Horror movies - Pro or Con?

[roulette]

I've been having this conversation with some friends today and I thought I'd bring it to the forums. What is your opinion of Horror films? If you like them, what is it you like? If you hate them, what is keeping you from enjoying them? I'm interested in hearing a wide range of opinions so please post whatever your thought on the genre is.

[Tengu_temp]

I like scary, atmospheric horror movies.
I don't like all the torture porn that tries to pass as horror these days.

[Dumbledore lives]

Good horror movies, bad horror movies, and truly awful horror movies I like them all, though in different circumstances. A good horror film is great when you're alone at night, or with a few select friends, though I've not been really scared by a horror film for a long time. Bad ones are great for movie nights, as are truly awful ones, because a Riff Trax makes any film good.

That said I'm really against Gorn, ie the Saw franchise, the Hostel films, anything that passes itself off as horror, but really isn't, it's just gore.

The best send up of a horror I've seen recently is Tucker and Dale vs Evil which I recommend to anyone who likes the genre.

[Weezer]

I tend to find them boring, they usually don't have any of the qualities that make up a good movie, everything is so warped around scaring the audience that the rest of the movie just get's left behind. That being said I love some of the old suspense movies, especially Hitchcock, even though under some categorizations they may be called horror films.

[roulette]

Tucker and Dale vs Evil is great. One of the best send ups of horror since the original Scream. And I think there's a place for gore. I actually enjoy the first two Saw movies, and I've seen all of them, but I never paid to see any in the theater.

Weezer, have you seen Let the Right One In/Let Me In? I watched that again last night and it's almost all story with a few moments of true horror thrown in.

[Mauve Shirt]

I like scary, atmospheric horror movies.
I don't like all the torture porn that tries to pass as horror these days.

Basically this. I don't like gore, or constant jump scares, but there are horror movies that aren't either of those.

[Starscream]

I love horror flicks, but I've watched enough of them to see them more as a collection of subgenres than a single unified genre. You wouldn't ask if someone likes comedies; everyone does, it just a matter of what types. I could probably organize my feelings best by decade.

I adore early horror, like the German Expressionist stuff from the 20s, and the Universal classics from the 30s. That stuff is just awesome. Not very scary by today's standards, but very atmospheric.

The 40s weren't as good a decade for horror (Wolf-Man notwithstanding). Heck, my favorite from that period was probably Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and that was basically a parody of the 1930s ones (Wolf-Man notwithstanding again).

The 50s fared a little better. Too many giant radioactive monsters and space aliens as a political metaphor. But it did give us Godzilla, the Blob, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the early Hammer Horror flicks.

The 60s was a big improvement. Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, The Haunting, and a bunch of fun stuff from Roger Corman.

I think the 70s was the scariest decade. Exorcist, Jaws, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Suspiria, Alien, Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead. Very bleak stuff, a lot of it. On the lighter side, Rocky Horror and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

But my favorite decade for horror flicks is the 80s. It's not nearly as scary as the 70s stuff, but it's when horror got seriously fun. Freddy is still my favorite movie villain of all time. I also like Jason, Chucky, Pinhead, Puppet Master, Warlock, Sleepaway Camp, Poltergeist, Lost Boys, and The Shining. There were remakes of The Fly, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Thing that are way better than the originals (and one of the Blob which is merely okay). The funny stuff was great as well; Evil Dead, Bad Taste, Return of the Living Dead, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Re-Animator, Gremlins. Truly a fun decade.

The 90s...had Scream. And From Dusk til Dawn. And...Leprechaun? Since then, the Torture Porn genre has really taken off, and I can't say I'm a fan of that at all. Also, lots of horror remakes that suck. I'm sure i could think of plenty of good stuff, but that's the point. I'd have to think. This other stuff all came off the top of my head.

So yeah, I think it peaked in the 70s and 80s. And I was born in 1984. All my favorite horror movies came out years before I could even watch them. And yet, my dislike of the modern stuff makes me feel really old.

[Dumbledore lives]

I love horror flicks, but I've watched enough of them to see them more as a collection of subgenres than a single unified genre. You wouldn't ask if someone likes comedies; everyone does, it just a matter of what types. I could probably organize my feelings best by decade.

I adore early horror, like the German Expressionist stuff from the 20s, and the Universal classics from the 30s. That stuff is just awesome. Not very scary by today's standards, but very atmospheric.

The 40s weren't as good a decade for horror (Wolf-Man notwithstanding). Heck, my favorite from that period was probably Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and that was basically a parody of the 1930s ones (Wolf-Man notwithstanding again).

The 50s fared a little better. Too many giant radioactive monsters and space aliens as a political metaphor. But it did give us Godzilla, the Blob, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the early Hammer Horror flicks.

The 60s was a big improvement. Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, The Haunting, and a bunch of fun stuff from Roger Corman.

