The Horror Movie Genre is Dead!!

[Reanimator]

As much as it pains me to say it, the horror movie genre is all but dead. I only hope come August 2010, Frightfest can save us with its usual eclectic mix of films. In the meantime, is anyone able to help dispel my fears?

Apart from the odd gem of a film (Let the Right One In, Martyrs, Human Centipede, Inside, The Mist, as a few examples) what are we left with. Poor quality remakes such as Prom Night, Halloween, Friday the 13th etc, bigger budget garbage such as Jennifer’s Body, Wolfman, weak by the numbers sequels (Saw, Final Destination) and in-between a host of no-budget or low budget rubbish on DVD.

Where are the original films which entertain and challenge us? Do we really have to sit at our PC’s and watch the trailer for ‘A Sebian Film’ just because it is an extreme movie, surely we can expect “proper” new decent horror movies to look forward too (and not another re-hash such as Nightmare on Elm Street!).

I am sorry to post this thread but can someone tell me there is hope. Maybe I am missing the good films? In the meantime if it’s a choice between Sorority Row, Halloween 2, or Marley & Me, then (sadly) the dog wins every time.

[42nd Street Freak]

Crappy, pointless remakes aside, I don't see Horror (in all it's guises) being shallow and shite this decade at all.
British and Euro horror has really boomed this decade.

You want 'dead horror genre'...wallow in 90% of the output in the 90's.

[thesavageintruder]

Of course its not dead, the movies you highlight as "odd gems" form a big part of the proof that its far from dead. There's as much rubbish around in the genre as there was in any other decade you care to mention - and as many striking, interesting, fun flicks to go with them. We've always had redundant sequels and remakes - in the 40's it was stuff like The Mummy's Ghost, and as 42nd Street Freak notes, the 90's was much more of a wasteland for the genre.

[Satans Puppy]

I wouldn't say it's dead... it's just progressed in to something that not all of us are fans of.

Where as most of you guys have seen or grew up on classics like The Thing. My first dose of horror came in the form of Elm Street and Halloween sequels which I loved. Frightfest has opened me up to a whole new world of horror and I've met some educated folks in the genre like Orlovsky and Grindy who know their stuff.

This current iteration is just another mutation in the genre. The kids of today are so wet that a loud noise or a quick cut will cause them to wet their teen undies. So that's what the studios make. It's why horror fans like us are looking further afield to places like Asia and France to get our horror fix. They seem to be taking horror to the next level. Even here in the UK we tend to go more traditional than anything when it comes to our horror. There are people out there trying.

They just need to be given the chance.

[krispyg]

I don't think it's dead, it's just not given enough promotion

But maybe keeping it a bit under the radar is not always a bad thing, if it means teh cinemas aren't full of freaks and chavs who cant STFU up 90 minutes.

Then you read the Centurion post on here and see the piss poor level of distribution this film is getting.

I suppose i'm lucky being in Manchester that we do get a varied selection of films and I can only sympathise with those of you who live in a town or city where nothing outside of the mainstream will ever get shown.

I don't agree that film quality is getting worse, yes there is the flow of remake after remake but I don't give them my money, perhaps even a case could be made here for illegally downloading a remake as you have already bought the original...?

I just think what's out there does not get the recognition it deserves. Not quite sure how to change that though, thoughts......?

[streetrw]

Is CENTURION's distribution that bad? Cineworld are showing it at 25 locations, Empire have 5, Odeon have 10, Vue have 21. Compare with something that only does a week in Panton Street or the ICA.

Anyway, is the horror genre dead? I don't think it's any more dead than it's been in the past - at some stage the remake flood will have to stop because they'll either run out of money or they'll simply run out of films to remake (apparently the sequel to the Friday The 13th remake has been abandoned, for which relief much thanks). Maybe it would be better if they started adapting books instead? But the genre has hit fallow periods before and there've been years when we've only had a smattering of decent titles. We can expect terrific horror movies every couple of weeks but if we get a goodie every couple of months I don't think we can feel shortchanged.

Right now, we have the quantity but we don't have the quality and I'm hard-pressed to think of a really great Hollywood or English language horror film from the last few years. They don't have to be original or excitingly innovative - Dance Of The Dead wasn't, but it was terrific fun (this was at my "bad" Frightfest where I really wasn't happy, and that and Death Race cheered me up no end).

Personally, with regard to DVD, I've kind of slowed down with horror as I've had so many indifferent ones recently and am now renting a lot of martial arts and HK action movies instead. I'm getting far more pleasure, even out of something as boneheadedly stupid and throwaway as The Twins Effect, than I am with films as calculatedly nasty as Invitation Only.

[sherbetbizarre]

Is CENTURION's distribution that bad?

Given the director and cast, I'd say yes, it is!

[kimblebee]

It's not just the distribution but the lack of promotion and marketing that is a real shame. I just hope word of mouth and social media is enough to give it a good run as the people behind it deserve for it to do well.

