Why Old-School Horror is the Scariest

Whenever I wander through the local Family Video, I think the shelves are walls of horror movies. Not classics like Bela Lugosi’s Dracula or the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, but schlock like Silent Night, Deadly Night or a horde of wannabe George Romero zombie movies. It seems like every idiot with a camera tries to make a horror film (if he doesn’t make a porno first).

I’m not quite sure why these movies flood the market, but 99% of them suffer from the same problems as most modern horror: they’re not scary. Whether they have big budgets or small, famous actors or unknowns, these movies fail to frighten audiences or even entertain them. This is disappointing because scary stories are as old as civilization and have made great contributions to the literary and film worlds. When it comes to movies, I find classic horror films to be leaps and bounds above most new films.

What makes the classics work? There are many reasons, but I’ll focus on a few I think are most important.

1. No over-reliance on gore/shock   

alien-poster“Splatterfest” is practically a synonym for “horror movie” nowadays. Its a sad cliché. Now, horror—icon Stephen King did list “the Gross-Out” as one of three types of fear. The problem is the majority of modern horror seems to think its the only kind. I swear these filmmakers have a gore fetish, and so do their fans. Many of them are too desensitized to find it shocking anymore and revel in it instead. It stereotypes horror fans as sadomasochistic weirdos.

Can gore be effective? Yes, but it should be a supplement to the other types of fear King outlines: horror (something unnatural) and terror (fear of the unknown). Like an exclamation point, it can be powerful when used sparingly, but if used constantly (like it is in many an internet forum), it just looks stupid.

The original Alien (my all-time favorite horror film) has one gory part. It horrifies for many reasons, not the least of which being that it’s the one bloody scene in a fairly bloodless film.

2. Leaving some things to the imagination  

A related problem is modern horror’s penchant for showing audiences everything, whether its the gruesome deaths or Jason Voorhees stalking up behind a victim. This isn’t always necessary. A person’s imagination can create more terrifying images than any filmmaker or author can conjure. Plus, as noted, the unknown is usually the scariest thing. What did the monster/killer do to that unsuspecting woman? The audience doesn’t know since it cut away when she screamed. What does the monster look like? The mystery frightens audiences.

This is why films like The Blair Witch Project—arguably a modern classic—are effective. It  scares people with ideas. Some say the infamous witch is a decrepit old woman; some say she’s a hairy half-human/half-beast creature. Since she’s never revealed, the audience is terrified by both the mystery and the image of the monster in their heads.

3. Better protagonists   

Pregnancy thought about that on line cialis massages are beneficial for mums-to-be because of the degree of accuracy, although it is also usually one of the biggest causes of Erectile Dysfunction (ED) in younger adults include: Stress – Prolonged stress can really affect your erection. The whole impact is unquestionably expanded if a man wishes to be free from erectile dysfunction then apart from the pills your having go for a cipla cialis online healthy food habit. Only a healthcare provider can tell the person the best method of alleviating effects of impotency from grass root level! A lot of people wearing a temporary tattoo of a rose, dragon or a sun. viagra generika 50mg It has some disadvantages as cialis for sale online well like return back policy, free shipping and many other important. Ever notice that most horror movie “heroes” are jerks or—worse yet—idiots? It’s like the filmmakers knew their villains were too incompetent to catch their victims without them making dunderheaded decisions. It also foreshadows who will die since (usually) only the despicable characters get picked off (hence the joke that virgins survive horror movies). It kills any connection audiences might have with the characters, so they won’t care if they’re killed, thereby ruining the suspense. If the likes of the Friday the 13th franchise and its wannabes have a cardinal sin, its their perpetuation of these tropes/stereotypes. This is the biggest complaint I hear, even from horror fans.

