robwardluva
New member
I've found that watching horror films at home on the small screen really detracts from the film. Watch the same film in a packed cinema at night and it's a totally different experience.
Do Horror Movies Scare You Anymore?
- Thread starter robwardluva
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//Luseroo.♥$
New member
Inspired by another thread I have been reading and posting on, I was just wondering if anyone here is really disturbed or scared by horror movies anymore?
I have found the new influx of so called "terror" movies a little bit disappointing... take the new DVD "THEM". I watched the trailer and it said "You'll Never Feel Safe in Your Home Again"... having watched the movie I found it to be quite weak in the scares, which is implied by the tag-line.
I know true horror is "gore and blood", but these days movies try to be scary, psychologically, and they just don't work. The only movies that seem to have this effect on me seems to be "The Ring", "Grudge" etc ~ and they are based on Asian Horror movies originally.
Films like THEM, When A Stranger Calls (which seems to suggest the killer is more than he is at the beginning), and movies like them don't make me cringe. Films like Saw, maybe, but not ones that CLAIM to be scary. Before watching OPEN WATER I was told the end was very frightening, because of the storm and the shark... yet, when it ended I was left a little... deflated.
Has anyone watched a movie (horror/terror) which has been hyped as being scary or nerve racking and come away a bit disappointed?
KN x
I have found the new influx of so called "terror" movies a little bit disappointing... take the new DVD "THEM". I watched the trailer and it said "You'll Never Feel Safe in Your Home Again"... having watched the movie I found it to be quite weak in the scares, which is implied by the tag-line.
I know true horror is "gore and blood", but these days movies try to be scary, psychologically, and they just don't work. The only movies that seem to have this effect on me seems to be "The Ring", "Grudge" etc ~ and they are based on Asian Horror movies originally.
Films like THEM, When A Stranger Calls (which seems to suggest the killer is more than he is at the beginning), and movies like them don't make me cringe. Films like Saw, maybe, but not ones that CLAIM to be scary. Before watching OPEN WATER I was told the end was very frightening, because of the storm and the shark... yet, when it ended I was left a little... deflated.
Has anyone watched a movie (horror/terror) which has been hyped as being scary or nerve racking and come away a bit disappointed?
KN x
It has to be the right kind of horror movie.
We are so used to violence and disaster on the news that some movies no longer scare, or even cause revulsion other than on a mental level.
ie yes its horrible yes its wrong but you dont feel sick to the stomach any longer, because We have lost our innocence.
So take normal looking people and place them in an ordinary modern day setting and then let the supernatural horror begin.
It also helps if the director didnt dwell on an innocuous looking character in the first 10 minutes who turns up at the end to be the psycho killer, demon in disguise devil worshipper etc.
Also remove the eerie mansion at the top of the road the church with a cemetary built on an old Indian burial ground or the newcomer to the area with a transalvenian accent and we might be getting somewhere.
If I can imagine that it might happen to me and here and now then I will be scared.
We are so used to violence and disaster on the news that some movies no longer scare, or even cause revulsion other than on a mental level.
ie yes its horrible yes its wrong but you dont feel sick to the stomach any longer, because We have lost our innocence.
So take normal looking people and place them in an ordinary modern day setting and then let the supernatural horror begin.
It also helps if the director didnt dwell on an innocuous looking character in the first 10 minutes who turns up at the end to be the psycho killer, demon in disguise devil worshipper etc.
Also remove the eerie mansion at the top of the road the church with a cemetary built on an old Indian burial ground or the newcomer to the area with a transalvenian accent and we might be getting somewhere.
If I can imagine that it might happen to me and here and now then I will be scared.
insulin_shooter
New member
That would be a rather scary thing. Especially when you run the risk of being mugged by gangs of Chavs and Hoodies. (Chippenham gets quite hairy after 8pm.) 
Nope, I dont tend to get scared by these anymore pretty much because they are all similar. The Saw films for example, are just blood and guts (although I have to say I like them). They make me cover my eyes but only because it's disgusting, not because I'm scared.
I watched The Exorcist when I was younger (about 14-15), after it had been brought out again. My frienRAB were all pooing themselves. I just thought it was funny. I wasnt even scared of The Ring or The Grudge (even tho my frienRAB were!), TBH I thought those films were pretty crap.
The films that make me feel a bit uneasy are the ones that have a slight reality side to them, things that COULD happen. I can think of plenty of films that claim to be scary, when in fact, it's just all blood and guts.
I watched The Exorcist when I was younger (about 14-15), after it had been brought out again. My frienRAB were all pooing themselves. I just thought it was funny. I wasnt even scared of The Ring or The Grudge (even tho my frienRAB were!), TBH I thought those films were pretty crap.
