On Horror and the Macabre

[Deleted]

Room 1408 was mean.

[Acelius]

DOOM certainly had its moments for me. I think a lot of my fear was stifled by the innate power I had over my own circumstances. Giving the protagonist a weapon of any kind can have that effect, unfortunately. Comparing it against games like Amnesia or Outlast, I found DOOM - in all of its forms - to be relatively less terrifying. I've yet to play through Deadspace, though. I own the first two titles, but just haven't played them yet. Though that's true for a lot of horror games I own.

Certainly. I really can't stand games like Amnesia where your only option is to run and hide. I sincerely hate the feeling of being chased with no way of fighting back.

[Anonymous1038853]

Certainly. I really can't stand games like Amnesia where your only option is to run and hide. I sincerely hate the feeling of being chased with no way of fighting back.

That's kind of the point though, isn't it? It's not intended to be a literally pleasant experience.

[Deleted]

The resident Evil series was annoying with their fucked up shoulder camera angle perspective to give you the least ammount of overlook of the situation.
Stuff like this gets me but I'm pissed off by how manipulative it is and my cognitive response screams nonononono

[Acelius]

That's kind of the point though, isn't it? It's not intended to be a literally pleasant experience.

It is. And it is damn effective.

[Anonymous1038853]

Mixed feelings about the Resident Evil franchise. I feel like they set the groundwork for the best and worst tropes in horror games. They were pioneers in the genre, in many respects. But ultimately, I would say that Silent Hill is overall a better series than Resident Evil. Though that's still a tough comparison, from my own perspective. Was really really disappointed to hear that the production of Silent Hills was cancelled, and that Guillermo won't be working on horror games in the future.

[Fencers]

Have you watched The Girl Next Door, Hard Candy, Absentia, Antichrist, or It Follows? I found those movies to all be uniquely disturbing, to varying degrees and for largely different reasons.

Yup, seen 'em all.

Really enjoyed It Follows, Antichrist and Hard Candy. I don't think Hard Candy and Antichrist are truly horror films though. Antichrist is pretty thoughtful and serious actually.

The Girl Next Door and Absentia were lame.

[Queen of Hamsters]

The most scared I have ever been when consuming any media, was when I watched Fellowship of the Ring. I had not read the books, I had not seen anything about the movie before I watched it at home a dark evening. I always keep the room dark when I watch movies, regardless of theme, and never regretted it until then. The scene which scared me so much that I actually grabbed a pillow and yelped "I DON'T WANNA!!!!!" is the scene where Gollum is lurking around below Gandalf and the others in that cave. The sounds, the fear of not knowing what Gollum looked like and then the brief moment of his eyes gleaming as his silhouette becomes barely visible before the camera...IIIK!!! I have never been so frightened before or since.

I am way more fearful of the unknown, darkness, obscure and such than I am of sudden screams or crap like that. That's why horror usually works best for me in book form. Stephen King's IT being my favourite book of all time. The movie adaptation is a travesty and so will the next movie adaptation be, but the book...boy do I love it.

[Theodarzna]

Yup, seen 'em all.

Really enjoyed It Follows, Antichrist and Hard Candy. I don't think Hard Candy and Antichrist are much truly horror films though. Antichrist is pretty thoughtful and serious actually.

With the trope that having sex leads to death, I would actually love to see a horror movie were the slutty girl turns out to be the heroine who survives.

[Anonymous1038853]

I don't think Hard Candy and Antichrist are much truly horror films though. Antichrist is pretty thoughtful and serious actually.

I don't think they're mutually exclusive, no? I mean, both deal with macabre subject matter, and are extremely grim and dark. YOMV, though.

[Theodarzna]

As an aside, you know what Horror-ish films I absolutely adore?

The Ginger Snaps series. All because it said what I've felt all along, teenagers are basically monsters and having your period is like becoming a werewolf.

[Fencers]

With the trope that having sex leads to death, I would actually love to see a horror movie were the slutty girl turns out to be the heroine who survives.

Cabin in the Woods.

I don't think they're mutually exclusive, no? I mean, both deal with macabre subject matter, and are extremely grim and dark. YOMV, though.

Meh. I am thinking of horror as a genre for the purposes of this thread. Plenty of media deal with grim/dark or strange/macabre subject matter and not intended to frighten as entertainment. Such as, We Need to Talk About Kevin or In Cold Blood. Heck, The Road.

[Curious Canuck]

The most scared I have ever been when consuming any media, was when I watched Fellowship of the Ring. I had not read the books, I had not seen anything about the movie before I watched it at home a dark evening. I always keep the room dark when I watch movies, regardless of theme, and never regretted it until then. The scene which scared me so much that I actually grabbed a pillow and yelped "I DON'T WANNA!!!!!" is the scene where Gollum is lurking around below Gandalf and the others in that cave. The sounds, the fear of not knowing what Gollum looked like and then the brief moment of his eyes gleaming as his silhouette becomes barely visible before the camera...IIIK!!! I have never been so frightened before or since.


the movie wasn't that bad all things considered. damn gummit

I am way more fearful of the unknown, darkness, obscure and such than I am of sudden screams or crap like that. That's why horror usually works best for me in book form. Stephen King's IT being my favourite book of all time. The movie adaptation is a travesty and so will the next movie adaptation be, but the book...boy do I love it.

the movie wasn't that bad all things considered

[Anonymous1038853]

Cabin in the Woods.

No one survives in that film.
No one.
Also, Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time.

[Queen of Hamsters]

the movie wasn't that bad all things considered

Just so we're clear, I didn't say "the movie wasn't that bad all things considered. damn gummit" in my original post. <.<. I consider the movie adaptation of IT to be one of the top 5 of horrible movies that I've seen in my life. Did nothing but make me cringe. It's actually the movie that taught me about how book to movie works most of the times and that a great book doesn't have to equal a great movie.

[Fencers]

No one survives in that film.
No one.
Also, Bruce Willis was a ghost the whole time.

Well, true. I guess the old gods did win in the end.

[Queen of Hamsters]

Cabin in the Woods.

Meh. I am thinking of horror as a genre for the purposes of this thread. Plenty of media deal with grim/dark or strange/macabre subject matter and not intended to frighten as entertainment. Such as, We Need to Talk About Kevin or In Cold Blood. Heck, The Road.

Huh? I don't remember the slut being the heroine in CITW...o.O

Did enjoy the movie though, just wish there had been more time spent in those vaults...yummy!

[Fencers]

I like It the film. Admittedly, it's 90% Tim Curry that sells me on It.

[Anonymous1038853]

Meh. I am thinking of horror as a genre for the purposes of this thread. Plenty of media deal with grim/dark or strange/macabre subject matter and not intended to frighten as entertainment. Such as, We Need to Talk About Kevin or In Cold Blood. Heck, The Road.

Personally, I would classify most of those as horror. Most any media which is specifically designed to elicit primal negative reactions like fear, dread, misery, disgust, etc, would constitute in some fashion to me. I then sort of divide the genre into subgenres within that definition. Obviously everyone's going to have a different sense of classification, but the themes in all of those films are what I would describe as horrific.

[Fencers]

Personally, I would classify most of those as horror. Most any media which is specifically designed to elicit primal negative reactions like fear, dread, misery, disgust, etc, would constitute in some fashion to me. I then sort of divide the genre into subgenres within that definition. Obviously everyone's going to have a different sense of classification, but the themes in all of those films are what I would describe as horrific.

Yea, the thing is that for me personally that kind of broadness would fit films from Rabbit Hole to Taxi Driver.

It's hard for me to lump Taxi Driver as a subgenre to a parent genre that includes Dracula or The Exorcist.