Editorials
Period Piecing Together the Puzzle of How Different Eras Affect Horror Films
“‘In Too Deep’ is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as anything I’ve heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your asshole…”
-Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)
Setting the tone for a horror film is never an easy feat. It’s a constant battle that directors are negotiating with the audience. With the slew of horror remakes that are consuming audiences lately, with titles like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween, The Hills Have Eyes, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and nearly a dozen more having gone under the remake treatment, it’s hard to not compare the respective decades in which the originals and these remakes saw production. As a growing rift begins to form between the so-called “golden age” of horror and where we’re at now, perhaps we should place more of an emphasis on the time period in which horror films are set. While the bulk of the aforementioned remakes merely focus on copious amounts of gore and nudity as opposed to changes or updates in response to time period, embracing a certain decade can sometimes be the missing ingredient in turning a flop into a phenomenal piece of horror.
For instance, it might be worth beginning this discussion by examining one of the more recent examples involving one of horror’s most beloved lifebloods, Friday the 13th. There was much of an outcry from the online horror community when it was revealed that Nick Antosca’s (Hannibal) script for Platinum Dunes’ upcoming Friday the 13th remake would not end up being used. Nick Antosca’s screenplay is a much needed shot of adrenaline to the franchise in a number of ways, but one of the most significant ones is that his script is set in the summer of 1988.
Antosca’s script wears its ‘80s-ness on its sleeve and never tries to hide the fact, whether it’s through flagrant sex and drug use, a rocking ‘80s soundtrack, or digressions on Patrick Swayze’s hotness factor. It’s impossible to know through script alone if this return to the ‘80s would have also meant aging the film stock accordingly to create a more authentic look for the time period, too. It’s exactly these sorts of extra touches though that can make setting your story in a specific era so powerful. While Antosca’s script is a very stylistic pairing of time period and genre, this juxtaposition between horror and decade has been going on for a while now, with this decision happening for various purposes to various degrees of efficiency.
Some of the most prevalent examples of horror films setting themselves in the past have done this not because of wanting to be stylistic, but merely due to the restrictions of reflecting history accurately. Films such as Bava’s Black Death, The Name of the Rose, the classic Vincent Price vehicle Witchfinder General, and even the recent A Field in England primarily see themselves set during the 1600s due to the prevalence of witchcraft at the time. It might be a little further along in history, but very much of the same approach is taken in the recent horror entries, The Burrowers and Bone Tomahawk. This pair of films finds themselves set in the late 1800s, worrying not about witches, but rather the looming threat of Native Americans at the time, drawing their horror from that. The same can be said for The Woman in Black, too, pushing the time period to an Edwardian era early 1900s, but still using the trappings of the era to do the heavy lifting of the horror. All of these films feature archaic, medieval setups that aid in the respective storytelling going on, but by and large this is just changing the time period of horror for the sake of history. The main perk here is the trading of modern serial killers and franchise-fueling monsters for the horrors of yesteryear.
This sort of mentality would continue, although see some sophistication, by the number of horror films that have been using times of war as an excuse to be set in a different time period. Admittedly, we’ve seen the creation of some deeply elegant pieces of horror as a result of this. Both of Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth see themselves set in 1939 and 1944 respectively, drawing from the Spanish Civil War. The same thing is done in the brutal Ravenous, set in 1939 against the Mexican-American War. Even Alejandro Amenábar’s beautiful, The Others, takes place in the 1950s and sees itself working around the aftermath of World War II. Likewise, Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge marks a departure for the series as it’s set in the middle of WWII during 1941, using the tumultuous time in its favor as well. It’s nice to see these pictures mixing things up, using atypical wells to draw their horror from, but this is still largely a fancy history lesson instead of these time periods leading to any experimentation in their use. Nothing groundbreaking is going on here, and while some different stories are being told, the genre is hardly seeing revitalization from horror going back in time.
Much to the film’s credit, Puppet Master III’s setting does relate to the chronology of its franchise and the lore in which it’s built, rather than purely pulling from the climate of its time period. In the film’s defense, this isn’t a decision to just do “killer puppets meet Nazis,” but rather the previous films establish that puppet maker, Andre Toulon, began his creations during Nazi times. With the first two Puppet Master films mostly concluding the story they were telling, it makes sense for the next film to tackle some new ground, such as the origin story of Toulon and his puppets. The fact that this happens to coincide with being a period piece that the horror gets to play with is just icing on the cadaver. The same approach is taken with the third film in the Ginger Snaps series, Ginger Snaps Back, as well as Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, both of which transport their series to the 1800s. All of these films manage to incorporate their foreign time periods to not only fit the larger chronology of their franchises, but also use them for the sake of setting their own story. These are still typical horror films for the most part, but what is beginning to happen here is the use of moving a struggling franchise into a different time period as a way of bringing its corpse back to life.
