The Horror Renaissance

[version]

Anyone been keeping abreast of the wave of arthouse (?) horror that's appeared over the last few years? I'm talking stuff like The Witch, The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers); Hereditary, Midsommar (Ari Aster); Suspiria (Guadagnino). I keep meaning to get round to some of it, but I've never been a big fan of horror. Corpsey did a thread on Midsommar specifically, but I don't think many people had seen it at the time.

How do you account for the recent burst of creativity? Is it just a cyclical thing where horror movies have swung back round, or is there something more to it?

 

[IdleRich]

I was really disappointed by pretty much all of the above films... apart from possibly The Lighthouse, and arguably that was because I'm recalibrated my expectations. It's good that these guys are trying something but I wish they'd succeed.

 

[entertainment]

I love horror film, I've seen all of those. Basically all A24 right?

A problem with the genre for a while that might account for the downturn before this new wave is that even though you made a shit horror, it would still make money in the theater. Investments required for good directors and actors cashed diminishing returns. Something to do with what people expect from horror movies, they had sort of lost that glow of art and become entertainment by virtue of jump scare tactics and such.

 

[IdleRich]

Isn't the "new French extremity" or whatever it's called horror renaissance still happening anyway? Maybe Raw was a few years back now so perhaps it's petered out.

 

[version]

I was really disappointed by pretty much all of the above films... apart from possibly The Lighthouse, and arguably that was because I'm recalibrated my expectations. It's good that these guys are trying something but I wish they'd succeed.

Did you like any of the Strickland stuff that was mentioned the other day?

 

[entertainment]

Midsommar was brilliant, absolutely loved it. The Lighthouse was pretty good and very funny. Suspiria also good but a bit clumsy with the second plot bit with the old guy, don't quite remember.

Hereditary probably the best of those

 

[version]

A problem with the genre for a while that might account for the downturn before this new wave is that even though you made a shit horror, it would still make money in the theater. Investments required for good directors and actors cashed diminishing returns. Something to do with what people expect from horror movies, they had sort of lost that glow of art and become entertainment by virtue of jump scare tactics and such.

Yeah, there seemed to be a never-ending production line of stuff like Annabelle, Insidious, The Conjuring and The Nun. There were millions of Saw films too.

 

[linebaugh]

Lighthouse and The Witch are two of my favorite films of the last few years.

Its worth noting that before those movies came out, there was already a new wave of horror culture brewing, resembling crate digging, pouring through obscure internet sources to unearth independent and foreign horror films

 

[linebaugh]

Think the original Paranormal Activity is important here, but I think this all just ties into the cyclical thing

 

[IdleRich]

Did you like any of the Strickland stuff that was mentioned the other day?

Yeah I like him a lot more.... is it horror though?

 

[version]

They've rebooted Saw now too. It looks like the best one in a while, but I dunno how good it'll be. Chris Rock appears to be making a comeback between this and the fourth season of Fargo.

 

[entertainment]

Paranormal Activity had an annoying influence industry marketing wise. Remember it sparked a lot of those "This is the scariest movie ever" or "People run screaming out of the cinema" buzzfeed articles.

 

[entertainment]

For a while, the strategy was to emulate that formula. Make it "more scary" whatever that meant.

 

[IdleRich]

Yeah, there seemed to be a never-ending production line of stuff like Annabelle, Insidious, The Conjuring and The Nun. There were millions of Saw films too.

Yes but this is always happening... Friday the 13th 6, Halloween 20 etc etc although I don't really like most of the films in your first post I'd certainly say that they are setting themselves as something quite different from that constant thing. That's not to say it's better - every now and again that production line nails it, The Grudge is great (it was on tv the other day and still actually creepy I think) and Annabelle Creation was not bad either - although they probably think they are. But regardless of that I think they are doing different things in different ways.

 

[IdleRich]

Think the original Paranormal Activity is important here, but I think this all just ties into the cyclical thing

I believe one of the most profitable films of all times in terms of a ratio of how much it made to how much it cost to make. That sort of thing is bound to make people sit up and take notice.

 

[version]

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Babadook, It Follows and It Comes at Night are a few others I remember being released, but which passed me by.

 

[version]

Yes but this is always happening... Friday the 13th 6, Halloween 20 etc etc although I don't really like most of the films in your first post I'd certainly say that they are setting themselves as something quite different from that constant thing. That's not to say it's better - every now and again that production line nails it, The Grudge is great (it was on tv the other day and still actually creepy I think) and Annabelle Creation was not bad either - although they probably think they are. But regardless of that I think they are doing different things in different ways.

I'm not grouping the two. I'm discussing how the landscape's changed. That stuff will continue, but now there are these indie directors muscling in too after years of just the production line.

 

[version]

I've forgotten to mention Jordan Peele too. I did actually see Get Out and I thought it was alright.

 

[IdleRich]

I liked AGWHAAN although I don't really know why and I can see that a lot of people wouldn't. Again not really horror as such. Did you see the follow up The Bad Batch? That had a bit more to it I'd say. Though I think the critics hated it.


And speaking of Suki Waterhouse, what about Assassination Nation, again on the border of horror - you could call it a slasher I suppose - but to me it felt like a modern take on the genre and a promising direction. Certainly I loved the fashion... those red anoraks.

 

[IdleRich]

I've forgotten to mention Jordan Peele too. I did actually see Get Out and I thought it was alright.

Good point. He's going off on his own tangent. Maybe there is something going on. Get Out was on telly here about two weeks back, I saw it before in the cinema and I thought it still stood up. Having seen Us twice as well though that is definitely not as good.