Turning Points in Horror

[ASoron0424]

*second thread today, not a trend, promise*

Movies, decades, eras, actors, directors, or world events that you see as major turning points in horror.

[steelba]

:sure:

[Dr. Loomis]

To deny the that THE RING was a major turning point would be a lie.

[Cataclysm]

To deny the that THE RING was a major turning point would be a lie.

Yeah, your right. It set fourth one of the most annoying trends since the Scream knockoffs and caused a downgrade horror. Yes, thank god The Ring was made.

[BooBerry]

The Ring wasn't anything special I didn't think.

And while not a lot of people liked SCREAM, it did open up a new wave of horror movies. Before that, what horror films really came out in the theater? Seemed like the genre died for a few years, then Scream came out and it got big again.

[realizm]

agree with Cataclysm the only thing the ring did was bring a bunch of shitty american remakes
also turning point with scream too for the worsed IMO

[BooBerry]

I didn't say it was good because it brought along its copycats (IKWYDLS, Urban Legend, Valentine, ect)... I say it was good in the fact that it seemed to bring the whole genre back into theaters. Before it, it was just DTV crap (mostly).

[steelba]

Scream was absurd, Cat is correct, and the ring sucks.

[koolmike]

1967-68

Night of the Living Dead

There's probably no movie more responsible for the birth of the modern horror film than George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead". It established the foundation upon which modern horror is built and set the standards by which it is judged.

Night of the Living Dead helped to loosen the reigns of the "gothic era of horror" (which was sending it into a downward spiral) by modernizing the setting for fear to that of today's world. This familiarity help to produce fear that felt more real, even if outrageous. "Night" examined the human will to survive, with or without the help of his fellow men. I've decided (but may change my mind) to try and stay away from discussing the social commentary of this film (I could do a whole page on it), because George Romero has stated that nothing was done on purpose (i.e. casting a Black man in the lead, etc.), but will admit the film does reflect his feelings of the time.

Night of the Living Dead is the quintessential "zombie" movie. It helped to establish the modern-day mythology of the "flesh-eating zombie." Prior to "Night", nearly all zombie movies dealt with voodoo as the primary vessel for reviving the dead. In turn, these zombies served, as mindless slaves, their human masters. In contrast, Romero's zombies were "true monsters". Creatures of destruction. They lived (again) to feed on the living. They served no one, but the instinct that drove them.

source: Me/ House of horrors

[dead breed]

Did you write that yourself Mike? :D

[koolmike]

No...oh shit, forgot to give the source...thanx.

[dead breed]

:lol:

[Godfatha]

Norman Bates having an unusual attachment to his mother.

[réÐþÁ†µ]

NOTLD 68, Jaws, Halloween, Scream to name afew turning points.

[Lucio Argento]

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, etc. set off the German expressionist movement of the late 1910s-1920s.

In the early '30s, Universal started with their classic horror movies, Dracula and Frankenstein.

Tod Browning's Freaks (1932) went past anything anybody was trying to do in that time period.

In the early-mid 40s, Producer Val Lewton showed that you didn't need money to make classic, atmospheric horror movies. The voodoo zombie classic I Walked With A Zombie inspired many.

In the late 50s, Hammer came out with their take on the Universal classics and pretty much carried horror through what was a Sci-Fi era. Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy, Horror of Dracula, and tons of other movies through the 60s had the UK on top.

1960: Hitchcock's Psycho. Set up the entire slasher genre.

In the early-late 60s, HG Lewis gave us what is now known as the exploitation sub-genre.

In 1964, Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace set up the giallo sub-genre.

1968: Romero's NOTLD totally re-invented the zombie genre and showed us that horror movies CAN have a message.

I believe that Lenzi's Man From Deep River (1972) was the first cannibal movie. This of course, sparked a whole other series of movies.

In 1974, Black Christmas came out. Halloween was actually based on Black Christmas and by some accounts was supposed to be a sequel.

1978: Halloween... You know the rest.

1980: Cannibal Holocaust: The pique of the cannibal sub-genre and probably the sickest movie ever made. Deodato actually had to go to court to prove that the actors weren't actually dead.

1996: Scream.... ugh.

2002: The Ring (see Scream)

[Elwood]

1967-68

Night of the Living Dead

There's probably no movie more responsible for the birth of the modern horror film than George A. Romero's "Night of the Living Dead". It established the foundation upon which modern horror is built and set the standards by which it is judged.

Night of the Living Dead helped to loosen the reigns of the "gothic era of horror" (which was sending it into a downward spiral) by modernizing the setting for fear to that of today's world. This familiarity help to produce fear that felt more real, even if outrageous. "Night" examined the human will to survive, with or without the help of his fellow men. I've decided (but may change my mind) to try and stay away from discussing the social commentary of this film (I could do a whole page on it), because George Romero has stated that nothing was done on purpose (i.e. casting a Black man in the lead, etc.), but will admit the film does reflect his feelings of the time.

