Always open a good horror movie with two lesbians on a camping trip.
It's solid gold.
----------------------
Trust me.
So I am about to read a script for a film that was sent to me by a guy who wants to make a horror movie.
Seeing as I am totally ignorant on the genr? what should I be looking for?? What are some general rules that make horror good??
The movie from my understanding is about people that get killed but they see themselves die on TV before the killer arrives...I will tell you more after I read it.
Thanks
Always open a good horror movie with two lesbians on a camping trip.
It's solid gold.
----------------------
Trust me.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">agreed.Always open a good horror movie with two lesbians on a camping trip.
It's solid gold
the rule to consider with horror movies:
it's all been done before and it wasn't any good the first time.
OK--I read it.
As stated I am not a fan of the Horror genr?.
The script seems fairly formulaic at the outset...
Group of friends. They all die in some sort of order by zombies which they become once they have been killed to kill off the rest of the group. However, it does have something going for it how the zombies are being controlled and how they all seem to see their deaths before they occour.
I am going to talk to the director soon and get more info from him about his plans.
What other ideas do you have that are key to a good horror flick??
Good Luck
Sound design is very important. on the From Dusk Til Dawn commentary, Quentin Tarantino points out that if you watch it in an old or low budget cinema, you'll see it as a comedy romp. See it is a theatre with a huge Dolby 6.1 DTS mega-bastard system and you're so drawn in that you can't laugh. You're shit scared.
Also, cinematography. Watch Halloween or any John Carpenter flick. Fantastic composition.
I'm generally not a big fan of horror films, basically because they tend to fall in their clich?s. I like some of the japanese ones because the scares they give are much more on a 'silent level'.
Basically what I'd like to see is a twist to the oh-so famous chase sequences. Girl screams and runs away from zombie/hook/claw/knife/chainsaw. You remember your girlfriend shouting things like 'don't go in there you twat!' 'grab the fuckin gun!' 'go back and shoot the damn bastard!'. I'd actually like to see some of that. Never did.
Two ways of shooting decent horror:
1) Go down the gore route and add copious amounts of sick shit (sex, blasphemy, killing of real animals, snuff look-and-feel, porn running in the background TV/cinema) as well as humour. Examples are Hellraiser, early Peter Jackson films (Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, Braindead), the Japanese Guinea Pig series and any old Italian gore flick beetween 1975 - 1983.
+: the script as well as the actors can be shite as only a good vfx (wo)man is required, free marketing courtesy of the Daily Mail ("Flesh Eating Sado Cannibal Zombie Holocaust Film Causes Asylum Seeker Breast Cancer Scare on Public Transport Terror Attack!"), cult status mostly guaranteed
-: expensive or risky (when using offal) if it should look good, high risk of not being commercially viable, people might puke
2) Shoot a moody, atmospheric picture with creaky sound effects and pointedly inserted music and only the odd special effect (if at all) where the real horror happens in the head
+: inexpensive to shoot, more effective at creating lasting nightmares than the gore genre, wider audience reception
-: actors, crew and script need to be half decent, people might shit themselves
There are a few movies combining these two to great effect (The Thing, Evil Dead) but most horror flicks fall into either of these categories or a third:
3) The crap slasher movie. Someone chases a bunch of kids, killing one after the other until he himself is disposed of until the sequel.
+: guaranteed audience of screaming teenagers each year on 31st of October
-: filmic quality is utter shite due to same formula applied to all these films, hopeless for new entries as Freddy, Jason and Michael have cornered this niche already
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 09, 2005 05:30 AM: Message edited by: assyrix ]</font>
I guess it depends on the style, but broadly speaking I think most horror films are structurally very similar to comedies - when you tell a joke you need a set up and a punchline.
When trying to be scary you need to set up the situation - with atmosphere, and then deliver the 'punchline' which may be something horrible happening to someone.
If you dont have the setup/delivery structure then it would need something else - maybe all atmosphere - but then the audience do need to breathe and relax - you cant have them holding their breath the whole time in anticipation - and they wont bother unless you are very very good.
assyrix' summary above is pretty much spot on. Personally I love horror films, but I dont really think of many as 'Horror' - the schlock type are just daft gore films, even the 'more disturbing' ones.
If its about Zombies, I wouldnt expect the script to tell you very much, unless there are some interesting ideas in there - The most scary zombie films Ive seen were created by atmosphere (down to direction and editing) and interesting ideas.
The old idea of 'less is more' is definatly true for the better horror films - you really dont need to see the horrible thing that happens - that makes it a gore film - true horror happens to engaging characters who you can actually feel something for, in a terrible situation.
That can be done with no special effects at all.
just some thoughts. Good luck.
Tension makes a good horror movie for me.
It's when you're waiting for something to happen that you are most afraid.
"The unknown".
Mate,
Watch Scream the movie by WES CRAVEN. This films basically outlines the main points of any horror.
It's post-modern and very self-aware, so it frankly discusses the do's and don'ts of the genre on screen...
MP
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