Let me introduce you to:
Oh yes, the SPLATTER FLICK, SPLATT-FLICK or GORE FLICK as some call it. Those movies do not follow a certain pattern as it is with Slashers, but often deliberately focuses on showing as much graphic violence as possible. Gallons of blood, guts, parts of human body flying around - that's when you know you're watching a Splatter. The thing I like about them is that in certain point there's so much gore on the screen that it's becomes a sort of self parody. And some people say that it's a kind of art form that has it's roots in Grand Guignol - a French Gore theatre of the 1908.The thing you don't know about splatter genre is that one of the most gory films ever made was directed by a mainstream director. I give you a hint... "Forgotten silver", "The Frighteners", "Meet the feebels" ? Ring any bells? No? Well then how about " THE LORD OF THE RINGS" trilogy? He he yes. The one and only Peter Jackson. Before he got his job to film Tolkien books he was a rather unknown director who made "BRAINDEAD" (also known in the US as "Dead alive") The film that in its final scene has a guy with a lawnmower chopping through a horde of zombies only to be later confronted by his abusive mother who changed into a gigantic monkey rat. Good job Mr P! You deserve that OSCAR :)
PS. I always imagined him walking into a major Producer studio saying "I want to film Lord of the Rings" and then showing clips of this movie.
And yes that's what love in splatter, that's it's so Over the top that it's becomes something else.
Unfortunately the director whom i personally hate - Eli Roth - showed that a splatter can go the other way. With his film HOSTEL he practically showed a new way for today's Gore flicks. Now they're much more dark, brutal in term of realism and really still not scary just repulsive.
And so the sub genre of SPLATTER was born and it's called TORTURE PORN. This doesn't mean it's porn, the name of genre simply means that those movies show violence in the same way that porn is showing sex. Without any barriers or censorship. Movies like "Hostel", The "Saw" series' "Turistas", changed the way of making splatters. I personally hate those films, because I really find nothing amusing in watching people get tortured and simple exaggeration in terms of showing more hardcore violence on screen just don't do it for me. Like the castration scene from "Hostel: part two". I was like - "OK you broke another barrier, but the movie still sucks." I think it went the wrong way.And to prove my point I leave you know with the clips of an Oldschool splatter from award winning director Peter Jackson :)
Here's "BRAINDEAD"
I KICK ASS for the LORD,
The LAWNMOVER SCENE
For me Braindead and Hostel that are completly diferent kind of horror, Braindead is comic, its is not frightened, you can laugh watching this scene from youtube atached above, but as I written under your first post, Hostel is disgusting, exactly as you described it with other words: brutal torture porn.
ReplyDeleteTo that type like splatter flick mayby we can give whole "A Nightmare on Elm Street" series, there is a lot of boold, but it is funny :)
What about horrors albout werewolfs? this is another kind, or mayby you are going to write about them in another part?
What about movies about exorcism? there is many titles, like "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", few parts of Exorcist, and about cranky houses
That are horrors I like more than such witch a lot of ketchup :) because they make you frightened :)
For me horror which makes you laugh, it is not horror :)
This is really controversial topic as it should be. Currently producing films which are full of violence and gore is so common that I really can't keep up with parts of "Saw". I don't know how many of them have already been in the cinema. I can't understand why people are so in love with this kind of movies. For me it is incredible. It is not that I didn't watch any of them and I don't perceive artistic(?) side of them. I barely watched one of the "saw", during "Hostel" I came out because for me it was unbearable. In the past I pretty liked horrors but rather based on tension and psyche. I was shocked that cinema hall was full of people and they really looked fascinated. But why? It is weird. For me Gore films are just sadistic, disgusting and sick.
ReplyDeleteIm pretty sure I have watched couple of movies of Splatter Flick genre but unfortunatelly I cant recall any titles.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I definitely agree on, very characteristic thing to this kind of movies is certain viewer reaction curve.
First you may be a bit scared, then perhaps more. After a while you reach the moment when all the slaughter starts happening and its when you can jump in your chair from time to time. Finally you reach the point when someone or something dies every minute of the movie and it happens so often that you forget about being afraid at which point two things usually happen. Either you laugh or throw up.
I think its one of those things you either love or hate. I realise it may be too much of a generalisation though.
Personally I would agree with Mateusz. For me Horror should be scary, and I mean properly scary which means somehow stimulating my mind instead of just disgusting me and making me throw up. Like Malgosia said, the tension and psyche, those two elements greatly contribute to horror quality.
I realise those are sub genres so they may have certain hmm offset from the main genre? But in case of this one it goes pretty far away from my vision of a proper horror movie.
