Not Your Grandma's Horror Film Anymore

After viewing the movies we've seen this week, I think it's safe to say that the horror film sof today are entirely different than those of yesteryear. I sometimes wonder how these films were scary to some, but after diving into the guts of the films, I can see how, in their times, they could have evoked fear. Producers back in the day were able to do things with scenery and camera angles that created a sense of suspense and fear.

In Cat People, they were able to keep you on the edge of your seat during the swimming pool scene, not because they had some elaborate scene, but because of the way they controlled the lighting and the background noise. You are constantly wondering what is going to come next and whether or not Irena is going to turn into a cat and cause harm. You never see actual harm done, but you are left in wonder when you see the robe that is torn to shreds. They time the music perfectly so as to make your heart jump at just the right time.

In the Bride of Frankenstein, the costume of the monster is tremendous. The way he looks and talks is enough to make you feel unnerved. But then as the movie progresses, you almost feel sympathy for the monster and I think that causes most of the horror to disappear.

Today's horror films are altogether different. In these days, it is all about getting into your mind and making you think. For the most part, you don't see huge monsters like the Wolfman and Frankenstein, but more everyday people turned wrong. For example, in the Saw series of movies, you wonder what gruesome task the people are going to be made to do in order to spare their life. It aims at getting inside your head and ripping your heart out.

The monster in this case, John, starts out as someone in a hospital seeking treatment. When he is treated so terribly, he seeks revenge. This movie works at evoking fear because you have to try to figure out how all of the people are connected and why each of them was targeted. Part of the suspense is seeing what people will do when they are put in a situation in which they have to make a choice and not necessarily one that will be completely beneficial to them. You get to almost put yourself in the characters shoes and think about what you would do if you were in the same position.

Movies of today focus more on gore and blood, with each trying to be more terrifying and bloody than the last. Movies of the past focused more on suspense and drama. Both methods are effective, however after seeing movies that are made now, it is much harder for any of us to be terrified of something that was made 60 or 70 years ago