Halloween is quickly approaching and it’s officially horror movie season. There have been several recent releases like “House at the End of the Street” and “The Possession.” Neither movie was well-received by critics, and based on an increasing supply of subpar horror movies over the past several years, the genre must be scrutinized for the purpose of improvement in order to make future Halloweens sufficiently frightful.
Scare tactics in movies are like keeping crows away from a crop field. Scaring crows can be accomplished in two ways: by tossing pebbles to scatter a flock temporarily, or by devising an eerie scarecrow to place in the crop field as a deterrent. Pebbles only cause a temporary fear. Scarecrows, on the other hand, are more suitable for fear mongering. Crows are cautious toward the man-sized, straw-filled beast because it is a believably threatening figure.
Horror and terror in entertainment are like these tactics, differing in the way that pebbles and scarecrows do in breaking bird brigades. The Gothic novel helped to differentiate between horror and terror. Horror is the actual display of atrocity, like throwing rocks at birds. It accompanies tangible danger, but it is unambiguous because audiences no longer use imagination when the fear is being spoon-fed to them. Terror, on the other hand, is more obscure and intangible. It is more refined and crafts suspense, much like walking into a dark room and not knowing who, or what, is beside you.
Unfortunately, the aptly named “horror” movie genre — with all its potential to electrify viewers — is now polarized toward horror rather than terror. It throws rocks rather than constructing disfigured scarecrows. It lobs small snowballs rather than building snowmen. It hurls seeds at the pavement rather than planting them in soil.
The cheap thrills are many. Creepy little girls have been overused since “The Exorcist” and “The Grudge” popularized the motif. Slasher films rely on grotesque murders that quickly add up like brittle candy bits. The characters are often so two-dimensional and the murders are so frequent that slasher movies are more about Hollywood’s special effects, and less about sympathizing. Then there are the illogical cookie-cutter plot devices: The couple having sex always dies in the act, the killer is somehow invincible and the seemingly defeated villain always hints at a comeback immediately before the credits roll.
Last spring’s “Cabin in the Woods” brilliantly poked fun at the horror movie genre by criticizing all these stereotypes through satire. It ultimately points out how abundantly the “deus ex machina” is used, how stupid main characters tend to be and it even pointed the finger at the audience. Because horror films have become so dependent upon violence as the driving force, the audience has become rather sadistic. These violent films rarely build a plot worthy of terror, and frankly, the horror elements are getting stale.
As Halloween approaches, one can only hope that more films begin to incorporate the scarecrow that is terror. Some past films like “Paranormal Activity” were successful at crafting intangible suspense, propelling sweaty-palmed audiences to lurch forward in their seats and cringe at any moving shadow.
Here’s how the mainstream horror genre can successfully blend terror with horror for a much-needed revival:
First, audiences need to actually care about the characters in order to trust their intelligence and decisions, not just their physical beauty, youth or innocence. It becomes difficult to sympathize with the protagonists in “The Strangers” when the man defends himself by throwing a chair rather than using the loaded shotgun in his hands. Characters also need to avoid voluntarily separating from one another for no reason. Frankly, most protagonists in horror films deserve to die off. We feel terror when the characters actually make logical decisions we, ourselves would make in fight-or-flight mode, but to no avail. It is this impending doom that is terrifying.
Secondly, mainstream movies need to avoid the clichés. Little girls have become cash-grabbers and immediately betray originality. Older movies at least recognized how creative horror movies can be. Poor quality aside, films like “Killer Klowns in Outer Space” and “Dolls” at least showed imagination.
Finally, we need to hold films to higher standards. Audiences don’t have to be sadistic every Halloween, they can just appreciate a truly well-crafted horror flick.
Reach the reporter at jconigli@asu.edu
Source for difference between horror and terror:
http://graduate.engl.virginia.edu/enec981/Group/chris.terror.html
