Some modern horror movies need to change, but not just the movie itself.
Some recent horror movies have been sub-par. The issue with some modern horror movies is that they all exhibit the same issues which cause them to fall flat with avid movie fans and critics. This article is going to discuss the issues that plague these movies as well looking into ways to possibly help modern horror find new ground, and make people take note again.
clear the air.
I will say this, some recent horror movies have been exceptional. Such releases like The Conjuring by James Wan, The Babadook by Jennifer Kent, the Insidious series, It Follows by David Robert Mitchell, Oculus by Mike Flanagan and so on. Obviously there are more worthy mentions but that would take too long to list. The movies mentioned here are all spine chilling, deeply unnerving movies which are truly scary to watch. These movies do have some jump scares in them, that is true. However it is the way that they are used that makes them work in the movie. All the scares are positive, that is they are related to the plot, show the evil entity at work, revealing something new and so on. Most scary movies now have jumps scares which are false, but I will come onto that later. Final point here, some people will be divided about the Insidious series, however I have mentioned it here due to its lasting impact it had on myself and imagine others as well. The demonic character, the chilling atmosphere that is present through out the entire movie, the soundtrack and so on. To this day I can not listen to 'Tiptoe through the tulips' without getting goosebumps and freaking out.
the issues.
I am going to start with an issue that is not present during the viewing of the movie, but during the build up to its release, the marketing. Having already discussed movie trailers and whether or not they are ruining some movies, horror movies are highly at risk and often suffer the greatest. Again, it is the movie trailers and TV spots that are to blame here. I am going to use The Conjuring as an example. In the official main trailer for the film around four major scenes from are shown and in another trailer one of the films major scares is shown, being the clap behind the mothers head whilst on the stairs to the basement. Another movie trailer which did the same is the one for the first Insidious. The trailer showed the scene where the red faced demon appears behind the fathers head whilst discussing the demon at a table. Although this scene caused a huge amount of word-of-mouth among fans, it also meant that the entire scene was spoiled. The marketers included these scenes into the trailers because they want to draw viewers in to the plot and show them what happens. Personally, I believe this is the wrong way to do it, not about outlining the plot but with them showing the scary scenes that the movie has. The consumer should go and see the movie to be scared and witness these scenes for the first time, not have it shown to them in the trailer. Doing so means that when they watch the movie for the first time they are aware of what is going to happen, as they will recognise either the build up to a scary moment or the actual moment itself. Case in point is the scene with the mother in the basement, the majority of viewers will know about the scene, and know that something is going to clap loudly behind her, thus eliminating a part of the suspense and tension. Obviously those in charge of marketing the movie need to draw in as many people as possible and trailers is the primary form of doing that, I get that. However I believe that trailers need to be constructed more delicately, so that spoilers, set pieces from the movie, scares are kept hidden. So that consumers when viewing the movie experience the full affect of the scares, the tension and the atmosphere.
Another issue that I will raise is the use of jump scares. As stated earlier, the movies that I chose to be some of the best horror movies recently do contain some jump scares and there is nothing wrong with them; however they must be implemented and done properly. False jump scares are throughout many horror movies today. One example is during the movie 'The Woman In Black: Angel of Death', where a bird flies into the window which a main character is looking out of, accompanied by a loud burst of music. This a false jump scare, being something that is irrelevant to the plot and a pointless scene overall. To solve this issue is fairly straight forward, stop doing false jump scares. If a jump scare involves a member of the cast showing up in the dark, grabbing someone by the arm for attention or an animal running out of a dark place then remove it from the movie, end of. However, if the scare moves the plot forward, reveals a key element of the story or shows the evil character or entity, then it is acceptable.
I would not call this a major issue, but the form that some horror movies are filmed is wearing thin, this form being 'found footage' or more to the point 'hand-held movies'. The most successful and notable of these would be 'Paranormal Activity'. I agree that some of the Paranormal Activity movies do have some affective scares and moments, but it has lead to the production of many many horror movies following this format of hand-held filming. The majority of these fall flat, such as 'The Devil Inside', which is why that I tend to try and avoid these types of movies but go towards the more cinematic and stable shot movies. The primary reason hand-held movies are made is because they are cheap, which means when they are released they stand a big change to make a profit. Steady shot movies, that do not use hand-held, are superior to hand-held. There have been far more truly scary movies that have avoided this type of filming.The main benefit is that you actually get to see what is scary and is all done in a steady shot. The hand-held films are usually shaky and disorientating when it comes to a scary scene, meaning that what is actually happening is usually either missed or only shown for a split second.
conclusion
These are only issues that I myself have identified, someone who is more well versed in cinema could provide more, but I have given what I see as an avid movie fan as the key issues in the horror movies of today. Some people may disagree with what I have written, but I stand by the fact that modern horror is a huge hit and miss genre nowadays. I implore anyone to watch the movies I stated at the beginning of this article, those are the horror movies that showcase just how good they can be, and also what horror movies need to be; unnerving, disturbing and leaving the viewers not being able to forget it for a long time.
