My Bloody Valentine 3-D and a Rant

My Bloody Valentine was one of the most entertaining horror movies i've ever seen. Was it great? No, not necessarily, but its over the top gore, creative deaths, mystery plot and surprisingly adequate acting made it quite the experience. It helps that it was in 3D, nothing like the sight of a pick axe hurtling toward you.

To extend on that thought, there are two types of horror movies, slashers and scary movies. Contrary to popular belief, its hard to make both. Given how cynical our society is today, its really hard for a movie to be considered "scary". Some people watch The Exorcist now and think of it merely as "over the top" and not frightening at all. Good scary movies walk a delicate line between good, and over the top. I've also noticed a boom in scary movies, for better or worse, i suppose you can thank The Ring for that. Unfortunately, every movie adopts The Rings schitzophrenic cinematography, using special effects as a crutch. Those movies rely on the supernatural as frightening. If any genre has been damaged by the reliance on CGI effects, its that of scary movies. To make a frightening film means patiently building tension with slow and deliberate strokes. Not an overreliance on dreams and flashback sequences. A quality filmmaker should be able to make a good horror film with a camera, good lighting and about fifty dollars. To see how to shoot that patented scene where the killer scours the house in search of his victim that is constantly mangled, watch the basement scene from Spielberg's adaptation of War of The Worlds, words don't do the filmmaking justice. The other type of scary movie relies on the fear of the unknown. Simple premises extended into full length film. Kind of like the simple plot lines of a Stephen King novel.What would happen if a group of cave divers decided to delve a little too deep?What exactly goes on in the unknown that is the heart of australia?What kind of people habitat the backwoods of West Virginia?These are movies that prey on the insecurities of city dwellers. As suburbia widens, the uninhabited places seem more foreign. These movies are needlessly violent, but properly horrifying and all owe a token of gratitude to the fear of the backwoods first predicated by Deliverance.Slasher movies are few and far between these days, mostly because, aside from the first two Scream films, they take themselves too seriously. Friday the 13th on the other hand, knew what it was, and accepted that.