Little known fact: I love horror films. I mentioned earlier that I enjoy the paranormal but I never really did express my love for the horror genre. I love the scares, the blood, the icons. It’s strange, too. I was introduced to these elements at a very young age, the first horror film I’ve ever seen being the classic “Scream”. To this day I still watch and love the film and its three sequels. I remember when I was younger having a crush on Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell, because she “always kills the killer”. I never really took the movies seriously, of course. I was young, so the ideas of serial killers were not too unlike cartoons on TV. We expose ourselves and our children to violence more than natural things, such as sex.
But now I have noticed that the horror genre is dwindling. Scream 4 actually gave me some hope, but I was disappointed that the film under performed at the box office. I personally enjoy the film (I’m watching it right now, actually), but I understand exactly why it did not become a major success. No one knows what horror really is anymore. A majority of the films Hollywood is spitting out with the genre “horror” smacked on are one of two things: terrible, ridiculous remakes of past films like Halloween and Friday the 13th, or films that are outright dumb as fuck. They lose the scares and replace them with sexual content and overdue to violence to the point of torture. Now, for anyone who has scene Scream 4, the death scenes are full of blood and brutality. But this is practically NOTHING compared to what has been done in recent horror memory.
There are a few elements that work in some horror films. Paranormal Activity brought on a nice, fresh concept and executed it well. But it spawned a litter of bullshit sequels that I somehow own on DVD. I enjoyed the rendition of Freddy Krueger in “A Nightmare On Elm Streets” remake, but the cast was emotionless and stale. This is the major problem: lack of character development. They are always the same, recycled personalities in different teenage bodies.
So this is where I’m going with this post: Where do you guys see the horror genre going? My love for horror is still at a high point, but love and hope are two very different things. My hope is so low it’s drinking brandy with the devil. It’s a bit disappointing to think horror is in shambles, but who couldn’t? Coming from someone who has been enjoying horror films for at least fourteen years, I feel I am able to make this statement without sounding like a stuckup kid. Of course I have other things in life to tend to, but I felt I should bring this up and get an opinion or two on the subject.
In Cities 