From Fangoria.com:  After watching hundreds (or thousands?) of horror movies over the course of decades, how many horror fans still get scared after watching a horror movie? I’m not talking about merely feeling tension because a character is in danger, but actually feeling frightened by a film.

All too often, it seems that people complain that a horror film was “bad” because it wasn’t “scary”. Without any context, this is essentially meaningless. For example, when was the last time a movie scared them, and what was it?

I feel that this “problem” has less to do with the quality of a film than it does with someone’s having built up a tolerance. Besides being a horror fan, I’m also a fan of very spicy food, and I have an assortment of hot sauces made from habanero and scotch bonnet peppers in my refrigerator at all times. My tolerance of spicy food is significantly higher than average, but my fiancee would argue that just because I don’t feel a dish is spicy, this doesn’t necessarily make it so.

Curiously, when horror films aren’t being accused of being bad because they’re not scary, it’s because they’re “not fun”. This seems to be a by-product of the ’80s, when so many horror films were glutting the market that the genre largely descended from “fright films” into horror-comedies – intentional or not.

I’m not talking about films that use comic relief to briefly release tension, I’m talking about films where you’re laughing at the film more than you’re laughing with the film – or are scared of the film.

With that, if a horror film isn’t “fun” is it a bad horror film? I don’t remember Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre being a particularly fun film, but does this make it a bad horror film?

I also find it puzzling when people suggest that I’m “immature” when I don’t find a film that emphasizes shadows, noises and even action from off-camera “scary”. It may simply be a by-product of getting older, but I stopped being afraid of the dark – and creaky houses – decades ago, though I hardly feel that this is a sign of my immaturity.

So have at it – are horror films supposed to be scary or fun? Both? Neither?

via Are Horror Films Supposed To Be Scary Or Fun?.

From AMC Horror Hacker:  I’ve decided I can completely ignore everything my parents ever taught me. Why should I bother with their boring advice when Hollywood gives me all I need to know? Stupid horror teens imparted many lessons about life, as did those ever-so-reliable monster hunters with their timeless wisdom. But for the more esoteric subtleties, you really must sample the tidbits of insight offered by the ultimate icon of horror movies — the vampire.

Blood Is Thicker than Water

Every family has an idiot. If you can’t think of anyone in your family who’s an idiot, then guess what? That’s right: It’s you, because every family has an idiot. And yet that idiot is still family, so you have to go to bat for them, even if they get mixed up with the wrong people. And yeah, that includes the wrong undead people — just ask poor Seth Gecko in From Dusk Till Dawn. His brother Richard takes him into the mouth of Hell, and Seth goes to bat for him. You can’t always save your idiot relative, but dammit, you gotta try, because blood is thicker than water (and apparently much tastier).

Always Look Fabulous!

Why are all vamps dressed so dang well? Apparently there’s no excuse for not looking sharp, and that includes being dead. What’s up with that, Interview with a Vampire peeps? And what’s with the leather body suits, Underworlders? And do you even need to look beyond Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula to see the devastating effect of a sharp-dressed man? Sure, vampires may rip the throats out of their victims and bathe in blood, but I think it’s clear they’re always wearing clean underwear. Their vamp moms should be so proud!

Read the rest of the article here:

via AMC – Blogs – Horror Hacker – Scott Sigler – Everything I Need to Know I Learned From Vampire Movies.

From Horror Hacker:  When I mention the trite phrase that horror movies are horribly sexist, I bet some female readers of this column shout an instant, fist-pumping “Preach on!” When I clarify that horror movies are horribly sexist against men, that’s when those same ladies decide that this preacher actually spews misogynistic lies. The prevailing belief is that horror flicks are sexist and that the targets are women. But if you do the basic math, the sexism is against men.Let’s look at this from a scientific perspective, and by “scientific” I mean in light of the theories of that early legend of science, Charles Darwin. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s the guy who coined that pesky phrase “survival of the fittest.” If only the fittest survive, and most horror movies feature a “final girl,” then what does that say about the genre’s stance on men? Or let’s go at this issue another way: Do you actually think horror movies portray females as weak? Tell that to Halloween’s Laurie Strode. Tell that to Scream’s Sidney Prescott.The winner of any fight is the one left standing — no one cares how you survive, as long as you do. If that survival comes wrapped in screaming, crying, pleading, more crying, running, a little more screaming, tripping, not being able to put the car keys in the lock and then finally sticking a knife in a bad guy? Yeah, you still won. So I don’t care how “weak” a final girl may look, if she’s the one who walks away, she’s the survivor and therefore the fittest.
Read the rest at the link below:

via AMC – Blogs – Horror Hacker – Scott Sigler – Dumb Dudes Die While Leading Ladies Live… Ah, the Sexism of Horror.

The 87-year-old star, famed for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer horror movies, was honoured by the Prince of Wales for his services to drama and charity.

Lee is one of the U.K.’s most prolific actors with roles in 1973’s The Wicker Man, 1974 Bond movie The Man With The Golden Gun, and more recently appearing in the new Star Wars films and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

Rocker Joe Brown was also presented with an MBE (Member of the British Empire) for his contribution to music during the ceremony in London. »

via Christopher Lee Knighted.

From Fear.net: Making a horror movie can be a surreal experience. You spend long hours performing terrifying atrocities in front of the camera. Then the director yells “Cut!” and suddenly you’re headed over to the snack table to have a cup of coffee with the person you just disemboweled.

But sometimes, the line between making a realistic horror film and finding yourself knee-deep inside one gets a little too blurry and bloody for comfort. Here are ten of our favorite examples:

PEEPING TOM (1960). Here’s the good news: you get to star in your own movie. Here’s the bad news: the director likes to film his stars as he kills them, so he can capture their true expressions of fear. Talk about method acting. But hey, a gig’s a gig

via FEARnet’s Top 10 Horror Movies Inside Horror Movies – FEARNet.