[Marlin]

They do, but given the lukewarm reviews elsewhere on this site, it doesn't really surprise me they haven't splashed the film on every billboard. Only the really expensive turkeys warrant mass promotion, on the grounds they are "too big to fail".

In general, I wouldn't say it is dead, but there are some worrying trends emerging over the last few years. I saw Pig last weekend, and, like Voor, was pretty much flabbergasted that anyone would choose to watch it. Invitation Only was another which rather concerrned me - essentially we are snaffling up this kind of crap because there isn't anything better to watch, but that in and of itself is the beginning of a vicious circle. I bought Stag Night, the only film I skipped at Glasgow, and I was appalled at how bad I thought it was, yet it's reviewed on this site claiming it a great film and a mystery as to why it didn't get a wide cinema release. If this is genuinely what we are asking for, and raving about, then what do we expect from the broader industry?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of extreme cinema, and even occasionally remakes, but only if they have a point. A Serbian Film and Porno Gang interest me because they appear to have something to say underneath all the grue, I enjoyed Dawn of the Dead because it took a different approach to the original...there are many others interesting voices out there too, such as Cerda's work and even the likes of the French and Spanish new wave. I think the real problem is that we sit through crap, thus funding the process and telling the film makers that this is what we want. Hard cycle to break.

There are films out there that appeal to all the same genre staples without kowtowing to the current trends. Two recent examples are Breathless (Korea 2009) and Love Exposure (Japan 2009). These have many of the genre foibles, but they don't go down the mainstream route in trying to shock/amuse us. They're also two of the best films I've seen in years.

[MaxRenn]

Hmmm, much to say about this (and the good Mr Voor's recent blog) but right now I only have a minute. In short, no the horror genre is not dead (recently there have been at least a handful of stone cold classics like Let The Right One In). But yes we are swimming in a lot of crap. But it has always been thus, and the dumbing down effect (especially in the US industry) is not in any way restricted to the horror genre. It's a sad state of affairs but mid-budget US films aimed at grown ups are proving more and more difficult to finance (if you don't believe me, ask a filmmaker).

Utimately I believe this is a short term trend. But I have been wrong before.

To be continued...

[Satans Puppy]

I bought Stag Night, the only film I skipped at Glasgow, and I was appalled at how bad I thought it was, yet it's reviewed on this site claiming it a great film and a mystery as to why it didn't get a wide cinema release.

I have to say, when I saw that quote pop up on an internet ad, I did spit my drink out because it's a 2 star film at best, woulda been better had the violence not been shaky cammed into non existence.

Centurion is going to be Obliterated come thursday by Iron Man 2... no doubt every Cineworld will use the majority of their screens to show that one.

[Reanimator]

I really do hope this is just a lull in the horror genre and it will come back, but apart from the odd classic (they are few and far between) there is not much good product out there. How many truly great films have people seen in the last 6 months in horror. I just saw Cemetery Junction tonight and its an excellent film, everything you could want in a movie. Why cant we have that with a great new horror flick.

Maybe Voor is right and it is time to check out some classics to keep the embers burning until there is a resurrection of the genre. Until then at least there are some good Jennifer Aniston films to watch, and even J-lo has a new film out soon.

[Marlin]

I'd say Amer was truly great, but that's personal taste.

Not wishing to sound obtuse, but I can't think of another TRULY great film I've seen in the last six months in any genre - lots of very very good ones, but I think if we get one or two truly great horror films a year, we're doing as well as any other genre out there.

[krispyg]

No

Amer was not great






But that's just my opinion

[Marlin]

And surely that should be where we're arguing? Amer deserves a great deal of discussion because it throws the last five years of horror in our face and offers a broad reinterpretation of a historical form of horror. I totally understand why people didn't like it, and recall arguing with Voor that it wasn't a Giallo (it isn't) but it still offered something so different we should all applaud.

This crosses into MaxRenn's thread, but rather than the genre dying OR the audience dying, perhaps we're simply dealing with the latest inflow of fans. In the early 80's the likes of Newman were arguing that NOES and F13 were awful reinterpretations of better films by the likes of Bava et al. Now, the best part of FF audiences grew up with Freddie and Jason, as opposed to Regan and Leatherface, as their icons. If you think about it, we had innumerable seventies spin offs of those popular films, in the next decades we had the slasher onslaught. The latest fans were drawn in by Hostel and Saw and therefore want more more more of the same, hence we get the likes of Train and Invitation Only.

Perhaps if we try harder to show people the alternatives they'll try harder to watch them? That doesn't necessarily mean showing them obscure films, maybe just pointing out the odd oldie that just about meets their criteria. For example, if someone enjoyed Wrong Turn 2, how about giving them Just Before Dawn or Southern Comfort? Surely that is better than giving them Scarce or Pig?!


Just a thought.