Night of the Living Dead is the quintessential "zombie" movie. It helped to establish the modern-day mythology of the "flesh-eating zombie." Prior to "Night", nearly all zombie movies dealt with voodoo as the primary vessel for reviving the dead. In turn, these zombies served, as mindless slaves, their human masters. In contrast, Romero's zombies were "true monsters". Creatures of destruction. They lived (again) to feed on the living. They served no one, but the instinct that drove them.

source: Me/ House of horrors

You can even pin point that down even further. There seemed to be a point in Night were the movie crossed from being yet another gothic horror film, with the dark foreboding music and "safe" creatures that didnt look to threatening, to the horror we see today.

I am talking about the scene where the truck blows up and the feast begins. The birth of modern horror.

[réÐþÁ†µ]

Outside of the obvious Scream copycats that came about in the late 90s. I have to say one thing I regret Scream started or rejuvenated was the whole spoof concept itself that still beats a dead horse today.

If Scream never made it big after being predicted to be a Box Office failure. We wouldnt have to deal with far more shitty movies like the Scary Movie series and the countless different types of genre spoofs to go with it. For that, it would be one reason why I wouldnt want an otherwise good movie to disappear IMO.

[dead breed]

You can even pin point that down even further. There seemed to be a point in Night were the movie crossed from being yet another gothic horror film, with the dark foreboding music and "safe" creatures that didnt look to threatening, to the horror we see today.

I am talking about the scene where the truck blows up and the feast begins. The birth of modern horror.

Nice

[xxsic4slipknotxx]

Resident Evil (2002), whether people like the film or not, brought the zombie-horror subgenre back to cinema screens.

[pastor_ice43]

Well, era's and trends in Horror have typically all been started by a certain movie...

**Spoilers Ahead**

The old 20's-50's Universal Monster films were not only horror in it's purest form for their time, they are primarily responsible for the horror genre that we know today. Not only would there probably be no horror genre in films if not for these movies, but they are largely responsible for the modern mythos of the creatures they featured, (Vampires, Werewolves, Mummies, etc.).

Night of the Living Dead was the first true film to feature whats now a very common staple in not only horror, but the zombie mythos in general....re-animated corpses eating the flesh of living creatures. Although timid in gruesomeness compared to Dawn, Day, and Land....for it's time, it was one of the most disturbing horror films out. It set a standard that to this day has been often duplicated, but never topped.


PSYCHO was the first real slasher film, now a staple sub-genre of horror. For it's time it was a truly gruesome film, and it was complete with a huge twist midway through the film (Janet Lee's death) and a complete surprise ending that in hindsight, since we know who Norman Bates is and what he is associated with, seems like a no brainer, yet at the time, when the character of Norman Bates didn't exist yet, was probably a shocker to everyone. It's also the only movie that I can think of where you couldn't go in even one minute past the start time due to directors orders. (For those that didn't know, Hitchcock directed the studio to let all the theaters know that absolutely NO ONE was allowed late admittance into the film, regardless of the amount of lapsed time, because everyone was thinking Janet Lee was the star and the hero, and Hitchcock didn't want people coming in after her death and wondering where she was.)


THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE was the first real SHOCK HORROR film. Many films such as Last House on the Left, SE7EN, Wrong Turn, and Silence of the Lambs all follow in this vein. Another film that was absolutely gruesome for it's time, it set the tone for all future shock horror films to come. (In an interesting note, Ed Gein was the real life Wisconsin serial killer that Leatherface from TCM, Norman Bates from Psycho, and Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs are all based on.)

JAWS was another film that set standards not only in horror, but in film in general. It was not only the true first "Attacking animal" horror film, it was also the very first Summer Blockbuster, now a term typically reserved for action films...it still set the standard. It also has whats arguably the best horror music riff of all time.

If PSYCHO was the first slasher, HALLOWEEN is by far the one most responsible for the rise of the Slasher sub-genre. Although Black Christmas came out before it, it didn't do nearly what Halloween did for slashers. Halloween is directly responsible for the 80's slasher craze. The 1980's is arguably the best horror era of all time. Year after year slashers and other themed films were gracing the movie screen. Almost ever year saw a Halloween, and Friday the 13th and a Nightmare on Elm St. We also had plenty of others such as Sleepaway Camp, April Fools Day, Happy Birthday to Me, My Bloody Valentine, and Prom Night just to name a few. the 80's was truly the golden era of slasher films...if only I had a time machine.


Scream was a standard setter much in the way of Halloween and is almost a sister film to the horror classic. Although not as good, Scream and it's sequels were still all excellent slashers, and did a fantastic job of reviving the at the time dead slasher craze from the 80's. By calling out the 80's slashers on all their stereotypes, Scream was able to single handedly bring interest back into those kinds of films. And though the slasher era that followed Scream only lasted about 4 years as apposed to the Decade long one that Halloween sparked, most of the films that followed Scream, (shy of a few here and there) were decent watches. And much like Jamie Lee with Halloween and Prom Night, Kevin Bacon with Friday the 13th, and Johnny Depp with A Nightmare on Elm St. Many of today's hottest actors and actresses including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard, Ryan Phillipe, Freddy Prince Jr, and of course Jennifer Love Hewitt owe their careers to this revamped era. Scream also pulled a page from Hitchcock's book by killing off Drew Berrymore (who arguably has Scream to thank for the rebirth of her career) in the openeing moments of the film.

