Horror then and now

[ZZZ 63]

I've noticed that horror movies come up a lot on the suggestions forum mostly Polanski and other 70s genre filmakers. I'm curious how people feel about the modern landscape of horror (post 2000) and what films have stood out as works that could one day be counted among the greatest films of all time.

[Head Spin 112]

Lot of good j-horror in the aughts like The Ring and Suicide Circle, among many others. Not a big Audition fan, but there it is.

 

This decade has had more then a few classics. It Follows, The Witch, The Babadook, and Cabin in the Woods spring to mind. I think modern horror focuses less on visual effects and more about finding a new psychological vein, like many of the above.

 

Also, and this may be BS, but I feel like there are more movies like Under the Skin that use horror elements without being full-on horror movies. I'm not sure if that's true but that's my gut reaction. Even a legit horror flick like Cabin in the Woods was having fun with genre. Or Krampus, of recent, which was a comedy/horror/Christmas movie. Lots of remixing.

[Llewellyn_Wells 47]

Love it or hate it, I think Scream may deserve at least an episode -- not saying whether it should be in the Canon. I know that's not post-2000. I agree with Head Spin on the few he's named. They're at least worth discussion.

[ZZZ 63]

The aughts are really hit and miss for me I tend to like the lesser appreciated imports like Dumplings or Re-cycle, Thirst... There feels like there has been a renaissance especially in the last couple of years with movies like The Witch and Martyrs but with the exception of Cabin in The Woods and The Conjuring the studios haven't been producing much worth interest. I agree with you that a lot of interesting stuff has been sort of fringe indie. I wonder why there seems to be a drought of R rated blockbuster horror.

[ZZZ 63]

Love it or hate it, I think Scream may deserve at least an episode -- not saying whether it should be in the Canon.

 

Scream would definitely be interesting it wouldn't be the first Wes Craven I would nominate but it would definitely be topical.

[Head Spin 112]

The Host and [REC] are also stand out foreign horror movies of the aughts. Llewellyn's right, isn't he? American horror in the 2000s didn't make much of a mark. I do think the 2010s have ramped up the quality considerably, though.

 

And I often think of Beyond the Black Rainbow, even though that movie sort of falls apart by the end.

[ZZZ 63]

The early 2000s are hard for me to pin down. I feel like a lot of decades can be summed up but the aughts never really produced a cohesive theme. There are things I like, like May and The Mist but I see a fracture into many different sub-genres rather than a connective tissue. Llewllyn is right about Scream if that's what you're referring to I just think I would put up Nightmare or Last House but I support a big canon so there is room for all (shout out to Red Eye a pretty enjoyable movie from early 2000s)

[gene_shallot 79]

Scream is really good consensus choice for modern horror (or maybe The Ring? A lot of young folk seem to still really like that one).

 

I agree It Follows, The Witch, The Babadook, Under the Skin, and The Conjuring are probably modern horror classics, but maybe too soon? I love Cabin in the Woods, but is it horror? I'm not sure. Ditto The Host.

 

Speaking of Asian horror, I'm partial to Pulse. Also Cure (same director)... pre-2000s but feels closer to the modern aesthetic.

 

And thinking about trends...

 

It's pre-2000's but The Blair Witch Project had a massive impact (love it or hate it). Post 2000's I think [REC] is the best distillation of found footage horror, love that suggestion.

 

For a while it was all extreme - Audition (as mentioned), Martyrs, Wolf Creek, Saw, High Tension, Hostel, ad nauseam... not a fan myself, but definitely worth talking about.

 

Then there's the zombie resurgence - 28 Days Later (the one that started it all), Dawn of the Dead (maybe not great, but better than it had any right to be), Shaun of the Dead, etc.

 

Indie-ish stuff like May (also as mentioned), American Mary, Ginger Snaps, Session 9, The Descent, House of The Devil, Slither, The Orphanage...

[Cronopio 127]

There are some great aughts horror films - like everything that's been mentioned here - and I'd like to add the Australian horror film "The Loved Ones" as an example of a great re-invention of the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" way of doing horror, by way of "Sixteen Candles". A few years back, the French film "Inside" also got a lot of well-deserved attention.

[bri-witched 60]

The Others, The Ring, REC, 28 Days Later, The Host, May (more obscure but it's great), Thirst, The Descent, Under the Skin, It Follows, The Babadook, Stoker, The Conjuring, The Witch. It's cheating since it came out decades earlier, but since few people could see it until 2009, I'd throw in Wake in Fright too. Oldboy and Let the Right One In have already made it in or else I'd suggest those as well.

 

I don't care for Scream or Saw but they deserve discussion too.

[Ryan L 57]

There's an impact issue for things like It Follows, The Babadook, Drag Me to Hell, Cabin in the Woods, or even Under the Skin. We've already hit some of the most influential genre flicks of the last decade or so already with things like Let the Right One In, Pan's Labyrinth, and Battle Royale, but I think some other influential ones couldn't hurt too. That's not to say that I don't think we should have those films considered (and somebody more well-versed in horror can correct me if I'm wrong with their still relatively-new influence), but I think I'd rather see a Scream, The Blair Witch Project, even The Others (definitely influenced a lot of 00s horror, it won the Goya Award for Best Film and Director - although I think Abre Los Ojos is Amenábar's superior work) or like 'em or hate 'em Saw, 28 Days Later, and Hostel considered first.

 

Maybe have a versus between The Ring or The Grudge and its Japanese original.

[ZZZ 63]

I'm really glad some one mentioned The Loved Ones because I love that movie and I'm also happy to see other people like May. Its so easy to dismiss what's happening in the present while holding reverence for the past and I think the films mentioned here prove good things are still happening even if they are smaller and harder to find.

[ManishMathur 33]

*meekly* Insidious...

[ZZZ 63]

*proudly* insidious it's a pretty solid pg-13 horror and James Wan's kind of fantastic at constructing a scare, one of the few horror general audience directors that doesn't rely only on sound for jumps.

[AlexChristianLovendahl 34]

I think most of the best suggestions have been made in this thread. But I'd love a guest episode with someone who might defend Paranormal Activity. That's certainly not my favorite horror movie, but it's structurally sound, has a legion of die hard fans who keep going to see the new ones, and is overwhelmingly influential and culturally saturated.

[ZZZ 63]

The first paranormal activity is actually kind of scary. Its a very good example of using you're limitations as resources. I hate the impact it had on the genre in that movies that don't need to be shot found footage where shoe-horned into the medium but, I feel like the modern theatrical horror model is structured around this movie (for better or for worse).

[Marsellus_H 118]

Great thread! I'd like to add Almodovar's The Skin I Live In to the discussion-worthy list of horror films. According to the filmmaker, it's "a horror film without any screams", which totally makes sense, once you sit down and watch it.

 

Edit: It's also a decent date film. No, honestly, it works.

[ZZZ 63]

My brain always title swaps that movie with In My Skin. Both are pretty brutal to get through but very interesting movies. Has any one gone to see The Shallows yet? I kind of want to see Steven Seagull and Black Philip star in their own buddy cop franchise.

[RobertBoberts 62]

I agree with The Others being a good canon nominee. I just watched it two days ago actually. I also wonder how a discussion on the Sixth Sense would go. Shyamalan's later movies mostly seem to be ridiculed for being silly stories that rely on a twist but at one time he had the most popular movie of the summer. Is it canon? I would have thought that before seeing his later work. I haven't seen it in awhile so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it now.