Lack of Real Quality Horror Films?

[trebor8273]

This talk about modern horrors going to watch the conjuring tonight so is this a modern horror that's

Good
Awful
Average

[Boo Radley]

TCM is a personal fave of mine but to hold it up as some kind of epitome of cinematic horror is not exactly right. It has many flaws, bad acting, dialogue, direction, lighting, storyline, it comes across like a students first film BUT it works for the majority of us and that is why it holds a special place in some fans hearts.
A lot of love is placed on different films for many reasons. For myself it has a lot to do with the time, place and what was going on in my life when I first watched the film. A mate and I sneaked into the drive-in (I grew up in Rhodesia) at 13 to watch The Exorcist then had to walk home at midnight shitting our pants! Every time I watch it I return to the excitement and fear of that night and it just feels special. I found Fulci in 1986 and up to that time I had never seen such carnage on screen. It blew me away and although Fulci was a hack (!) I can't help but love his films. How can you not love a film that shows a hole through a little girls head and a minute later shows the hero loading his gun by pushing bullets down the barrel! (Look at Caterina's face as Warbeck does it!) I think if I saw a Fulci film for the first time today in 2014, I would think it was shit, in '86 though, it kicked ass and demands a place in my collection ever since!
The horror genre is used as a springboard for many directors, someone mentioned Peter Jackson, a brilliant example, who after being noticed went on to bigger and better things. Because of this the genre is made up of mainly low budgets and cheap actors doing their best to get your attention and (unfortunately) that means going further with gore and violence rather than scintillating dialogue and composed direction. Saying "I love horror but only good horror" is a bit like saying I love comedies but only ones like Borat. You are really slashing out a lot of other films because they don't fit your definition of what a comedy is. To imply that TCM is great and everything else is crap makes me wonder if you are a horror fan at heart or you just enjoy the odd scary movie that fits your criteria. Nothing wrong with that, different strokes and all that, but I think you will struggle to find many films in this genre with all aspects of what you consider makes a "good horror film."
I equate being a horror fan to being a diamond miner. You will wade through a ton of shit to find the gems but when you do, they are worth it.

Videodrome is cinematic brilliance You saw that bit where Woods burns Harry's boobs?? Didn't you? Puh-lease..worth buying just for that!!

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by Boo Radley

Fulci was a hack (!)

Wow. His work was crap after Manhattan Baby, but he was definitely not a hack up to that point.

[gag]

It was me that mentioned Peter Jackson fims , I was trying to say horror comes in all forms that why also mentioned twisted nerve and peeping tom,but just because its got buckets off gore doesn't neccesary means it horror..
PS I like comedies but don't like Borat

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I love a hefty chunk of Fulci's output, but for me he is the king of the 'set-piece', whereby he can create some fantastic, suspenseful, and shocking scenes but when it comes to building plot and characterisation around those scenes, he tends to fail miserably (his gialli withstanding of course). However, most of his films are chock full of enough set-pieces to keep me more than happy and there's no denying the man had creativity and vision oozing from every pore. However, 'plot' was never one of his strong suits... not that 'plot' is always needed of course.

From the mid '80s onwards declining health, the tightening of budgets and increased interference from the Italian studios all took their toll on his work - and this can plainly be seen in his later efforts. I'm not excusing how bad some of the films are, but I don't think Fulci himself should take 100% of the blame for this, and you tend to see this unfortunate trend in a lot of cult directors' later work (*cough* Argento).

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

PS I like comedies but don't like Borat

Comedies are very hit and miss for me. As a general rule, if it's 'dark comedy' then I tend to like it. I can't stand all these numerous coming of age/teen comedies that seemed to be endlessly churned out at one time. I generally also don't care for horror comedies, although there are numerous notable exceptions to this rule.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

This talk about modern horrors going to watch the conjuring tonight so is this a modern horror that's

Good
Awful
Average

I thought it was boring, bland, and stale with nothing new to offer the already over-saturated paranormal investigation / jump scare supernatural sub-genre but many people seem to like it...

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I thought it was boring, bland, and stale with nothing new to offer the already over-saturated paranormal investigation / jump scare supernatural sub-genre but many people seem to like it...

Exactly my thoughts, I've just given it another go (why do I do this to myself?!) and it's so crap. The bit at the end with the exorcism is hilarious, how can adults find this scary? Only children should find this scary, seriously.

[davcol]

Why not try some surreal horror ? theres literally hundreds of Jess franco films out there to choose from.