Horror movies: can a movie still really scare you?

[slackerinabox]

I?m a film student and am trying to write a horror movie (I?m not in love with the genre- it?s good to practice a little bit of everything)? Some people believe that horror movies don?t really scare anyone anymore because people have been desensitized by the formulas and clichés ? do you guys agree or disagree? I do agree that most modern horror movies rely on shocks (cats jumping out of no where, etc.) and crappy humor instead of fear.. But is the horror genre really dead?

It would be helpful if you guys could list movies that really scares you as well as why they did... Go into personal reasons if need be (?The Vanishing? scared me because I could relate to how traumatizing it would be to have your wife kidnapped)? I?d just like to brainstorm a bit before getting down to writing my b-movie crapfest

 

[NathanBWF]

I honestly haven't been scared by a horror movie since I watched "It" when i was like 6. They just don't scare me anymore now that I'm older...and I don't think they make horror movies like they used to. On a side note...i watched Freddy vs. Jason last night and it was horrible. I like the older Friday the 13th movies and Nightmare on Elm Street....but this one stank.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: NathanBWF
I honestly haven't been scared by a horror movie since I watched "It" when i was like 6. They just don't scare me anymore now that I'm older...and I don't think they make horror movies like they used to. On a side note...i watched Freddy vs. Jason last night and it was horrible. I like the older Friday the 13th movies and Nightmare on Elm Street....but this one stank.

I agree - "it" scared the hell out of me! So, what scared you about "it?" Try to be specific - I'm trying to get to the core of what scares people.. Modern horror movies seem to be more interested in making people laugh and to "entertain" instead of actually trying to scare anyone... I haven't seen FvJ but did have to sit trough JasonX... I'll never get those 90 minutes of my life back!

 

[SaltBoy]

My wife goes crazy at anything remotely scary in a movie. For example, she couldn't watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone during the three-headed dog scene. Sure, that scene's tense, but not THAT bad. I think she turned her head away during half of the Ring.

She blames her on the idea that she's a "visual" person, which I think means that she has a hard time distinguishing between what's real and what's not real whenever she sees something on TV. It's weird, but I still love her.

 

[anxi80]

when i was a kid and saw 'It.', i could've gone without that whole "dead-little-brother-coming-to-life-in-the-photo-album" scene when Jonathon Brandis (R.I.P.) is in his bedroom.

edit: and nothing really scares me in movies now. i agree, nothing out there isnt that scary. its all pretty much been done. now they just rely on the 'shocks'. a good example of this would be 'gothika'

edit02: imdb'd 'It.', interesting tidbit...

On the DVD commentary track, the actors note that Tim Curry's characterization of Pennywise was so creepy and realistic that everyone avoided him during the filming.

 

[BigJelly]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: NathanBWF
I honestly haven't been scared by a horror movie since I watched "It" when i was like 6. They just don't scare me anymore now that I'm older...and I don't think they make horror movies like they used to. On a side note...i watched Freddy vs. Jason last night and it was horrible. I like the older Friday the 13th movies and Nightmare on Elm Street....but this one stank.

I agree - "it" scared the hell out of me! So, what scared you about "it?" Try to be specific - I'm trying to get to the core of what scares people.. Modern horror movies seem to be more interested in making people laugh and to "entertain" instead of actually trying to scare anyone... I haven't seen FvJ but did have to sit trough JasonX... I'll never get those 90 minutes of my life back!

its kind of what the movie signs used. During the movie signs, the use of the noises and the fact that they never show the monster until the end scares you because your imagination fills in the blanks and scares you more. In "it" you never see the creature till the end and the creature in it can morph into anything so your imagination makes you more scared.

 

[TommyVercetti]

Signs scared me harcore. I was sleeping with the light on for a couple of days.

 

[lokiju]

Been very long time since a movie has scared me, nows days the good horror movies don't really scare me but give me more of a feeling of WTF? thats messed up or freaky but not making scared.

 

[PanzerIV]

I don't get scared from movies like The Nightmare series or Jason and the countless copy cats. What frightens me are the more subtle ones that may or may not feature the supernatural. For instance to me one of the scariest movies ever was The Shining. The huge abandoned hotel in the middle of a blizzard...that in itself was scary as hell.

It needs more than things jumping out at me or loonies with masks to make me frightened. It's those things that you think *gulp* what if this or that could really happen (The Excorcist for instance supposedly occurred).

 

[ThaPerculator]

Me and a buncha buddies make it a bi-weekly tradition to get chicken wings, beer, and rent a cheesy horror b-flick, as we are all big movie buffs and like to pull mst3k-style humor on them. Here's my advice for making a good horror flick.

The #1 mistake people make when making a horror flick is using special effects to show the audience the violent scenes. The idea of a horror flick is to scare people, not make them laugh at your cheesy low-budget makeup. To get around this, try to find new ways to hint at the gruesomeness of what is happening, as opposed to showing it. I'm not talking the cliche "shadow stabbing" scenes, but you can think of something to subliminally catch your audiences attention. Mentally visualizing something as being scary is much better than looking at it. Making your audience think is always good.

