Is Horror Dead?

[Lightknight]

Traditional horror does seem to be having a hard time. It's only dead in that the current companies that could create them thinks that they could be using their money more effectively elsewhere. I will say that the genre will likely cycle back.

If the Occulus Rift ever actually gets implemented, we should see a resurgence for that alone. Can you imagine a 3-D world of horror? Muahahaha!

 

[RedDeadFred]

I haven't been legitimately scared by many horror films for quite a long time. Kill List is one of the few that stands out as a genuinely disturbing and atmospheric scary movie. Insidious was also somewhat scary but after the Tip Toe Through the Tulips section, I was laughing constantly. Sinister was also kind of scary.

Paranormal Activity movies are a joke. I can pretty much call what/when most of the jump scares are.

 

[RedDeadFred]

I despise horror films, they don't go well with my logic fixated brain. The only "horror film" I have ever really enjoyed, was Cabin in the Woods, simply because it mocks the entire genre.

I wouldn't even call that a horror film though (although I see you put it in quotations). I didn't find it scary in the slightest. More of a sci-fi comedy than anything else.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

i love horror.

alot of people go into horror thinking its just for scarese its not, it there to horrify you and that encompasses alot more than scares. Horror is just a lense for delving deep into things that nobody wants to think about.

and thats why horror isn't as good at the moment, as a gen y kid themes in horror arn't at present often tied to modern fears and terrors.

also horror comedy is awesome

wolf creek(2005) seems to frighten most people i know most,but thats set in our country and a beloved childrens show host plays the serial killer and pulls of a pitch perfect performance of that guy at every pub in rural australia whos always there. Good example of tieing horror to modern fears.

 

[chocolate pickles]

I never really watch horror movies, but good horror indie games (like you mentioned, SCP, Slender)are still being made. Nothing mainstream has properly scared me though: I felt more scared playing the original Silent hill 2 than i did dead space 1/2 (Never played 3)

The most intense kind of fear i had was when i went a fright night during halloween. The theme park we went to had set up mazes, with the first one i went into making me break down as soon as i saw the first actor (2 seconds into the maze basically. Yes, i'm a coward).

 

[MrHide-Patten]

The only thing that is trully frightening these days is... life. Seriously, get all parinoid that your going to go to jail on fraud charges and wonder how you'll make ends meet and nothing else will frighten you.

 

[SecondPrize]

I dunno. We're starting to see more self-aware horror movies like Cabin in the Woods and Tucker and Dale vs Evil, which is a good thing. Horror was never all that great though. Creep Show scared me because I watched it when I was five. It's always been a few good movies that were actually decent movies, regardless of the genre, and then a whole lot of crap.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I think that you said it best OP. For videogames, SCP Containment Breach, Slender, and products by Frictional Games (Penumbra, Amnesia) are where horror is going to go best.

The SCP and Slender games are opting to use set scenarios with randomization to create horror. With a game like SCP, this adds to replayability for many.

Amnesia's custom story options encourage creativity......but has not been very successful, because many people have failed to realize what made Amnesia scary in the first place, and instead have decided to do jump scares to create "horror", and surprise is not horror.

Games under the horror label will still be made, but as we've seen with Resident Evil (which stopped being a horror series after the 4th game) publishers or developers find it too risky to make something that scary in subtle ways. That won't necessarily stop them from being good games, Deadspace 1 and 2 were fine sci-fi shooters even if they failed the horror aspect.

tl;dr horror will struggle in the indie scene, but is dead in the mainstream scene.

 

[Fractral]

No. Just no. You mention Paranormal Activity as a 'scary' film OP but that film wasn't scary at all. All you're experiencing is desensitisation - nothing more. You say "Discuss"? I say man up and move on.

This is true in part, but whats probably actually happening is a mixture of this and a slight general decline in horror as well. When I watched Paranormal Activity 3 with a friend, people in the cinema were screaming at all the scares, even though I wasn't, which suggested that they are still scary to some people. I mean, I found Insidious terrifying, up until the part where it throws out all common sense.
That said, as many people have pointed out horror in general is suffering from wrong ideas about what makes it scary, which is definitely not pristine graphics and repetitive jump scares.

