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Personally, I think it's not possible for the screenwriter to write such a thing into a screenplay. Or if they do, as it happens with some horror scripts on here, it's overwritten and I don't want to read that, frankly.
Not to be argumentative - because in alot of cases, you're right about the overwriting. And you're also correct that the director/cinematographer has quite a bit to do with creating atmosphere - or not - successfully.
That said - a writer CAN and SHOULD add atmosphere to their script, giving cues to the director as to what should be the flavor of a scene. And that can easily be done without overwriting, if handled correctly. Just to take the Hellraiser example (which I'm riffing here. No idea how the script itself actually read.):
Pinhead crosses the room. Blades SCRAPE against wet walls. Beams of light stab the darkness like translucent knives.
Victim #156 SCREAMS.
IE: things like that can add a lot of needed personality to a script. Assuming one doesn't go overboard.
It's an itch you can't quite scratch. I think it's something like the feeling the audience will project on the movie given the mood, tone, music, etc. You know it's there, you can't quite say what it is though.
I'd sort of agree except I don't think the audience projects atmosphere onto the film. I think atmosphere can be consciously created by a writer or filmmaker, even though it is something sort of in the ether.
I'd venture to say in this case that atmosphere is the amalgam of all the little elements (e.g. image, sound, tone, pacing, etc.) that create the feeling of horror, dread, unease, whatever you want to call it.
If not, there's the Google definition:
"The pervading tone or mood of a place, situation, or work of art."
Whatever though. Splitting hairs. My point is that horror movies need that extra something -- atmosphere, mood, tone, [insert noun here] -- to instill a consistent sense of horror in the audience. Cheap jump scares can startle people for 90 minutes but that's about it.
There's no doubt a jump scare is the most cliche trick in the book.
And the several elements involved in creating a sense of horror, whatever they are is like creating the atmosphere. Everyone feels the horror differently and likewise everyone feels the atmosphere differently. That's why I think it's a projection. In my opinion, the audience has to project all the feelings of a two dimensional image. That's my thoughts on that, anyway
JUmp scares are as easy as baking a sweet ass pie, you've baked over and over. Really? C'mon...
Horror..when it rocks and when it works is about characters that we root for and fear for. Set it up, play it out and let nature take it's sweet ass course.
I found myself jumping quite a bit while watching The Conjuring the other night. I don't generally think it's that easy to make me jump, but this did well.
SPOILERS RE THE CONJURING BELOW:
However, once past the 45th minute I could kinda see the way the story was headed. Seen one exorcism, seen 'em all really. And, I thought it was odd that James Wan used (well, his writers used) the same idea of:' there's no point in moving, the ghost has attached itself to you now, not the house - Insidious).
Having said that, I still think it was a cut above most, by way of scare factor.
I think the most difficult part is sustaining a level of horror that's not predictable, coming up with an original plot and writing characters that we've not seen before and want to get behind. If most of the characters are purely there so they can be killed off in some boringly gory way then I'm just... bored.
Gore is one thing, true horror is another thing entirely.
Alternatively ramp it up with some good action interspersed... which is why I'm really looking forward to seeing what Greg Mclean has done with 'Wolf Creek 2'.
I think that's all rather ambiguous. That's why I'm having trouble understanding what is meant here by "atmosphere." Personally, I think it's not possible for the screenwriter to write such a thing into a screenplay. Or if they do, as it happens with some horror scripts on here, it's overwritten and I don't want to read that, frankly. I think it's the director's job to create the atmosphere of a film, whatever that atmosphere may be. There are no two films with the same atmosphere.
I agree with you that atmosphere is in every good film... however I also believe it is in every good script. Maybe, as a writer, you see this as a tool rather than allowing yourself to become absorbed in it, you look at stories (in script form) too analytically rather than allowing yourself the enjoyment of them. So, you'll sense atmosphere and instantly your writer's brain will pick up on it... this then removes you from the atmosphere and from then on you consider the script to be tricking you, almost trying to get one over on you. The atmosphere doesn't work.
I see this a lot with writers, even with myself.
However an ordinary reader, that just likes stories, will simply enjoy the tale and really enjoy the atmosphere. Our stories are meant for the general public, not nit-picky writers that don't know how to enjoy stories without analysing every little detail.
