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Seven reasons why the horror genre is dying
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Collage of horror legends
With the upcoming release of Sam Raimi’s new film “Drag Me to Hell,” it’s a good time to think about what the horror genre has become over the past few years. It's films have gone from being rebellious and violent statements to watered down, socially accepted, children’s movies. Sure the films are profitable, but they lack originality and artistry, causing many diehard fans to lose hope. So what’s happened to horror? There are seven factors, each one more ghastly than the last, that are leading to the genre’s demise.
7) Over Saturation
It would seem “quantity over quality” has become the horror adage. Each week more and more poorly produced, straight-to-video horror films hit the shelves and each week, the genre becomes a little more diluted. Horror is becoming the new porn, where anyone with a video camera and willing participants can shoot a film and get distribution. This lackadaisical approach to filmmaking turns a genre with little respect into a complete joke.
6) Big Budgets
It might appear shortsighted to say a bigger budget would have a negative effect on a film. The more money spent, the better the film will be, right? Not always. What made many of the older films so scary is how real they seemed, looking more like documentaries than feature films. Also, no one in the films looked like actors. Leatherface’s family in the original “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” looked like they were pulled from a local insane asylum, not a casting call. All in all, the films were so genuine that they scared audiences for days after leaving the theater. Today, horror films are so stylized and clean it would be like getting scared by a car commercial.
5) Computer Graphics
Has the price of corn syrup and red food coloring skyrocketed? Recent horror films have become so dependent on computer graphics that they look more like cartoons than live action movies. Think of how much better “I Am Legend” would have been if the monsters chasing Will Smith around dilapidated New York City weren’t those silly looking animated abominations. The thing with CG is it can be beneficial, but when it’s overused, the films tend to be less scary and more stupid.
4) PG-13 Ratings
Nothing makes horror fans gripe and groan more than seeing a PG-13 rating on a horror film. What this rating guarantees the audience is that there will be little language, no nudity, and toned down violence, while guaranteeing the producers of the film a better box office turnout. The PG-13 rating plays to the teeny bopper crowd, who will scream in terror at every single cheap scare inserted throughout. It also robs potentially good films of any kind of legitimacy with unrealistic dialogue, little suspense, and moderate violence. Not to say violence in moderation isn’t sometimes a good thing, which brings us to...
3) Torture and Rape
Many of today’s horror filmmakers are confusing what’s disgusting with what’s scary. In a genre where less can be more, over the top, bizarre violence has become a crutch. From the “Hostel” films to “Saw” one through one million, it’s obvious that these filmmakers are trying to get scares by repulsing their audience. What they need to realize is making someone vomit is far different than actually scaring them. Along with torture, rape scenes have become a way for filmmakers to push the envelope. Yes, some older horror films did contain both these aspects, but today it seems every horror film has a scene with someone tied to a chair getting god-knows-what shoved god-knows-where, while somewhere else a poor unsuspecting girl is about to be deflowered by some maniac. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, is this really entertaining?
2) First Person Point of View
Why is it that every time someone runs in a film there are sequences of nauseating hand-held camerawork? Can the viewer not understand what the person on the screen is doing without seeing it through their eyes? If that’s not bad enough, there are the films in which the characters themselves are shooting the movie. Ever since “The Blair Witch Project” filmmakers have been making first person horror films and every time the characters use the same sparse reasoning of “I’m filming this because it’ll be important,” to justify their actions. Even horror legend George A. Romero took part in these shenanigans in his last film “Diary of the Dead.” There is nothing more unbelievable than a group of twenty-something idiots who think filming giant aliens or zombies or invisible witches is more important than their own safety.
1) Remakes
It’s nothing new for filmmakers to rehash old ideas and characters, but the horror genre has become notorious for it. At this moment, there are over 60 horror films slated to be remade. Granted some of them are just talk, but it’s a staggering number even if only half of them come to fruition.
At first the remakes were of classic and foreign films (“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “The Ring,”), but in 2009, it would seem producers are willing to remake anything. The list of upcoming remakes includes the classic (“Nightmare on Elm Street,” “Hellraiser”), to the not-so-classic (“The Gate,” “It’s Alive”), to the completely ludicrous (“House on Sorority Row,” “Plan 9 from Outer Space”), all of which are completely unnecessary. All these remakes do is halt progress on new ideas. Instead of starting new franchises, they keep bringing back the old, rarely improving on the originals. If there is a film which is revered among its audience, then why would it need to be redone? Hollywood has also started to confuse the word “remake” with “reset,” continuing film franchises from the remakes. So in 20 years are there going to be remakes of the remakes?
There are no doubt positive sides to each one of these factors. For one, with the over saturation of the market, many more talented filmmakers are getting their films seen. With studios willing to shell out more and more cash to produce horror films, the genre will never completely die. Not every remake or PG-13 film is terrible. It’s a matter of taste and opinion. Some people like computer graphics and don’t mind shaky camerawork. Yes, there are even those strange and demented people who don’t mind seeing torture and rape in films. “I Spit on Your Grave” is still selling copies, right? So even though the damage done may seem insurmountable, there is still hope for horror. Someone just needs to step up and save it.
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