Now, should senseless/despicable characters be nixed from stories? No. I’m not opposed to idiot characters or having them move plots along, but the story shouldn’t be dependent on them. As for reprehensible characters, there’s something to be said about watching them get their comeuppance; however, variety is the spice of life, so it’s refreshing to see likable heroes.

thing_poster_01John Carpenter’s The Thing is noteworthy because it has no stupid characters. All of them react in smart, rational ways until paranoia drives them insane. The first Fright Night has some of the most entertaining heroes in a horror film: a teenage boy and an out-of-work horror movie actor. The original Nightmare on Elm Street has the wonderfully strong and clever heroine Nancy, who refuses to become Freddy Krueger’s next victim. She’s a breath of fresh air in a genre that typically relegates women to hapless victims.

4. Better antagonists  

Heroes are often only as good as their villains. In that case, most modern horror flicks have forgettable and boring heroes and villains. Some may look cool, but they’re presented as these nigh-invincible monsters who relentlessly pursue/torture people. It makes the victims and heroes look like powerless pawns, mere tools to give gorehounds a cheap thrill. Such villains are one-dimensional caricatures.

Classic horror villains are powerful but they also have weaknesses. Dracula has the classic vampire vulnerabilites. Zombies cease to function if their brains are destroyed. Giving villains such vulnerabilities doesn’t undermine them, instead it gives the heroes a fighting chance to stop them, increasing the tension.

5. Multilayered fears/ideas   

uploads_d9bcef8e-e769-4a29-b6f3-cd7ca1818187-nightmare_2As I said before, modern horror tends to fixate on the “gross-out” scares, but fear is an often nuanced emotion. There’s psychological horror, where the fear comes from frightening ideas, and cosmic horror, which scares people by making them feel small and insignificant. Not only that, but the monsters in good horror stories, whether they are human or not, are often metaphors for real-life fears, adding depth to them and allowing them to work on multiple levels.

Going back to Alien, that film works because it touches upon many types of fears: the unknown, shadows, body mutilation, isolation, unnaturalness and even rape. Add to that the corporation which values a scientific find over human lives, and what could’ve been another B-grade creature, feature is elevated to a classic award-winning film. It goes beyond just showing audiences horrific things.

So this Halloween, after the kids finish trick-or-treating, have a marathon of classic horror films until the witching hour passes.

Sidenote: If you’d like to hear me talk more about this, check out “But I Digress . . . , Episode 2: Horrible Horror,” a video I made a few years ago for my YouTube show.

The Evil Within: Mikami’s “Revival” of Survival Horror

Over the past few months, I’ve done a grand tour of the horror genre. Whether that’s seeking out Silent Hill 2 at my favorite game store or watching Markiplier plod through indie games, I’ve come to understand what makes horror games great and what can bring them down. All of these thoughts, themes, tropes, and expectations are what I’ve taken in with me as I braved the world of Evil Within, Shinji Mikami’s latest gift to the world of survival horror. I’m not sure if I’d put this game on a pedestal just yet, as I’ve yet to beat it and lack the ability to look back at what I’ve played, but I can comment on what I’ve seen so far and compare it to the games of the past.

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Ever since I played through the original Resident Evil, I’ve noticed a lot of horror games lock doors to direct the player. Sometimes it is as simple as finding the key for the right hole. Other times there isn’t a way in period. Another trope used is having players witness something, usually a cutscene, to be able to move on at all. While this may work in a linear design and can make the player feel trapped, I find it to be irritating when overused. It devolves powerful moments and environments into a glorified hunt and peck. Silent Hill 2, a game many believe to be at the pinnacle of the genre, is built upon this conundrum, and for me it really hurt the overall experience.

In The Evil Within, thankfully, there are very few locked doors. Instead players can seek out keys found in tiny, white statues. These keys then unlock one of the several lockers in the save room. The lockers contain minor rewards such as ammo or healing items. What’s great is these items fade away only when they have all been picked up. I sighed a bit when I found twenty handgun bullets and could only bring about ten, even with my pistol fully loaded. Luckily, when I returned there were still ten bullets to be had.

