by Freyda Tartak

Created on: September 21, 2009

People go to see movies for different reasons. For the genre of horror, suspense, and thriller, those reasons often have at least a little something to do with the need to be shocked. There are two ways to do this: Through carefully taking the viewer by the hand and leading them down a road only to lead them where they least expect to end up, or by throwing visual stimuli on the screen as brightly, and loudly as possible.

Unfortunately, the first option is a bit of a lost art form. Perhaps one of the best horror flicks ever made was "The Birds". For it's time it had its fair share of gore, in the form of eye balls being pecked out by a bunch of very determined and pissed off birds. By today's standards, it is probably okay to show that movie to preschoolers. There were much stricter standards back then for what could and could not be shown on the screen.

Funny enough, a lot of the stuff shown back then was far more risqu than anything you'll see today. The main difference is that movie makers had to be clever to work around the restrictions. That was when movies were actually entertaining. This comparison is a lot like the difference between eating a really deliciously spicy meal and one that is just plain painful going in and coming out.

Gore is to horror what nudity is to porn. Where exactly is the ramp up factor if everything is all out in open? How is the audience supposed to let their imagination go wild when there is nowhere left to go? Where is the excitement in knowing exactly what you are in for and just being constantly bombarded with it? That's like landing on the peak of a roller coaster ,ride and going down, fast, for a really long time, and never going back up or changing speed. Pretty soon, you just want to get off.

Modern day horror and thriller cinema is not all that interesting. It is banal and low brow. Sure, there is the wince factor but, unless it's a short short, don't we all have something better to do with our time? It would really be nice to just think about what probably being told, right out. It isn't necessary to be a prude to just want to rebel after being bombarded with so much visual stimuli and opt for a nice old musical.

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