#2: lighting is your friend. You don't know how many would-be-cool scenes I've seen in b-flicks that get screwed up because the "feel" is off. Actually put a lot of thought to keep your lighting consistent throughout the movie, as in to keep the overall "feel" of the set. Don't do a 'whats that in the dark' scene, unless you are fully capable of pulling off perfect lighting to hint at whats happening and not show the audience only 3 shades of black. The eye is naturally attracted to vibrant colors, so use colors appropriately to set up the scene to show the viewer what is important in the shot. B-Flick directors forget that the viewer is the one watching it. If the shot looks like crap, whats the point of having it well-acted and the plot being good. Just like how you wouldn't listen to a cd through your computer's PC speaker (do they even have those anymore?). If you're not shooting with a high-enough quality, then find your way around it by working with how it is going to look in post-production as opposed to how the set looks in real-life.

Ummm... im going off track, i think I'll stop now. But basically subliminal fear is much more memorable than 'shock' fear.

If you want to see classic examples of what NOT to do in a horror b-flick, rent anything by 'Full Moon Productions'. Its amazing to see how much people with good equipment can screw up a film. These are by far some of the funniest b-flicks to make fun of.

 

[slightlyhuman]

its kind of what the movie signs used. You never get a glimpse of the creature till the end and the creature in it can morph into anything so your imagination makes you more scared. During the movie signs, the use of the noises and the fact that they never show the monster until the end scares you because your imagination fills in the blanks and scares you more.

I dont know why but when seeing the alien on top of the house and when the humans were inside the house hearing their dogs being killed. That startled me. Never seeing the thing that is killing can be very scary beacuse you never know what or who it is.

Even horizon was scary the first time. IT has always got to me.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: SaltBoy
My wife goes crazy at anything remotely scary in a movie. For example, she couldn't watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone during the three-headed dog scene. Sure, that scene's tense, but not THAT bad. I think she turned her head away during half of the Ring.

She blames her on the idea that she's a "visual" person, which I think means that she has a hard time distinguishing between what's real and what's not real whenever she sees something on TV. It's weird, but I still love her.

My gf is exactly the same way- I keep on telling her that most "gross out" scenes just use a lot of corn syrup and food coloring (like a mcDonald's milk shake) but that' doesn't help - she always clings to me even during the tamest "scare" scene.. Hmmmm. But, the question is, is she really scared or just grossed out? I'll ask her tonight while we watch Peter Jackson's "Dead Alive" (aka Brain Dead)

 

[LeStEr]

I thought the new Texas Chainsaw was scary.......

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: derrickperry

its kind of what the movie signs used. You never get a glimpse of the creature till the end and the creature in it can morph into anything so your imagination makes you more scared. During the movie signs, the use of the noises and the fact that they never show the monster until the end scares you because your imagination fills in the blanks and scares you more.

I dont know why but when seeing the alien on top of the house and when the humans were inside the house hearing their dogs being killed. That startled me. Never seeing the thing that is killing can be very scary beacuse you never know what or who it is.

Even horizon was scary the first time. IT has always got to me.

Signs did get to me... Too bad the preachy religious "pro-christian" ending had to be added to the movie (to think, the writer /director is hindu!)... I agree, it's better to let the audience use their imagination than to just show it on the screen.. hitchcock was the master of this..... will be renting some more of his movies...

 

[BigJelly]

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
Signs scared me harcore. I was sleeping with the light on for a couple of days.

I had to tell my mom when all the scary parts would occur for her to even watch it (our agreement), otherwise she couldnt handle it. My friend and i always watched horror movies as kids and only two movies ever made him jump and those are signs and it. So if you are doing a project watch those movies and see what scares you.

What scares me of "It":
Monster can morph
The picture books come alive
The fact that adults cant see it and only targets kids

What scares me of "Signs"
Blurry pictures or just small clips of monster (youre imagination fills in the rest)
Sounds (mainly the aliens trying to get into the house)
The way the camera moved (somethings you thought it was the alien moving: the night sceen where mel sees the leg of an alien, the camera "sneaks-up" on mel)

 

[TommyVercetti]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: derrickperry

its kind of what the movie signs used. You never get a glimpse of the creature till the end and the creature in it can morph into anything so your imagination makes you more scared. During the movie signs, the use of the noises and the fact that they never show the monster until the end scares you because your imagination fills in the blanks and scares you more.

I dont know why but when seeing the alien on top of the house and when the humans were inside the house hearing their dogs being killed. That startled me. Never seeing the thing that is killing can be very scary beacuse you never know what or who it is.

Even horizon was scary the first time. IT has always got to me.

Signs did get to me... Too bad the preachy religious "pro-christian" ending had to be added to the movie (to think, the writer /director is hindu!)... I agree, it's better to let the audience use their imagination than to just show it on the screen.. hitchcock was the master of this..... will be renting some more of his movies...

