Horror: Has It Ceased to Exist?

      Being frank, there have been no real horror films released in about the last five years. Quite horrifying (no pun intended), in a society that's accelerating at a ridiculous rate; five years can seem like centuries in this era. Of course, one may ask, what is horror? Obviously films like The Unborn, or those of the recent saw franchise, have taught us differently than what I came to consider as "horror." By this, I mean twist ending after twist ending, in additon to some crafty traps, gore, and sudden shifts in the musical score to knock us off our seats. We leave the theater, or pull out our DVD's, and sure, it was awesome. "Didn't see it coming, [Insert random scene] was interesting, hope the sequel, or whatever roman numeral this film is on will be better than this one." Most people probably go to their rooms, turn off the lights, having absorbed enough of the film to talk about it the week after. Then, though, there's that guy at the back of the theater, and you can bet it's a guy, for sure. His pants are probably a little damp, but no one will ask him why, not out of respect, heavens no. They won't ask, because they won't know.

     Wait, now, at this point, there's been no real horror discussion, simply some story about this guy who apparently embarassed himself. It's all relevant, but it's not something one can simply pick out of the raffle bin. Sure, it's easy to say the film might have scared the guy stupid, and for all we know, it did. One guy out of an entire audience, though? A little odd. If you still don't get it, the concept isn't too hard to grasp. Dread, fear, terror, a morbid sense of melancholic atmosphere. The feeling that you shouldn't walk through the house in the dark, that you want to be completely covered in your bed, out of some indescribable feeling that something is lurking around your bedskirts. You may want to look behind you, stay out of the pool, avoid mirrors, maybe clowns. There's an anxiety that overcomes you when these situations come into question, and it all stems from this film you watched an hour ago, a day ago, or a week ago. Horror, in it's purest form, complete mastery.

     How many films, now, has Hollywood managed to release here in the past decade that truly embody these feelings of anxiety? Slasher films, in majority, can hardly be considered horror, as most are produced simply for the effect of gore, traps, and twist endings, as the recent Saw franchise have begun to let on. Sure, the first film was good, nigh excellent. A refreshing plot, and believable characters. You can only take the same concept so far, though, one or two sequels maybe. Then, though, every decade or so has a defining horror film that revitalizes the genre, just as Scream managed to revolutionize the slasher flick for the 90's and on. Yet, a single masterpiece cannot comprise the years to come in such a fast moving civilization. The inspiration and talent is there, but no one can step up to the plate, and grasp it.

     For quite a long time, in terms of the 21st century, the foreign film market has had a strangle-hold on the horror genre. Out of experience, numerous films from countries such as Korea, Japan, and Thailand have managed to capture the true essence of horror. Through some innate ability to command atmosphere, and produce memorable scenes, many foreign ghost stories, such as The Ring, hit hard. Much so, if you arent cowering under your seats, you'll probably be swept away. A number of films, all of which any horror fan should strive to view, include: Shutter(Thailand), The Ring(Japan), Ju-On(Japan), Ab-Normal Beauty(Korea), and list stretches for a few more films, the above simply being above average. On the same subject, though, is the rather morbid string of Hollywood remakes of the above films, in additon to the numerous films spanning the foreign market. While The Ring stands as a successful remake, Hollywood's repertoire of effortless screw-ups manages to stretch far beyond their list of successes, with a remake of Dario Argento's classic '77 film Suspiria on schedule for an english-cast debut sometime in the future. Where has horror gone?

     So, again I must ask, where has horro gone? The foreign ghost stories, while ridiculously successfull, will hardly manage to captivate their audiences for very long, as will the endless American slasher-flick sequels which seemed to get pumped out of a machine every so often. There are some future prospects in the making, while interesting as they seem, border on letdowns years before they're even released, namely the additons to our remake list: Nightmare on Elm Street, and Hellraiser. Hopes are high, sure, but expectations are much less promising. Yet, on this downward spiral to hopelessness, I'll hold out for a sign of light, and maybe, before 2010 ends, yet another film will aspire to redefine horror as we know it.