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I don't post here often, but I'm in the mood for a bit of a rant. Having just having watched Wrong Turn, I despair at how vastly derivative the current crop of horror movies are. I've been a horror fan for a long time, and know that it is still possible to produce good horror films - the excellent Session Nine being an example, but no-one in Hollywood seems to have a clue (big surprise). So because we all know that film directors read the SR forums in their spare time, I thought I'd lay down four simple rules that, if followed, should ensure that any horror film is at least half decent.
RULE 1: Be unpredictable.
One of the problems with horror movies these days is that, within five minutes of seeing the cast on screen, you can usually guess who's going survive the film. It's invariably a boy/girl pair, who meet at the beginning of the film, warm to each other gradually and end up walking into the sunset as the end credits roll. Wrong, wrong, wrong. At least avoid big names and gives us a cast of characters any of whom could die at any point in the film. And throw in a couple of twists as well - after all, you don't want your audience getting cocky and thinking they know exactly what's coming next.
RULE 2: Keep your audience scared.
Your they should be on the edge of their seats, wondering what you're going to throw at them next. And by that, I don't mean having a cat jump out of a cupboard every five minutes and then letting them relax. A really good horror film should instill a sense of unease in the audience, not relying on cheap shocks but making the audience feel that something is very wrong and that something bad is going to happen. A horror movie audience should never be allowed to get comfortable - they should be on the edge of their seats or at least very worried indeed. A good soundtrack helps - just make sure a general sense of unease pervades the whole film.
RULE 3: Make your characters someone the audience can care about.
I can live with today's horror movie stars being teenagers - or 25 year olds pretending to be teenagers - Hollywood has a demographic to appeal to. But all too often the characters are so totally bland that you just don't care about them at all. Characters should be likeable so that when they meet a gruesome fate or are actually worried for them when they're wandering around dark corridors, fleeing whatever horrific creature is after them. With maybe a couple of dislikeable characters throw in so you can go 'yay!' when they're offed. But all too many horror films have characters that are so universally bland that you don't really care what happens to them - The Blair Witch project being a case in point.
And finally...
RULE 4: More is less.
If you really want to scare your audience, don't throw around special effects and CGI around like there's no tomorrow. Just compare the original 'The Haunting of Hill House', which showed very little but was scary as hell with the CGI filled remake 'The Haunting', a dire CGI fest with godzilla sized ghosts and which was totally laughable and unscary. Make your audience think there's something lurking in the shadows, but don't show what it is till the last few moments of the film. Since each person is an individual and scared by different things, letting each audience members' imagination fill in the blanks can work wonders, producing better results than any CGI or special effects model can.
Well, that's my piece said. No doubt Hollwood will continue spewing out the same old un-scary rubbish, but I can live in hope.
RULE 1: Be unpredictable.
One of the problems with horror movies these days is that, within five minutes of seeing the cast on screen, you can usually guess who's going survive the film. It's invariably a boy/girl pair, who meet at the beginning of the film, warm to each other gradually and end up walking into the sunset as the end credits roll. Wrong, wrong, wrong. At least avoid big names and gives us a cast of characters any of whom could die at any point in the film. And throw in a couple of twists as well - after all, you don't want your audience getting cocky and thinking they know exactly what's coming next.
RULE 2: Keep your audience scared.
Your they should be on the edge of their seats, wondering what you're going to throw at them next. And by that, I don't mean having a cat jump out of a cupboard every five minutes and then letting them relax. A really good horror film should instill a sense of unease in the audience, not relying on cheap shocks but making the audience feel that something is very wrong and that something bad is going to happen. A horror movie audience should never be allowed to get comfortable - they should be on the edge of their seats or at least very worried indeed. A good soundtrack helps - just make sure a general sense of unease pervades the whole film.
RULE 3: Make your characters someone the audience can care about.
I can live with today's horror movie stars being teenagers - or 25 year olds pretending to be teenagers - Hollywood has a demographic to appeal to. But all too often the characters are so totally bland that you just don't care about them at all. Characters should be likeable so that when they meet a gruesome fate or are actually worried for them when they're wandering around dark corridors, fleeing whatever horrific creature is after them. With maybe a couple of dislikeable characters throw in so you can go 'yay!' when they're offed. But all too many horror films have characters that are so universally bland that you don't really care what happens to them - The Blair Witch project being a case in point.
And finally...
RULE 4: More is less.
If you really want to scare your audience, don't throw around special effects and CGI around like there's no tomorrow. Just compare the original 'The Haunting of Hill House', which showed very little but was scary as hell with the CGI filled remake 'The Haunting', a dire CGI fest with godzilla sized ghosts and which was totally laughable and unscary. Make your audience think there's something lurking in the shadows, but don't show what it is till the last few moments of the film. Since each person is an individual and scared by different things, letting each audience members' imagination fill in the blanks can work wonders, producing better results than any CGI or special effects model can.
Well, that's my piece said. No doubt Hollwood will continue spewing out the same old un-scary rubbish, but I can live in hope.