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I think the horror genre’s greatest strength, especially in gaming, is the atmosphere it can build. Probably one of the best examples of atmosphere is Super Metroid. In that classic SNES game, the player gets to feel the emptiness of the alien planet, making it more powerful when it comes to life. Our game in question, The Evil Within, does a great job of setting the stage. Each area has a gritty tone that feels wrong, with occasional surprises and secrets. There’s also quite a bit of variety from vast mansions to sprawling mountainside cathedrals. Adding to each area is the dynamic lighting system that’s powerful most of the time, but occasionally has some hiccups. Finally, the game often will bend perception, making the player question whether an area is real or distorted or flipping the world upside down. In fact many of the scenes lead me to believe that Mikami is a fan of Lewis Carroll.

Aside from the environment, another major aspect of the horror genre is the opposition. What sort of monsters or challenges will the player face? This is probably Evil Within’s best asset. The creatures in this game ooze (often literally) with detail and deeper symbolism. Each of the aberrations feels unique and have many ways of making Sebastian hurt. The scariest of these monsters are what I would like to call boss monsters, even though they don’t really feel like traditional bosses as everything in the game is deadly. Engaging these beasts drive a lot of tension into key moments, making a few really memorable.

baddog

Sometimes these encounters are not meant to end in a single, surviving victor, but sometimes its better (and required) to run. For example,  in the prologue, Sebastian must escape a slaughterhouse that’s kept by a large butcher. With no weapons, the player must rely on sneaking  and hiding to evade death. Later on, a new menace crawls out of pools of blood. Laura, as she’s been named, is a shrieking terror of a woman with way to many arms. At first she must be fled from, but eventually the player learns that she’s afraid of fire. Luckily, fire is Sebastian’s main way of taking out an enemy for good with match flicks that Jensen Ackles would be proud of. This moment of realizing a weakness turns into a showdown with the beast. Needless to say, once I reached this moment I quickly found every way in the level to turn up the heat, bringing some much needed redemption between Laura and me.

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Even though the game balances stealth moments with the need to take action, I found myself having a hard time determining when the game wanted me to use them. In an early level, a chainsaw-swinging lunatic burst out of his chains in a barn. I knew that to escape this village, I needed to use something to cut the chains holding the gate. Cleverly, I planned on luring the monster to the chains, where I then would dodge at the last second. Hopefully, the chainsaw would break the chains and I would get out without firing my precious rounds. This plan led to about ten deaths of trying to get the guy to swing right. When the chainsaw finally hit the chain, my smile faded as the saw phased through the object. I was taken out of the situation, reminded that this is just a game. Turns out, to cut the chain I had to kill the monster to take his saw to cut it my damn self.
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This leads me to the greatest blemish of Evil Within, trial and error. As a player, I expected to die. However, I didn’t expect to throw myself at a hole, posing my body in varying angles, to try to fit like that game show that’s escaping me that also made a terrible Xbox Kinect game. Sure, there are times when dying is okay in this game. Usually though, it was a result of me over-thinking a situation and being punished for my cleverness. Imagine the scenario below.

HoleInWall 1

Sebastian walks down a path with high walls on either side. In front of him a giant busts down an iron gate, brutally decapitating the unlucky chap who set him free. Knowing that this foe could down him easily, Sebastian nimbly dodges the creature’s initial charge to further blaze down the path in hopes that there will be a way out or an alternate way to kill the thing. . .

There isn’t a secret escape. Or a trap to kill it for that matter. Nope, I was forced to kill the giant in a dire situation, one that clearly should have had the solution of running. In fact, there were tons of moments just like this one. For a game that clearly wants the player to be afraid and run away, even going as far as providing beds and closets to hide in, shooting stuff still seems to be the best and often only solution.

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Contrasting the often ignored stealth opportunities, there is another part of this game that deserves mentioning, the Save Room. Evil Within treats saving progress in a similar fashion to resident evil. Sebastian checks in with a nurse in what seems like a hospital. There’s more to this room than that though. Not only does this area provide the player with upgrades and the aforementioned lockers, it also never feels safe. I won’t spoil all the juicy bits, but let’s just say that there are tons of surrealist scenes that expand the narrative in this area. This filled me with both relief and dread when finding a mirror, the way to enter the save room.

