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  #61  
Old 4th October 2011, 12:19 PM
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I have problems understanding how people can be "scared" by a film too. "Disturbed", yes, "chilled", perhaps, but scared? Don't get it. Not since I was about 10 at any rate.

So, I wonder if this is connected to me finding Insidious a hollow and boring bit of fluff?
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  #62  
Old 4th October 2011, 12:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Gojirosan View Post
I have problems understanding how people can be "scared" by a film too. "Disturbed", yes, "chilled", perhaps, but scared? Don't get it. Not since I was about 10 at any rate.

So, I wonder if this is connected to me finding Insidious a hollow and boring bit of fluff?
If something is scary then regardless of age it should be able to scare you. Unless you have a different meaning to 'scare' than I then I don't understand how you can not be scared by a film but I guess this is where all individuals are different.

I don't normally scare easily but Insidious scared me a few times, along with REC and Paranormal Activity

The ability for a film to make you jump by something appearing or a loud noise when you're feeling unsettled is called a 'scare' in my eyes
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  #63  
Old 4th October 2011, 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by antmumford View Post
If something is scary then regardless of age it should be able to scare you. Unless you have a different meaning to 'scare' than I then I don't understand how you can not be scared by a film but I guess this is where all individuals are different.

I don't normally scare easily but Insidious scared me a few times, along with REC and Paranormal Activity

The ability for a film to make you jump by something appearing or a loud noise when you're feeling unsettled is called a 'scare' in my eyes
Perhaps I do understand another thing but "scare". To me a simple shock jump is just that - a shock. Not being scared. I hardly ever even jump at films going "boo!" either. I might be emotionally dead!

But that reaction to films like screaming or hiding behind cushions is something I do not understand in adults. The Daleks made me hide behind the sofa as a child, but I have not felt that feeling at TV or cinema since then.
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  #64  
Old 4th October 2011, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Gojirosan View Post
Perhaps I do understand another thing but "scare". To me a simple shock jump is just that - a shock. Not being scared. I hardly ever even jump at films going "boo!" either. I might be emotionally dead!
Ah, I see a shock as a scare because it "scared" me but I see the angle you're coming from too.
Although to be honest all three of the previous films I mentioned scared me too in the sense that I felt very uncomfortable, hot and sweaty and felt genuinely scared.
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  #65  
Old 4th October 2011, 06:20 PM
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Of course films have the power to scare. And of course there are those that don't have any fear to this sort of cinema, just as some veiwers don't laugh at comedy, regardless of how funny the film is.
As for 'jumps' there weren't many times in insidious where 'jumps' were used, the window scene with the dancing boy, the loft scene, the photgraphs of the lady in black all were scary but none of them were about jumps.
However all horrors try to scare at some level because thats the point, a horror movie that doesn't scare or unseattle is a comedy that doesn't make us laugh. Pointless.
And everything from Halloween to Ratman has jumps in it. It's not a bad thing, but it has been over used in recent films.
Insidious worked personally for me because it stayed with me long after the film was over. I didn't remember jumps. I remember being unseattled by the idea, by the voice on the babymonitor and by window scene.

And lets not forget the scene were the camera slowly moves to the window, and nothing happens.

The directors said they were infulenced by Argento's colour used and by films that didn't relay on jumps. I think they nailed it.
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  #66  
Old 7th October 2011, 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda View Post
Very many fantastic Horror flicks do not rely on gore and splatter and can still give you the creeps!

And yes, to nail my colours to the mast - I'm an adult person, and I confess that a really well-made Horror film scares me pretty well!

Just my two cents.

Greetings!
I agree absolutely! I'm a fan of old-fashioned horror films (haven't liked that much from the last 30 years!) and wish more directors would cotton on to the power of suggestion. I thought Insidious was great and also enjoyed Paranormal Activity (the first one but not the second, which seemed to rely entirely on "jumps"), The Sixth Sense, The Orphanage etc. Scaring an audience does not depend on blood and guts, and graphic horror has too often been used as an easy substitute for imagination.
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  #67  
Old 13th October 2011, 05:54 PM
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Watched this on BD last night and thought it was excellent. I haven't 'jumped' so many times in ages!

