Horror Movies Thread...what makes it good for you?
 

With the onslaught of grungy, realistic looking horror movies of late, I am wondering if the "true" horror movies of old are gone. I think "Slither" brought that cheesy, horror-ish quality back a bit, but with its dismal return I don't think we will see too many of these type come out of Hollywood.

It seems all they want is the cheap, out-do the next in terms of raw human emotion and raw visuals like "Saw" , "Hostel" , "Wolf Creek" , etc... I mean these are all fine and good, but none has really gripped me like the movies of old.

So what makes a good horror movie for you and do you think we will ever see them again?

pointless, maniacal, brutal killing. give me that and i'm happy.

I don't really consider Slither a horror movie, it's more sci-fi. Plus, I prefer my horror to be free of comedy and slapstick.

With a scary movie, I don't want to be horrified, I want to be terrified. And I want the startles, or the BOO scares to be limited.

And lots of bewbies.

Define "the movies of old". Because I'm sure "the movies of old" were described in the same way by 'seasoned' movie fans as you'd describe Saw, Hostel etc.

Something I've noticed that makes a great horror flick is this;
if the horror stuff was taken out, it'd still be a good movie.

Sounds nuts, I know, and it certainly doesn't aplly to all flicks. With some films it works very well - the horror isn't going to always be scary, so you can't use that as a crutch. Something like Dawn Of The Dead, for example. It's more about these people trying to survive in isolation - that'd be interesting enough without the zombies. The fact that there are zombies in the film is gravy.

Beautiful, bloody gravy.

Originality.

I like slashers mainly and hopefully there will be a good return of them. Original movies are always a plus too.

Gore, and not of the Al variety.

Rated R,and that's enough for me to give it a chance,PG-13 I stay far away from it especially if it's a gory/slasher type film.

"Night of the Living Dead" (1968)
"Dawn of the Dead" (1978)
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984)
"Halloween" (1978)
"Bride of Frankenstein" (1935)
"Aliens" (1986)
"Carrie" (1976)
etc...

ones with depth, style, and destined to become classic and not just the "scare ride" of the week.

:lol: I just love it how there's a slew of '70s and '80s horror in that list and then Bride of Frankenstein. What makes it funnier is the fact that I don't know one person who considers Aliens a horror film. "Game over man! Game over!"

:lol:

Flicks like Saw, Hostel, and The Hills Have Eyes are similar to the grindhouse flicks of the past. Their vicious brutalness and dark demeanors are like that of The Last House on the Left, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Spit On Your Grave, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, and even the original The Hills Have Eyes. Not only are they not shy from showing all of the death and massacres take place in front of your eyes, they're even less shy from showing how emotions can swiftly take over another human being.

Ever since Saw hit big, it seems that the studios are taking notice of how a horror film do huge numbers and still be effectively creepy and extremely violent. Land of the Dead, The Devil's Rejects, Saw, Saw II, Final Destination 3, Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, Slither? Easily some of the best horror films to be released within the past decade*.

* = Other films in this boat would include Shaun of the Dead, Dog Soldiers, Ginger Snaps, Final Destination 2, 28 Days Later, Cabin Fever, and even the Dawn of the Dead remake.

i think a lot think both "Alein" and "Aleins" are horror, maybe with the nudge going to the original moreso than the sequel...

Do you even know a lot of people?

Alien is more of a thriller than a horror film, but I can see where others would classify it as a horror film. Simply put, it's Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" in space.

Aliens is not in any way, shape, or form a horror film. It's got a few horror elements, but that's about it. Hands down, it's a science-fiction action film.

If you want to take the other Alien sequels into consideration, Alien 3 happens to a science fiction film mixed with elements of a psychological thriller (or at least that's what Fincher was hoping for) and Alien: Resurrection is a piece of shit.

Originality and atmosphere.

In-your-face gorey visuals don't scare as much as they go for a cheap gross out.

:up: It's hard for me to classify the first Alien as well. Sci-Fi/horror/suspense-thriller? It's got all those elements at play at once - and to a GREAT blend.

I know what doesn't make it good for me: gratuitous violence.

What is gratuitous is of course arguable and maybe even completely subjective, but I am personally talking about films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (both new and old), The Hills Have Eyes (new, can't speak for the old), Hostel, FearDotCom---and I'm sure I'm missing tons of movies. The focus of this genre, insomuch as one could put all these films into a "genre," seems to be about human suffering. I simply don't find these films enjoyable but I'm fascinated by the mentality of those who do.

So, what kinds of horror films do I enjoy? I suppose I enjoy the psychological horror films. I was a fan of M. Night Shyamalan, but I think he needs to move beyond the twists.

Children of the Corn really freaked me out, still kind of does with the music and atmosphere.

i'm not going to argue with you as you seem a combatitive :mad2:

Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens from Filmsite.org

Some horror films owe a substantial amount to other genres, particularly science fiction, fantasy and the thriller. from Wikipedia.org

If the characters do what I would do, or like to think I would do, then I'm drawn into the story. That's enough to get me a little antsy.

As soon as they run into a closet and hide when they were by the front door, then I get pissed and just hope they die quickly.

I would say Peter Jackson's King Kong has the most elements of a true horror film going back long ago to the drive-in monster flicks. I'm sure most would disagree, but I believe that is still horror at it's pure.

Well no shit sherlock? Here I go in a circle again...

Alien is a thriller with elements of horror and science-fiction.
Aliens is an action film with elements of horror and science-fiction.

With Alien, there is a sense of dramatic irony as none of the characters know how their fate is going to be sealed by who or what. With Aliens, the characters go into the situation knowing that there's a chance they won't make it out alive. Ridley Scott plays up the scares and the suspense whereas James Cameron plays up the action and the science-fiction.

Both are perfect genre blends, but Aliens, regardless, is not a horror film.

if you want a great psychological horror movie, you should try out either "pulse" (original's on dvd, remake comes out in july or "a tale of 2 sisters" (no word on remake but the dvd is great)

Cool. Thanks for the recommendation. :thumbsup:

I disagree completely - Alien is sci-fi/horror, it's not really a thriller. And Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (aka And Then There Were None) is a "Who Done It?" built around figuring out the mystery on who is killing everyone. In Alien, however, it's pretty obvious throughout who-done-it: the Alien! The fact that in both stories people are getting killed and so the group of survivors is shrinking is an over-simplified similarity, because when looked at closely, these two aren't really similar at all. Actually, Alien is much closer to a "haunted house" movie than it is to a thriller.

My favorite horror films are the '50s scifi horror, these from my favorite decade overall include The Thing From Another World, Attack of the Crab Monsters and similarly veined horror elements, even later on with Mystery of the Wax Museum, Horror of Dracula, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
The silents were prevalent in fantastical horror since it was actually a continuation on celluloid of the 19th century interest in the macabre headed by figures like Poe. 30s was a jump-kick in the horror franchise. The '40s there wasn't much of it since there was real life horror with the war, no one wanted, except for notables like The Black Cat. '50s i discussed. The 60s is known for psychological horror, Hammer, Amimcus, AIP stuff along with the 70s of course make up a strong era for horror. Early '80s is pretty good still (The Evil Dead) but then it just descends into the slasher films hurting the genre in the process. 90s simply sucks as horror, heck 40s is better than that. We've seen somewhat of a revival in horror with this decade but it's not toward my taste really.

I like the '30s-60s era films, and the silents too like Nosferatu, and the continuation of Hammer/Amicus/AIP into the 70s.