 

[Ratties]

The problem with the genre is that people think it only means one thing. If slow paced horror is the only thing that scares them, then every horror movie has to be this way. Same thing goes with the games. I understand that horror can also be action packed. I really like the first two Dead Space games alot. They played out like a video game version of the Aliens movies, The aliens can be sneaky at times, they also try to overwhelm you with numbers. I understood that the Necromorphs are supposed to be up in your face at all times. Alot of what makes something scary is where it takes place. I can accept a strange world like Silent Hill, also respect the smart level design of the first Resident Evil game.

 

[Bat Vader]

I don't believe that horror is dead or dying. I have never been a fan of horror films or games mainly because they don't really scare me. Mainly because I know it is just a movie or game and when to expect a scare most of the time. There are rare times though where I have been scared in a game. Amnesia: The Dark Descent has legitimately scared me on some occasions and the Marble Hornets YouTube videos have also made chills go up my spine as well at times.

 

[bug_of_war]

I wouldn't say that horror is dead, more so we've become desensitized. I've seen enough horror films, played enough horror games and experienced life in general long enough to have been able to just deal with it. I can watch anything and play anything that use to scare the hell out of me and be perfectly content. I'm not saying I can't experience fear, I totally can, but it's nothing associated with horror like qualities found in novels, pictures, film, games or whatever. I'm sure if you showed a 5 year old Nightmare on Elm Street they would be mortified, but if you show someone who's...14,15,16+ and I'll bet ya that they'll watch it and feel no fear. Maybe anxiety or startled, but they're not fear, and horror should induce fear.

 

[Mechsoap]

I think horror in Hollywood is dead, since it focuses on box office sales, and casual entertainment. The real horror you're referring to would most likely come from more indie studios, or amateur film makers. The downside with that is that the quality is often lacking, but hey, its horror.

 

[Thommo]

or is it un-dead

Chortle chortle chortle

 

[Mr. Eff_v1legacy]

I would say AAA horror is suffering, certainly, but indie developers are making up for it. Games like Paranormal, Candles, the SCP series, etc. are really picking up the slack from the fallen titans Resident Evil and Silent Hill.

 

[waj9876]

It's not. It's just that horror itself is changing, because we're finding different things scary now, as opposed to back when horror movies were the most popular.

It's all about the horror games now anyway.

 

[Soundwave]

Guillermo del Toro is consistently putting out good horror films. I think it's probably more accurate to say that "horror isn't dead, just that there are tons of incompetent hacks trying to make horror films because they're cheap, profitable, and easy".

Regarding video games, I'd agree that indie developed horror games are much better at horror than the AAA ones.

 

[thesilentman]

I'd say that it's more that the horror that's mainstream that is dying. The indie circle (of games and movies) has a good selection of horror titles out there, and with all of the creepypastas out there (some of which are really good at what they do), I don't see horror as dead. I see it as more something that belongs to the indies now, and I really can't fault anyone for that.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

No. Just no. You mention Paranormal Activity as a 'scary' film OP but that film wasn't scary at all. All you're experiencing is desensitisation - nothing more. You say "Discuss"? I say man up and move on.

This is true in part, but whats probably actually happening is a mixture of this and a slight general decline in horror as well. When I watched Paranormal Activity 3 with a friend, people in the cinema were screaming at all the scares, even though I wasn't, which suggested that they are still scary to some people. I mean, I found Insidious terrifying, up until the part where it throws out all common sense.
That said, as many people have pointed out horror in general is suffering from wrong ideas about what makes it scary, which is definitely not pristine graphics and repetitive jump scares.

True enough. People tend to be scared by things they have not experienced before, so new-comers to the horror genre still find fairly bland horror films 'scary'. But what people find scary or shocking changes over time as well. Take The Exorcist as an example. When this film was released back in the 70's people were vomiting in their seats and running shrieking from the cinemas (according to some reports of the time that I'm too lazy to find now) which caused the film to be banned - at least here in the UK - until 1999. And yet the film itself is not scary to a modern audience. The Omen, terrifying and chilling in it's day, doesn't really hold up all that well to modern criticism.

Horror is also an intensely personal thing. Chances are I could sit unblinking through scenes that would make you cringe, just as you would be totally unfazed by scenes that set my teeth on edge - and you are correct in that, rather than trying to exploit these personal triggers, the mainstream film industry does seem to be taking the easy route and going for gore and shocks.