I think the most difficult part is sustaining a level of horror that's not predictable
Is that really possible though? Horror, I think, is like comedy. You can't sustain comedy. You can have moments of it. Likewise with horror.
Quoted from DustinBowcott
I agree with you that atmosphere is in every good film... however I also believe it is in every good script. Maybe, as a writer, you see this as a tool rather than allowing yourself to become absorbed in it, you look at stories (in script form) too analytically rather than allowing yourself the enjoyment of them. So, you'll sense atmosphere and instantly your writer's brain will pick up on it... this then removes you from the atmosphere and from then on ...
Reading a short story, one can find atmosphere in it because the writer is doing everything. Reading a script is a whole different matter. It should go without saying that whenever each of us read a script, we direct it in our head. It is a blueprint. Not the finished thing. So the way I read the atmosphere of a particular script doesn't mean another writer will read it the same way. Like I said, mood is a different thing. That is usually much easier to sense.
I think The Thing is as good a place to start as any. It has most, if not all the things that make horror great. You named some of them already but I think the key is atmosphere. All the best horror, at least in the traditional sense, has it. It's one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal and is easily the most neglected and underestimated in (most) horror movies nowadays.
Another thing I think goes a long way in horror is memorable imagery. The Thing is packed with it. It need not be extreme either. In The Changling, it's as simple as a ball or a wheelchair. Or in The Shining, a hallway. Even simpler, in Hellraiser, the slatted patterns on the wall before the cenobites appear. Film is ever a visual medium and I think horror has the potential for some of the most interesting and resonant images.
Personally, I like horror that plays on the human condition in one form or another. Again, The Thing is a perfect example. In the beginning, all the characters know, trust, and depend on each other. They're out in the middle of nowhere with only so many supplies and facilities; it's imperative that they do. Along comes the Thing and these relationships start to falter. One could argue the characters become as dangerous to each other as the Thing is to them.
I could go on all day frankly. Let's see where this thread goes.
Great post, James. Have you watched the commentary track with Carpenter and Russell? I like when you can listen to one of those things and just have a smile on your face most of the time. The commentary track for Jason Goes to Hell (the Unrated Cut) is one I would recommend as well.
Great post, James. Have you watched the commentary track with Carpenter and Russell? I like when you can listen to one of those things and just have a smile on your face most of the time. The commentary track for Jason Goes to Hell (the Unrated Cut) is one I would recommend as well.
I did. It was definitely a couple years back though as I bought the DVD in college. I'll have to check it out again. I love The Thing and Carpenter always brings a lot to the special features he's involved in. He's got some great stuff on the In the Mouth of Madness and Masters of Horror DVDs as well.
Haven't seen Jason Goes To Hell. Might have to check it out. I love DVD commentaries, at least when they're interesting and insightful. Sometimes the filmmakers don't know what to talk about.
Thanks, man. LA was cool, albeit somewhat overwhelming. First time for me over there, testing the waters, so to speak. I wasn't there for very long but I did get to see and do a lot so it was worth it. I love the city and definitely plan on going back at some point.
I'm a few months late but thought I'd throw in my two cents.
For me, it starts with likable characters. This is why the Friday the 13th films, which while fun in a brain-dead kind of way, don't really work for me. You can't be scared for a character you don't like or aren't emotionally invested in. I've had this conversation with other writers who have trouble building suspense, and my answer is the same -- achieving horror and suspense is easy, IF we like the characters, because then it's simply a matter of putting them in the line of danger.
Basically, in my mind, a good horror film is about horrible things happening to people you don't want horrible things to happen to.
Let's discuss what makes a good horror film, the elements that you need to keep your viewer/reader on the edge of their seats.
As I look over the contemporary horror films I've watched in the last couple years I find that I'm less horrified by or even put on edge by most of these.
Mostly I appreciate a good story, one that I can appreciate how much the writer or director has successfully crammed into 90 - 110mins.
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I love how everyone is stuck where they're at, there's no chance of rescue, the dread, and especially: the element of mystery.
Yeah, for myself I enjoy a good situation where we, the audience, can empathize with a protagonists impending dread and doom. We know it. The protag knows it. And there's nothing either of us can do about it but endure.
I don't really like the stories where everyone just runs about willy-nilly as random things happen.
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