From ShockTillYouDrop.com:

How is this entry going to pick up the pieces five, frankly, left behind?

Patrick Melton: This is our third one out. With fourth and fifth film we were getting our footing on what the fans want. What makes a really good Saw movie, so I think with our third, we have a good grasp on that. It comes down to the “A” story. Not necessarily what John’s doing, or what Hoffman’s doing or what Amanda’s doing. It’s that “A” story that’s going to pull everyone together, the emotional hook. So there’s this new character and he’s going to bring us through to the end. With six, we put effort into it with Kevin to get a really good “A” story. It’s Peter Outerbridge, as William, and he has a connection with John and you’ll understand that early. You’ll understand the journey he has to take. When a trap starts, there’s a much more emotional connection and you’ll be rooting for this guy a bit more than you have rooted for anyone in the past.

Marcus Dustan: In terms of horror movies, Saw has been a nice introduction for four filmmakers so far. James Wan has hit it out of the park. Darren Bousman who is, right now, on Mother’s Day. Then, David Hackl is coming back and introducing a new format to these stories. Kevin Greutert, who has been a storyteller since day one, and he has crafted a tremendous visual story to go along with whatever we could have pounded out on the page. He’s a caring storyteller and he wants every audience member to feel the hit.

Melton: What he does well is, through the script process, he pays attention to the minutiae. That pays off. Especially in horror movies, there are the little things that get you. There are a bunch of little moments that set up the bigger moments.

Dunstan: It’s very emotional, too. For example the traditional Saw score didn’t quite fit this ending. It had to go in a new direction. If you were watching the endings of the previous entries, they have that Charlie Clouser score and on this, when we saw the first testing screening, Kevin was temporarily using other scores like [Requiem for a Dream]. It was building to a bigger moment emotionally. Clouser has busted his ass on this score and it’s aiming for the stands.

Read the rest of the interview at the link below.

via EXCL: Saw VI’s Marcus Dunstan & Patrick Melton- ShockTillYouDrop.com.

From EW.com.

25 Best Zombie Movies of All Time

Woody Harrelson is smashing undead skulls in ”Zombieland,” and we’re counting down the films that made the genre come alive

Click the link below to see their choices.

via Grindhouse, Dawn of the Dead (Movie – 2004), … | 25 Best Zombie Movies of All Time | Photo 1 of 26 | EW.com.

From Horror Hacker by Final Girl/Stacie Ponder:

“Cat people” and “dog people” will argue until the end of time about which make better companions; cat people think dogs are dumb, dog people think cats are sneaky, untrustworthy jerks. When it comes to horror movies, though, there’s no debate: Dogs win, paws down. Cats may have a spookier reputation in real life, but on screen the canine competition gets all the glory; they’re louder and their teeth are bigger, after all. Here are some fiendish Fido-flavored flicks (I can’t believe I just wrote that) that may cause you to switch sides in the pet wars.

The Breed

Though riddled with stereotypical (and largely stupid) characters, corny one-liners and a bad case of explaining-too-much-itis, The Breed is still a better movie than you’d expect. A group of college students are spending the weekend on an island that happens to be home to a research laboratory… and here come the angry, genetically-mutated doggies! A familiar setup, sure. But the action is fierce and the dogs are 100 percent D-O-G. CGI be damned!

Cujo

Based on the novel by Stephen King, Cujo is the mack daddy of all killer dog movies, in no small part thanks to the fact that it stars scream queen Dee Wallace. Even though — or, perhaps, because — the action is largely confined to the area in and around the car in which one big, slobber hell hound has trapped Donna Trenton (Wallace) and her young son, Tad (Danny Pintauro), it’s tense and horrifying all the way through.

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

No, the titular Devil Dog isn’t a delicious chocolaty snack cake — he’s the canine spawn of Satan! Or something like that, anyway. See, a bunch of Satanists decide the best way to take over the world is to unleash a pack of German Shepherd puppies infused with devil-tastic badness. When smitten families bring home the adorable little buggers, the pups will hypnotize people into becoming Satanists! What can I say? It’s a complicated and clumsy plan… but who cares? This 1978 made-for-TV flick stars the kids from the Witch Mountain movies and is every bit as silly as you’d expect.

via AMC – Blogs – Horror Hacker – Stacie Ponder – Cujo Knows a Dog Is Man’s Best Fiend.

From FEARnet:

Sequels get a bad rap, and rightfully so – most of the time. The horror genre is especially rife with sequels, with many franchises so heavily spun-off that they have stopped being numbered. Not all sequels suck, and to prove it we found ten that are at least as good as the original – if not better.

Dawn of the Dead

The second of George Romero’s original zombie trilogy, Dawn of the Dead is inarguably the best of the three. A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall, but eventually decide to make a break for it. While not a sequel in the strictest sense, it is a damn fine movie.

Hostel II
A surprisingly good follow-up to the unimaginative original (which, in turn, was a rip-off of Saw), Hostel II focuses less on the slaughter of nubile coeds, and more on the men who buy the opportunity to do the slaughtering.  While no less violent or gruesome, it offers a different perspective than most slasher flix.

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
The seventh installment in the Nightmare on Elm Street series is a case study in twisted post-modernism.  Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, and Wes Craven play themselves in the real world.  Heather gets threats that echo Freddy Krueger’s M.O., and she needs to reprise her role as Nancy to defeat Freddy.  Again.  One of the most imaginative horror movies, sequel or otherwise.

via FEARnet’s Top 10 Horror Sequels – FEARNet.