Horror Aficionados discussion

I'm just wondering about a trend I'm noticing in the already annoying trend of mockumentary paranormal movies. As each new one comes out they are called the most 'insert random blurb here' and are presented as better than the last. But what annoys me is the reason why this seems to be and that is that the trailers betray an increase in the corporeality of the activities/events and whatever it is that may be causing them.

My question: Isn't an invisible, uncontrollable, unstoppable force a more horrific idea than say a creepy thing that has the same effect but can be seen to the point of having some hope?

I think the main reason these films are being made is the lack of creativity in Hollywood and the rack that most major studio releases focus on what I like to call " the dumbest common denominator" these are the groups that fall for the marketing ploys and actually believe the hype that say this is scary, funny, sexy or real. Alas, it is these legions of idiots that show up at the box office with fists full of cash that turn the gears of a media machine that used to have some dignity. I think it all started with "The Blair Witch Project" it was a great idea in the spirit of the "War of the Worlds" radio hoax but to repeat this same process over and over is insulting to the audience and a waste of funding that could be producing real films.

I take each movie as they come. I don't watch many trailers because I think they give too much away, and I don't watch commercials where they may be advertised (if this still happens these days). I never fall for the "most *insert adjective here* movie ever."

I've enjoyed the Paranormal Activity series, and some of the later ones are better than the first one.

I'm not really sure I understand your question, though.

The first post was rather hastily written and while it does wonder about whether a less corporeal thing is more horrific that is not really my objection. I don't like these things anyway. My real question is how they can keep doing blurbs like that with such hubris whilst continuously getting closer to turning them into monster flicks.

Mark wrote: "The first post was rather hastily written and while it does wonder about whether a less corporeal thing is more horrific that is not really my objection. I don't like these things anyway. My real q..."

Its the trend.. 70's was satanic movies, 80's friday the 13 and such, 90's the kidnapped and chopped up.. 2000 was the revenge ghost from Japan.. a few more years something else.. The paranormal flicks are fun and will die out and something new will come.. watch until bored then wait for the next thing

Yes, what Teresa said. Seems like Hollywood latches on to whatever current theme is going on and saturates the market with similar movies. I just cherry pick what movies I think are interesting regardless of if I think there are too many similar ones out there. And studios are marketing a film, so I just ignore their boastful usually-untrue blurbs and critics' over-the-top praises. I listen more to the opinions of my friends about whether to see a movie.

You said it, Randolph. We got a bunch of new streaming channels and a few of them are geared toward old horror movies. And, boy, they look terrible. One one channel there was not one movie I'd bother wasting my time on.

I think today's movies are worse than the ones from other decades simply because there are no more real actors left.

You can't get a low budget Vincent Price movie today because there is no one in Hollywood fit to wear his underwear.

Ooooh, time for the film-school-dropout to chime in.

For the purposes of screenwriting, these type of films eliminate a lot of work. There is no figuring out how to present the back story of the plot, character development, etc. It is all camera point of view consciousness.....everything you need to know happens right in front of the camera. It is similar to flow-of-consciousness writing. Cinematography is also pretty much a non-factor, no need to worry about camera angles or even keeping the camera steady.

I think it is also a device used to sell films to a public that has gotten used to the "reality show" formatting seen on television.

It all comes down to the bottom line. Producers see a concept or theme "work" at the box office and feel the need to ride its wave until there is nothing else they might possibly do with it. It's the same reason they come up with endless remakes and sequels to movies that were just fine on their own. Hollywood cranks out so many terrible movies because (as you so eloquently put it) the masses will flock to anything that the PR teams advertise with the right gimmick. Luckily, something innovative, smart, and genuinely thrilling makes it through the cookie-cutter filter every once in a while--but definitely not often enough.

I agree that it's all about trends. We went from giant bugs and Martians to possession and demon babies to slasher films and Asian ghosts. The trend recently seems to be vampires and werewolves, and not just the paranormal romance versions but the movies Hollywood has been cranking out to counter them. I rarely watch new horror movies simply because I find most of them are now just cheap thrills and something jumping out at you and yelling boo! The documentary style movies can be good, as can a vampire or werewolf movie, but for every good movie (or book or TV show) out there, there are going to be crappy ripoffs and remakes and sequels that try to bank on their success. As long as audiences keep paying for these things, producers, studios, and authors will continue to create them. A good rule of thumb: If Scary Movie (or another spoof type movie) or South Park does a parody, it's time to move on to something else.

I actually love the mockumentary format, although of course you can do it badly. I really enjoyed Blair Witch, Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, Trollhunter, and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. I even liked Grave Encounters, although it's an inferior movie to all of the above. [Rec] was well-done, too. I'd lots rather see a million of these than a million teen slasher movies.

Movies that use this format well DO have character development and backstory. It's just presented through the "found" footage.