Pixels Comforting the Squeamish

In this current age of technology, I have spoken to a number of people who grew up watching the late horror movies of the 70's and 80's and their speculation of today's idea of what is

scary...their conclusion is silliness. The true meaning of watching a movie that is full of
monsters and terror is to be terrified! If you want to be terrified, take a look at the following video:


Evil Dead- 1981



And now look at this video...





Twilight: New Moon- 2009


We can obviously see the differences. Not only are props completely replaced by digital graphics in the entire scene, the perspective is not in the least captivating.

Twilight seems to harvest it's popularity from fan-fiction obsessed young girls who would like to see a monster truly feel and fall in love. This concept is trully fictitious, even more so than the possibility of a living Frankenstein today. I will give you an example of a true and heart-felt scene of beauty turning away a hideous monster, which is symbolic for the cruelty that those who are misunderstood truly feel.






Bride of Frankenstein- 1935

The bride of Frankenstein has herself become like a corpse, but once was alive and beautiful. She still doesn't understand what she has become after she was brought back to life, and is terrified of Frankenstein. We can all deny it but this is our perception on what we consider bizarre and abnormal. We are disgusted by what we do not understand and rebuke what we consider lowlier than ourselves.

This is another observation I have made which is another cause of the decline of Horror: The lack of substance in the literature and less plot-twists that are witty and unpredictable.


Back to the topic...


An American author and screenwiter/filmmaker named Sara Caldwell who is very intelligent on the factor in captivating an audience. She was asked her opinion on the use of CGI versus the use of props in the horror genre. Here is what she has to say...

Hey, isn't she talking about the fact that LOW-BUDGET movies are the most successful? Isn't this the biggest issue by the producers? CGI is equally expensive because it requires state of the art technology and programs that are not cheap.

Closer To Death is an amazing website I've located that gives examples of fan and professional based opinions concerning the dire need of props and physical realism in horror films. There is also a video about Tom Savini's Special make-Up Effects Program that is a prestigious course in the art of cosmetics, prosthetic, and media art, which not necessarily have to do with film-making.

Tom Savini is a world-renowned make-up artist who has created the most jaw-dropping faces in the macabre. Such as:

And finally the Deleted Scene also has some things to say about the preference between CGI and the old school trick of the trade.

I think those who are not passionate about really letting themselves go to terror like to smile when they scream. Which is far from the raw thrill of fear. They're not going to the theater to be scared! They're going for a thrill and because they are misunderstanding the true meaning of the genre, they are making mainstream filmmakers target the wrong people to make movies for. Remakes...this is another topic for a different post.

Another individual who shares the same ideas and passion for fear is Eric Ford-Holevinski whose site he created is all about the true meaning of the macabre and why we enjoyed the late horror films of the 70's and 80's...maybe the early 90's.

Who am I?

My name is Christina. Ever since I was young I was lucky enough to be gifted with an Aunt and cousins who adored Halloween. They would watch horror films constantly, enjoyed the inspirations of fear and everything scary and frightening, and this was something they took great pleasure in. Although I loved my two cousins, they would push boundaries and expose me to watching said films with them, putting gooey fake bugs down my shirt, putting on masks and chasing me around their house that sometimes led to me darting out of the house and down the road. The fear I was exposed to at a young age began to give me a feeling of longing for the darker side of enjoyment. It made me feel alive and think about how far can I push myself in the name of fright. I became addicted to looking forward to October when Halloween was a festive and largely practiced holiday, taking out my decorations and watching cable for specials. Even all year long I refused to take down the spider webs, orange lights, skeletons, and jack-o-lanterns until my mother had enough and they all moved into my room and never came down.
The ideal of horror films presenting you with slashers, murderers, monsters, demons, and witches is everything that makes up a nightmare, and in nightmares you always wake up and the fear is electric. Fear keeps you alive.

Proposal:

Today scary movies are overwhelmed with CGI (Computer Generated Images) and digital special effects. They are not in the least frightening and the audience is convinced less and less as more movies are being produced. I have concluded that there requires a balance of animation and art when it comes to creating a masterpiece. I have done extensive research on this topic and I look forward to showing some light in the darkness. Horror is my favorite genre, and it always will be. We need to bring back the raw, substantial literature, and graphic gore-filled scenes that do not require digital effects so the ambiance that is felt is real and breathtaking. Come on guys, fake blood is not expensive and make-up is a very specialized form of art. I hope to accomplish bringing new and fresh terror back to movie theaters, fans leaving quite frazzled and satisfied, terrorized girlfriends clutching to their boyfriends, and give the imagination a jolt of real horror again.