Just thinking about the mirrors brings me to the topic of the dominant symbolism in this game and many other horror games, but that deserves its own writing entirely. I’ll save that for future musings.

The_evil_within-Ruvik-10

Don’t let my mixed feelings fool you; I’ve had tons of fun with Evil Within. It has some genuine memorable moments. If you’re into a dark, psychological narrative with a general sense of wrongness about it, then this is the game for you. Lots of gameplay elements remind me of my favorite horror game, Resident Evil 4, but even that isn’t enough to put it above that classic. Granted, I’ve only reached the aggravating Chapter 9 so far, so I’m ignorant of how the story wraps up or if there is any post-game content.

Either of those two things, if executed perfectly, could easily put Evil Within on my list of favorite horror games.

Manga Series: Phoenix Volume 1

Volume one, titled Dawn, of the twelve part Phoenix series takes place in the earliest time period of the series, early Japan. The story follows the main character, Nagi, in the aftermath of the slaughter of his tribe at the hands of a foreign invasion. Taken as a slave by Saruta, the commander of the invasion force, Nagi ventures to a far off kingdom and bears witness to Queen Himiko’s fall to General Sarutahiko. The titular Phoenix ties the fates of all involved together, as each character has their own reasons for pursuing the legendary immortal bird, and new faces come seeking the bird as well.

Osamu Tezuka’s art is famously simplistic, taking direct inspiration from Disney, in its presentation of goofy, round characters with exaggerated proportions. Detail on characters is also kept to a minimum and as such many of the character designs start to blend together. Bowman and Himiko’s brother, Susano, can often times be hard to differentiate from each other. This is made easier by the fact that they rarely appear on the same panels together. The women of Phoenix are an even worse case. It seems as though Tezuka had a very specific idea for what made attractive women because the single woman who looked unique was considered ugly by all the other characters, until she was discovered to actually look like everyone else.

Tezuka’s character-designs aside, the actual art as a whole really comes alive when viewed as it was meant to be viewed: sequential art. Each panel flows perfectly into the next, and in many cases Tezuka plays around with this, mostly to comedic effect. In one instance, Nagi returns to his homeland to find his sister Hinako determined to repopulate his village, and the entire conversation takes place with her husband Em Dee, Nagi, and Hinako in their own columns of panels. As the conversation progresses, the characters’ expressions become more exaggerated and they begin to interact directly with the panels culminating in Hinako’s grand revelation, sending Nagi flying through the page into Em Dee. Even when the series utilizes standard manga panel set up, the bouncy and active scenes are a pleasure to look at.

tezuka_phoenix_1_158-9
Tezuka uses the very boundaries separating the panels to add life to the pages. Image found on http://madinkbeard.com/archives/phoenix-volume-1-dawn

But, how will you get the exact solution if you are suffering through seizure, brand cialis online disorders in eating or if you recently exempt yourself from taking alcohols. Yes, cialis super 100mg online is said to be the solution for infants starting from 6months to the all above age groups. When a child has autism a child could have difficulties expressing his thought and emotion and some couldn’t converse at levitra tabs all. All these factors turn up and play their part in devastating the sex as well as married life an individual. djpaulkom.tv cheapest viagra no prescription Disney’s influence of Tezuka’s work appears to go deeper than simple art direction, as the writing style is also reminiscent of America’s beloved animation studio. Characters constantly make reference toward things that should not exist during that time period. Saruta contemplates catching up on his James Bond reading and dark themes are treated in a family friendly manner. While the lighthearted approach to these situations is certainly a standout feature of the work, it also undermines many of the stories more dramatic moments. Luckily these moments are few and far between so this isn’t often a problem.