The films that make me feel a bit uneasy are the ones that have a slight reality side to them, things that COULD happen. I can think of plenty of films that claim to be scary, when in fact, it's just all blood and guts.
housedocter777
New member
They've never scared me. I laugh at them. To me they are comedies, but with blood and gore.
pinkymachiney
New member
I think you have to be of a certain disposition. You have to want to be scared and be able to sufficiently suspend disbelief. As I fail completely on both counts, then to answer to original question, no, I don't ever get scared of movies. I enjoy them for other reasons, though. Not least of all watching my GF and her mum hide behind their hanRAB and jump at such stuff.
RegarRAB
Mark
RegarRAB
Mark
I also thought The Descent was pretty scary. There's something very unsettling about being trapped in a claustrophobic space and having to escape from monsters - I think it's a dream / nightmare scenario, the sort of dreams where you're trapped in a small space or you're trying to run but can't get away.
I thought 28 Days Later was quite scary, too. Wolf Creek was disturbing rather than scary, in a good way, like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Far too many so-called horror movies these days rely on blood and gore just for the sake of it (Hostel, Saw etc.) Just take a look at the trailer for Aliens vs Predator and compare it to the original Alien - sure, the original was quite gory but it also relied on the good old jump-in-the-dark shock tactics.
If you're going to do gore, make sure it's done with plenty of jump-out-your-seat moments, like The Thing (a movie which, to this day, has not been bettered in terms of special effects.)
I prefer movies which play like nightmares and really get inside your inner fears. My username should give you a clue as to one of the most creepy nightmare movies ever
The Japanese got it about right with films like Ring and The Grudge but they've been endlessly copied now and I don't think they have the shock value they did just 5 years or so ago.
I thought 28 Days Later was quite scary, too. Wolf Creek was disturbing rather than scary, in a good way, like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Far too many so-called horror movies these days rely on blood and gore just for the sake of it (Hostel, Saw etc.) Just take a look at the trailer for Aliens vs Predator and compare it to the original Alien - sure, the original was quite gory but it also relied on the good old jump-in-the-dark shock tactics.
If you're going to do gore, make sure it's done with plenty of jump-out-your-seat moments, like The Thing (a movie which, to this day, has not been bettered in terms of special effects.)
I prefer movies which play like nightmares and really get inside your inner fears. My username should give you a clue as to one of the most creepy nightmare movies ever
The Japanese got it about right with films like Ring and The Grudge but they've been endlessly copied now and I don't think they have the shock value they did just 5 years or so ago.
Now I've not actualy seen 28 Days Later but every time I see the clip of the guy in the centre of a deserted London... Now that's probably the scariest thing I've seen in a while. It really senRAB a shiver up my back, only because it's just not what you expect to see. Taking something that's everyday and making it completely wrong.
They never have.
I remember watching Zombie Lake when I was about 9 or 10. My brother, who would have been 20ish at the time, was babysitting me and he though it would be a clever thing to do to try and scare me. I sat through it complaining about the make up and he spent the majority of the film behind a cushion!
Nothings really changed, I just don't seem to be able to suspend my belief when it comes to horror and I just end up finding them comical.
I remember watching Zombie Lake when I was about 9 or 10. My brother, who would have been 20ish at the time, was babysitting me and he though it would be a clever thing to do to try and scare me. I sat through it complaining about the make up and he spent the majority of the film behind a cushion!
Nothings really changed, I just don't seem to be able to suspend my belief when it comes to horror and I just end up finding them comical.
The-Cool-Geek
New member
I completely agree about that. For action and gore factor, the new Aliens V Predator trailer has it all, but the original Alien movie was the best because it didn't rely on that, it played on people's fears of being trapped with something horrific and not being able to escape it. The ending of Alien stuck with me for nearly ten years after I first saw it, although I did see if fairly young.
I think the idea of being alone in a situation like that can make you feel very uncomfortable. Watching the scenes in London when it was all empty, I even felt a little nervous. I tried to imagine how I would feel if I was in that situation. That's what I want from a true horror movie, something that puts you in that place and makes you feel the creepy crawly spine tingling emotions.
I think the idea of being alone in a situation like that can make you feel very uncomfortable. Watching the scenes in London when it was all empty, I even felt a little nervous. I tried to imagine how I would feel if I was in that situation. That's what I want from a true horror movie, something that puts you in that place and makes you feel the creepy crawly spine tingling emotions.
I agree with the previous 2 posts, I think some people just aren't predisposed to watching them and it's always been that way. I think some people are always aware they are watching a film and don't lose themself to the plot or characters no matter what genre they are watching and so lose that thrill of being taken on a journey that others get.
