by Devil_Rising » 12 Sep 2012 22:07
I'll clarify by saying: Yes and No.
Yes, in that I love OLD classic horror films. Such as the old Universal films, like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, The Wolf Man, The Old Dark House, etc. Such as Roger Corman's 60s Edgar Allen Poe series, which, all but one, starred Vincent Price. Such as the old 50s and 60s Hammer films, like their adaptations of Dracula, Frankenstein, etc., as well as great works such as The Gorgon, Hound of the Baskervilles (starring Peter Cushing as a FANTASTIC Sherlock Holmes), The Man Who Could Cheat Death, The Reptile, Plague of the Zombies, etc.
And beyond that, other horror classics, such as White Zombie, The Cat People, The Mad Ghoul, Nosferatu, Vampyr, Children of the Damned, Day of the Triffids, The House on Haunted Hill, the ORIGINAL Night of the Living Dead, The Last Man on Earth, The Blob (original), The Undying Monster, Night of the Demon, Mr. Sardonicus, etc. Along with some of the great classic horror anthology films, such as Dead of Night, The House That Drips Blood, and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.
By and large, I only like those classic horror movies up through the 60s. There are some later films I like. For example, many of the horror films by one of my favorite directors in general, John Carpenter, such as the first Halloween, The Fog, The Thing, and In the Mouth of Madness. I also like some of the lighter 80s horror films, such as House, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Creepshow, Poltergeist, Predator, stuff like that. I love the first two Alien films as well. And of course, Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. The People Under the Stairs is pretty good. The Frighteners by Peter Jackson.
Really, the thing that most of the horror films I like have in common, and why most of them are older films, is that they are more creepy and atmospheric than they are gross and shocking. Gross and shocking is what modern horror relies on like a crutch, and you really don't see too many new horror movies that actually know HOW to be be creepy and atmospheric anymore. I will give props to two modern horror films I've seen that have managed to do this pretty well, and that would be The Ring, and Jeepers Creepers. Both of them were genuinely creepy, didn't rely much on cheap gore and gimmicks and GOTCHA jump scares. I wouldn't say I'm a BIG fan of either film, but they were well done, and more in the VEIN of classic horror. But I really, otherwise, don't care for modern horror films. I've never cared for movies with lots of blood and gore, and I outright refuse to watch crap like Saw or Hostel, because at that point it's literally just gore porn, and I think it's disgusting. I think there are movies especially these days that absolutely go "too far", such as what I've unfortunately had the displeasure of hearing about The Human Centipede and garbage like it.
I enjoy classic horror because it had class and style, and relied on mood, atmosphere, and actually good acting and good STORIES to chill you, not just cheap gags and special effects. Even John Carpenter's The Thing, for as much was made of how gory it's effects were for it's time (1981), the gore and effects weren't the crux of the film, they were really mainly illustrating the lucid and transitory nature of the alien. Otherwise, the film absolutely relied on good acting, tension, drama, and just a very pervasive creepy mood throughout, to get to it's audience. As a perfect example, the prequel (tragically and uninspired also simply named "The Thing"), while it's heart was in the right place trying their best to be true to John Carpenter's movie, down to some minute details even, which is commendable, in the end it mainly still relied on the things that the original DIDN'T rely heavily on, namely excessive gore and and jump scares. It was okay, but I was more or less let down by it.
So, yeah. That's my feelings on the horror genre. Love the old stuff, not so much the new.
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