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I don't post here often, but I'm in the mood for a bit of a rant. Having just having watched Wrong Turn, I despair at how vastly derivative the current crop of horror movies are. I've been a horror fan for a long time, and know that it is still possible to produce good horror films - the excellent Session Nine being an example, but no-one in Hollywood seems to have a clue (big surprise). So because we all know that film directors read the SR forums in their spare time, I thought I'd lay down four simple rules that, if followed, should ensure that any horror film is at least half decent.
RULE 1: Be unpredictable.
One of the problems with horror movies these days is that, within five minutes of seeing the cast on screen, you can usually guess who's going survive the film. It's invariably a boy/girl pair, who meet at the beginning of the film, warm to each other gradually and end up walking into the sunset as the end credits roll. Wrong, wrong, wrong. At least avoid big names and gives us a cast of characters any of whom could die at any point in the film. And throw in a couple of twists as well - after all, you don't want your audience getting cocky and thinking they know exactly what's coming next.
RULE 2: Keep your audience scared.
Your they should be on the edge of their seats, wondering what you're going to throw at them next. And by that, I don't mean having a cat jump out of a cupboard every five minutes and then letting them relax. A really good horror film should instill a sense of unease in the audience, not relying on cheap shocks but making the audience feel that something is very wrong and that something bad is going to happen. A horror movie audience should never be allowed to get comfortable - they should be on the edge of their seats or at least very worried indeed. A good soundtrack helps - just make sure a general sense of unease pervades the whole film.
RULE 3: Make your characters someone the audience can care about.
I can live with today's horror movie stars being teenagers - or 25 year olds pretending to be teenagers - Hollywood has a demographic to appeal to. But all too often the characters are so totally bland that you just don't care about them at all. Characters should be likeable so that when they meet a gruesome fate or are actually worried for them when they're wandering around dark corridors, fleeing whatever horrific creature is after them. With maybe a couple of dislikeable characters throw in so you can go 'yay!' when they're offed. But all too many horror films have characters that are so universally bland that you don't really care what happens to them - The Blair Witch project being a case in point.
And finally...
RULE 4: More is less.
If you really want to scare your audience, don't throw around special effects and CGI around like there's no tomorrow. Just compare the original 'The Haunting of Hill House', which showed very little but was scary as hell with the CGI filled remake 'The Haunting', a dire CGI fest with godzilla sized ghosts and which was totally laughable and unscary. Make your audience think there's something lurking in the shadows, but don't show what it is till the last few moments of the film. Since each person is an individual and scared by different things, letting each audience members' imagination fill in the blanks can work wonders, producing better results than any CGI or special effects model can.
Well, that's my piece said. No doubt Hollwood will continue spewing out the same old un-scary rubbish, but I can live in hope.
RULE 1: Be unpredictable.
One of the problems with horror movies these days is that, within five minutes of seeing the cast on screen, you can usually guess who's going survive the film. It's invariably a boy/girl pair, who meet at the beginning of the film, warm to each other gradually and end up walking into the sunset as the end credits roll. Wrong, wrong, wrong. At least avoid big names and gives us a cast of characters any of whom could die at any point in the film. And throw in a couple of twists as well - after all, you don't want your audience getting cocky and thinking they know exactly what's coming next.
RULE 2: Keep your audience scared.
Your they should be on the edge of their seats, wondering what you're going to throw at them next. And by that, I don't mean having a cat jump out of a cupboard every five minutes and then letting them relax. A really good horror film should instill a sense of unease in the audience, not relying on cheap shocks but making the audience feel that something is very wrong and that something bad is going to happen. A horror movie audience should never be allowed to get comfortable - they should be on the edge of their seats or at least very worried indeed. A good soundtrack helps - just make sure a general sense of unease pervades the whole film.
RULE 3: Make your characters someone the audience can care about.
I can live with today's horror movie stars being teenagers - or 25 year olds pretending to be teenagers - Hollywood has a demographic to appeal to. But all too often the characters are so totally bland that you just don't care about them at all. Characters should be likeable so that when they meet a gruesome fate or are actually worried for them when they're wandering around dark corridors, fleeing whatever horrific creature is after them. With maybe a couple of dislikeable characters throw in so you can go 'yay!' when they're offed. But all too many horror films have characters that are so universally bland that you don't really care what happens to them - The Blair Witch project being a case in point.
And finally...
RULE 4: More is less.
If you really want to scare your audience, don't throw around special effects and CGI around like there's no tomorrow. Just compare the original 'The Haunting of Hill House', which showed very little but was scary as hell with the CGI filled remake 'The Haunting', a dire CGI fest with godzilla sized ghosts and which was totally laughable and unscary. Make your audience think there's something lurking in the shadows, but don't show what it is till the last few moments of the film. Since each person is an individual and scared by different things, letting each audience members' imagination fill in the blanks can work wonders, producing better results than any CGI or special effects model can.
Well, that's my piece said. No doubt Hollwood will continue spewing out the same old un-scary rubbish, but I can live in hope.
Page: