Cult Labs

Go Back   Cult Labs > Film Discussions > Horror > General Horror Chat

Like Tree7Likes

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 12th June 2009, 08:08 AM
Gold6082's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Default Is Horror Losing Its Way?

I was thinking us on here of course appreciate Horror in passionate respectful & dedicated ways, we watch,review & Discuss all the classics from the 60's-the 90's and are always on the look out for them rare classics.

But we are now in a new generation of horror where at times it seems to me both film makers and new generation viewers are changing the future of the Horror Film for the worst.

In the last 6 or so years (At Least) most new releases have been unimaginative remakes of the good ol titles, or always aimed at teens with the film being presented in a childish way that would rarely entertain anyone over 21.

Endless teen flicks with very few sometimes NO adult cast and no serious respect worries me comedy rip offs are always a failure as well, on top of all this most these teen flicks aimed at teens are all the same recycled crap dressed up with tiny differences.

As Harsh as it sounds I can only Praise 12 films that have been released since the year 2000, these being the brilliant saw films & The Final destination films + 2 or 3 other stand alone titles.

So are the days of Originality and true horror and gore over? or are these cheap tacky teen aimed crapathons a passing phase??

Discuss
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 12th June 2009, 12:17 PM
Peter Neal's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Helsinki
Blog Entries: 14
Default

I totally have to disagree with you here, mate.

Horror has still a lot of strength and each glossy mainstream outing for the teen market, which is doing the business in the multiplexes, ensures that smaller scale projects within the independent circles or in countries, where horror has been hard to finance due to cultural snobbery in funding boards etc (Scandinavia, France (!!!) etc), have a much bigger chance to actually being made than back in the dire 90's.
What horror fans tend to forget in the countless discussuions on the www on "modern horror" is that for every big studio remake they're getting worked up about, there are numerous smaller scale movies to be found- if people where only more eager to look past the Hollywood output.

Horror has been a vivid part of mainstream cinema for over a decade now and it truly SADDENS me to know that a huge portion of die hard genre fans will first appreciate the popular output of recent years when we're back to romcoms and the best "horror" you can find would be a Charles-Band-type DTV quickie....
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 12th June 2009, 12:25 PM
Gold6082's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Default

I agree in terms of smaller unknown horror makers, for example many of the Horrorfest seasons 8 films to die for I found very good. I should of been clearer actually I was refering to all the USA remakes and dross we see and in no way to the small independant films turning up I agree most of them are great. I guess what I should of asked is where USA remakes and latest offerings are concerned is THAT the end of horror as we knew it.

France & Italy from Fulci right through to INSIDE (2006???) are always good films with plenty of gore and point, but USA films are not what they were.

Hope I make more sense now
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 12th June 2009, 12:35 PM
Peter Neal's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Helsinki
Blog Entries: 14
Default

I see your point, but even there I have to disagree to some extent

As long as Hollywood is still financing its fair share of seriously gory mainstream horrors, like "Scar 3D", "Midnight Meat Train", the "Saw" sequels and a lot of 70's/80's horror remakes/prequels with INCREASED gore factor- "The Hills Have Eyes", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning" etc- I can live with their PG-13 borefests for the teens....unless of course they'd start to actually DRAG me into a theatre to watch them.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 12th June 2009, 12:38 PM
Gold6082's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Default

good Points, and I suppose looking at it we do get the odd Gems still as I said myself in first post Like the Saw I-V series, Midnight Meat train was also excellent
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 12th June 2009, 05:01 PM
bizarre_eye@Cult Labs's Avatar
Moderator Alumni
Cult Labs Radio Contributor
Good Trader
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Black Lodge
Blog Entries: 3
Default

Some valid arguements on both sides for this one!

I generally have to say I agree that the latest output of horror is pretty dire. I am a firm fan of the classics, but that said I do like a fair amount of what many think is crap as well - it's a fine balance! .

At work when I first read this thread, I was almost in totally agreement with you Gold, mate. When I got home however and found out that there is a hell of a lot of horror movie I own made 2000 onwards that I really enjoy, I had to re-consider!

It is amazing though the amount of unbelievable toss (in my eyes anyway) that has been produced in the last almost decade, compared to the 'Golden Years' (no pun intended mate ) of horror. This is possibly because more movie are made nowadays; and it is certainly easier to make movies now, plus stand-out, original horrors are a rare breed probably due to lack of ideas, or the corporate machine thinking about selling tickets, rather than coming up with anything original. This could mean that there are the same (if not more) great movies made today as there were in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's, but due to the amount that are made today, you may have to wade through more shit to find them...

Even though I am about to contradict myself below with my (numerous)personal horror faves of the '00's (which this morning I could count on one hand), I have to say that I generally agree that horror film-making has lost it's way. Whether 'society' (yawn), the media, the fans, or the studios are to blame (or a combination of all of these factors and more) is irrelevant, the fact is that, to me, it certainly does seem that the horror film industry 'ain't what it used to be'.

