A question about the Usual Suspects of Horror

Eric Boellner

Eric Boellner

Well-known member
If you're watching a horror film, and it uses all the standard tricks in the bag for scaring you, do you think less of the film as a whole, even if it scares you? For instance, The Conjuring uses some sleep-walking, some people being dragged out of bed, some thumps from other rooms, plenty of doors slamming on their own, etc. The movie was scary enough, I mean the tension was pretty thick at times and I think that's a sign of how well-directed the film is aesthetically. But does the standard bag of tricks make the film cliche? Or are the cliches acceptable because they're well-used?

Asking because I'm writing a script I may or may not try to shoot for the fest, and wondering about my usage of the bag of tricks. I'm scaring the s--t out of myself writing this script, so I think I'm doing something right, but as a constant self-editor, I want to make sure I'm not overusing horror tropes. Looking forward to this discussion.

-EMB

P.S. Hope it was okay to post this here!
 
I think it's hard to say without seeing what you're working on, but I agree with Chris. Use them smartly. Use them in new ways maybe we haven't seen before. Use humor (if appropriate) in the context of the "standard trick" to make the scare more effective. Use them as a misdirection to reveal the real scare.

And don't overuse them.



Eric Boellner said:
If you're watching a horror film, and it uses all the standard tricks in the bag for scaring you, do you think less of the film as a whole, even if it scares you? For instance, The Conjuring uses some sleep-walking, some people being dragged out of bed, some thumps from other rooms, plenty of doors slamming on their own, etc. The movie was scary enough, I mean the tension was pretty thick at times and I think that's a sign of how well-directed the film is aesthetically. But does the standard bag of tricks make the film cliche? Or are the cliches acceptable because they're well-used?

Asking because I'm writing a script I may or may not try to shoot for the fest, and wondering about my usage of the bag of tricks. I'm scaring the s--t out of myself writing this script, so I think I'm doing something right, but as a constant self-editor, I want to make sure I'm not overusing horror tropes. Looking forward to this discussion.

-EMB

P.S. Hope it was okay to post this here!
Click to expand...
 
great question, and great responses by keaton and mick.

this is a gray area. whats scares haven't we seen? what's left? are we just mimicking other movies?

my 2 cents is, if you know you're using the same techniques in your movie that you have seen in others, then strive harder for your own genius.
don't be lazy.
 
I think it always comes down to story. Look at all the great directors and writers. They use a lot of cliche but the story and script are usually so good you don't even notice!
 
If it's scaring you just writing it, I'd finish the script, shoot it and get it in the fest... what better way to get solid input. There's no law saying you can't re-shoot, re-edit, tweak & re-tweak until you get it just right. Take the advice already given and run with it! I look forward to seeing this one.
 
Thanks for all the great responses, guys. I think what made me nervous about my use of the tropes was the story felt a little lacking, but I figured out the problem and I'm now rewriting.

Thanks, Brandon. I'm looking forward to participating in my first DVXfest!

-EMB
 
Creepy is almost always better than the 'jump out' scares that most filmmakers are ready for. But creepy is harder to pull off.

I really enjoyed The Conjuring. But it didn't scare me. Made me jump once, and that was mostly due to a very loud sound cue, but it didn't leave me with the feeling that lingers afterwards from seeing something really intense/scary.

I really enjoyed it though. If you could pull that kind of movie off, you would clean up.
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Creepy is almost always better than the 'jump out' scares that most filmmakers are ready for. But creepy is harder to pull off.

I really enjoyed The Conjuring. But it didn't scare me. Made me jump once, and that was mostly due to a very loud sound cue, but it didn't leave me with the feeling that lingers afterwards from seeing something really intense/scary.

I really enjoyed it though. If you could pull that kind of movie off, you would clean up.
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I agree with this, and I think it's what makes me so particular in my choices of horror films that I'll watch. I'm a big fan of the genre, but almost moreso as an idea than as it is in reality, largely because I'm so often disappointed by horror films. It's not that I don't get scared, I do -- I slept with the lights on for two nights after seeing Paranormal Activity in theaters (I didn't grow up watching horror, and have a very active imagination <grin>). But what bugs me is when the "bag of tricks" I've been talking about are used for a cheap thrill instead of a lasting suspense, or "creepiness," as you call it. And that's kind of what I'm trying to keep myself from doing in my entry for DVXfest.