I think the 70s was the scariest decade. Exorcist, Jaws, Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Suspiria, Alien, Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead. Very bleak stuff, a lot of it. On the lighter side, Rocky Horror and Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

But my favorite decade for horror flicks is the 80s. It's not nearly as scary as the 70s stuff, but it's when horror got seriously fun. Freddy is still my favorite movie villain of all time. I also like Jason, Chucky, Pinhead, Puppet Master, Warlock, Sleepaway Camp, Poltergeist, Lost Boys, and The Shining. There were remakes of The Fly, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Thing that are way better than the originals (and one of the Blob which is merely okay). The funny stuff was great as well; Evil Dead, Bad Taste, Return of the Living Dead, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Re-Animator, Gremlins. Truly a fun decade.

The 90s...had Scream. And From Dusk til Dawn. And...Leprechaun? Since then, the Torture Porn genre has really taken off, and I can't say I'm a fan of that at all. Also, lots of horror remakes that suck. I'm sure i could think of plenty of good stuff, but that's the point. I'd have to think. This other stuff all came off the top of my head.

So yeah, I think it peaked in the 70s and 80s. And I was born in 1984. All my favorite horror movies came out years before I could even watch them. And yet, my dislike of the modern stuff makes me feel really old.

I personally think the 80's were the best decade for movies in general, with some of the best comedies, adventures, and horrors. I agree with pretty much everything you said here, though you forgot a few from the 90's if you include serial killers and I personally do, so you add Silence of the Lambs and Seven to the list. I should really watch more classic horror though, since I've not seen much old stuff besides Nosferatu.

[roulette]

So yeah, I think it peaked in the 70s and 80s. And I was born in 1984. All my favorite horror movies came out years before I could even watch them. And yet, my dislike of the modern stuff makes me feel really old.

Yeah, I was born in '86 so I'm in the same boat. I think the 60s and 70s were probably the best for horror, at least that's where my favorites all come from. The 80s did give us the more iconic characters, but while I like them, I don't find myself wanting to revisit those nearly as much as the earlier ones.

[Zeta Kai]

I like scary, atmospheric horror movies.
I don't like all the torture porn that tries to pass as horror these days.

Wow, I agree with Tengu. Is it Opposite Day already?

Serious though, this is very true. Slasher movies & torture-porn are not horror, merely repulsive morality plays masquerading as something one could feel & care about. Real horror gets inside of you & doesn't let go, even after the lights come up*. Session 9 is a great horror, because it is a good movie AND is scary as hell. The same can be said for Misery, The Silence of the Lambs, 1408, The Ring, Marble Hornets, & a few other truly scary films.

[McStabbington]

I have to say that I'm not a fan of horror movies per se, so much as I'm a fan of good movies and find some horror movies to fit that conception. What I like in any film are:
1) well-developed characters
2) tight scripts
3) good plotting
4) attention to detail and a refraint from cheating

So for instance, while I would hardly call myself a fan of slasher films, I'm a huge fan of the original Terminator even though it has a plot that is almost identical to the structure laid down in Halloween. The reason why I'm a fan is because it combines all of these elements: Kyle Reese and Sarah Conner are both very well-fleshed out characters with foibles and strengths, sometimes hidden. The plot is clockwork, and the script is probably one of the five best that Hollywood has made in the last 30 years. There is simply no line in the movie that doesn't advance the plot, develop a character or provide the audience with a useful bit of information. And with the sole exception of maybe about 10 seconds of additional filming, nothing that isn't in the story needs to be added.

Most importantly, the script doesn't cheat in the way most slasher films do. Put simply, from Halloween on, almost every slasher film I've seen cheats in how they present their villain. By definition, slasher films have human antagonists. By extension, those antagonists should have human limitations: if you hack a guy's arm off, villain or no, he's going to need immediate first aid and surgery if he wants to avoid bleeding out in five minutes or so. But a villain that has to stop to receive emergency first aid doesn't make for a great deal of tension, so slasher films typically cheat either by making their slasher supernaturally powerful without a convincing explanation or by making his victims idiots. The genius of Terminator is that it provides a superhumanly powerful villain, in a totally conventional slasher plot, but gives a totally logical explanation for why he is superhumanly powerful.

[Giggling Ghast]

Love 'em! But they're a dying art form. Horror has kind of crept into the mainstream; there's more horror to be found on TV than in the cinema these days.

[Yora]

Like with everything else, 90% of all horror movies are crap. I theory you can make good ones, and it occasionally happens, but most horror film makers don't seem to bother.

[ThePhantasm]

I like movies which create thick suspense. Sometimes these are horror movies. But maintstream horror movies seem to emphasize sheer gore, ick factor, and discomfort. That's not my cup of tea, and frankly I find it a cheap, juvenile way to unsettle an audience.

[dehro]

I like really good horror movies..they're even better if you go watch them with a girl that's easily scared
a good horror movie is one that is believable.. one that doesn't just make you jump up in your chair thanks to sudden events or special effects..but one that to a degree could also be "true" enough to follow you home and make you sleep with the light on..just in case.

mediocre ones I dislike with a passion, because they bore the crap out of me.

really bad ones I also like..because of the lol factor. what you end up with is a case of the "army of darkness".. a movie so bad it goes all the way around and now has reached classic status.

