MovieChat Forums > Venom (2005) Discussion > SPOILERS- i'm sick of

SPOILERS- i'm sick of

posted 18 years ago by cujorocks31
1 reply | jump to latest

what is the deal with the current "only one character survives" trend

it works well in some films:

OTHER MOVIE SPOILERS:

examples: Alien, and the descent

but in most, it's just lame.

i can't think of any examples off the top of my headb ut i know it's a current trend in hollywood horror right now to have only one character live (usually the lead) live.

this is happening more than it used to and it doesn't shock me anymore, i expect it.
part of the fun in movies like "venom" especially crappy ones, was cheering for the supporting characters and picking the one or two you hoped would survive with the main character (because usually the main character always lives)

venom would have been much better if

spoilers

eric actually lived. sure, his death was done okay.
but, i didn't even really like the main female lead that much.

but that isn't the point of this post.

most of these movies used to have say

nine characters

and usually as little as one and up to three supporting characters would come out okay

that way when only one lived, it sometimes worked.

and that way you didnt know for sure that the cool character who could actually act ten times better than the dull but good looking lead, might get out okay if you were really lucky.

[–] chr51185 18 years ago

i see your point...and yes, i agree...but just one thing...

*SPOILERS*

in The Descent, nobody lives...which is what makes it so effective. gotta pay close attention to the ending, see we didnt get the extra 30 seconds or so of footage that they got in Britain, which shows her still in the cave surrounded by the creatures once she wakes up from her hallucination of escaping. in the U.S. ending, when she sees her friends "ghost" in the car, we see the darkness engulf her before it cuts, implying that she is still in the cave and imagined it all.

alien and the descent do relate though...they were both revolutionary for their time. alien being the originator that was mimicked by many, matched by none...then true horror took a nose dive for about 20 years...until now, the descent comes along and brings the genre back to its roots...hopefully some writers can take some notes.

we need more like these, movies that will wait and develop some story, and allow for some attachment to characters before killing them off...this allows the movies to get under your skin, upset you, and in essence make the films more memorable.