Clearly many horror films have been playing with different time periods to take horror series back to the past, but what’s almost been just as popular is the decision to propel a franchise into the future and see what the fresh era brings forth. This decision almost felt inevitable for most series, with titles like Leprechaun 4: In Space, Critters 4, and Jason X all going the futuristic route. This isn’t inherently a bad idea, just one that has to be handled with a lot of finesse (as opposed to camp, which is the major currency that these films choose to trade on). Another thing holding back these future films is that they are unable to try to replicate the film style and sensibilities of the time period, with the future obviously not having happened yet. Instead the pictures must turn to film clichés of the future (there’s an unsurprising amount of lightsaber appearances in these movies), which can sometimes end up conjuring an opposite, negative effect. Just like the earlier films here are steeped in historical accuracy, these ones are practically using historical fallacy to build their backdrops. All of these films indulge in wild, fantastical versions of tomorrow.
As horror was beginning to experiment around with this, there was also the completely parallel situation of remaking horror films due to the new opportunities that the current era would provide for the premise. While the damaging amount of remakes to classic films was touched on earlier, sometimes this sort of cultural re-appropriation can be advantageous to the property. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a pivotal piece of science fiction/horror that will always hold a place on the mantel of the classics. But in spite of the works’ pedigree, the picture has nearly seen a remake every decade with four currently existing at this point in time (but will likely continue to grow). Rather than these updates on the story all pulling from the same decade, each one has appropriately seen itself moving on with the rest of the world, finding a new societal boogeyman to don the role of the villain each time.
It’s kind of remarkable to look at all of these remakes as pseudo time capsules for America, bouncing between the pictures’ true enemy being McCarthyism, the Cold War, the “Big Brother-esque” world we live in now, or even AIDS (as is the case in the 1993 version, Body Snatchers). The premise is so simple that it lends itself to these broad transformations every time. It should be telling then that while some of the earlier attempts at revitalizing Body Snatchers saw success, the later versions are floundering because we’re trying to force a societal pressure onto our aliens. We’re trying to force a Boogeyman into existence in a world controlled by franchises as opposed to these films just happening because they are saying what is needing to be said, albeit through a heavily veiled metaphor. Moving forward from this, using your current time period as a parable for the times became a particularly popular strategy for the following films, even if the results would turn out to be deeply hollow most of the time.
The early 2000s was a fascinating time for horror largely because of how tech crazy we had grown as a culture. Soon there were constant horror films that were taking delight in mining material from e-mail, webcams, instant messaging, and the connectedness of the Internet in general. This was a largely unsuccessful—albeit fun—time for horror, as premises saw more and more forced tech aspects in their construction. Horror films such as FeardotCom and Cry_Wolf were in constant demand during this time, with even legends like Michael Myers falling prey to the craze in 2002’s Halloween: Resurrection. The sequel, which was one of the worst offenders of the era, saw its plot focusing on a reality show set in the old Myers house, with webcams filming everything and broadcasting the chaos online. Granted, these films weren’t choosing to set themselves in this unusual, dated time period but rather resorting to it because it’s when they were being made. There was no hindsight to fall back on. To see a horror film now choose to set itself in the early 2000s and cleverly use its DNA to its own advantage would be a much more interesting—potentially great—project.
A lot of the horror films here have been mixing things up with different time periods as a result of the limitations of history. This has proven to have its own advantages over forcing yourself to tell a modern horror story, but there are some directors that are truly running with this concept and using time as a stylistic aid, too. American Psycho and House of the Devil are two films set during the 1980s. Both of these act as impeccable period pieces to the point that you might not even realize that American Psycho is set in the past. A much more stylistic incorporation of the time period is going on here, with Mary Harron’s film acting as a great hodgepodge of Brett Easton Ellis iconography in general, all of which is soaking in the ‘80s. Ti West’s House of the Devil is intentionally set in the ‘80s in order to pull from the Satanist trend that was prominent at the time, versus now. Even still, the score, art design, and his approach to filmmaking here reflect an ‘80s sensibility that adds to an already strong product.
These sorts of projects inevitably come together a lot better than films that are simply turning themselves into period pieces for historic purposes alone. This degree of synergy creates an all-encompassing feeling in the films that just scream the respective time period that they’re set in. Every frame of the picture is reflecting and using the era that it’s based in to say something (and it’s what Antosca’s Friday the 13th script was attempting). The same tactic is not only done, but taken even further, in the following pictures that also play with time periods.