Its a bit like in case of some fantasy movies. Some one them (like "War of the Worlds") have very very good special effects but since thats the main focus of those movies the fable suffers badly which ultimately makes the movie boring for many people.
I dont know why it happens, great special effects should by all means not push the fable away but for some unknown reason it is often the case. If anyone has any theories to explain that, please do share.
So when we consider this example in case of the horror movies its pretty much similar. The only difference is that here blood, gore and digust can push away proper mind stimulating experience. They dont have to, but often do.
Hopefully movie creators will not forget about the most important factor for many many great movies, which is fable and plot. And that applied to all movie genres, not only horrors.
Mateusz got a point there - is horror a horror when it can't make you frightened? That's an interesting question, because really there were not many films that really made me scared. OK I was shitting my pants when I saw The Critters first time but back then I was like 7 years old. Now when I watch it I laugh my ass off.
ReplyDeleteMateusz you should seek my earlier post, before my presentation, when I mentioned "Blair witch project". I think I made an exact point there that this was one of the most frightening horror movies I ever watched. And it didn't have a single drop of blood in it. But that's the point of my whole presentation to show you how the horror films changed through the years.
You mentioned the "Nightmare on the Elm street" series. This is a slasher series, and with each sequel it sunken deeper and deeper making Freddy into this comic re-leaf character. But we'll going to see a remake to the first 1984 movie soon. That's a restart to the series and it sure is going to be in the style of today's hostels and saws. So you may be surprised :)
As for Malgosia - it depends on a taste. Today's Splatter genre is not what it was earlier.I totally agree that those Saw films are just un-watcheble. The first one maby...it was kinda original& stuff. But come on, 7 sequels? Are you MAD? This was a one of stand, it was cool to see something new but so many movies. It's getting exploited to the max and it's just a milking cow nothing else.
Kacper thanks to remind me about Blair Witch Project. This is another my favourite movie, it was really frightening without even single drop of blood :) That`s what I expect from really good horror.
ReplyDeleteI remember The Critters movie I think. Was it the one with those funny little furry alien kind of things which were able to eat stuff as fast or even faster than piranhas?
ReplyDeleteI also watched it when I was young, quite an old movie but indeed I remember it scared me terribly back then. Watched it at friends house and when I was coming back home I was looking over my shoulder to check wheter no furry rolling balls are chasing me! Think I was below 10 years old then.
But one way or another like it was mentioned, good horrors are supposed to scare us with their hmm quality lets say but wouldnt you say that a bit of blood should still be present?
After all it is kind of trademark of them. Not in all cases but still.
I think the best thing would be a healhy combination of good quality fable, atmoshpere and some of that fancy liquid we call blood.
Thats how I see it at least. Horrors without blood are more like Thrillers perhaps?
Oh man, nothing scarred me as Critters did back when I was younger :D Maby only Chucky - that bastard son of Barbie and Charles Manson. Oh and that F&*$#%K clown from "It" by Stephen King. That film personalize everybody's fear of clowns in a most horrible way ever.I remember I saw some critters dolls on-line and I imagined somebody buying me that, and going to bed while this vile piece of merchandise look at me from a shelf... I promised myself would KILL the person who make me a present like that :D
ReplyDeleteFor me a good horror should be scary but then again remember about "Riffability". All those slashers and animal attack films really became something else. First we all rooted for the heroes but then the villains became the real heroes of those movies. A paradox was born where we simply cheer for a gynarmous mad butcher to finish off a bunch of teenagers in a most brutal manner possible. And that's an other kind of joy we get from the so called horrors.
For all those that reek for a "Blair witch" experience i recommend a movie "Paranormal activity" I don't know how's it with the premiere in Poland but the movie is the closest they get to recreate this "documentary" style horror. There were many movies after blair witch but most of them, especially the hyped "Diary of the dead" were all crap.
I don't like gore movies. I thing they aren't even funny, for me they are boring. For scary movies i prefer movies like saw, hills have eyes. But more then this type of movies I prefer something like Blair Witch Project or movies with dr. hannibal lecter and movies in which there isn't a lot of blood but they have tension that will keep you in front of a TV.
ReplyDeleteContrary to what most people say I enjoy the “Saw” series. They are a good combination of a survival horror and a crime movie. I also agree with Mateusz about the differences between “Braindead” and “Hostel”. I found both of them funny, but the problem is that only one of them was meant to be funny.
ReplyDeleteI found the most horrible and scary horror which I have ever seen. You've probable watched it a hundred years ago but for me it was something absolutely new. It looks as a nice cartoon but it is not recommended for small children for sure. The show is nearly free of dialogue but full blood and scream. Although I usually don't like gore films, this time I have to say that it was really funny. I was closing my eyes so many times that probably I lost a half of film. It looks like a good black comedy:)
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