Why is it that modern horror films are less scary?

[Phantom]

Oh sure, they're gorier a lot of the time, and the visuals are a ton more sophisticated than they were, but while they may make one queasy on occasion, they don't scare.

I use as my prime point of comparison the remake from a few years ago of The Fog. Nice looking film. The revenants of the lepers were gross looking and very well done. Didn't really scare me though.

Now the original...it's been the better part of 3 decades or more and I still can't watch it with lights down and my back firmly to a wall.

I have the same comparative issues with the new F13 films vs the originals. Better production values, more "ugh, my stomache" factor. Scary? Not really.

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Mr Light]

A) as you get older movies become less scary

B) increased use of fake looking CGI taking you out of the moment

Personally I think a movie is only scary when you DON'T see what's making things move. The moment there's a cheesy CGI effect it becomes utterly fake and not scary. The only thing that unsettles me anymore is found-footage films because they come off more "real" and don't show things.

 

[Dream]

Too many crappy supernatural horror films these days.

I miss the slashers.

 

[davejames]

I think there have been some recent horror movies that have been pretty damn scary: Mama, The Descent, Let the Right One In, The Crazies, REC, the first Insidious, the Ring remake, the Dawn of the Dead remake...

Obviously there's a lot of junk that gets released every year as well (usually featuring a bunch of attractive 20 year old nobodys), but that's probably always been the case. I mean I certainly never found the Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street movies scary back in the day either.

 

[kitik]

Personally I think a movie is only scary when you DON'T see what's making things move. The moment there's a cheesy CGI effect it becomes utterly fake and not scary.

I loved the movie Sinister. That guy is just sitting there watching creepy movies in the dark. What the heck dude, you're in a horror movie, don't do that! It was scary and unsettling as heck. The only part I didn't like is when they actually showed the demon. Sorry. Not scary. Dark scary rooms are far more scary than some silly looking design.

I think there have been some recent horror movies that have been pretty damn scary: Mama, The Descent, Let the Right One In, The Crazies, REC, the first Insidious, the Ring remake, the Dawn of the Dead remake...

There are still good horror movies out there for sure. I've enjoyed some silly horror comedies lately like Zombeavers. (or What We Do In The Shadows, that was actually excellent)

My favorite horror movie over the past few months is easily It Follows. But it's not a movie that relies on too many scares. It just sits there nicely and tries to unsettle you by staring at you. Superb atmosphere throughout. (The Babadook was good too.)

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I think horror films have become way too dependent on jump scares that the much more genre savvy audience these days can see the set-up for and know they're coming a mile away. Oh, the character opened the refrigerator door and looked inside for a long time; I wonder if the killer/ghost/alien/monster is going to be standing behind the door when it closes?! Or if it's a slightly smarter genre movie, it'll use that scene as a decoy for the villain actually being behind you when you turn around from where the obvious killer behind the closing door shot should have happened.

I think a creepy atmosphere goes a much longer way than predictable surprise attempts do. To this day the scariest scene I ever saw in theaters is a night-vision wearing Buffalo Bill reaching his hand out to stroke Clarice Starling's hair and face in the pitch black basement of his house in Silence of the Lambs. That was intense and freaky as hell in the theater. That got me even more than Lector's reveal in the ambulance.

 

[wildstar]

Agree about how jump scares replace actual horror / creepiness. The entire tone of The Thing (1982) has a creepy vibe that pulls you right in. The end of Blair Witch Project (you know the scene), is creepy as hell. Session 9 is high on my list for creepy. Recently, It Follows has that feel too.
But for most of the recent shock value gore, or jump scares, who cares. It's lazy filmmaking.

 

[Relayer1]

I'm not really a fan of horror movies. I find the gory ones pathetic, and don't like the 'jumpy' ones. I remember being dragged to see Hellraiser at the cinema and was bored out of my mind. Hammer films are beyond drivel and slasher movies don't appeal.

Probably the only horror film I rate is :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_(1963_film)

 

[Starkers]

I'm not really a fan of horror movies. I find the gory ones pathetic, and don't like the 'jumpy' ones. I remember being dragged to see Hellraiser at the cinema and was bored out of my mind. Hammer films are beyond drivel and slasher movies don't appeal.