That wasn't the ending, that was the whole point of the story. That could apply to just about every religion, he just picked Christian, because that's what the majority of the movie goers could relate to.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: BigJelly

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
Signs scared me harcore. I was sleeping with the light on for a couple of days.

I had to tell my mom when all the scary parts would occur for her to even watch it (our agreement), otherwise she couldnt handle it. My friend and i always watched horror movies as kids and only two movies ever made him jump and those are signs and it. So if you are doing a project watch those movies and see what scares you.

What scares me of "It":
Monster can morph
The picture books come alive
The fact that adults cant see it and only targets kids

What scares me of "Signs"
Blurry pictures or just small clips of monster (youre imagination fills in the rest)
Sounds (mainly the aliens trying to get into the house)
The way the camera moved (somethings you thought it was the alien moving: the night sceen where mel sees the leg of an alien, the camera "sneaks-up" on mel)

Thanks for your analysis - VERY helpful!

 

[DietDrThunder]

I think our society as a whole (including small children) has been desensitized and harder to scare. Case in point, In 1968 when I was 6 years old the Wizard of Oz scared the hell out of me with those flying monkeys, and War of the Worlds gave me nightmares for weeks. My daughter who's 5 wanted to see the Wizard of Oz. I was very hesitant in letting her see it. I watched it with her and nothing phased her at all. She kept playing like she was a flying monkey the rest of the evening. I try to limit what she can watch, but she can see more things that I would consider horifying to a child on network televison shows. Like someone getting shot with a phaser on ST. She already knows at this early age that it is all pretend. As for myself I don't get scared anymore, just a bit grossed out.

 

[slightlyhuman]

sounds definately get to me. Especially when you dont know WTF this thing can do and how big/bad it is and what it will do to you when you get caught by it. Hearing those dogs growl, then suddenly start crying, then hearing nothing else but walking around in the yard scared the piss out of me. Not knowing where things are but hearing sounds can get to people too.


Im referring to signs btw

 

[PanzerIV]

Another classic remake of a scary movie that didn't throw the "scare" at you but evoked it through imagery, camerawork and setting was The Thing. I looove that movie. I think there is something inherently unnerving about being all alone or with a small group in a remote location having to deal with some sort of ungodly terror with nobody there to help you!

 

[Yax]

Scares me:

1. The Shining, the beginning, when things were still mysterious. I think that's what scares alot of people. The mystery. After things start to unravel, the scariness disappears.

2. Seeing the Dead people in Sixth Sense. (Ofcourse again, the scenes were scary till the kid starts to figure out things). Its in the presentation of the dead people. They'd look okay from one angle, then when they turn, its a totally shocking look on the other side. The scene that made many people jump was when he needed to go peepee one night and in the middle of urinating, there was a woosh right by the door. I saw the movie twice and both times people jumped at that scene. I jumped twice at that scene lol.

3. Can't forget the Exorcist. Its just freaky.

4. The Ring was somewhat scary too.

 

[DrPizza]

THe best way to scare someone is through their imagination...
The same way people can feel scared or insecure when not watching a movie... their imagination runs wild. Get their imagination working; don't give them all the pieces.

Also, I feel there's a big difference between "scared" and "startled"... in the camera following/sneaking up scenes, there's always that sense of anticipation of something grabbing the victim from behind, but you never time it quite right when it's going to happen, and you end up startled. (which you perceive as scared - the difference is, you'll still get up from the couch and walk to the bathroom alone). I think the viewer is more startled when that anticipation is building up, rather than when the bad guy just suddenly jumps out; something occasionally the Freddy/Jason et al movies do right.

Chase scenes don't work, unless the viewpoint is frequently changing (so you can't gauge the outcome). But, you can't be predictable... sometimes with the camera sneaking up scene, the bad guy has to change his mind or be disuaded at the last moment. Good examples are the music in Jaws happening before the shark appears, but the shark didn't always get a victim. - Shark pops up while Brody is tossing out chum - startled, for the sake of startling, but not scary startling. Scene of the Orca from 200 yards away at night while the guys drank: suddenly the barrels pop up - scary startling. Then the music starts to keep that fight or flight reaction going in the viewer. But, the barrel scene wouldn't have been scary startling without the shark previously having been startling by popping up at the edge of the boat.

 

[Aharami]

not anymore. just jumpy scenes can make me jump. but not scare me to the point where im scared to go to the bathroom or whatever

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: TommyVercetti
Signs scared me harcore. I was sleeping with the light on for a couple of days.

you wuss

 

[Aharami]

ok 2 movies actually really scared me. event horizon and the exorcist. the exorcist cuz i was young and was led to believe that it really happened. even horizon cuz after the movie me and a couple buddies were telling scary stories/urban legends. after that we drove out to a dark road and dared each other to go outside and touch a tree and come back. that scared the $hit out of us cuz in the dark your imagination really starts playing tricks on you!!