There's always room for a good horror film. We see it all the time. Whenever people complain the horror genre is dying, there's a film that comes along and knocks people off their feet. Horror genre doesn't die and never will.
But a trend comes and goes. A fast-zombies trend. A ghost-house trend. A torture trend. When it dies, it'll be revived, died, and will be repeated every other decade.
Vampires were extremely popular during the Victorian era, and again during 1970s, and once again during 1990s. Asian horror films were a new thing to the westerners, so it became popular. Now the Asian-films trend is dying. It'll return in a few times' time, and meanwhile, the European-horror trend is on the rise.
A trend is a cyclic thing.
1. What do you think makes a good horror film? Site examples.
IMO, what makes a good horror film always depends on our own fears as well as the familiarity (or unfamiliarity) with a setting or type of people that a film offers. But it's still subjective.
I mean, Ils didn't work for some and did for the others while Eden Lake worked for some but not for the others. Same with The Strangers. All these three films (well, one could argue Funny Games should be included) have the same premise and similar endings, but each has provoked different reactions from different people. Why?
So, what makes a good horror film to me doesn't necessarily mean it'd be a good horror film to you, too.
2. What are your favorite horror films of the last 5 years? Be honest!
Why would I lie about favourite horror films? :D
IMO, there are many different types of horror films. Which list do you want me to give? I'm not into slasher films and gory films (they bore me), but enjoy psychological thrillers, ghost films, and glimmicky films (a good twist in the ending).
3. What do you think needs to be improved? (Be specific not just "writing, acting, etc.")
Be more observant of people's current fears and their current surroundings. If many are afraid of losing their homes because of the current economy, then make a horror film about the homelessness.
Such as having an entity haunt and kill residents of a shelter or among homeless people. This will increase people's fears because of a real possibility that they will become homeless, thus imagining themselves in that position, being haunted by the murderous entity.
In other words: be more tuned in with the pulse of the public fear. Turn a real possibility into something to be afraid about. No one likes reality or the dark side of life.
Common sense, sympathy and consistency are also important in a horror film.
Why The Descent works, but not The Cave and The Cavern (a.k.a. WIthIN), even though they all have same premises and similar endings? Why Alien works, but not Aliens and Aliens 3? Common sense, sympathy and consistency.
If you have a fifteen-year-old in a house in the middle of nowhere, you have to exhaust all "if I were her, I would have..." possibilities before the Biggest Bad Thing could happen to her.
She goes down to the cellar because of a strange noise? The audience will lose sympathy for her. She doesn't use her cell phone to call the police? She deserves to die. She doesn't leave the house while all these are happening to her when there's nothing out there to stop her from leaving? Die, die, die!
Block all her possible exits. Only then, the audience will root for her to survive. I think a lot of horror film makers forget this golden rule.
The audience doesn't like being cheated, either. If they have to be cheated, you'd better have a good reason or explanation for it. :D
reply
share