Reinventing the Horror Genre

Hi All,

We watched 'House of Wax' recently, and decided that the horror genre needs a rehaul. While 'House of Wax' was a very good horror movie, there are too many out there with the same generic formula. I came up with some things that would NOT be in my horror film:

1) Backwoods hicks who have never seen a toothbrush in their lives.

Why? Because that's a stereotype, and my villain will be the opposite of everything you'd expect. He'd be clean, neat, and very 'everyday.' It's scarier when it's someone normal you'd never suspect.

2) Backwoods hicks who drive an old beat up truck/paddy wagon.

Why? Because you can transport dead bodies in a nice new Ford F350 as well as you can in an old piece of junk. I might want Ford as a sponsor for my film.

3) Any reference to a mental asylum.

Why? While I think asylums are fascinating places for a horror story, and mental illness is the key to any killer, this plotline has been done to death. And, the reality about asylums is that most of the people who've ever been there either did not belong (as in the past when people were misdiagnosed), or are fairly normal people who just need some therapy.

4) Teenagers.

That's right. NO TEENAGERS! All of my primary characters are in their mid-to-late twenties anyway, a formula I see no need to change. The idea of the naive teenager has been done to death too. No pun intended.

5) Sex.

And everyone goes, "Booo!" Yeah, I know. Sex=Ratings, Sales, Profit. But because my primary goal is to put pure horror into your soul, I see no place for sex in that mix. I know, I know....the classic Sex=Death horror template is a favorite. But I've seen enough naked bimbos in my life. If horror movies were half as liberal about showing naked men, I *might* be interested. So no, there's no need for sex, because sex is in that realm of sacred things in life in my mind, and has nothing to do with horror. And I don't need any lessons in how hedonism will kill you (ahem, 'Hostel').

6) Defenseless women. (or men)

The heroine ALWAYS carries a weapon. It might not save her, in the end, but she is always prepared, for God's sake. Baseball bats preferred. ;)

7) Killers who keep coming back to life.

If the heroine injures the killer, she doesn't stop until she knows for a fact that he is DEAD. How many times have we seen these killers get up and continue to come after the heroes after they were shot once, or knocked in the head once? I mentioned in my 'Wolf Creek' review that Bean and I yelled for that girl to bash the killer's head in, but she didn't, and she died as a result. In 'House of Wax,' Elisha Cuthbert bashed the killer's head in about 10 times with a baseball bat. We cheered. (Lest you think we're disturbed...it's just a movie. In real life we're terrified of squirrels, remember?)

8) Cars that don't start (or they don't have the keys).

The car will always start. People will always have keys. That's not to say they'll always get away....but if I see one more faulty vehicle...grrrrrr.

9) Unneccesary gore.

With death, some gore is expected. But let's be realistic. People do not ooze things out of body parts and blood does not look like syrup. Things we don't see are scarier than things we see...so I'm not even sure I'd show actual killings. I'd probably pull an X Files and show somebody get pulled behind a wall and the next thing you see is that they're dead. Something more tasteful like that.

10) Dumb conversations.

Mine would be a smart horror movie, like 'The Shining' or 'The Sixth Sense.' Well, I can aspire, anyway.


'House of Wax' was good though; it had a very creepy feel to it, and genuinely gave me an uneasy feeling (the litmus of a good horror movie) as I watched. Plus, it was entertaining. Plus, Paris Hilton dies in it (not a spoiler). haha I always thought those wax figures were creepy anyway; you definitely have chills after this film.

Have a great day.