by Victoria Jeffrey

Created on: December 09, 2007

It used to be that horror films could instill fear through suspense, atmosphere and good camera use of light and shadow. Of course, some movies, like The Mad Magician, were really cheesy and campy but even those can be fun to watch. Some are very good. Decades ago there was no need to show gore and extreme violence to scare an audience. These films employed drama and suspense to enthrall audiences. Not so anymore.

What ever happened to the old way of making films? Horror films made today are some of the most disgusting, offensive and inane material presented as entertainment. Old films like The Mummy or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde could create tension and suspense without resorting to these tactics. The Mummy, made in 1932 by Karl Freund, was a deadly and mysterious monster that could kill people from far away without having the budget and special effects technology that exists today. The audience could also empathize with this creature, as dangerous and ruthless as he was because there was a good story behind the film.

What bothers me about people who love modern horror is why they are entertained by such graphic violence. You can barely see a horror film these days without being subjected to gross scenes of murder, rape and even cannibalism and necrophilia. I think that horror film makers have taken the creative writing concept of "show, don't tell" overboard. They show limbs being sawed or chopped off, people being stabbed to death; torture is shown in the most gruesome ways before victims are put to a horrible death. It's shown so graphically now that it's not really a big deal anymore. To me, this is the real horror. Human violence should always be shocking. Unfortunately, it has all become a kind of porn; the buckets of blood, the tortured flesh, the sadism and graphic nature of the violence. What is especially disturbing is the graphic sexual violence against women in modern horror films. Women have come a long way to gain recognition and respect in society and for what? So that violent fantasies and undercurrents of hatred for females can be played out in our entertainment? All women should be disturbed by this.

Not all modern horror films are bad. Alien, The Others, The Shining, Ringu, Mary Reilly, The Devil's Backbone, An American Haunting, Skeleton Key, The Exorcist and others like these films employ the old film techniques of atmosphere and mystery in order to terrify you. It's not that I have a problem with all movie violence. Some of it is fine but too many horror films use violence as the whole point of the film instead of employing good story techniques. Modern horror films today usually sacrifice storytelling and mystery for blood splattering special effects. Personally, horror is not my favorite genre. I usually prefer to stay away from it but every now and then a good one piques my interest. Unfortunately, good horror films are becoming increasingly hard to find.

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