Newsgroups: rec.arts.movies
Subject: Re: Why Horror? (was: Silence Lambs & Cape Fear Hysteria !!!)
From: rivero@mdcbbs.com
Date: 6 Apr 92 16:40:40 GMT
Organization: M&E (Division of EDS), Cypress CA
Nntp-Posting-User: oakey

In article <+yjjmhp@lynx.unm.edu>, lazlo@triton.unm.edu (Lazlo Nibble) writes:
> bew@brahms.udel.edu (Ben Williams) writes:
> 
> Having said that, I should point out that while the mechanics of shooting
> a horror film are relatively simple, you still have to have some skill and
> talent if you want to make a *good* horror film.  There's plenty of bland 
> garbage out there that proves this point nicely.  Say what you will about
> movies like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, TEXAS CHAINSAW, and EVIL DEAD, they
> are *not* bland formulaic garbage. 
> 

  There is an urban (Hollywood) legend that no horror film ever made has
ever lost money, as even "Plan 9 From Outer Space" has long since gone into
the black on the balance sheet. 

  I'm not sure if the above is true, but horror films are notoriously easy to
sell and produce, and have catepulted many an actor or director to fame
and fortune. Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut was a film called
"Dimentia 13". Humphrey Bogart's first film role was as a vampire (from whence
rumor has it he acquired the famous lip twitch). James Arness's first film
role was as a human Vegetable in "It Came From Outer Space". And as
embarressed as I am to admit it, the very first screenplay I ever sold
was a horror film (don't worry, Columbia had a bad year and decided not
to produce it).

  However, there are two items that need to be looked at for a horror film
to work. The first is to make sure that your story elemnts aren't so far out
that you lose your audiance's "suspension of disbelief". The horror films
that vanish into 3AM film festivals are the ones with such horrible
premises that people laugh rather than identify with the victims.

  But even more important than a good premise is that horror films are
the least forgiving film for the editors, as keeping your audiance on
the edge of their seats requires extremely good timing between
the hook and the payoff for each sequence. 

  Horror films can be fun for the cast, who get to wollow in some very primal
emotions (secretly, we all LOVE to play an evil creature). They are
fun for the makeup people, and they are fun for the camera crews, as
shooting very NON-traditional angles and setups is a good means to
make your audiance uncomfortable. Gone are the days with simply rolling the
camera slightly to the side. But, use of extremly wide or
narrow lenses to disorient the audiance can increase the degree of emotional
tenseness, and what is NOT seen can be as effective as what is seen (as Kubrick
demonstrated in "The Shining").

  Well, that's enough for now. I've been sitting here waiting for the police to
arrive and search for those 23 people who came up to the cabin with me and
vanished. But, the cops still aren't here. Guess I'll go for a swim, all alone,
in the lake..... at midnight!



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|  Michael Rivero rivero@mdcbbs.com Homo Cyberneticus-Computational Man  |
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| Hey! You with the mask. You lose the rest of the Hockey Team, or what? |
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