new horror

I have found myself making a lot of posts lately on other blogs about the watered down nature of new horror. I really haven't focused on this with my own blog. This is really a shame because I have a lot to say on the matter.

First, there is the the remake issue. At first I saw this as a harmless novelty. I found no harm in young directors reinterpreting classic horror movies. I thought maybe they would bring more attention to the classics. Unfortunately, the trend continued. It continued to such a level that it became overwhelming. Now, almost every week I hear about a new remake project coming into light. I suppose I wouldn't have a problem with this if the remakes were good, and, unlike my desire of bringing the classics into the light, ended up pushing the original films into the shadows. I hate turning on my television and seeing movies listed like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Dawn of the Dead only to find out they are exclusively showing the new remake. Since these new movies have been released I have yet to see the originals on cable. Not that they were frequently played prior to the remakes, it is still horrible to get your expectations up only to find these sub-par movies playing regularly. That is only a minor inconvenience for me though, because I have the movies I want on DVD if the craving gets to overwhelming. The problem really is that the younger audience who has not seen the originals are being exposed to these new movies without being given the opportunity to see the original movie with the same ease. I have problems with all of the remakes I have seen so far, but my most hated has to be the Texas Chainsaw remake. I have really tried to forget this remake... but really, it was so bad. Every good element of the original movie was neglected in favor of doing a character profile of uninteresting young actors in a pseudo-gore film. The original movie was able to achieve cinematic perfection that sent chills down your spine without the use of gratuitous gore. Don't get me wrong, I love gore, but when you have to rely on it to make your film interesting, you are in serious trouble. That goes double if your movie is a remake. I hate to say it, but I think Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses ended up accidentally being a better remake of Texas Chainsaw than this movie ever could have been. You can see that Rob at least has love and passion for the genre.

Now I would like to discuss this new wave of reality torture films. I have to say when I first saw the trailer for Saw my mouth hit the ground. I thought, wow, an uncompromising horror film that is full of new original terror techniques. I was very excited. Tammy and I went to see it on Halloween and we were filled with anticipation. As the movie went on I was gradually becoming more and more disappointed with the lame ass acting that was continuously coming from every corner. The pain and originality of every scene was becoming over shadowed by the discomfort of the acting. Danny Glover's overacting alone was enough to make this movie a bad joke. Then there was Hostel. I thought that maybe since Quentin Tarantino was producing it, the movie may have some value. How wrong I was. For a while I thought I had mistakenly ended up in a theater showing a new National Lampoon's movie, but patience brought me to some gore. At this point it was too little, too late. These horrible uninteresting characters should have all died early in the movie to save us all some grief. And a hint to the writter/director, if you want to make a revenge film at least let us care about the character who is getting their retribution. After seeing movies like those of the Guinea Pig series and August Underground, films like Saw and Hostel are like watching Girls Gone Wild when there is free porn everywhere. It is just a half ass approach that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I am truly embarrassed to have contributed to their box office gross.

Hollywood wants to know why the box office is doing so bad. They want to blame downloading and piracy for the low attendance, but in essence the movies they are producing are lacking style, form and originality in favor of the hot new actors, bastardized remakes and endless pop culture references to try to play on the audiences sense of nostalgia. Don't revisit the past - create a new better future. There are good horror films out there that aren't getting the distribution they deserve. High Tension, now that was nice. While not the most original movie I have seen, it had the feel and essence of a true horror movie. I don't want to give a lot about this movie away because I really think it is worth watching for any horror fan, but it plays on formula and taboos just enough not to sicken the viewer with over saturation. Another good horror film that I have seen recently is Night Watch. Hopefully this movie will end up getting a wider theatrical release then High Tension, but I doubt it. The studios only want to spread crap on the screens. Night Watch is a nice fresh look at the fantasy horror genre focusing on the classic battle between good vs. evil, while adding a nice humanistic spin to the story. Both movies have, in my opinion, good solid acting. Maybe it is because I have not been over saturated with the presence of these actors in film and other forms of media. That is enough of my rant for now. I always have more to say about the subject because I love horror. I just hate seeing the genre being treated so badly.

technorati tags: horror