New
horror movies not as horrific these days
Krystle
Ralston
I will be the first to admit I am a big ol’ scaredy cat. I am not completely
opposed to the occasional scary movie, but there are certain ones I most definitely
shy myself away from. Even though I am not a horror film fanatic, I recognize
how much this genre of movies has changed and it has not been for the better.
I was raised in a religious household and I am sure even if I were not, I would
choose to believe in the supernatural. There are too many strange things that
happen day after day for some alternate power that may or may not have harmful
intentions not to exist.
There are many people who choose not to believe in this concept, but even they
will admit the film “The Exorcist” takes the gold for being the
scariest movie ever made. Even if you do not believe in ghosts or spirits,
the idea of something evil entering your body without your control is a whole
heck of a lot scarier than being chased by a serial killer wearing a black
cape.
God gave you legs and hands. Use your legs to run and your hands to fire a
gun. It is really not that difficult.
In the category of old school horror flicks, everyone remembers “Nightmare
on Elm Street” and its endless sequels. I will give this one credit,
because the idea of something killing you in your sleep is pretty disturbing,
especially compared to horrible and seemingly never-ending sagas such as the “Jason” movies. “Halloween” was
haunting in its own right, but then they just kept making them. I think one
sequel was about kids wearing masks which poisoned them. It hardly mentioned
the serial killer from the original. Is anyone else confused?
I think everyone will agree with me when I say seven or eight movies is way
too many. Three is a number Hollywood sticks to for a lot of movies.
And what can I say about the trilogies? I know one thing: they just keep coming.
Our generation will never forget “Scream.” Then came “I Know
What You Did Last Summer,” although they were smart and decided to stop
after the second.
But the worst of them all is “Final Destination.” I won’t
deny that some of the images in these movies are disturbing. I can honestly
say I have never seen such graphic and brutal deaths in any other film in my
lifetime. But a movie that is strictly blood and gore is like Scotch tape:
cheap, easy and it does not stick for long.
When a film is filled with buckets of bodily fluids, it tells me the film in
and of itself is not good enough on its own, so in order to compensate for
the incompetent movie making, it needs to show someone get his face ripped
off to distract from the fact the movie just plain sucks.
Our society is so technologically advanced that we rely way too much on special
effects for the scare factor. The problem is they keep being done over and
over. Something repetitive allows us to become desensitized to it, therefore
we are no longer clinging for dear life to the person next to us in the movie
theater.
Movies that are truly haunting get inside your head; blood does not need to
be splattered all over the screen. Some of these movies have been “Silence
of the Lambs” and “The Sixth Sense.” They make you understand
the characters and feel for them as they escape the terrible situations they
are put in.
I don’t know about you, but when I watch a movie with a bunch of teenagers
getting killed off one by one, I get lost in the bloody mess and just pray
the cute boy lives and his ditzy girlfriend dies.
I have never been a fan of scary movies and probably never will be. But of
the ones I have seen, I know for sure this kind genre is not what it used to
be.
Anyone off the street can make a movie filled with random human anatomy flying
around. It takes thought and skill to create a film that leaves a lasting impression
for years to come.
The actress Linda Blair, who played the demon-possessed girl in “The
Exorcist,” had nightmares until she was in her 20s. I am pretty sure
Neve Campbell slept alright after her scenes with a psychotic killer who wore
a mask made of plastic that can be purchased for $10 at any costume shop.
Krystle Ralston is a senior journalism major and the calendar editor of the
Daily Forty-Niner.
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