Where have all the good ones gone?

[HeavenLeiyh]

I don't know about anybody else, but I feel like the horror movies of today have really gone on a downward shizt spiral. Even the ones that have the excellent fx suck when it comes to acting or story line. Where are the groundbreakers? The ones that just made you drop your jaw for two hours after the movie ended? The ones that make you feel just a little too uncomfortable in the dark? I miss those movies. If I had one movie wish it would be that the good writers of all horror movies (that were good) past would come back and make one big horror movie with sfx coming out the azz and the rest of the movie not sucking. Oh, and they would have to kill off all boy bands and brittney spears (plus wannabes).

[Wicked]

Personally, I think the reason for alot of horror sucking is, alot of them rely TOO much on their special effects. They put soooo much money into the FX they can't afford good writing and paid actors. Not only that....But, when is the last time you EVER saw a horror flick get even nominated for ANY awards!.......It's such a thank-less job, and It's hard to get any backers for filming when there's no "ARTSY FARTSY" awards!

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[Dr. Craven the magician]

I agree with you Wicked. Once upon a time a great horror movie was built on story and plot. All the tension was built on that. Now the plots are as thin as tissue paper and are only more of less used to move us from one stunning special effect to the next. Only thing is that everyone's seen the spectacular special effects before, meaning that they're really not that spectacular after all. I mean, look at the dismal "Jurassic Park III." It should have been called, "Jurassic Park: The Rehash of everything you've already seen in a Lame Attempt to Suck up your Bucks" Or how bout "Blair Witch II: The Book of Shadows"? Since the first Blair Witch was based on a confusing plot that made little to no sense, the trailer for the sequel should have said, "...bigger, thinner and sillier, featuring a cast of actors and actresses that sorta remind you of other actors and actresses in a pretentious film that assumes anyone cared about the first featuring a story that is even more confusing and that makes even less sense with an even less satisfying conclusion..."



It's only magic...if you believe...

[Wicked]

Damn your sharp Magicman! You nailed it right on it's flat little head. You know, you really should be a critic.....all kidding aside, you really have a talent for "seeing" through the crap, and getting to the point.

And I do believe that IS a sort of magic, is it not?:D

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[Dr. Craven the magician]

Thanks, Wicked! You've made my day, darling! Oh, yeah. And I USED to be a critic. I just got all noble and tried to expose a bunch of high level crooks. Since they were in league with even BIGGER crooks, even though I took some of them down, the one's left wouldn't let me BE a critic anymore.



It's only magic...if you believe...

[Lordsimion]

I for one would hate to see all of the past talent to come back for one more humdinger...With all of the added effects in the movies, there movies ( scripts) would be twisted into a speacial effects "masterpiece". They made great movies in the past and I would hate to see there legend be ruined. Just like this Fredy vs. Jason movie, I will probly go see it, cause I always wanted to see what would happen. But at the same time, I know it will suck because it is going to ruin ANY sort of hopes that I have built up in my imagination...Hollywood just can't leave well enough alone. All that hey see are the dollar signs when they bring back the big names, and soup it them upwith all of the hollywood speacial effects...So no,do not let them come back, all it would do is ruin there legacy.

[Wicked]

There's plenty of OTHER heads to lop off Magicman......you really shouldn't waste your talent....life's too short. You should be a critic for the horror genre. Too bad "Wicked" magizine went under, you'd have fit in perfectly. They could have called it something like "Wicked Insight", or "Wicked Watcher"....no those are both lame....well, I'm sure you could come up with something clever. Anyway....you should find a magizine (still living) and go for it! Times a-wasting my friend, you know you want to....you know you want to....you know you want....

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[GremlinzGuy]

i think the major problem with horror movies not being so scary any more has a lot to do the the people that rate movies. i mean seriously the movies that are rated R don't contain much R rating shyt anymore. i think the movie companies are under a constant pressure to make a horror film rated PG-13 or else they won't make much money since the general viewing age of a movie is in the teen-twenties age. and the teens will go back to a movie 3 times if it is good which means more $$$$ for the movie companies. so its a kind of catch 22. and the fact that you can't have subliminal messages any more SUX! thats what made movies creepy..but i do have to admit that Joy Ride was a rather creepy movie...oh and Jeepers Creepers (until the end) was alright. it scared the shyt out of me because it was filmed down the road in Ocala (45 minutes away from me) and me and my friends go down that road occasionally and can still see all the road markings and shyt..but i agree movie companies need to start funding these horror moie with a lot more money..and come out with some orignal plot lines and not some boring same ol' same ol'. i mean Wes Craven is a horror genious in my opinions..start paying him what they would pay George Lucas or Steven Spillberg (sp) to do a movie, i can almost guarantee that they will make that amount back on the opening night...and if ou can get the common public to refer people to the movie instead of saying the movie sucked and all the ad's were the only good parts then you would continue to make money...night after night after night.