Director J. A. Bayona’s foreign horror film, The Orphanage, finds itself set in 1975, but chooses to do so explicitly as a means of capturing the feel of ‘70s Spanish cinema. The history of the time period is secondary to Bayona, with instead the artifice of the decade (and the region) being the larger influence on him and his film. Beyond the Black Rainbow has a similar goal in mind by deciding to take place in the 1980s as a means of better illustrating the film’s intention of riffing on ‘80s sci-fi’s aesthetic. It might be a controversial opinion, but arguably even Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness qualifies here. The film deals with Ash ending up in the Middle Ages, but then uses that time period as a means of justifying the Harryhausen-esque style that the film frequently indulges in. A stylistic through line carries through Army of Darkness and removing the time period or the accompanying style would leave either half feeling hollow. The recent The Final Girls would also technically qualify here too, with it taking place in the ‘80s (or more accurately, an ‘80s movie), even if it might straddle two time periods. In spite of this, the ‘80s material is crazy exact and all stemming from director Todd Strauss-Schulson’s deep love for ‘80s horror, making the different time period fundamental.
With all of these examples being taken into consideration, let’s return to the early example of Nick Antosca’s aborted Platinum Dunes Friday the 13th script, examining where it fits in with all of this. With the Friday the 13th series stagnating in recent years and it feeling like several remakes are being turned to in order to reset the property properly, perhaps what needs to be done lies not in changing the Jason Voorhes character, his backstory, or drastically altering the series’ DNA, but instead returning the franchise to its roots in time and embracing the era that gave birth to the genre in the first place.
Unmistakably Antosca brings a lot of love for this respective era into his script, but the film’s set in the ‘80s mostly so it’s able to become the new de facto sequel of the original Friday the 13th. This is a technique that’s very similar to what Bryan Singer did with Superman Returns and what Neill Blomkamp attempts to do with his new Alien film, which sees the new picture being set within the old franchise’s chronology. Here the new film is free to respect some of the earlier pictures’ canon and then retcon the rest of the series as it sees fit. In spite of its similarities, it’s worth mentioning that Superman Returns was not set in the ‘80s, even though it might have made more sense for the film and act as a better representation of the movie’s tone. Antosca goes all in though.
Of course, his draft still gains strength by its lack of cell phones, technology, and a heavily influenced ‘80s soundtrack that helps elevate the vibe that the film is pushing out. All of this might help his script better tap into that vintage slasher feeling of the ‘80s more effectively (going as far as 3-D also being the plan for the now-dead script), but mostly this time period shift is so the film is able to tap into the franchise’s chronology and course correct it. As a result, this largely looks like the synthesis of everything that all of these films have been going for, with this property using the reverence of the ‘80s, paired with the chronology of the Friday the 13th legacy, and the stylistic flourishes of the time period. It might not have been a perfect product, but it would have been one that’s infinitely more interesting than the last few Jason outings, and one that might have set things back on track. At the least, maybe it would have helped in the creation of a more accepting environment for period pieces in horror.
Being able to respect the past effectively is obviously important, especially when it comes to horror cinema, but it’s also significant to still look towards the future and where things are heading. Of course where things are heading might end up being an indulgence of the old fashioned, but to keep your mind open to all directions will only do you favors. Horror is an evolving genre that is growing and learning more every day like an unstoppable virus, but by at least understanding its relationship with time periods a little better we can help make it even more viral.
Editorials
Before ‘The Blair Witch Project’, ‘Alien Autopsy’ Showed How Real Found Footage Could Feel
The line separating artist from con man is a lot thinner than you might initially believe. While I think we can all agree that lying for the sake of profit is actively malicious behavior, isn’t it also true that the faux documentary aspect of The Blair Witch Project is half the reason why that film became such a cultural phenomenon? After all, if there’s one thing filmmakers have in common with stage magicians, it’s that misleading and misdirecting audiences is simply part of the job.
That’s why I’ve developed a habit of mostly ignoring the moral quandaries behind many of film and television’s biggest “hoaxes” in favor of appreciating the narrative elements that drive productions like Mermaids: The Body Found and even Animal Planet’s highly underrated The Cannibal in the Jungle. However, if there’s a definitive case of a highly publicized broadcast fooling the world into taking it seriously, it has to be Fox’s infamous 1995 TV special Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction.
It’s been over three decades since that eerie footage first haunted television screens right at the peak of the ’90s ufology craze, and in that time, the video has taken on a life of its own. From countless parodies and references in everything from The X-Files to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (as well as John Dower’s recently released tell-all documentary The Alien Autopsy Scandal, which I’d highly recommend to genre fans everywhere), there’s no denying the legacy of the Alien Autopsy video. However, I rarely see the tape discussed as what it truly is: a highly convincing found footage film directed by a passionate stage magician and brought to life by masterful practical effects work.
