I am not talking about remakes or re-inspirations of classic horror movies, that is for another time. I'm talking about jump scares and what makes things really scary. What is with this asinine way of "scaring people." It startles you and for a second it catches you by surprise but when all is said and done, you shake your head, thinking "what did that accomplish?"
What I am trying to get at is the relationship between the screen and the audience. There is something haunting (if you will) about long takes of fear and horror. To be honest, the realism of the situation is quite terrifying if left unbroken and concentrated.
There are a couple of movies that do this well, recent I may add so one does not think I just adore the films of past decades.
Insidious
While one can argue there are a fair amount of spooky jumps (a la the GIF above) the film builds up the fear and anxiety with obscure horror. Sometimes the ghouls are hidden in the background or further away that one may not see them before a close up is shown. There is a frightening scene in Insidious: Chapter 2 where Rose Byrne's character is walking down a hallway and you see glimpses of the female specter sitting in the chair from one doorway and vanished when she reaches the second doorway. There is something about the characters non-realization to the presence that sends a chill of dramatic irony up my spine. Also Chapter 3 has some good scenes in it as well.
Goodnight Mommy
It thrives on the unknown and feeds on your thoughts of "what's going to happen now." It is on the line of torture porn for me, but the build up and suspense that this film brings is just incredible. The feeling of distrust is so unbearable that while one may figure out the twist within the first 20 minutes, it still hooks itself onto you and really is a nail biter till the "ah man" ending. But that says nothing of the scenes of just excruciating patience of a slow burn. Well, it starts like an interesting tinder fire and then really lights up the screen in dramatic fashion. There is an especially tense scene with a hidden cat that I will not give away.
The Babadook
Before the Babadook is even introduced, we are given a mother, a son, and a tragic backstory. You feel the vitriolic pain the mother carries and the annoying anguish of a child who doesn't know how to care for his mom. This character depth would be fine on its own, but add in a creature of fear and hatred and you are in for one terrifying time. Just like Insidious, The Babadook enjoys to creep the audience out before it terrifies the characters. We catch glimpses of the Babadook here and there, but we aren't sure if this is the Mother's insanity or a real possessive monster gnawing into the lives of these two broken souls (which can be annoying if done terribly but luckily this film is well executed). One of scariest scenes is of the Babadook (no spoilers so *wink *wink to the name change) is when the Babadook floats eerily to the little boy as he backs himself into the corner and pees himself. It is so undeniably weird to see an actual terrified reaction like that to be shown on screen that it made me even more freaked out to what I was seeing.
Lastly, I would like to note that most jump scares fail because not only are they fake scares to cause your fight-or-flight responses to activate, but they are accompanied by a loud noise. This is just further bull, that tries to cash in on this natural reaction to getting startled. This is why, while loud noises can certainly intensify a scene, silence is also key to fear.
Movies I Have Recently Seen:
- The Loft (Stay AWAY)
Kristen Johnson: the creator of a slow burning chiller oxymoron
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