>>>>www.angelfire.com/scary/oakland/index3.html <<<< a must see for any one that reads this!

[Jack Reaper]

Well, I've read more horror books than watched movies, and some of the best books do not translate well to screen. Point in case... The Amittyville (sp?) Horror! That book creeped me out more than any other. Ofcourse I was 10. But to this day if I read it just for old times sake,it still has the ability to give me the chills. The movie just didn't do it. Most of the other books I thought would make good movies would most likely be banned because of subject matter or the censors would slice and dice it quicker than Freddy. The other problem would be that it would also be more expensive to make than all of the Star Wars movies put together. A persons mind is the best special effect and story maker, but to get everyone else to see it the way you do is another story. For all those horror movies that don't do it for ya, just watch the effects and props , the stage settings, lighting tosee if you can recreate it cheaper.

[Ghostmaster-7]

Great way of putting Jack...I have read alot of horror books that never even made it to the big screen and to be honest I'm not sure they could have done as well. Most of the movies today just deal in special effects and the plot isnt there, and if it is there hiding somewhere, it is grossly overshadowed by the effects to the point where you get lost in them. With most of today's movies I'd rather just read the books.

Son of Thunder
http://www.ghostnet7.org

[Wicked]

You both have very good points. I agree on the fact that some of the best books I've read, and had been turned into movies--Were very disappointing--My imagination is FAR better than ANY special effects they could concoct. I also get tired of the same ol' reHASH all the time--But even I'm having trouble thinking of something different--I'm trying to write a book, and I think I may have a good storyline, and it IS different.....so we'll see when I get all the research finished....IF I ever DO! LOL

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[GremlinzGuy]

well wicked rule number one would be to not have the blonde headed big busted girl run up the stairs to her bedroom if a killer is chasing her..have her run out to the street..maybe she'll live..

>>>>www.angelfire.com/scary/oakland/index3.html <<<< a must see for any one that reads this!

[Wicked]

But where's the horror in that? LOL

But really, thats the kind of stuff I can't stand! Makes you yell profanities at the screen. I'm really tired of usual dumbs*** writing they do....It gives horror a bad reputation. Inspite of what the big wigs think, not all fans of horror have the IQ of a head of lettuce.

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[Dr. Craven the magician]

Heads of lettuce? Would those be the people who always said, "lettuce pray," "leaf me alone," or "My, how I long for the salad days!"?


It's only magic...if you believe...

[Wicked]

Why Doctor...there you are--I'd recognize that quack wit anywhere.

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[Dr. Craven the magician]

Well, when it comes to jokes about lettuce, BUTTER to be thought a quack than let any doubt ROMAIN. And that's just the tip of the ICEBERG, too. Hehehe.

It's only magic...if you believe...

[Wicked]

Hehehehe, I love you Doc! LMAO!!

"The banshee shrieks with WICKED delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!

[Harry White]

Several good points have been made on this topic. The cash flow at the box office is the bottom line for most studios. The question that arises is this; If horror films do not generate cash the way the studios would like, how is it a piece of crap such as Freddy vs. Jason was number one at the box office when it first opened? (It may have remained number on for a longer duration of time, I'm not sure.)

Not to say that every horror flick that has been released over the past, let's say fifteen years, was not worth forking over your hard earned cash to see. While most of this list did very well at the box office and spawned many rip-offs/sequels not worth wasting your time on. At least two of them slipped through the cracks and went unnoticed by moviegoers.

Scream
The Sixth Sense
Session Nine
The Blair Witch Project
The Ring
The Others
Frailty

All of these provided some great chills, without sacrificing story for effects. Good horror films are still being made, they are just few and far between. The same can be said about any genre of film.

I read some negative feedback on the Blair Witch. I personally enjoyed every aspect of the film. From the way it was made (talk about a fresh idea in filmmaking) to the marketing. The "In Search Of" special they did for the Sci-Fi channel was brilliant. Maybe even better than the film itself. My only complaint was I knew that the premise of the movie was a hoax by the time it opened. If only that tid bit of info would have been kept in the can for a while after it had opened.

Books are almost always better than the film versions they inspire. It is a rare thing to find a movie that compares to the book it was taken from. Take the work of H.P. Lovecraft for example. Very few of the films based upon his work, could ever hold a candle to the horror his words can fill you with. The reason is your own imagination. When reading you create every aspect of what is in front of you in your mind. Thus, it becomes more personal, you might not be the one creating the story, but you are allowing what scares you about it to be custom made by your own fears.

The real shame about Hollywood and the way studios handle the money for the production of films can be found in this simple fact, Dawn of the Dead is being re-made by a big studio, while Romero cannot find funds to make his next zombie epic.

I have no use for human words.....they are only spoken to breed dishonor