Sorry for the crude headline, but there's no other way of putting it. One of the film industry's greatest genres has been beaten into the ground by armies of talentless hacks. Not only are most original horror films dreadful, these uninspired, no-talents have systematically revisited genuinely scary films and ruined their legacies as well. Writer James Christopher has a very perceptive article in the Times of London explaining why there are precious few genuinely scary films made any more. Filmmakers simply don't understand the difference between suspense and gore. In Psycho, there are only two murders - but the film is still paralyzingly scary. Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now is virtually all based on the power of suggestion, not special effects - and it remains one of the most terrifying films ever made. Robert Wise's The Haunting eschewed special effects for a literate script and a great cast: no screaming teenagers trying to avoid a guy with a buzzsaw. I still can't watch the movie with the lights out. Nowdays, there has been an abundance of gore, but few genuine chills. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two really scary films that I have seen in the last decade: The Blair Witch Project and 28 Days Later. Not coincidentally, both had miniscule budgets and had to rely on innovative methods and nuance to provide the scares. Armed with a larger budget, the producers of the sequel to the latter film, 28 Weeks Later fell victim to going overboard and threw in everything but the kitchen sink (though the film is still head and shoulders over the "dead teenage" epics released seemingly every week - and it does have a kick ass final scene.)
James Christopher recalls the impact William Friedkin's The Exorcist had on audiences in 1973 and why it is still arguably the greatest horror film ever made - and he gets comments from other noted filmmakers about the demise of one of the cinema's most time-honored genres. - Lee Pfeiffer
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