HOLLYWOOD—I am a fan of horror films. I have been since I was a little kid in the 80s. However, it has come to my attention as of late that the genre feels like it is dead. I don’t mean ‘dead’ that its over and people are no longer interested in them, but there has been no significant shift in the past 20 plus years. Why can I say that? When something new does erupt, Hollywood rams it into the ground with countless copycats and less originality.
At this point, we are in the prequel phase as the 2022 film “Scream” cleverly pointed out. It involves taking a little bit from the past and mixing it with the present to introduce a classic to a new audience. The problem with that the formula is it doesn’t offer anything new or fresh because we keep getting the same thing over and over and over again. I am going to say something that is crazy, but bear with me here. There have been three reiterations of the film “Halloween.” The original helmed by John Carpenter in 1978 is a classic and remains untouched. Nothing comes close, sorry and I don’t think it ever will.
Then you have Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of that movie, that after a recent rewatch, it’s not that great. It entertains, but it absolutely lacks the suspense and terror of the original. Then you flash-forward to the most recent outing in 2018 helmed by director David Gordon Green that sparked a revitalization in the series in ways not seen before. However, I still struggle with the title. I mean if you got to a store that sells DVDs or Blu-Rays (good luck on finding one), if you ask for the movie “Halloween” they’re going to say which one: 1978, 2007 or 2018?
I would love to say I’ve seen a seriously good, unnerving horror flick in the past few years, but I cannot say that. All you have is remakes nowadays or excessive gore. Gore and over-the-top violence is NOT HORROR! I don’t know why Hollywood seems to think that. I don’t want to see a movie that is going to upset my stomach or make me cringe to the point that I want to walk out.
What message are you sending to your audience with that level of violence? I don’t even think filmmakers consider that notion, it’s all about how nasty one can be behind the camera, which asks that question why the male gaze is so prevalent in horror and why more isn’t being done to change it? Yeah, people might think I’m referring to the “Terrifier” franchise and I am because it’s too much, and it’s a franchise I will not indulge in it. I don’t think it equates to horror in any way, yet it did make a killing at the box-office, but it raises the question whether the film actually entertained the audience or if the audience was curious. Over the top violence is not good in cinema.
I did like the movie “Smile” and I’m intrigued to see the sequel “Smile 2,” but it reminds me of “The Grudge” and “The Ring” where something curses a person and it’s passed along until it kills everyone, or someone finds a way to solve the big mystery. “The Ring” which was a remake of “Ringu” was fantastic and had a narrative that hooked me with a twist I never saw coming until the end, which is something you want to see in cinema.
Horror needs to return to its roots of the 1970s. I want to say the 1980s, but I can’t because the birth of the slasher genre killed the horror genre as we know. Every idiot out there tried to cash in on the popularity of putting some psychopath in a mask with a unique weapon that dispatched horny teenagers in the most graphic or unique way, with only one or maybe two survivors at times. That turned into countless sequels that just started to become silly or beyond stupid.
Filmmakers are following the tropes and niches of the genre, the virgin, the party animal, the sexy girl, the jock, the geek, the stoner, airhead parents, the haunted house, the plot of revenge, trauma from the past. Do you see my point? It is the same thing, recycle, rinse and repeat, there is nothing fresh or original about the genre anymore.
If you think I’m joking, get ready for a remake of the 1997 flick “I Know What You Did Last Summer” which is about to arrive in theaters in 2025, with the return of the film’s original star Freddie Prinze Jr. and hopefully Jennifer Love Hewitt. “Scream” was already rebirthed in 2022 and had a popular sequel with “Scream VI” in 2023. Well after the franchise lost its star Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, original star Neve Campbell is returning for “Scream VII” which will hit theaters in February 2026.
These are just a few flicks I know of, but I’m certain we’ll see another installment in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise and Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddy Kreuger at some point return to the screen. We’re getting another installment in the “Final Destination” franchise after being MIA for almost 15 years.
It is ok to see the classics again, but only if something new and fresh says something about the genre. Instead of going back to the focus of intense suspense, dark atmospheric moods and characters who don’t fit a troupe, we are focused on characters who we don’t care about, massive loads of blood and gore beyond gore that the audience can handle.
Perhaps if filmmakers stopped spending so much time focused on how creative kills can be crafted and they focus their energy on crafting a narrative that is unique, one of a kind and something not seen on the big screen before, that would work. Hollywood, I have given you a challenge, is anyone willing to step up to the plate?
