPLE are. Michael Myers is a good example. He was scary BECAUSE he was crazy, but he wasn't methodic in his killing like all these new characters in scary movies. He didn't take them into a dak cellar and torture them for days. He just follwed people around, and when he got close enough, he killed them. That's classic scary in my world.

[Jean]

He just follwed people around, and when he got close enough, he killed them. That's classic scary in my world.

I believe the following was more scary than the actual killing? I think we must draw the line between "scary" and "revolting", "disgusting", "nauseating", stuff like that. I've just seen the first two Saw movies; it is not scary, it's sick. There ought to be a special name for such movies - gut-spillers, vomit-inducers, something along those lines, - but not "horror".

[Letti]

He just follwed people around, and when he got close enough, he killed them. That's classic scary in my world.

I believe the following was more scary than the actual killing? I think we must draw the line between "scary" and "revolting", "disgusting", "nauseating", stuff like that. I've just seen the first two Saw mivies; it is not scary, it's sick. There ought to be a special name for such movies - gut-spillers, vomit-inducers, something along those lines, - but not "horror".

Yeah but if you think this way we should have much more types. Sometimes horrile things can get into drama chategory.

[ZoNeSeeK]

The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water etc are all japanese films and the originals are much better than the american remakes, so please try and watch the originals if you can get hold of them. The original for The Ring is awesome

I find the way the Japanese incorporate modern technology into their art and modern day myths really interesting - Ghost in the Shell et al. Their culture is eerily plugged in and its showing in their media expression.

[Storyslinger]

What Zone said, I agree

[Matt]

I've just seen the first two Saw mivies; it is not scary, it's sick

And that is the truth...

[Storyslinger]

I've just seen the first two Saw mivies; it is not scary, it's sick

And that is the truth...

Nods in agreement

[fernandito]

I've just seen the first two Saw mivies; it is not scary, it's sick

And that is the truth...

Nods in agreement

[nods to the nod in agreement]

[ZoNeSeeK]

*wood*

[Jimmy]

I've grown really tired of horror movies where the scariest thing is how loud the music gets when something supposedly terrifying happens.

I jumped 4 different times watching Resident Evil : Extinction and it wasn't even scary. I hate that.

[ZoNeSeeK]

go watch Alien again

[Jean]

have watched the third Saw, too. Well, if the very first one at least aroused some unhealthy curiosity, and the second was mildly entertaining (in a way a computer quest is when you're watching it over someone's shoulder...), the third was a sheer triumph of idiocy.