Probably the only horror film I rate is :

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_(1963_film)

Hey if you're going to pick one horror film why not pick the best (IMO) Proof that curious noises, odd shadows and a breathing door can be scarier than any monster! Plus Julie Harris' performance of a woman on the edge of a breakdown is first rate.

I'd echo some of the things people have said upthread, modern horror is too concerned with jump scares, which is fine if you balance them with an eerie atmosphere as well, but really the best horrors tend to be the ones that give you that creepy vibe. Blair Witch is a wonderful example of this, it's just unsettling even before anything happens.

I think there have always been a lot of rubbish horror films, much like comedy they're easy to churn out but difficult to do well. The last great one I saw was The Babadook, blimey that's good. I like the first Woman in Black film, and The Awakening, both great old fashioned ghost stories with a modern edge. The first half of Insidious scared the shit out of me, such a shame the second half turned into Ghostbusters (and not in a good way) Sinister had its moments but suffered from characters who'd never seen a horror movie syndrome, people doing stupid things.

Occulus last year wasn't bad. Beyond that, and I think all this century, I'd cite the Others, The Orphanage, Descent, Dog Soldiers (it isn't scary but it is great) Ringu.

I do wonder if, with regard to older films, a lot of it is down to them evoking how they made us feel at the time. To this day there are bits of the David Soul starring Salem's Lot miniseries that scare the heck out of me, even though I know theyre coming, and even though they're often jump scares (the boy floating outside the window is the reason I still can't sleep with the curtains drawn).

I wouldn't say that older films are always good either. I still don't get The Exorcist, it has a few moments but it doesn't remotely scare me. Halloween or The Fog on the other hand...and I think the Exorcist 3 has a much scarier moment (if you know the film I suspect you'll know the moment I mean)

 

[Venardhi]

... the first Insidious ...

The first 2 acts of Insidious were masterful. Perfect amount of creepy atmosphere and tension and the only real jump scare was so freshly done that I couldn't fault them for it.

Then it turned into something entirely different and the ending was terrible.

 

[hux]

-Too many jump scares, not enough psychological stuff.
-Too much reliance on gore.
-Getting older.
-Being more desensitised from over exposure and familiarity with the genre.
-Less originality perhaps?

Last one I saw that was ok was Mama.

 

[Starkers]

... the first Insidious ...

The first 2 acts of Insidious were masterful. Perfect amount of creepy atmosphere and tension and the only real jump scare was so freshly done that I couldn't fault them for it.

Then it turned into something entirely different and the ending was terrible.

Glad I wasn't alone in this.

 

[Forbin]

Personally I think a movie is only scary when you DON'T see what's making things move.

The original "The Haunting". Sheer brilliance. You never see ANY ghost, and you are scared out of your mind. The one incontestable supernatural manifestation in the film - the door - makes you do one of those slow burn screams like you get in a nightmare when you're frozen, and you want to scream but can't make a sound.

Ah, the classics

 

[nx1701g]

I think that the more modern horror films try to focus too much on out doing the other films before them that they lose sight of scares. Plus, since the Saw franchise, I think horror as been confused with gore.

 

[Phantom]

The only thing that unsettles me anymore is found-footage films because they come off more "real" and don't show things.

Personally, I don't care for "found footage", but to each their own.

 

[davejames]

... the first Insidious ...

The first 2 acts of Insidious were masterful. Perfect amount of creepy atmosphere and tension and the only real jump scare was so freshly done that I couldn't fault them for it.

Then it turned into something entirely different and the ending was terrible.

Glad I wasn't alone in this.

Huh, I thought the ending worked well enough. Although by that point the movie had hooked me well enough that I was along for the ride no matter what happened.

 

[Saga]

i agree about Insidious. it really took an unexpected turn. much like the first Jeepers Creepers. first half of the film was great, second half...what happened?

 

[Beagleman]

I liked The Woman in Black and I may be the only one but I found the first 3/4 of Signs really scary, when they show the homemade video of some birthday party in Brazil and the Alien just walks by, I nearly fell out of my chair.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Funny, I just watched this vid on the youtube:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz6KOsePEHs[/yt]

 

[Klaus]

I'm not much of a horror fan, but The Haunting is genuinely scary. And I'd add the original Night of the Living Dead...