All screenplays on the simplyscripts.com and simplyscripts.net domain are copyrighted to their respective authors. All rights reserved. This screenplaymay not be used or reproduced for any purpose including educational purposes without the expressed written permission of the author.
Horror is something that scares you. Watching people getting gashed up is not scary, it's amusing. "Horror" films these days are all rated R for "Strong graphic violence/gore and sexuality/nudity," yet they're not remotely scary. The last film I saw which I can say actually scared me was Signs. House of 1000 Corpses is about gore, not horror, same with Devil's Rejects.
I haven't read many of the horror scripts on the site, but to make an effective horror piece, in my opinion, you don't need gore. Check out "The Farm." If that was made into a film it would be PG-13. Now check out "The Cabin" or anything by M*** M****. They're listed under horror, but they're just poorly written porno-gore thingies starring Paris Hilton. If those works were made into feature films...well...you'd see what I'm saying.
As far as Oscars and horror movies go, I do believe Silence of the Lambs is a horror movie as well as Jaws, but I know what you mean.
IMHO, the best scene in Silence of the Lambs was the conversation between Lecter and Starling at the hospital. Even though I knew that he couldn't possibly hurt her, he scared the living Bejeezus out of me. The violence he committed during his escape was descent because they kept it to a minimum.
At the same time, my favorite scene in Reservior Dogs was the opening scene in the diner.
Oh, people being mutilated while spanish flamenco tunes play? Now THAT'S horror.
Spanish flamenco tunes is horror in an of itself.
Anyone who wants to see good examples of gothic horror should read the scripts from the last one week competition/challenge/assignment/thing can go to:
Horror films and scripts have time to add a great story but people think that you have to kill everyone right away, that's why we have so many 20 page horror scripts in the full length section.
As far as Oscars and horror movies go, I do believe Silence of the Lambs is a horror movie as well as Jaws, but I know what you mean.
I wouldn’t consider Silence of the Lambs a horror, more like a psychological thriller. But Jaws won an academy award for best picture? I’ll pay it as a horror because I suppose the shark was a monster, but it seemed more like an action movie to me. Anyway, I reckon the The Sixth Sense and The Shinning were pretty stiff not to have received Best Picture Oscars. As far horror v drama goes, I think if done properly, a supernatural thriller could be as good as any drama.
I wouldn’t consider Silence of the Lambs a horror, more like a psychological thriller. But Jaws won an academy award for best picture? I’ll pay it as a horror because I suppose the shark was a monster, but it seemed more like an action movie to me. Anyway, I reckon the The Sixth Sense and The Shinning were pretty stiff not to have received Best Picture Oscars. As far horror v drama goes, I think if done properly, a supernatural thriller could be as good as any drama.
That's the problem right there. Horror isn't done properly.
Horror should give you a feeling of dread. Having someone with an axe suddenly appear around the corner will startle you, but it won't leave you feeling dread.
That's the problem right there. Horror isn't done properly.
Phil
And it's not done properly because some people don't respect the genre, and it shows in their work. Why you would want to write in a genre you have no respect for is a mystery to me. Anyway, artists who do respect the genre, like Stephen King and Alfred Hitchcock, have shown us that the horror genre can be as high an art form as any. Of course they’ve had their turkeys too, but most prolific artists have.
I've essentially given up on horror films nowadays. There are some gems out there (a lot in asia) but as far as american horror goes, it's been milked for all it's worth. Creators can't seem to create a new idea. A scary original horror movie is such a rarity that once it's a hit they have to make it a franchise and ruin the beuaty of the first. Just look at the first saw despite it's flaws it was an engaging enough thriller. i just knew they were going to destroy it with the 2nd.
A good horror movie should be able to scare you not only when your alone but with other people. And i'm not talking about covering your eyes waiting for something to suprise you, I'm talking about just making you truely frightened. The first nightmare on elm street horrofied me and i was with other people. I was dreading each time the night came (or whne a character started to dream). It's that since of dread that horror movies fail to evoke these days.
I've essentially given up on horror films nowadays. There are some gems out there (a lot in asia) but as far as american horror goes, it's been milked for all it's worth. Creators can't seem to create a new idea.
I hear ya, and think everything you’re saying is valid. And a fresh approach is needed. But it's not the fault of the genre; the fault is with the people that are attempting to do horror. I wouldn't say that as a genre horror is dead because there have been bad horror films, that would be like saying drama is dead because there have been bad dramas. The people that are doing horror just have to start thinking out of the box a bit more and stop giving us reheated left overs. Let’s face it, with a genre that has supernatural themes the possibilities should be unlimited.
when a drama is bad lots of people tend to avoid it. When horror is bad lots of kids still go (I must admit so do i from time to times) Bad horror is just a little more bareable than bad drama.