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By JonathanBarkan on April 24, 2016

Horror has been gracing cinema screens since movies became a reality. From audiences being shocked at the mere sight of a train coming towards them to audiences supposedly fainting and vomiting at the sights on screen, horror has hit us in visceral ways, ways that other genres never manage to achieve.

But as the years progressed, horror had to evolve to keep up with the interests and changes in our society. From being a terror of nightmarish images to an all out onslaught against our senses (and back again), horror has seen radical changes in its approach to try and meet what studio execs think we want to see. Sometimes they’re right and sometimes they fail catastrophically.

We’re lucky in our generation in that we have access to a nearly endless supply of films from across the decades. If we want to see what horror was like in the 30’s, it’s a click of a button away. Want to read about how the horror films of the Cold War era were a reflection of American society and its fears? Google is your pal.

All of this means that horror has changed drastically over the decades. Whether it be what films can get away with – like nudity, gore, blasphemy, etc… – or simple technological advances – such as better cameras or more realistic practical FX – horror has been able to add a great deal to its plate. But with all addition comes some sort of subtraction. Or, at the every least, some concepts and practices get pushed to the wayside.

So let’s talk about some of the things that may have fallen away that horror used to embody. I’ve got a few examples below and then I want to hear from you in the comments!

Atmosphere

This is a big one for me. Many times, I feel that horror movies try way too hard to create a scary atmosphere when they don’t realize that less can be more. For example, haunted house movies always have a house that looks weird in some way. Seeing those houses, it’s kinda hard not to remember Eddie Murphy’s brilliant and scathing attack on haunted houses. Whatever happened to making the house look like it fits the story? If a family is moving into a house, even if it’s haunted, you’d think the realtor would clean up a bit.

Some of the best uses of atmosphere come from movies that leave it in the background and let the story do the work. The Thing is set in Antarctica, which is not a “horror” location. However, in the context of the story, it becomes a menacing threat, one that’s just as dangerous as the alien virus. In The Mist, the supermarket is your every day normal grocery store. But under the circumstances, it becomes a constrictive jail. And in The Wicker Man, the island, which is rather beautiful when you think about it, feels like its hiding something behind every tree.

You see where I’m going with this? I don’t need the paint on the walls to be peeling to know that something’s wrong with the place. I need the story to bring me fear.

A Lack of CGI

Alright, this might just be me showing my age and I’m okay with that. Also, I know that the best CGI is the stuff we don’t see. But when CGI fails, it REALLY ruins the moment. I’d honestly always rather have a guy in a suit with the zipper clearly apparent than a CGI vision that I know simply isn’t real. Seeing actors interact with real objects will be far quicker at making me suspend my disbelief.

Now, there are obviously times when this can’t be avoided. Godzilla, The Mist, Silent Hill, etc… All of these movies, and more, have moments where CGI is a requirement because we simply don’t have the technology (or the budget) to do things otherwise. But I feel like CGI has become a tool for the lazy or the rushed in many circumstances.

More Memorable Music

I LOVE a good horror score. I absolutely delight in spinning a horror record or putting something on iTunes while I work. But I find that the scores that really stand out and remain in my memory are the older ones. The music of Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, Re-animator, and such have themes that get stuck in my mind and really add to the delight of the experience. For many of us, we need only hear a few notes of Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street to know what theme we’re hearing.

However, I challenge people to listen to music from Sinister against The Collector against The Possession and tell me which came from which. I’m not saying that the music in those films is bad, I’m just saying I couldn’t do it.

I believe that music can be an unrecognized and unseen character in a horror film, one that sets the mood more than anything else. That’s why I pay so much attention to it and really enjoy it when it stands out.