Shock therapy: why scary movies keep evolving – and making money
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With Hollywood favouring franchise fare, horror films have become the last bastion of inventive film-making, producing a new generation of auteurs in the process
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With Hollywood favouring franchise fare, horror films have become the last bastion of inventive film-making, producing a new generation of auteurs in the process
wrote last edited by [email protected]There is a certain paradox to viewing horror as a domain of inventive film-making. Mind you, I say this as a hardcore horror fan that likes the vast majority of horror styles.
On one hand, horror tends to be extremely formulaic and often a bit contrived. But unlike say superhero movies (also often extremely formulaic and contrived), there is inherently more flexibility in the horror genre.
You don't need massive budgets. Styles like found footage allow for really good movies without huge financing. A movie like Host is much easier to do in the horror sphere than in any other genre.
You also have more freedom to try new things. Fans of the genre tend to be more open both to trope-derived copies and something completely new. The relative "low status" of the horror movie genre in a way allows for more experimentation.
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There is a certain paradox to viewing horror as a domain of inventive film-making. Mind you, I say this as a hardcore horror fan that likes the vast majority of horror styles.
On one hand, horror tends to be extremely formulaic and often a bit contrived. But unlike say superhero movies (also often extremely formulaic and contrived), there is inherently more flexibility in the horror genre.
You don't need massive budgets. Styles like found footage allow for really good movies without huge financing. A movie like Host is much easier to do in the horror sphere than in any other genre.
You also have more freedom to try new things. Fans of the genre tend to be more open both to trope-derived copies and something completely new. The relative "low status" of the horror movie genre in a way allows for more experimentation.
As a non horror fan, I never understood how people could enjoy feeling uneasy, especially with things like jump scares that just trigger a natural panic response.
To each their own I guess.
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As a non horror fan, I never understood how people could enjoy feeling uneasy, especially with things like jump scares that just trigger a natural panic response.
To each their own I guess.
I guess it depends on the individual. The symptoms of a "panic response" aren't exclusive to panic, and part of anxiety and panic treatment is learning to recognise that. People who have been through treatment, or didn't have those problems to begin, often interpret those symptoms in a different way. It doesn't bother them as much and the rush of the flight or fight response can even be enjoyable.
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As a non horror fan, I never understood how people could enjoy feeling uneasy, especially with things like jump scares that just trigger a natural panic response.
To each their own I guess.
I am not a huge fan of jump scares, they can be OK, but any movie that relies on them too much gets boring.
To be honest, I don't really find them all that uneasy or disturbing.
I found Speak No Evil to be far more uncomfortable than any jump scare or gore heavy movie. I am refering to the European version, haven't seen the US remake.
