It can easily be said that with the advent of technology such as 3-D, Dolby Digital, and even the newest D-BOX, what is the point for a horror genre fan to return to the heyday of early horror films? Silent or black & white films, rubber monster suits, cheap effects (by today’s standards), zero to no gore, combined with the plethora of new horror films still being released every year do not make a very good case for wanting to be nostalgic.
The first horror movie on record was filmed in 1896 by the name of ‘Le Manoir Du Diable’ (‘The Devil’s Castle’), directed by Georges Méliès. Since that time, over 10,000 horror films have been made with everything from vampires and werewolves, Satan and demons, murderers and deformed humanoids, to oozes, talking brains and even rampaging dinosaurs. The first sequel saw its way into production in the early 1930’s and reintroductions, reboots, reimaginings, versus movies, and even 3rd’s, 4th’s and on have become the norm; I think ‘Witchcraft’ has the most number of sequels chiming in at 11, with ‘Friday the 13th’ at 10.
With all this going on today, why again should I go back to the 1920’s or 30’s and watch these old films? Simply put, horror is not simply about slashing and eye gouging. Horror (adjective) is defined by Webster as “calculated to inspire feelings of dread or horror”, similar to bloodcurdling, “arousing fright or horror”. That is all. If you think about the modern horror film, it would seem they want you to believe that visuals is what brings horror to the table, the blood splatters, open wounds, and amputations, when in fact, a simple stare, shadow or long period of silence can give the same reaction. It’s about fear after all, not budget, isn’t it?
Facial expressions, complete silence, slow tension build-up, and the viewer’s imagination were used to generate horror, and they succeeded well at it. The work done to accentuate Bela Lugosi’s eyes in his portrayal of Dracula, the makeup of Cesare in ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, the long shadows in ‘Nosferatu’, are all ways early filmmakers captured an essence of horror using the tools they had at hand. The most frightening scene I’ve ever seen involves nothing but a moonlit hillside and a killer’s silhouette; it had no music and only lasted a few seconds but I still remember it over 20 years and hundreds of movies later.
Like most things in society, I feel horror has joined the ranks of profanity, nudity, and violence, and is now at a point where going back is probably impossible; you can’t take away the visuals now and bring the same level of fear as it once had over 50 years ago just as you can’t slow the adoption of the F-word into everyday vernacular. However, to call yourself a true fan of horror and only having experienced modern filmmaking is doing the genre as well as yourself a great disservice as well. It is not very difficult to “put yourself in the period” of an older movie and try to experience it as it was experienced by those who viewed it first and in person. Sit back, turn the lights down and the volume up. The monster is still a monster after all, it’s not that important that it’s a man in a rubber suit as opposed to a 50 million dollar CGI creation. That’s part of the fun, anyway, just ask any Godzilla fan.
October 1st, 2011 at 7:22 am
“The most frightening scene I’ve ever seen involves nothing but a moonlit hillside and a killer’s silhouette; it had no music and only lasted a few seconds but I still remember it over 20 years and hundreds of movies later.”
Which movie?
October 1st, 2011 at 2:49 pm
To this day I still can’t tell you, Jerry. Back when I saw it, there was no such thing as the Guide button or channel 99. I missed the beginning of the film, was channel surfing when I saw it, and never caught the title. I wish one day I would run into it again, I’d really like to see it in its entirety, whatever movie it was. One reason why the older films still appeal to me, that movie is like my holy grail if I could ever find it.
October 1st, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Hmmm…any more details on the movie? I’ve seen a lot, and like a good challenge.
October 1st, 2011 at 4:54 pm
I don’t really have many details I’m afraid. I watched it in the mid to late 80′s I imagine. It was definitely a teen scream feature from what I remember. The sole scene I remember is the one I described in my About post. Two guys and a girl, the guys have the hood of the car open and are talking about what’s wrong with it. Maybe one was more domineering than the other, not positive. The girl was in the cab of the truck both bitching to herself and complaining about how long they are taking to fix the truck, maybe even getting a little scared. At a point where the guys aren’t listening to her and she’s sitting there, she looks out the passenger side window. They are apparently near a hillside but I guess could be anywhere where the moon can be seen over the horizon as a man wielding, I believing a machete, is silhouetted in front of the moon. She’s frightened, looks towards the guys who are still arguing and who have not seen the guy, looks back towards the silhouette and the guy has vanished. That one scene is the only one I remember, just been too long. Hope that helps some! Just thinking about it still gives me memories of the shivers it gave me back then.
October 2nd, 2011 at 7:07 am
I’m not the best with 80s horror. However, I bet if post your description in the DVDmaniacs forum someone will know it. I’ll let you know.