I liked The Conjuring, but thought it tried just a little too hard to be scary sometimes. The most unsettling (and therefore best) part of the film was when the little girl was staring at the thing she saw behind the door. Or when the mother realized that the clap she'd heard from inside the wardrobe didn't come from her daughter.

My favorite horror film, by far, is a little Finnish horror film called Sauna. The reason I love it so much is because it's not only creepy, and unsettling, but it's just a really well-built drama set in the bones of a horror film. And it works on both levels.

-EMB
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Creepy is almost always better than the 'jump out' scares that most filmmakers are ready for. But creepy is harder to pull off.
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Completely agree but a good scare punchline that really makes me jump added to creepy, hard to pull off - worth the effort.

Speaking of, MAH are we going to see an entry from you?
 
the underrated omen series 1-3 from the 70's captured a devilish series of deaths
i've never quite seen mimicked with such intensity.

whenever anyone dies, you get the following:

1. a tension building scene that last a few minutes
2. amazing horrific music
3. an innocent character is set up to be killed, and is killed
4. the kills / deaths themselves are well done and pretty original
5. usually a nice mix of creepy / scary / horrific all rolled into one

i watch the trilogy once every few years.
 
Personally as a kid who has been making horror movies for along time. I love using the old tricks but putting a spin on them. That could mean so many things though. Do whatever fits the story and whatever you think works. -Anthony
 
Dude, please tell me you're making a short for HorrorFest II.


MayhemFilms said:
Personally as a kid who has been making horror movies for along time. I love using the old tricks but putting a spin on them. That could mean so many things though. Do whatever fits the story and whatever you think works. -Anthony
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Noel Evans said:
Completely agree but a good scare punchline that really makes me jump added to creepy, hard to pull off - worth the effort.

Speaking of, MAH are we going to see an entry from you?
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Agreed.

I wish! But I really doubt I'll have the time.

I have some scripts if anyone is interested. Just send me a PM.
Good luck to everyone who throws their proverbial hat in the ring.
 
Matt Harris said:
the underrated omen series 1-3 from the 70's captured a devilish series of deaths
i've never quite seen mimicked with such intensity.

whenever anyone dies, you get the following:

1. a tension building scene that last a few minutes
2. amazing horrific music
3. an innocent character is set up to be killed, and is killed
4. the kills / deaths themselves are well done and pretty original
5. usually a nice mix of creepy / scary / horrific all rolled into one

i watch the trilogy once every few years.
Click to expand...

I'll definitely have to watch those sometime soon. Is the 2006 remake any good, comparatively?

I just watched Ringu on demand last night; had never seen it before. Pretty interesting, because there were almost no scares, but plenty of tension-building and creepiness. Kinda felt it lacked a little luster in the ending, but overall a decent J-horror flick.

Movieplex has the original Amityville Horror for free, too, so I'll probably check that out sometime this weekend.

-EMB
 
You can use all the old tricks well with or without subverting them. The audience might see it coming but you decide when it happens or if it does at all. The sense of what's coming is the most powerful source of tension horror has. Without it you have only surprise which is fleeting. The 'two agents backing into each other around a corner' scare you see a mile off but the longer it takes to deliver the higher the anticipation. Which you can either resolve or bait and switch with a different scare.

You couldn't communicate effectively without 'and' 'its' 'the' 'that' and other such words. So to with the horror tropes. As long as they come naturally from the script rather than being shoehorned in, I wouldn't worry too much about it. If the script is drab and derivative then its not the cliches you need to worry about. We have to care about the characters, we have to be able to judge the unlikeable ones and enjoy the order in which they are bumped off. There needs to be juxtaposition of quiet and/or funny moments to give us a rest between the tensions. And the central hook has to be original. If you have all that and the ability to carry it off then you are set. Tension comes from stakes and concept as well as technique.
 
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