Is horror popular or is chattering about it popular? There are four pages of discussion on the topic, yet most scripts barely manage four reads. Just sort of funny.

Quoted from Old Time Wesley I think only IMADMAN and Dogglebe really know how to keep review neutral and everyone else is too afraid of hurting people's feelings. (And they keep it constructive and not just attacking people like the FD3 thread.)

I don't care if I hurt anyone's feeliings.  If you post your script on a public board, and ask for comments and criticism, I'm going to be honest.  Anything less than that will be disrespectful.  And if I say your script sucks like an open chest wound, I'm going to back that up with examples of your script.

A script that I am writing now includes a wannabe actress.  She's been cast in a bad sci-fi/adventure/romance film.  I'm laughing hysterically at the script-within-a-script that I am writing because it's so awful.  At the same time, it wouldn't be the worst that I've read.


Phil

I don't think the word suck, terrible or stupid should be used when describing someone's work... Constructive is the key word not childish as it seems a lot of people are when reviewing screenplays (I'll be cool if I say something bad about this script, maybe people will like me and read my work hehe)

I think you might be right R.E. but all the pages of Horror with even more pages of pointless chatter about each of them (It's not all reviews, a lot of pointless chatter) but it is still a vast pile of garbage that should not be aloud. They are posted for reviews and people fill them up with unrelated banter.

I guess you can't stop it but you can sure avoid it and that's what hurts some of the better ones that go unread because people choose to read the bad apples.

I wouldn't use those words, either (atleast not often), but I have implied it on more than one occasion.  Backing it up separates slamming from criticism.


Phil

I would prefer someone slam my work with some honest criticism than say it's great when it isn't. As long as someone tells me why what I wrote sucks, then they are free to have any opinion they wish. I just want to be able to fix whatever sucks.

Because some people think it's easier than writing a character driven piece, laden with snappy dialogue. In short there's a lack of respect for the genre, and "some ' probably think that a horror screenplay is as easy to nail as the town bike, once she's had a few too many drinks. And we wonder why a horror film has never won an Oscar for best picture. Mmm.

I don't want to piss anyone off, but horror films are easier to write than other genres.  Comedy and action are next.  Then we have drama.  Drama is considered the most challenging.

Why is this so?  All a horror film has to do, for most, stupid people, is freak you out - not give you interesting characters and subplots and such.  That's just what we wish good horror films had.  Comedy and action films just have to be funny and/or blow stuff up.  Interesting characters and thought provoking themes are just a plus.

...

Sorry, I guess.

Comedy is hard, jokes come fewer and fewer as you get further into the script.

Horror is easy, plots are useless, women are stupid, and people are dumb.  GET A GUN!  SHOOT EM'!

It's not that people like myself hate the genre but are sick of it being popularized by kids who cannot write it for shit, that means those who think A road trip turned bad is a good story or a really violent piece with "cool" deaths will make it good.

It is actually really hard to write good horror, sure anyone can write it but that doesn't mean anything if it's bad.

The best horror movies actually have drama and non stereotypical characters - that means, not what we've not seen in a while or even NEVER seen - characters that we actually would never expect.  I want to see a business man become a murder because he's forced to by a psychopath, only to learn - he actually likes it. Now that would be fun to watch.

Anyone, feel free to write away.
Please, please, dont than me.

Quoted from Stephen Wegmann The best horror movies actually have drama and non stereotypical characters - that means, not what we've not seen in a while or even NEVER seen - characters that we actually would never expect.  I want to see a business man become a murder because he's forced to by a psychopath, only to learn - he actually likes it. Now that would be fun to watch. Anyone, feel free to write away. Please, please, dont than me.

Um... that's actually what Hostel's about. All the murderers in Hostel are rich businessmen who are so bored with sex and drugs that they want to experience the "ultimate rush."

And yeah, horror's really going down the toilet nowadays. It's extremely difficult to come up with new ideas. I'd say the trick to making a good horror movie in this day and age is a difference in interpretation rather than concept (e.g. both The Cave and The Decent came out last year. Both had almost identical plots. Yet one is being raved as the best horror film of 2005 while the other, well, it's The Cave).

And, of course, well developed characters and plot are vital too. Unfortunately, taking the time to develop characters often takes a long time and people who are unwilling to bare through the exposition often get bored and the film ends up losing them. Then again, it's sometimes done very well.

That's seriously hostel?  Wow.  But is it about the murderers or the murdered.  If it was about the psychos, then that'd be a REALLY interesting twist.

I heard of The Cave but not The Decent.  Didn't see them either.  'Reckon they both sucked.  

Horror movies nowadays are lacking.  The last good horror flick was possibly Saw but definitely the Amityville Horror remake - not for personality, but for pure intensity.

Quoted from Stephen Wegmann That's seriously hostel?  Wow.  But is it about the murderers or the murdered.  If it was about the psychos, then that'd be a REALLY interesting twist. I heard of The Cave but not The Decent.  Didn't see them either.  'Reckon they both sucked.   Horror movies nowadays are lacking.  The last good horror flick was possibly Saw but definitely the Amityville Horror remake - not for personality, but for pure intensity.

Hostel is the victims' story but I thought the torturers were well-developed as well. One of the scenes I found most creepy didn't even have any blood. It was simply a conversation between one of the tourists and a jaded American businessman. It's a very different film than most horror movies. I'd check it out.

The Descent is a British film that came out last year from the director of Dog Soldiers (fantastic werewolf movie). It's about an all-female caving expedition that goes wrong. It's been compared to Alien and Dog Soldiers - the humor and has been referred to as a true monster movie. I hope it gets released in the US before too long.  

The Descent sounds interesting - an I've been wanting to see Hostel since I heard it was a Tarantino film! - jk jk

Quoted from Stephen Wegmann I don't want to piss anyone off, but horror films are easier to write than other genres.  Comedy and action are next.  Then we have drama.  Drama is considered the most challenging.

IMHO, comedy is harder to write than drama.  It's easy to come up with five or ten jokes for a script, but when you have to right 150, that's another problem.  THis is why the Police Academy Films died after the original.  The writers couldn't sustain the jokes and ended just rehashing old ones.

Quoted from Stephen Wegmann Why is this so?  All a horror film has to do, for most, stupid people, is freak you out - not give you interesting characters and subplots and such.  That's just what we wish good horror films had.  Comedy and action films just have to be funny and/or blow stuff up.  Interesting characters and thought provoking themes are just a plus.

Horror is popular on this site because so many writers here are young and think that killing people (on paper) is cool.  It's also easy.  An axe through this guy's head?  That is so cool!  A whaling harpoon through that cop's stomach?  Sweet!  The same holds true for most of the produced horror movies.  All it comes down to is the bodycount and how bloody things get.

When we did the last one week excercise, last October, and the genre picked was horror (at the insistence of a lot of people), I made sure it was gothic horror.  I personally didn't want to read graphic violence and blood.  These types of stories aren't even horror; they're shock and violence.

And don't get me started on zombie scripts!

I don't think most horror writers/producer/moviegoers even know what horror is.


Phil