Comments on: Musings on horror

By: Setanna

Setanna — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:47:21 +0000

I like the post. I am a teen but gore isn’t scary anymore.(if it ever was >_> ) I dislike unnecessary killing. (example: Efen Lied-i didnt like becuase it seemed she killed for no reason.) I like exciting anime/ manga like Monster, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni/kai, Mirai Nikki, Deadman Wonderland..things that go more on the psychological thrill the ones where they don’t leave your memory. Anyway from the ones ive just named ive only finished Higurashi im still working on the others..and i havent yet started perfect blue but i plan to.

By: ConcreteBadger

ConcreteBadger — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:47:37 +0000

@Orion: that Mushishi episode creeped me out too. Actually, the ’supernatural beasties’ theme that the show’s built around offers plenty of unsettling moments…I can’t wait for the DVD release and revisit it.

Point taken on how a deeper unsettling feeling works better than sudden shocks too - the superiority of the original Ring over the remake is testament to that. The remake is a decent enough scary film but the original slowly and expertly winds the tension up to almost unbearable levels. Genius!

By: 0rion

0rion — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 04:26:22 +0000

“…even Mushishi dabbles in this from time to time too.”

That episode with the Watahiko mushi babies freaked me out far more than any ‘horror’ film has.

Good horror is less about “jump out of your chair scary” and more about a deep kind of unsettling feeling, the kind that keeps you on edge long after the movie’s over.

By: ConcreteBadger

ConcreteBadger — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 20:09:34 +0000

@IKnight: I highly recommend Monster (anime or manga, both are excellent) - it’s not supernatural at all but as far as psychological mystery/thrillers go it’s hard to beat. I’ll have to read Frankenstein someday since I love Poe and Stoker so Shelley ought to be up my street too. Hooray for classical literature!

I agree the VHD movies are quite action-orientated but they’re often labelled ‘horror’ purely because they have vampires in them - it’s going back to my original point really that vampire movies are not necessarily horror, and horror doesn’t have to feature supernatural stuff.

@totoum: I find it outrageous that King criticised Kubrik as well - the Shining is a classic while I think of King as being extremely overrated! My two favourite King adaptations - Shawshank and Stand By Me - aren’t in his horror canon at all, while his supposedly scary stuff is pretty unsophisticated.

By: totoum

totoum — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 08:38:53 +0000

i’ve never been into horror,because i just don’t like scaring myself,but even when i was 13-14 i had the same disctinction:my problem with gore is not that it frightens me,it’s that it disgusts me,though i’m always willing to support if it means having a good movie.

But yes the shining is also the first exemple that comes to my mind,that movie still scares the hell out of me,I have no idea why stephen king says Kubric doesn’t understand anything about horror.

By: IKnight

IKnight — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 23:29:43 +0000

Johan from Monster sounds quite interesting (I haven’t seen the series). I have argued in the past that one useful tool in making a monster horrifying is taking the monster as close to being human as you can make it.

In Frankenstein (the novel), for example, the monster is extremely articulate and indeed quotes Paradise Lost in conversation, while having a fearsome appearance and committing a string of killings. Techniques to produce horror have moved on rather since Frankenstein was written, mind. Consider too that often werewolves and vampires are portrayed as looking human most of the time.

Incidentally, I thought both Vampire Hunter D movies were more about action than horror, especially the more modern one. Possibly that’s because of modern attitudes to horror though [thus subjective], rather than the actual content [objective].

By: ConcreteBadger

ConcreteBadger — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:35:58 +0000

@Gabest: I think you make an important point there. It’s no coincidence that the ’slasher’/shocker type of movie is principally aimed at a teen audience, while the more cerebral fare such as Ring (minus that final TV scene!) takes the slow-burning tension route that younger viewers might find boring and want to ’skip to the end’. Of course, cinema-goers are inevitably getting harder and harder to shock now - the reason why I hated Hostel was that it was so needlessly excessive…in contrast modern viewers find it harder to see why the Exorcist was so controversial when it was first released.

And yeah, twists such as the Sixth Sense are great…unless people spoil the ending for you beforehand! ¬_¬

By: Gabest

Gabest — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 03:01:35 +0000

My opinion that it depends on the age of the viewer, gore is scary for teenagers, but above 20 you just become immune it and seek something else for you mind and not for your eyes. I especially like those stories which can manipulate the viewer till the end. Like the the 6th sense or ever17.