More recently...The Ring began the Japanese remake craze that's still going on today. Although these films are hit or miss, some have been worth the price of admission, and unlike with Halloween and Scream, all were better then the film that started the craze.

And Finally, the latest horror craze (aside from remakes) is the "torture" sub genre. This genre has SAW to thank for it's immergance. Saw was a revolutionary film in no one had done anything quite like it before. The entire film was one big twist after another with the last one being the biggest doosie of all. Although most of the films it's responsible for have been good, including it's sequels, none, aside from Saw 4, have quite been able to top the original.

What new genre or era will be next? Well it's about time for another slasher emergence, but only time will tell.

[RustedChainsaw]

Tom Savini? Anyone?

[réÐþÁ†µ]

Tom Savini WAS and IS the man.

Sadly in todays era of effects. Guys like him are getting lost in the tumblweeds for far 'better' effects which tend to turn out visually more shitty than oldschool effects.

CGI blood for instance.

[ASoron0424]

Oh shit, thanks for bringing that up Red, I always notice when it's used but forget to ever mention it:
for some reason, they will just NEVER supply a decent example of CGI blood or fire.

[Bronner]

Resident Evil (2002), whether people like the film or not, brought the zombie-horror subgenre back to cinema screens.

Still, if it hadn't been for George Romero writing the original, unproduced (and far, far superior) script for Resident Evil back in 1998, we probably wouldn't have ever seen zombies anywhere but the SCI-FI channel ever again...

[ASoron0424]

If it hadn't come out in 2002, someone would've made a movie adaptation when Resident Evil 4 came out for some added hype. But I agree, slipknot, it did bring back the respect and excitement over zombies.

[Bronner]

I think the ultimate turning point in horror movies was "Halloween," the original 1978 version. It basically launched a whole new genre of horror (slashers) and spawned countless rip-offs (Friday the 13th) and sequels, remakes and other miscellanea.

[ASoron0424]

I think the ultimate turning point in horror movies was "Halloween," the original 1978 version. It basically launched a whole new genre of horror (slashers) and spawned countless rip-offs (Friday the 13th) and sequels, remakes and other miscellanea.

Well, technically Psycho was what brought major attention to the whole slasher subgenre; and though I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the ultimate turning point in horror movies, yeah, I'd say Halloween was a big step, but it was going in another direction. Keep in mind, it came out a few years after Night of the Living Dead, where people were starting to get their first hearty helpings of mainstream gore, which was more than a turning point, it was a revolution in a way. So Halloween wasn't so much a turning point as a progressive ramp in another direction, because as we know, Halloween is largely renowned (by critics at least) for its ability to be scary without being bloody, so I'd say the developement of slasher movies was more of a culmination of the strategy and originality of Halloween, and the audacity of NOTLD.

[Bronner]

My dad claims he saw Halloween in theaters fourteen times, he said it's a movie that stuck in his head for years, possibly decades-- after his first time seeing it with his buddy Chuck they walked out to his car and my Dad looks around and Chuck says "What, what is it?" My dad simply replies "That psychopath is out here somewhere, I know he is...you drive." Chuck goes "Oh no, I saw what happened in the movie, you drive!" And they stayed outside arguing over who drives. Also, I my Dad is a very "Michael Myers," horror-themed person, he has this theory that Michael could whoop both Jason and Freddy single-handedly, I don't know, my Dad's old school...

[Slit]

I know The Blair Witch did something. Cam-corder horror anyone?

More recently...The Ring began the Japanese remake craze that's still going on today. Although these films are hit or miss, some have been worth the price of admission, and unlike with Halloween and Scream, all were better then the film that started the craze.

Most people tend to agree that The Ring did it best in terms of remaking an Asian horror film. The Grudge came after, it was pretty good as well. It all went downhill after that. I have yet to see another good remake so I can't agree that all were better than The Ring. Seriously. One Missed Call, Shutter, and Pulse better than The Ring? No :shakehead

[Lucio Argento]

I know The Blair Witch did something. Cam-corder horror anyone?



Cannibal Holocaust was actually the first to do that about 20 years earlier. Many people say that it was one of the inspirations of BWP or that BWP just flat out stole the whole camcorder in the jungle/woods, only to be discovered later on thing.

[xxsic4slipknotxx]

If it hadn't come out in 2002, someone would've made a movie adaptation when Resident Evil 4 came out for some added hype. But I agree, slipknot, it did bring back the respect and excitement over zombies.


:coolbeer: