Horror junkies had reason to believe their beloved genre was on the verge of a comeback.
After years of awful to God awful horror films, we were beginning to see some brights spots – some reason for optimism.
“The Descent.” “Rogue.” “Wolf Creek.” “Eden Lake.” “The Midnight Meat Train.” “Quarantine.” “Splinter.”
Some of the better young horror talent was coming from overseas, forcing stateside horror directors to get more creative.
Then “Friday the 13th” came along.
The horror reboot made $42 million over the weekend, and I bet a half dozen “classic” horror films from the ’80s were greenlit over the past 48 hours. A new “Nightmare on Elm Street” is already on the way, and I’m sure that only scratches the bloody surface.
The “Friday” reboot wasn’t an embarrassment. It delivered the gore and mammary flashes required of the slasher genre. But it reminded Hollywood that films with no stars and little in the way of true ingenuity could make a mint.
That’s frightening.
So expect a whole lot more of the same – which could squeeze out the next young horror director sitting on a smart, subversive horror movie script.
(Photo: Jennifer Carpenter shrieks in terror during “Quarantine,” one of the better horror movies released in recent years.)
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Horror will always be popular for the reason that horror films are cheap to produce and they are almost always all profit. the more important question to ask is in the quality that is coming out. As for horror;s resurgence it seems that horror kind of coomes and goes in cycles and i am hoping that they quit making saw movies and the whole torture porn genre is very boring to say the least. even though i like eli Roth i thought the 2nd hostel film was pretty bad. i’m pretty sure we will see several remakes personally i’m looking forward to remakes of ‘New Years Evil’, ‘The Dorm that dripped Blood’, ‘Splatter University’
I applied to “Splatter University” but didn’t have the grades ….
I know the genre waxes and wanes in popularity, but I had a hunch the quality of the horror films was def. on the rise. Now, I’m afraid that progress will be halted.
Ronn makes a great point. Its all about the profit. I was raised on movies like Night of the Living Dead and the Exorcist but what today’s horror movies lack is true suspense. Audiences are totally desensitized. There is nothing, in the form of splatter that hasn’t been done. And I love that stuff too (see Dead Alive or Sean of the Dead) but splatter without proper context, is – well just splatter. I’d rather watch The Sixth Sense over and over again than see Hostel 27.
BTW: I saw Quarantine on your recommendation and REALLY liked it. Nice little haunted (as in rabid maniacs haunted) house movie. Thanks! Though they gave away way too much in the trailer and poster.
Grofe,
So glad you liked Quarantine. The trailer does give too much up … but I thought it did a nice job building suspense via the single camera gimmick. Though I can’t imagine how much more they can squeeze out of that concept.
And I know it’s all about the profit, but audiences (I think/hope) hunger for a smart and scary and spooky horror film. If they make it, they will come … and maybe pass on “Friday the 13th Part XII”
We do want smart, clever and spooky horror fare. Sadly the best directors of that have either joined the choir invisible or have inflated their egos past the point of understanding. The Sixth Sense gave us a glimpse of suspenseful horror. But that director’s tendency to think rather highly of his own stuff has limited his appeal. Run from the wind. Run from the wind! THE WIND!! Sorry, not sure what came over me.
I find it interesting that the horror masterpiece I Am Legend became a semi-sci-fi type Will Smith vehicle in its most recent film incarnation. I suspect clever, suspenseful horror film exists, but it is calling itself something else. Probably to not be lumped in with Jason when the Academy comes calling.
It’s sad that more A-list directors run screaming from the genre … once they get their names established, it’s on to more “serious” fare.
And I still have nightmares over that damn wind!
the one thing that i like about Eli Roth is that he loves horror he knows just about everything about horror he can spout off the most obscure films that most diehard horror fans are oblivious too. I liked ‘Cabin fever’ and the ‘Hostel’ but not the sequel so much but i believe he is getting better as a director and he is content being ‘The horror guy’ and i think Roth will stay in the genre for years to come. one director that is not ashamed of his horror roots and rarely ventures out of the genre is carpenter can’t wait for him to work again in the genre.