What Makes an Effective Horror Film?

[Keith]

Horror films are a dead genre. The only good ones in recent time are the really gory ones like Hostel. The Saw movies were fine, but they were closer to the psychological thriller genre. The only way you can have a good horror movie is to assume your audience has never seen a horror movie before. The "scare" tactics in those types of movies have been done to death and practically none of them work. The only way you can really scare people these days is with disgusting shit, people getting their ankles cut off and things like that. Zombies, ghosts, murderers.... none of that is scary anymore. And sure enough, that's what most classic horror movies revolve around.

Horror will never be dead, it is a genre which will always have something going on, you just have to find the good stuff.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

If horror is dead, why do I still keep buying new horror movies?

Not your mainstream, in theatres everywhere kind of movies, your Troma, Fangoria, and other various independant companies straight to video releases. Fathers Day was rather original, its about a guy who rapes & kills dead beat dads, not exactly scary to everyone, but to those dead beat dads, its gotta be terrifying. Wicked Lake(with Ministry's Al Jourgenson) blends Last House on the Left with with witches, and makes for a great gorefest. Then there is Poultrygeist, one of the most clever horror-comedy movies I have ever seen, or even Grave Mistake(came in one of those 5 packs at Wal-Mart for $10), whose main character was an abusive father, who had all the best lines in the movie.

 

[Slim]

If horror is dead, why do I still keep buying new horror movies?

Not sure... but stating that you keep buying them as a reason for why horror isn't dead is a very very poor example.

Pretty much the genre of horror has been decimated into nothing more than slasher and gore... THAT would be a reason for why horror is dead because now it isn't horror but more just gore and blood and guts. The true meaning of horror has disappeared.

 

[CaptainxBumout]

Horror is not dead. Far from it actually. Horror is horror. It doesn't matter what sub genre it is but it's still horror. As a matter of fact, there are a bunch of new possession type movies coming out and although they're probably not going to be very good, it's still a good indication that horror is not dead. I agree with everyone that suspense, music, mood all make a great horror movie. It's what made Alfred Hitchcock such a well known name. However I do have to agree that in this day and age, most of it wouldn't work. I can appreciate a slow paced movie like House of the Devil but as far as it being scary it's not. Audiences there's days are used to seeing the blood and gore so a movie like Psycho would completely flop in this day and age. Sure it may be a good movie but I can almost guarantee that audiences would not take to it very well. Movies that tend to try and shy away from blood and gore generally just go for cheap scares like a Paranormal Activity. Cheap scares can work in a theater but translate very poorly at home.

Occasionally the horror genre has snuck in some great movies in a slew of knockoffs and torture porn. Good horror is easy to find when you know where to look. Sure it's not a suspense filled, slow burning horror classic but that doesn't mean they aren't great movies. Cabin in the Woods, Insideous, Trick r' Treat, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, these are good movies that aren't filled with blood and gore and aren't moody and suspenseful but they're still great movies. I like all types of horror, from the first two SAW's and Hostel to Pyscho to Halloween to The Thing to Inside to I Saw the Devil to Cannibal Holocaust to many others. Horror is not defined by a single thing. Just because something is not mainstream, it doesn't mean it's dead. Sure I can only think of three horror movies that came out so far this year but if all the movies you watch are in theaters, you're missing out on so much excellent stuff.

 

[Keith]

Not sure... but stating that you keep buying them as a reason for why horror isn't dead is a very very poor example.

Pretty much the genre of horror has been decimated into nothing more than slasher and gore... THAT would be a reason for why horror is dead because now it isn't horror but more just gore and blood and guts. The true meaning of horror has disappeared.

But the point is there will always be something good somewhere it is just that might be from a more obscure source or something which may take a bit more searching out. To me horror is always one of those genres where you have people working in it who are true fans and who have that artist passion and are talented guys. And the fact remains the box office for horror movies remains one of the strongest anywhere, don't get me wrong I am not saying that many of those films are not crap, but surely that is a sign that it is not dead.