We all know how I feel about romantic comedies. However, I am here to tell you that they are not the worst genre in the world. The absolute worst genre that is going down the drain is horror. I am just going to start off by saying that I am not a fan of horror films to begin with, but most of what I came to realize about horror films stem from a conversation I had with my cousin on the subject. Horror movies used to be great, with thrills and chills to excite audiences everywhere. Unfortunately, they have lost their mojo and rely on cheap thrills and suspense to scare audiences. This is because there is nothing new under the sun, and creativity is limited in the world of horror.
Let’s examine a horror movie to explain: The original “Nightmare on Elm Street” was full of scares and an amazingly horrific plot (and was also Johnny Depp’s first movie role). Set in the 80s, teenagers discover a serial killer is after them and has the power to kill them in their nightmares. The very thought of the movie’s premise, if you die in your sleep then you die for real, is frightening enough. This film was masterfully done by invoking our worst nightmares as the setting for a killing spree. The movie monster himself, Freddy Krueger, was only on screen for a total of seven minutes!
After this movie, however, the idea that you’re not safe in your dreams wasn’t enough, so it was decided that they needed to amp Freddy up and gave him more witty dialogue as opposed to the seriousness of the first movie. The sequels that followed were okay, but the downfall was cemented when they decided to do a pair up of “Freddy vs. Jason” (what is it with versus movies and bad quality?), starring Jason Voorhees from the “Friday the 13th” franchise. This movie’s premise actually was, ironically, that Freddy realized the kids weren’t scared enough of him so he recruited Jason’s help. You have to realize that a movie monster that started off with barely any screen time and went to needing help is kind of a red alert.
All horror movies follow this basic timeline. “Alien,” “Friday the 13th,” “Halloween,” “Child’s Play” and more. The fact of the matter is that after the initial scare, where do we go? Okay, so there’s a little girl who’s been possessed by a demon: how can we make that scarier the next time around? It’s harder than you think. I actually applaud Hollywood for trying to keep the horror genre in play for so long, but it’s definitely past its due. Today’s horror films are just people talking calmly and the audiences get the scariness thrown in their face all at once. While I’ll admit that it’s not something predictable and would definitely scare the daylights out of everyone, that’s not what the horror franchise is supposed to be about. Our number one horror franchise of this decade seems to be “Paranormal Activity” which is just a bunch of people seen through green lens in security camera fashion running from shot to shot because of a neat camera trick. If that’s the best we’ve got, I think we should put the monsters to rest (please).