Dawn also features a cast of fairly interesting and complex characters, both heroes and villains. Saruta is introduced as a merciless killer at the Queen’s beck and call, willing to murder women and children in her name. As he interacts with Nagi and gradually realizes the corruption of Himiko, Saruta becomes a caring father figure for Nagi, in place of the family he killed. It is Nagi’s relationship with Saruta that allows both of them to be endearing characters. The actual subject matter covered in Dawn is quite dark, and the story often takes startling paths. Over the course of the narrative, themes of mass killings, corruption in government, disease, and starvation are addressed. Never are these instances treated in a grim fashion though. Comedy can be, and often is, right in the next panel, and there is never a sense of dread from any of the events that take place. Early on, Saruta orders the complete slaughter of Nagi’s village, women and children included, under the belief that his loyalties as a soldier lie with the Queen no matter his orders. The actual execution of Nagi’s village is shown, but it is both bloodless and cartoony in nature, complete with visual gags and pop culture references in the aftermath.  While this makes the manga an easier read for a younger audience, it can make those who fully understand the implications of what is going on uncomfortable.

Now it might be noted that all the characters I used as examples in the previous paragraph were males. This curious little observation is not due to the fact that female characters do not populate the story; I have already mentioned a few and there are plenty more to be talked about. To say the gender politics demonstrated in Dawn are dated is potentially giving them too much praise. The only woman in a real seat of power is Queen Himiko. She spends the entire story obsessing over her looks, to the point that she literally ignores an invasion of her land. Another particularly egregious instance is when Saruta is captured by Sarutahiko, he is forced to marry a woman. Saruta acts harshly toward her because of her homely appearance, despite her only reason for getting  married was to save his life . After she reveals that the ugly face was merely a disguise, she begins to be treated with respect. There are other usages of women as plot-devices such as being used as hostages, and getting the male characters in trouble trying to save them.

Phoenix: Dawn is an interesting if not sometimes awkward read due to its backwards gender politics and its lighthearted treatment of its grim subject matter. The male leads are surprisingly well-rounded, especially the relationship between Saruta and Nagi. The art captures the simplistic joy of Disney retro cartoons, while still creating exciting scenes to keep the reader interested. The actual story is well-paced and constantly developing, giving every page something to weave the narrative’s thread further. Even with its issues, Phoenix is definitely a suggested read for any fan of sequential art.  Copies are hard to come by even online and can be quite expensive. My copy cost me about $40, but it’s a worthy addition to your collection.

The Vicious Brothers are Back with EXTRATERRESTRIAL

I didn’t know what to expect when I first read the description of Extraterrestrial—I’m not a huge alien-horror-film fan because the thought of aliens scares the shit out of me.  Honestly, when I saw this was another The Vicious Brothers creation, that was enough to get me interested. Their first two movies Grave Encounters and Grave Encounters 2 successfully shut down my plans to tour any haunted locations. Despite that, I was ready to be scared again.

The set up is cliché: the almost happy couple, April (Brittany Allen) and Kyle (Freddie Stroma), make plans to spend the weekend at a cabin in the woods of a small town. Kyle invites Mel (Melanie Papalia), April’s best friend; Seth (Jesse Moss), the annoyingly funny loudmouth and Seth’s new ditsy girlfriend, Lex (Anja Savcic). On the way to the cabin, Seth causes some trouble, which leads the group to meet the Sheriff (Gil Bellows); by looking at him you can tell he’s going through a tough time. Soon after arriving at the cabin, April and Mel run into April’s old family friend, Travis, played by the great and always crazy Michael Ironside.

Later that night, after witnessing a ball of fire fly out of the sky and crash in the distance, the group decides to go check it out—great idea. Shit goes down hill from there: an alien is shot and a pack of pissed off aliens make it their duty to hunt the group down.