[Bhu]

Like with everything else, 90% of all horror movies are crap. I theory you can make good ones, and it occasionally happens, but most horror film makers don't seem to bother.

The reason for this boils down to the following:

Horror fans come in two broad categories: atmosphere and effects.

Atmospheric fans want plot, story, and mystery. They want well developed plot and characters, and tend towards ghost stories, thrillers, mysteries, etc. They then sub-divide out a little but the division isn't as sharp.

Effects fans immediately subdivide into two more categories: Gore and Monster films. Effects fans want to see producers push the envelope on what can be done with effects (formerly practical effects but now cgi as well).


By far most American horror film producers believe their fans fall into the effects category. So lazy writing is a staple of the genre because it isn't considered necessary to have plot or character development because the people watching your film wont give a damn about such. They're looking for the monsters screen time or inventive kill scenes, so all that's necessary is to get protagonist a to scene b to off him. I love the genre but that's my greatest complaint about it.


Weezer: Try some of the following:

Thirst (warning for love scenes)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Black Sheep
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Fido
I Sell the Dead
Rare Exports
Severance
Below
Black House (Korean Version)
The Devils Backbone
The Last Winter
Pontypool
Sauna
Session 9
Shiver
Let the Right One In
Let Me In
Trollhunter
Timecrimes
Audition
The Last Circus

[Suentis]

I am pro horror movie, but I prefer the older ones where you can't see the monster/bad guy or you can't see exactly what the character has gone through. My father has a saying, and I'm not sure if he stole it but I use it all the time, "You cannot create anything scarier than I can create within my own mind." I fully believe and buy into that saying.

I also am a sucker for horrible, horrible, I mean really freaking horrible horror movies. The ones that don't even go straight to DVD, they go straight to Syfy at 2pm on a Sunday. One of my favorites is called "Bats". I swear there is this scene where they are in some window covered room (great place to hide guys!) and they cover it with metal fencing, and then hook a car battery up to it. The bats attack and get electrocuted to death. During this scene the fencing is shaking, but if you pay attention you can actually see someones hand shaking it It's hilarious!

[Zevox]

I avoid the horror genre in any form - movie, book, game, whatever. I don't see any appeal to intentionally scaring myself.

Zevox

[thubby]

i <3 me some horror.
the problem is that there are so few good ones.

the problem with the genre as a whole is that it demands excelent work just to be passable. a mediocre action movie still has fun explosions and you can laugh at the goofiness. a bad horror movie stops being a horror movie.

also, Hollywood needs to get it out of their head that saw and the like are horror.

[Raistlin1040]

I love slasher movies. I know they're usually not very good, but they're usually campy enough (intentionally or not) to keep me entertained. Scream is my favorite by far, but I like a lot of the other big franchise style ones.

[Inglenook]

Thirst (warning for love scenes)
Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon
Black Sheep
Tucker and Dale vs Evil
Fido
I Sell the Dead
Rare Exports
Severance
Below
Black House (Korean Version)
The Devils Backbone
The Last Winter
Pontypool
Sauna
Session 9
Shiver
Let the Right One In
Let Me In
Trollhunter
Timecrimes
Audition
The Last Circus

I second this list!

[Omergideon]

I find horror films are either horrifically gross or incredibly boring. I do not find them scary at all. I mean the exorcist was one of the most hilarious comedies I have ever seen in my life.

So I do not watch them. Ever.

[Bhu]

I second this list!

http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=1193.0

You can find an expanded list here

More of a Halloween list so they aren't all strictly horror

[Starscream]

I mean the exorcist was one of the most hilarious comedies I have ever seen in my life.

Always wondered if this guy was a member of any online communities.

[Bhu]

They're making a sequel

[Ricky S]

I absolutely love horror movies. They are never scary though just a barrel of laughs. I especially love 80's horror movies because of the hilarious special effects. I do not consider the torture/gore to be horror and I dont enjoy things like saw or hostel. They arent scary, they are just plain disgusting.

Recently I watched "return of the living dead" and "the fly". Both are great movies and are considered horror despite not being scary in the slightest.

[dehro]

what's the board's opinion about Dario Argento and his movies?

[Bhu]

He varies greatly in quality, but overall i like him

Also his habit of putting Asia in his movies in a sex symbol role has a certain ew factor...

[Bastian Weaver]

Pro. I second what was said before about torture porn - it's just gross. My favorite movie would probably be The Birds, closely followed by The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
And also Cursed, because hey! Semi-naked Christina Ricci!

[Bhu]

Pro. I second what was said before about torture porn - it's just gross. My favorite movie would probably be The Birds, closely followed by The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
And also Cursed, because hey! Semi-naked Christina Ricci!

Urgh! There are much better written non-horror movies with a far more naked christina ricci!