Dynargh dhe'n Blogofrob

Tuesday 24th August 2004

Bicycle Clip Time

As sometimes may be evident from the rolling list of films to the right, I often enjoy sitting down to watch the odd 'Horror' film, but the reason I haven't rambled on about this vast genre of film before is that I find it's difficult to accurately analyse it, define the various sub-categories within it, and single out the films within the genre that find me squirming in fear, where, in addition to the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, those on my face start prickling and a genuine chill runs through me.

A recent, a slightly peculiar study at King's College London seems a good place to start. It uses a mathematical formula to decide that The Shining is the perfect scary movie. The formula concentrates on three main areas: suspense, realism and gore. Although I think The Shining is a brilliantly creepy film, the inadequacy of those three 'key' elements highlights the fact that the genre of Horror gathers together three or four fairly diverse classes of film, meaning that unsettling and frightening films like Rosemary's Baby or The Wicker Man sit in the Horror section of Blockbuster next to vaguely boring novelty films like The Sixth Sense (or would if Blockbuster bothered to stock any films over 5 minutes old).

As far as I can make out there are four loose sub-categories of Horror film - please forgive the slightly random titles for them, as well as the extremely trivial and self-indulgent exercise of describing them.

1. Spooky: These are films which usually involve a supernatural element, and generally terrify through more subtle means than other types of Horror. Fleeting glimpses of things that should remain unseen and discomforting noises provide the fear, rather than gallons of blood/brains/blood and brains. The Shining is in this class. While a complete nutbar chasing his screaming wife and son around a maze with an axe isn't exactly subtle, and the tidal wave of blood that crashes out of the lift contradicts my definition of this type of film, the majority of The Shining, with its oppressive atmosphere of impending disaster, the child's rasping 'Redrum' and the various unexpected beings rattling around in the hotel, sits quite neatly in this sub-category.

A special mention has to go to the BBC's early '90s stab at this genre - the television play Ghostwatch, which scared the hell out of me at the time, provoked a rash of viewer complaints, prompted one suicide and has never been repeated.

2. Terror: It could be argued that this is a catch-all class, but I think it includes those films that, while not being Slasher or Shocker films are too explicit to be merely Spooky. I think most Zombie films, from Night of the Living Dead to 28 Days Later can be included here, as well as most films featuring odd homocidal creatures, such as Aliens (but not Alien, more of a Spooky film) along with the Hammer House of Horror productions and their like. I also think the more gruesome Horror films, often referred to as 'exploitation' films belong here, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left and Cannibal Holocaust - the last of these meriting a name check because it retains the title of The Most Disturbing Film I Have Ever Seen.

3. Slasher: Clearly, the slightly dodgy Jason, Freddie, and Halloween films and all their inferior imitators.

4. Shocker: The twattish little brother of Slasher films, these seem to trade on no more than simply shocking the audience - Final Destination, I Know What You Did Last Summer and so on.

So, after pompously defining the Horror genre, here's a list of, in my opinion, the best Horror films around. They seem to come from the Spooky or Terror categories, which I suppose are the ones I find the most 'shit-yer-pants-scary'. In no particular order:

1. Don't Look Now: Set mostly in gloomy decaying Venice, this film creates a constant understated menace that bubbles under the suface for much of the time and only manifests itself visually at the startling climax. Brilliantly subtle Horror film, with the added bonus of wondering whether Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie really did have sex.

2. The Ju-On films: I've only seen two of these (out of four) but I choose them rather than any of the other dazzlingly terrifying Japanese films because they seem to bring together all the elements of, for example, Ringu and Dark Water, and unremittingly assault the viewer with the result - a steady succession of eldritch images and deeply unnerving sound effects.

3. The Others: Although not as immediately scary as many other films, and despite its slightly gimmicky twist, the brooding mansion enveloped by perpetual fog, the constant unease and tension within that mansion and the vaguely threatening unseen presences make this an accomplished and stylish Horror film.

4. The Eye: Another one from the far east, this time Hong Kong. A blind woman gets a corneal transplant and as a result can see for almost the first time in her life - but naturally she can make out certain things other people, with their home-grown organs, can't. It's enough to make me think that, even if I was close to death on an operating table and the surgeon was about to perform a life-saving transplant operation, I would insist on seeing evidence that my new body part hadn't once belonged to a feared village outcast, or been dug up in a Native American burial ground, before I consented to the procedure.

5. The Omen: A big budget '70s studio film - and an effortlessly effective Horror film. I once knew someone who watched this when he was 13, and went to bed afterwards, almost paralysed with fear. Waking from a nightmare a few hours later he scrambled out of his bedroom into the long corridor outside, and saw the disembodied head of the impaled priest come floating towards him, prompting him to run screaming around the house. No, it wasn't me - I'd have just thought it was Dr. Who.

52 - posted at 17:06:56
permalink

Comments

As you've thrown down the gauntlet, here are my picks. I'm not claiming they're the best horror films ever, just ones that scared the hell out of me (you can see I prefer supernatural chills over slasher films every time)...
Stephen King's It: Little children being tormented by a horrid clown doing mean things with balloons. Nightmarish up until the end when it turned out to be some kind of insect thing hidden in a cave - then a bit silly.
The Fog: Ghostly zombies, with hooks, in fog.
The Ring: only seen the American version but now far far too scared to see the original. Shudder rating: Brrrrrrrrr out of Brr.
Ju-on (the Grudge): dispenses with any plot in favour of cruel relentless ghastliness to the entire unfortunate cast. Some makeup special effects are a bit dodgy and it teeters on the brink of overkill at times, so some episodes work better than others. But enough horrific moments packed in to pad out about four run-of-the-mill horror movies.
Ghostwatch: Have to agree - this was terrifying to youngsters of our generation, and not helped by the fact I was so scared that we had to turn it off halfway through, so never found out it was only a spoof.
"Film with girl in mirror": Saw the first 20min of this film when young before being sent to bed, and had nightmares about it for years. From what I can remember, a girl disappears, starts reappearing in ghostly fashion in mirrors etc, blindfolded. I've since seen the film and it turned into some sort of dimension-shifting teen sci-fi romp, so not ultimately as gothic or scary as the bit that upset me. Anyone else seen it?!
Honourable mention: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Sixth Sense, and The Turn of the Screw - seen a couple of scary versions of this and The Others obviously owes it a debt.
Most disappointing (bit overhyped?): Scream, Blair Witch, Poltergeist.

1: (anonymous) - 16:08:09 on Wednesday 1st September 2004 (permalink)

Post a comment

Sorry, comments on older blog entries are automatically disabled to deter comment spammers...

No one would see it anyway, so why not add your comment to the most recent entry?