Though the characters are one sided, the actors are believable and play their parts well—by the end of the movie I wanted Seth to die and the couple to live happily ever after. We learn very little about the main characters’ backgrounds other than they like to smoke, drink, and they are in college. Regardless of what we know (or don’t know) about them, it was nice to see them make some smart moves to get the hell out of dodge. When I yelled at them to “Get in the car and leave!” they actually listened; I was quite pleased. You get a little insight into the Sheriff’s background and you feel bad for him, but not enough to make you really care.

Travis’ crazy conspiracy theory explanation of the alien’s presence is a nice change from the usual “we’re aliens, we can do whatever we want because our planet is dying/we’re bored/uh, we’re freakin’ aliens” explanation.

Realizing his error, http://greyandgrey.com/social-security-disability/ purchase levitra online he ceased leaking untruths to the press. A concerned young man recently wrote that, ever since he experienced a hard blow to the penis during a high school gym class, he has been able to feel a hard lump on one side of the shaft along with the testicles/scrotum when purchase cheap viagra a person just isn’t erect. For example, by monitoring generic cialis best link levels of sex hormones boost the blood supply to the reproductive organs. Males who are allergic to india viagra generic Sildenafil or any other ingredient of Caverta 100 mg Tablets should keep away from this drug. The film is more tense than scary—though I did have alien nightmares that night. With the help of sound and light, the tension is built up successfully: glaring white and heavy red lights imitate the UFO’s presence and give the feeling of hopelessness. It has its scary moments; however, they are a little predictable: there’s something behind you, alien; there’s something above you, alien; don’t look through there, alien; etc. I still jumped, but that’s about all.

The film does not look low budget at all. Very little special effects were used, which I love and appreciate. I didn’t like the found-footage-styled scenes; you know, like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. They seem like a last minute addition and didn’t help the film; luckily they disappear as the action builds up. The aliens. You get to see the aliens and they look creepy-good and real. Their grey bodies are long and thin, and the eyes are large black pools on their expressionless faces.

The ending disappointed me. I was hoping for something different—it would have been so cool—but the last 5 – 10 minutes are drawn out and corny.  I get the feeling it was done on purpose.

As I watched the movie, I couldn’t tell if The Vicious Brothers wanted this film to poke fun at the horror genre, be a legit thriller or a mix of both. Maybe they were trying to create a scary horror-spoof. Travis’ exaggerated crazy-guy-in-the-woods character is the complete opposite from the Sheriff’s gloom or the group’s desperate attempt to save themselves. Also, death by butt probe? Gotta be a spoof, right? Despite the confusion, I enjoyed Extraterrestrial—more than I thought I would. I laughed, I jumped and I got a little twist.This film gave me a much needed break from the slew of paranormal films that have come out recently. I just wish it ended my way.

Extraterrestrial will be released at New York’s IFC Center and additional U.S. theaters on November 21, 2014.

Mewtwo is Coming to Super Smash Bros, NO JOKE

Fans have been waiting for this moment since Mewtwo was cut from Brawl. In fact, many believed Greninja was the psychic Pokémon making a return. Time and time again, Nintendo would tease something about Smash, with fans shouting for Mewtwo, only to get denied each time. The amount of memes and videos for Mewtwo is staggering and hilarious.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH3QsczwIa4&w=560&h=315]

Needless to say, I was kind of skeptical about the Wii-U version. I already have the 3DS game, why would I need the other? Obviously, the amount of stages are to be higher and they will also be more detailed and larger, which was revealed practically at conception. Other than that, though, I didn’t expect much to be different.

Nintendo has been doing amazing things with its live release videos. For Smash on Wii-U, Nintendo pulled all the stops. About fifty facts are given, but one in particular trumps them all.

mewtwo

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My only question for Nintendo is will Mewtwo ever be available for those who own only one version? I may not have a Wii-U by then, so I’d love the option of paying for one of my favorite characters.

For those wanting to see the full event, check out the video below. As always, stay cool. I’ll see you on the battlefield. Challenge me if you dare!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0BBGzfw0pQ&w=560&h=315]

Featured image by Archus7