Thursday, May 20, 2010

MOVIE FAN CHAT: HORROR MOVIE MUST HAVE THIS...

  Movies. So many genres. Some people only like one category - maybe two. I like them all. It's true.  Name one category - any - and I can name a movie within that genre that I love.


This brought me to a fascinating conversation the other night about horror films. As I and the person went on for a time chatting about what movies we loved within the horror genre - this topic came up - if you looked at making a horror film - like making a salad - knowing that there is all types of salad out there - but are all still labeled a salad - what three ingredients do you personally HAVE to have in your salad - or - more to topic - in your horror film.



The person I was talking with stated this: Blood. A beautiful girl. Lots of killing. Well, lol - that list is different than mine - but - I have to respect his list after I laughed it off at first - why must I respect it - because I went back over my list of films that make up my best horror films - and in at least half of them - his list was present within those movies. 


The whole conversation got me thinking as I tweak and make final plot changes while I also I churn out the storyboard for my upcoming horror film filming this summer - what are your top three ingredients that make your horror film. What three plot points is a "must have" within your horror film that makes it a grand experience for you?









I'm jus' sayin'
OKLAHOMA WARD

13 comments:

  1. there is a fine line to making a good flick as well, too many ingredients and its a mess,, sometimes less is more if its a good thing in the end

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  2. LOVE these films!!

    I like to mess with the mind, but agree, I do like a drop of blood or two

    :0)

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  3. It's funny - my friend went on to say - hey every horror is really always about the girl - and I'll be damned if that didn't fit within a bunch of the movie I like a lot too lol. Now - there is always the exception - The Shining - The Exorcist - wait maybe a ton would put Linda B in there for the girl... well - hmmmm

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  4. For me it would have to be this...

    Suspense - I want to be on the edge of my seat and I don't want to know what's going to happen next.

    Mystery - Leave it to my imagination - I find movies that don't show you every detail to be way more terrifying - because you imagination can run wild.

    Convincing performances. Don't get me wrong - I love all types of horror films - cheesy or not - but one thing I can't take is when I'm not scared right along with the character. If I'm not buying that they are scared - then it takes me right out of the film. Hot chick or not - you better convince me that you are in that situation.

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  5. Well - Nicole - you hit my top three requirements/ingredients for a successful horror film on the head. Exactly my top three. I'll put it this way - if a movie had the three ingredients you mentioned above and did NOT have blood NOR a pretty woman in the movie - it could still be a grand horror movie experience for me - as a movie fan. BUT - if the movie lacked the ingredients you mentioned above - and ONLY had pretty women and blood - it would probably fail for me. Surprisingly though - many disagree with that. No judgement there on that for me - for I do have to consider when I first saw the original Friday the 13th - the acting was not good at all - but the shock of the gore was new and fresh and one hell of an experience - and I did have one of heck of time - so there's that too ;-/ But if I HAD to pick my top three requirements for a horror fan - it'd absolutely be the three you mentioned above ;-)

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  6. Nicole, spot on agree! Hey, I like a lot of all the regular stuff horrors have too, but not enough mind stuff out there where you let the audience create terrible stuff in their imagination too. Thats what my goal is in horror.

    PS. Hot chick required for an ok avergae horror, standard for most, but that wont make your film terrifying. Thats obviously a commercial corman ingredient. I personally want to cast people that look good, but also someone that looks like an audience member.

    I am not saying blair witch was a good horror, but the female lead did not look good, and she had snot coming out of her nose, and people flocked to it.

    Anyway, I know NOTHING! HAHAH. I am only doing my thing!

    daivid

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  7. I think Nicole hit it on the head, and IMO, 'Scream' is a very underrated horror movie for that exact reason.

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  8. LOLOLOLOLOL I love the Blair Witch comment lololol. I actually spit coffee out on that one lol. And to the point - The Shining - while I love Shelly as an actor - she ain't gonna grace the cover of Sports Illustrator - but I do love how Kubrick casts along the very same line that you talk of David - "Real" looking people - and I tend to move towards that area myself when casting. Of course I would state the obvious and say that story trumps it all - but then how does one explain all the remakes lol. I just tell myself the onslaught of horror re-makes are simply a new trumped up version for a new audience coming up - I know plenty of new audience people who love the new Halloween better than the original - it shocks me to hear that - but I'm ok with it too. And that's not a slam on Rob Zombie at all - I thought Devils Rejects upon my second viewing had some great scenes within it.

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  9. Hahaha! You could say the same about the girl from Paranormal - and that movie was great.

    Wait a minute Oak... you lean that way when casting - so... are you saying I look like a "real" person? WHAT?! I'm SO offended.

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  10. LOLOLL well - you do have the smarmy Marty Feldman Young Frankenstein thing going for ya lolol - Truthfully though - I picked you for the lead based on your talent - and thats the truth girl - you're gonna rock this performance ;-)

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  11. Young Frankenstein.. LOL.

    Awww.... thanks :)

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  12. Dirty word! He said a dirty word!

    Seda-give

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  13. I loved Marty Feldman. I can't believe you said that though!! LOL Loved Young Frankenstein too.

    A lot of us seem to have the same requirements. That "What IS it?!" issue is something I love in horror movies, trying to guess what the heck this "thing" is that is stalking/creeping/circling the soon to be victims. Don't spring it into the open right away. Original scary "things" are what I like the most instead of cliche' things to be scared of. I'm almost 46 now and have seen enough of them. Give me some suspense to get my heart racing.

    I also don't need to be spoon-fed the details visually. I think it's best to leave some of them for the individual viewer to conjure up their own "worse nightmare" for some things. It might be better than anything else anyway.

    Oh, blood? Yeah, there's blood in horror movies, but that is like saying there are cars in the background in the street scenes. They should be there, but they are not what makes the movie.

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