It was very refreshing to see a movie that tried to scare you rather than gross you out. One of my favourite horrors of recent years.
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  #68  
Old 23rd October 2011, 10:49 AM
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Originally Posted by TyneBridges View Post
Wish more directors would cotton on to the power of suggestion. Scaring an audience does not depend on blood and guts, and graphic horror has too often been used as an easy substitute for imagination.
Point taken but i must confess personally, this whole 'use your imagination' approach in general does little or nothing for me. If there's a sinister presence in evidence i want to see it. I can't stand it in a movie where, say someone is being pursued by some force of evil or another and you can't see it. Take The Mummy chasing Nina Axelrod in Time Walker for instance. We observe the former's POV as it keeps pace not far behind the above female and whenever Axelrod is shot from the front her bandaged pursuer is nowhere to be seen in the background. Sorry, but for the most part yours truly hates that sorta thing. Imagination may have worked in the case of Robert Wise's The Haunting but i believe that's why Dreamworks loaded the loathed remake with PC-provided trickery. Because the studio probably thought that allowing the audience to rely on their own minds would be a turn-off in an age where CGI FX can show you anything. That said, i actually enjoy '57's Night Of The Demon and The Evil Dead and truly do approve of the less-is-more element in these two horror classics. The first half of Jaws works for me, too.

Imo the thing is, these days there's nothing that can't be shown with PC power and savvy cinemagoers know this. Therefore, when a horror film arrives which requires a cerebral approach over a visceral one then some spectators may well complain "Aw, the filmmakers mustn't have had the budget for proper FX." and the end result could potentially be disappointment for the viewer. Whether it's for the best or the worse, in cinemas CGI rules these days and i think it's what many or most audience members expect. Sad but most definitely true and a most bitter pill to swallow. I'm not exactly enamoured with this situation either believe me, but it is a fact.

However, admittedly i do intend to give Insidious a chance to send the shivers up my spine sooner or later once the price comes down.
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  #69  
Old 23rd October 2011, 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Splatterdragon73 View Post
That said, i actually enjoy '57's Night Of The Demon and The Evil Dead and truly do approve of the less-is-more element in these two horror classics.
I find that part of your message a bit baffling. As someone who dislikes graphic gore, I wouldn't describe The Evil Dead as "less is more" - I hated it because it seemed to be nothing but excessive gore and violence. Admittedly there was a "comic book" quality to it because of the tiny budget, but that didn't make it any more watchable for me. To enjoy a horror/ghost film I need to empathise with the characters a little bit, and there was no character development there.

Graphic violence can certainly get an audience reaction and will engage some people, but I'm disappointed that lots of directors seem to think they're scaring someone when they're just staging violence. As an old example, I thought the original Nightmare on Elm Street was nowhere near as scary as it could have been because it showed too much, and the violence in some cases (e.g. Johnny Depp's demise) destroyed any atmosphere of dread.

Last edited by TyneBridges; 23rd October 2011 at 11:17 AM.
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  #70  
Old 24th October 2011, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by TyneBridges View Post
I find that part of your message a bit baffling. As someone who dislikes graphic gore, I wouldn't describe The Evil Dead as "less is more".
Your confusion is understandable and perhaps i should've clarified my previous opinion more clearly.

The less-is-more element in TED refers to the film's 'Forest (wood, tree take your pick!) Demon'. We have plentiful POV shots of the relevant evildoer but we never actually catch sight of the creature during the movie's duration. The audience relys on Sam Raimi's legendary 'Shakey-Cam' footage and those unnerving demonic sound FX. Imo this approach appears to work in TED's favour. We see less of the forest's floating entity and i think such elusiveness makes the movie more suspenseful and heightens the horror. Just my two cents for what it's worth.

Jaws plays the same game as we don't get a good look at the marauding seabound predator during the film's first half. Once again, the viewer's imagination takes over and seems to fill the 'Shark isn't working' gaps quite nicely.
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Last edited by Splatterdragon73; 25th October 2011 at 01:01 PM.
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