In an in-depth discussion in the style of his “Analyzed Reviews”, Chris Stuckmann talks about what’s wrong with horror movies today, and how the audience is contributing to it.
Outside of the tedious task of listening to Stuckmann present his case (he makes me sleepy), he does tackle some key points that I strongly agree with.
First, he talks about the audiences’ lack of imagination, which is one of the reasons behind big studio films showing “too much”. He presents The Babadook as an example, sharing reader “reviews” that express disappointment that the movie never actually shows the title character in full. Studios do test screening after test screening, and audiences complaining about dumb shit like this is the reason why modern horror films show way too much. Imagination is key, which is why films like the first Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project were so frightening. Shit, even Michael Myers is seldom shown in full in John Carpenter’s Halloween.
For me, the biggest thing he nails is that modern horror is littered with fake jump-scares. I often cite the use of authentic scares in reviews of films I love – most notably ones directed by James Wan (Insidious, The Conjuring). Many studio films fatigue the audience with bullshit jump-scares that utilize loud sound design to make the audience jolt out of their seat. They aren’t being scared, they’re being yelled at. That’s not horror. He relates it to having sex – films are blowing their load and releasing tension too early, leaving the film’s climax to have little to no effect.
Lastly, he points to expectations vs reality as a major issue. Marketing of The Village is his prime example, in which he points out that even M. Night Shyamalan regrets the false advertising. Studios need to get asses in the seats and will do so by any means necessary (For example, much of the footage in The Gallows trailers and TV spots weren’t actually in the movie).
Stuckmann’s points are all valid, but let’s not generalize “modern horror” as all genre films. There are so many great independent films that have been unleashed onto the world – this year alone saw the release of greats like What We Do in the Shadows, It Follows, The Nightmare, Deathgasm and even Final Girls.
The point is, fans vote with their wallets, and the majority of people who see a movie in theaters want to see dumbed-down garbage, which is why many of the great films end up on VOD. I think it’s important that up-and-coming filmmakers learn from videos like the one below and help turn things around in the future. It’s going to be an up-hill battle for them as they go against studio heads and marketing research, but if James Wan can do it, so can they.