Changing with the times

If you look at “classic” horror films and compare them to the horror films of today, the difference between the two are undeniable. Our tolerance for gore has increased to the point that pricey special effects and impressive make-up artists are necessary to convince us to buy a movie ticket. Today’s films have a weak plot, but don’t hold back when it comes to blood baths, torture, nudity, and lets not forget: dim-witted teenagers.

In the past, some of the best films were the ones that were made on a low budget, that didn’t include special effects or high paid actors. Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur are the best examples of this. They wanted horror to be inflicted in the viewer without them even seeing the source of their fear. They succeeded at this by using shadows, camera angles and whatever else it took to finish the film in three weeks. What was it about these cheap “B” movies that captured our attention? And when was the turning point in the genre that made filmmakers want to remove the mystery of horror and turn to straight-forward killing and bloodshed?

The lack of exposure to the unknown was the main reason people were so frightened by past films. Those same films, when watched today, could be thought of as comical or even boring. But with decades of bringing to light the feeling of horror and the sense of being afraid, we need a stronger stimulus in order to reach the same affect. Consequently, this has produced blood-spattered blockbusters that lack a substantial storyline.

The only films of today that could have the potential of becoming classics would be those by director M. Night Shyamalan. His films focus more on psychological twists that evoke the feeling of fear in the audience, rather than relying on monsters that reek havoc on towns. In his film The Sixth Sense, the audience was oblivious to the fact that Bruce Willis was one of the “dead people”. Strange intellectual twists that send the reader on an emotional roller coaster may be the key to making his films modern day “classics” of horror. The envelope of our emotions is successfully being pushed.

In the long run, who knows what horror films are going to be like. What extent are filmmakers going to go through to make us feel the same fear we do when we watch films like Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Thirteen Ghosts? There may even be a time where classic horror films are not even discussed or thought of except in college classrooms.