That’s why I’d like to invite readers to join me on a deep dive into one of the most infamous broadcasts of all time in an attempt to reevaluate the footage as a fascinating narrative experience rather than a complete hoax.
The TV Special That Convinced Millions It Was Real
Ray Santilli next to Extraterrestrial replica in ‘The Alien Autopsy Scandal’
For starters, regardless of whether or not you believe that there was in fact an extraterrestrial crash in Roswell during the summer of 1947 and that some form of autopsy was performed on the victims, the producers behind the black & white recordings, Ray Santilli and Gary Shoefield, insist that their video was a “restoration.” Though I’d argue that the proper word is “remake”of genuine footage that was too damaged to air on television. That’s why the duo went on to recruit filmmaker and eccentric magician Spyros Melaris and sculptor/monster designer John Humphreys to bring their version of the autopsy to life and sell it to the highest bidder.
This is where the story of the Alien Autopsy as a narrative experience really begins. Melaris claims that his approach to the faux recording consisted of striving for extreme period accuracy in both shooting equipment and setting while also planting subtle details that would initially seem like mistakes but could later be revealed to actually fit the time period. That being said, the filmmaker was under the impression that the short would be released for free as a PR stunt, with the team later producing and selling an informative documentary chronicling exactly how the footage was faked and commenting on how easy it is to manipulate public perception with a good old-fashioned magic trick.
This obviously isn’t how things went down, and that’s likely the reason why Melaris has since distanced himself from everyone else involved with the project. Yet, no amount of behind-the-scenes drama can undermine the genuine effort that went into making the short as impressive as it is. From the sourcing of real animal organs from a local butcher to make the organic part of the creature more lifelike to the highly detailed sculpt that made use of a hollowed-out underlayer that could be filled with fake blood and assorted viscera, there’s a reason why so many Hollywood specialists are still impressed with the artistry on display here.
Of course, the believability is only half the story, as I think that the best part of the autopsy is how Melaris builds on the existing tension by obscuring certain details and often embracing the chaos of what a real examination of extraterrestrial life could feel like. The camera often goes out of focus at just the right time to make certain effects hit even harder, and we can only speculate as to what the hazmat-suited doctors are gesticulating about during the operation. There’s a real air of mystery to the whole thing that almost makes it feel like a cosmically terrifying, cursed film containing forbidden knowledge that civilians were never meant to see.
So when Fox’s Fact or Fiction brings in the specialists to comment on the film and its otherworldly subject, it’s no surprise that we end up with one of the most memorable mockumentaries of all time – albeit one where the participants are unaware that the footage they’re commenting on is basically a large-scale practical joke. A joke that the network was obviously in on, as many participants claim that the TV special cut out significant portions where guests point out that they believe the footage to be an elaborate hoax.
The Lasting Impact of the Hoax Turned Cultural Event
Regardless, I remember going to bed terrified after watching reruns of the special and thinking about the respected pathologist who claimed that the body was almost certainly inhuman, with even effects maestro Stan Winston commenting on how difficult it would be to recreate some of these visuals through practical puppetry. That’s not even mentioning Jonathan Frakes’ dramatic hyping up of the disturbing imagery as if he was talking about the tape from The Ring, with his spooky demeanor here likely being responsible for his later role as the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction a few years later.
Personally, I’d argue that the Alien Autopsy phenomenon had just as much of an impact on me as a horror fan as The Blair Witch Project, a film that was almost certainly influenced by the success of this immensely popular hoax (to the point where they even produced their own TV special commenting on Heather’s found footage). Even if Fox didn’t intend to produce a narrative feature about the aftermath of the Roswell crash, the end product still holds up remarkably well as a highly entertaining mockumentary exploring the idea that we may not be alone in the universe.
While neither Santilli nor the rest of the production team has ever commented on this, I also think it’s very likely that the idea of a faux Alien Autopsy could have been influenced by Dean Alioto’s The McPherson Tape/UFO Abduction. I’ve already written about how this granddaddy of found footage was co-opted by rogue ufologists who began selling bootlegs of the tape at conventions as if it were real evidence of a close encounter, so it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that Santilli and company could have heard about this phenomenon and been inspired to come up with their own highly profitable hoax.
At the end of the day, it’s unlikely that the Alien Autopsy film is recreating any real footage from Roswell, but I can still appreciate the short and the accompanying television event as a standalone horror story that still influences the way we see found footage to this very day.
After all, the possibility that something could be real is often much scarier than finding out for sure – and that’s why I think Alien Autopsy: Fact or Fiction is still worth revisiting three decades down the line.
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