Welcome to The Attic. Let’s contemplate the future of horror.

This week I’d like to take a look at the state of scary movies, and discuss the direction they are heading in. I am obviously a huge fan of the genre, but I have to admit I’m feeling conflicted as to what is over the horizon for it.

We have two sides to this coin. One side is tarnished and overused. It is the side that represents the many remakes we have seen in recent years, and the highly disappointing increase as every year goes by. I am in support of some of these movies that have been remade, and I have been vocal about the ones I really enjoyed. However, there is a line here and just because a handful have been good ideas to take a new spin on, that doesn’t mean we have to remake everything that ever had a release. For me, the straw that really broke the camel’s back was when I read that they were going to be remaking Cabin Fever. This movie was terrible, so by no means am I defending it as some sacred ground not to be touched. My problem with this is the fact that they are remaking a movie from 2002, and using the exact same script. What are they thinking?

I have read some say that this is a “reboot” but I call bullshit. I’m sorry but let’s call a spade a spade, shall we? Reboot is the word you use when you are taking a film, or series, and bringing it back to life for a newer generation to experience. The recent release of The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a great example of a horror reboot, but more on that below.

It’s disappointing to see what I would still consider a newer movie being remade. Are we really running out of ideas? I don’t think that’s it. I think it’s laziness. It is a pretty insulting mindset of Hollywood that “if you re-build it, they will come.” These remakes will continue to be churned out until the trend is replaced by a new one. While I am as frustrated and concerned as many of you are, I am also hopeful. A few recent films have really brought us back to our roots and reminded us what true horror is, and that originality is not dead just yet.

Which brings me to the other side of the coin. It is shiny, new, and exciting to look at. The Conjuring, Annebelle, Curse of Chucky, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown… Let’s start with the latter. As I mentioned before, it could easily have been a simple remake of the 1976 slasher, but instead brought new life to the movie and the real story behind it. It’s not a remake, it is set in present day and it not only acknowledges it’s a sequel, but it even cleverly incorporates the original into its plot. There were rumors we were getting a remake of Child’s Play, but instead we got a fresh new movie in Curse of Chucky that I really loved. This one was a return to the beloved series’ roots, and a nod to the fans.

Yes, the above two films are basically sequels, but that’s why The Conjuring, and then Annabelle, were the ones that really gave me hope. To me they feel like they could have been made many years ago, back when every movie had to be new in some form. Sure, the late 70s and all of the 80s were packed with a line of slasher films that felt very similar to one another. No they weren’t all original, and many were copycats of the one before it. But they were still forced to come up with new settings, new killers, and new motives. This brought us many classics that we can still look back on and love.

My point is, The Conjuring sparked a feeling in me I haven’t felt in a long time. There was a magical mix of score, directing, acting, and writing that led to something reminiscent of the 1970s in the greatest of ways. That movie got under my skin much like The Exorcist did when I was a child. I was thrilled that the trailer of both it and Annabelle didn’t give much away. Both films made me feel like I had opened some vault to the past where horror classics had been hidden away until now. They were fresh, terrifying and best of all, smart. I absolutely loved that neither even had to rely on gore or, the even worse, torture porn to be scary. That is tough to do, and I highly respect the films that make it work. I think that the industry can take a good look at these movies and see where they need to go next. These stories are not completely original in nature, but the films made them feel that way. Sometimes it seems everything has been done already, but there is recent proof that if you try, new movies can still feel NEW. It’s all about effort.

Only time will tell which side of the coin will land facing up. I see it twirling in the air as I write this, and I am praying the largely untouched side wins out in the end. Only time will tell I guess. Feel free to weigh in and let me know what you all think.

Stay scared,
Dark Princess