Is horror dying? Hell no.
Mark Jones of the Newark Examiner wrote an article recently that discussed why he felt the horror genre is dying, a topic beaten into the ground every six months or so. In it he outlined seven points, some of which make sense, some of which don’t, all of which have drawn the ire of several bloggers and fans across the horror blogosphere. Most feel the genre isn’t dying, and counterpoint by highlighting the wide variety of stellar horror films that have managed to garner mostly universal praise.
The horror genre isn’t dying, it has just become more mainstream, and it just so happens that most mainstream horror is utter garbage. As a result, unmitigated trash such as The Unborn, Mirrors, and the Saw franchise become the face of the genre, resulting in a negative portrayal of it in the media. This, of course, is all subjective, though one can’t discount the notion that many of these films are commissioned and licensed by major studios, and as such more importance is placed on the almighty dollar than good cinema. Blood, guts, tits, and ass are given precedence over compelling plot and solid characters, resulting in what amounts to very Jerry Bruckheimer-esque horror films: mindless entertainment designed to make you forget about your life for an hour and a half. While this is of course the point behind movies, it’s become all too common to fall back on convention and to be motivated by success than personal enjoyment over creating not only something entertaining, but thought-provoking and important.
While remakes and big-budget Hollywood productions end up garnering most of the attention, great things are happening underground. Fans dedicated to the genre are continuously making wonderful horror films, pouring their blood, sweat and tears into a film that they hope will one day give the genre the respect it deserves. They are given the opportunity to succeed not only by their passion, but by those who slave away day and night to bring you up-to-date information and commentary on upcoming films and new names to watch. One only has to look at the outpouring of praise for Paul Solet and his film Grace, which will hopefully be receiving a wide release, to see just how important and necessary a strong online fanbase is. Word of mouth goes a long way, and indeed it is the driving force behind the success of many of our beloved contemporary horror films.
We mustn’t be fooled by the plethora of remakes or PG-13 abortions being thrown at us. Good horror is all around, the existence and continued growth of which is given credence by the continuous and oftentimes delightfully fanatical support of the fans, both behind the lens and behind their computers, who strive to bring good quality horror to each and every individual proud to call themselves a horror fan.
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That article seems to only take into account the major releases which is no way to judge the horror genre these days. Most of the best horror films I have seen are indie or foreign flicks.
What that author has given is a good list of why big budget Hollywood horror releases should be dying. PG-13, big budgets, CG, remakes. That’s all the territory of Hollywood usually and all those things do make me cringe. It’s the reason that I’m glad there’s so many alternatives to the big budget release. Here in Toronto we get the Toronto After Dark Film Festival which showcases little known horror and sci fi stuff as well as the more indie theaters here that show flicks that don’t get wide releases. I caught Pontypool in one of those theaters and it was an amazing film that doesn’t seem to be getting any sort of wide release.
That’s why his article is BS, and that’s what my article intended to show.