It's not a general thing for me. I do a lot of creative writing myself, but it's purely horror that I'm like that. I think I just have a problem with the whole premise. If it's comedy, drama, sci-fi or any one of many other genres, I'm able to put myself in the situation and really live the story. With horror, I simply end up thinking "That's not real" or "It so far fetched". Maybe the world in which I live is just too warm and cuddly for me to accept horror like that.
Maybe that last bit's not a bad thing...
Also, there's so much REAL horror around, I just don't fancy filling my free time with even more!
Maybe that last bit's not a bad thing...
Also, there's so much REAL horror around, I just don't fancy filling my free time with even more!
cherry clairey
New member
In modern times, the only real film to have dished up one or two memorable moments.....was a bit like jaws in that the first time you see the "monsters" it's halfway through the film. By which time the anticipation has built and the fact that the first half of the film doesnt really feel like a horror film more of a thriller so you kind of forget your supposed to be watching a horror film.
In the states, at one of the premiers, they had a guy come in dressed as a wallcrawler and sit next to some unsuspecting cinema goers....heard one passed out when she saw him....quality !
In the states, at one of the premiers, they had a guy come in dressed as a wallcrawler and sit next to some unsuspecting cinema goers....heard one passed out when she saw him....quality !
Miranda and James S
New member
I love Alien, it will always be one of my top 5 films (irrespective of genre) BUT it has NEVER scared me. I love the atmosphere of the film, the way it draws you in, its beauty, the tension, the character interaction, but it has simply never scared me, disturbed me or even grossed me out. The film is a fantastic work of story-telling, visual and audio art and I love it to bits (must have watched it at least a couple of dozen times since it was released).
So what has given me a fright? Things that are suggested or implied, psychological horror or the supernatural, such as excellent films like The Changeling or The Woman in Black, but they must have a great story, writing, acting, direction, etc, etc, etc.
Films like The Descent, Saw, etc bore me to tears.
So what has given me a fright? Things that are suggested or implied, psychological horror or the supernatural, such as excellent films like The Changeling or The Woman in Black, but they must have a great story, writing, acting, direction, etc, etc, etc.
Films like The Descent, Saw, etc bore me to tears.
The director of Hostel has said that the most scary part of that film is when the client is talking about what to do with his purchase. In other worRAB, a non-gory scene, but which brought to life the kind of people who would do that. I think it wouldn't have been as effective without the gore in the other scenes, though.
People are scared by different things. Some people find Descent scary, and that seems to be because they are a bit claustrophobic. The scary part is when the girl get stuck in the narrow passage, not what they find in the cave.
The Saw films seem to be about a kind of morbid fascination with the machinery. Some people look at the "reverse bear-trap", for example, and imagine how it would work and how it would feel clamped around their jaws, the helplessness and the pain. It is a bit like standing at the edge of a cliff and thinking, "What if I jumped?" Horror doesn't have to be supernatural to be effective.
People are scared by different things. Some people find Descent scary, and that seems to be because they are a bit claustrophobic. The scary part is when the girl get stuck in the narrow passage, not what they find in the cave.
The Saw films seem to be about a kind of morbid fascination with the machinery. Some people look at the "reverse bear-trap", for example, and imagine how it would work and how it would feel clamped around their jaws, the helplessness and the pain. It is a bit like standing at the edge of a cliff and thinking, "What if I jumped?" Horror doesn't have to be supernatural to be effective.
Suppose its all about how people percieve their own fears. Saw and Hostel I thought were more thrillers than horror !
Then again, something like Henry, P of a S K was firghtening in a phsycological way !
Speaking of which, has anyone seen the Reeker...on Sky Prem this week.....Reeker by name Reeker by nature.....lol
Then again, something like Henry, P of a S K was firghtening in a phsycological way !
Speaking of which, has anyone seen the Reeker...on Sky Prem this week.....Reeker by name Reeker by nature.....lol
B
brittanysagex0
Guest
No, 'true horror' isn't gore and blood. You assume that it is so casually and with such a matter of fact attitude, but to me it simply isn't.
Yes I watched 'The Blair Witch Project' which was hyped as being terrifying, but I found it to be more like and endurance event in the boredom Olympics.
I think that Hollywood just tries too hard by trying to make formula horror films. But when people like us spot the formulas on screen then they cease to be scary.
There have been films that I've found quite scary, but they've hardly ever been 'slasher' films or horrors that rely on blood and gore. Often the ones that I've found the most scary maybe wouldn't be classed as horror films.
Yes I watched 'The Blair Witch Project' which was hyped as being terrifying, but I found it to be more like and endurance event in the boredom Olympics.
I think that Hollywood just tries too hard by trying to make formula horror films. But when people like us spot the formulas on screen then they cease to be scary.
There have been films that I've found quite scary, but they've hardly ever been 'slasher' films or horrors that rely on blood and gore. Often the ones that I've found the most scary maybe wouldn't be classed as horror films.