00's - What has stood out for me (so far )

-1408
-28 Days Later
-28 Weeks Later
-30 Days of Night
-The Abandoned
-American Psycho
-Ascension
-Bad Biology
-Bad Inclination
-Beyond Re-Animator
-Bloody Reunion
-Bone Sickness
-Cabin Fever
-Call of Cthulu
-Carver
-Cloverfield
-Cube Zero
-Dagon
-Dawn of the Dead (remake)
-Dead Birds
-Dead Silence
-The Descent
-The Devil's Backbone
-The Devil's Rejects
-Dog Soldiers
-Dumplings
-The Eye (Pang Brothers)
-Eyes of Crystal
-Frailty
-Freezer
-From Hell
-Frontiers
-Ghosts of Mars
-Gruesome
-H2Odio
-H6: Diary of a Serial Killer
-Halloween (remake)
-Hannibal
-The Happiness of the Katakuri's
-Haze
-Hellraiser: Inferno
-The Hole
-Hollowman
-Home Sick
-The Host
-House of 1000 Corpses
-Ichi the Killer
-Inside
-Laid to Rest
-Land of the Dead
-The Last Winter
-Love Object
-Malefique
-Martyrs
-May
-Meatball Machine
-Midnight Meat Train
-The Mist
-Mother of Tears
-Mum & Dad
-Nature Morte
-Next Door
-The Ordeal
-The Orphanage
-Red Dragon
-Reeker
-Reincarnation
-Resident Evil
-Saw
-Session 9
-Silent Hill
-Sleepless
-Splinter
-Storm Warning
-Switchblade Romance
-A Tale of Two Sisters
-Tattoo
-The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake)
-Them
-Undead
-Unrest
-What Lies Beneath

Compared to what I thought this morning, this is now a loooooooong list, and I have to admit to feeling a bit of a tit! I'm sure there will be plenty more where those came from, and obviously many of you will disagree, and laugh and scoff at my choices, but the problem is finding these diamonds amongst so many zircons...
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 12th June 2009, 05:15 PM
Gold6082's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Default

Hey B_E, Firstly From your list There is only 2 titles I really loved, the rest I can either give or take or thought were crap .

Secondly you made some good points, and no you don't look/sound a Tit.

Thirdly your no pun intended is fine, Ironically My username which is now my user name for 99% of sites is actually because of The fact I adore "The Golden Years"

I am 26, but My music,Film & Tv tastes are classic, a few songs/films/tv shows impress me but most of my loves are days gone by.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 12th June 2009, 05:38 PM
bizarre_eye@Cult Labs's Avatar
Moderator Alumni
Cult Labs Radio Contributor
Good Trader
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Black Lodge
Blog Entries: 3
Default

Hey Gold, sounds like you have a varied and interesting taste mate.
It's rare nowadays that people of a young(ish) age (!) like ourselves (I'm only 25) appreciate the classics. For instance I enjoy some silent cinema such as Lang's Metropolis and Wiene's Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari, as well as the old Universal Monster movies from the 30's. That said I will then go away and watch Rob Zombie films and Nail Gun Massacre!

I heartily agree with you on the 'loved' part, even though these films stood out for me from the mainstream dross, there is only a couple I can say that I 'love'.
__________________
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 12th June 2009, 06:07 PM
Gold6082's Avatar
Cultist on the Rampage
Good Trader
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: West Sussex
Default

It sure is very rare Bro, I always have been and still Am teased for my retro likes.

I mean I have a soft spot for some classic But equally as awful films as the ones In the thread here I speak of as crap so in a way I am hypocritical but what the hey it is how it is made and how it stands time rather than terrible look and recycled crap.


There is Good "Bad" and just BAD
I loved the Vipco range

I loved the Old Aussie soaps , Prisoner,sons & Daughters etc

and when it comes to Music I would rather have Yazoo,Whitney Houston,Queen,R.E.M,Dusty Springfield,Carole King,Human League etc

Than the shit that hits the charts now.

Don't get me wrong I do love "some" of the recent tunes.

And I do like "Some" current tv shows/Films

but overall nothing is what it was, I rarely watch Tv ever usually get a dvd out plenty to choose from no adverts, no late run ning schedules etc

Last edited by Gold6082; 12th June 2009 at 06:09 PM. Reason: Fecking typos i type too fast dammit :p
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 12th June 2009, 06:26 PM
bizarre_eye@Cult Labs's Avatar
Moderator Alumni
Cult Labs Radio Contributor
Good Trader
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: The Black Lodge
Blog Entries: 3
Default

I agree with you on the TV situation mate. I the only thing I watch at the mo is F1 on Sundays - everything else I can take or leave. The Mrs on the other hand will watch enough TV for the both of us; all the soaps, The Hills, Friends... . That said I do have a fair bit of fairly recent TV shows on DVD... Family Guy, Futurama, Simpson's, Scrubs. 'Old' TV for me is stuff like Blackadder, Father Ted, Red Dwarf... more 90's, as I didn't really watch much TV growing up and neither did my parents - so never got into any of the old 80's shows. I probably would find them okay too, its just that I've never seen them!

Music is a different matter all together though... I got into music before I did film, admittedly music has dropped off the radar a bit more now, and film has taken over but I've always been fond of music - I went to my first live gig when I was 11 (Gavin Rossdale's Bush ). Now, even though I do like the odd bit of REM, Queen and Stones, I'm into more industrial and electronic music and have been for the last few years.

I too can't stand chart music... If someone offered me a million quid to name any song in the charts at the mo I wouldn't have a clue.
__________________
Reply With Quote
Reply  

Like this? Share it using the links below!

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



Our goal is to keep Cult Labs friendly. If you feel discouraged from posting by certain members' behaviour then you can e-mail us in complete confidence.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2
All forum posts are contributed by members of the site; Cult Labs cannot take responsibility for all content posted on the site. If you have an issue with content posted on the site please click the 'report post' button.
Copyright © 2014 Cult Laboratories Ltd. All rights reserved.