Wardrobes and sets that look like 1980s magazines and catalogues but not like 1980s real life, palette with deep blacks and super saturated accents, post processing as if shot on film with optical lens effects and distributed on magnetic video tape though obviously shot and edited one hundred percent digital, modern synthwave heavy soundtrack, titles in red text on black background… You know the entire package. It’s starting to feel lazy. For some reason it seems to be the aspiring young directors first feature length flick for the last few years or so. Damn I’d be more impressed by retro theming be the 90s or 00s that should be these directors genuine era of nostalgia.

  • Godort@lemm.eeEnglish
    13·
    1 month ago

    Cell phones basically ruined horror movies.

    The idea that everyone is carrying a cell phone or pager with them removed a lot of the believability of isolation, which is a core component of horror as a whole.

    If your movie takes place after cell phones are commonplace, you need to establish some answers beforehand about “why dont they just call the cops?” and you need to establish those in a way that feels natural to the plot otherwise it will stick out to your viewers.

    Add to that, that the 80s were basically the golden age of straight horror movies. All the really good horror movies of the 90s or 2000s are either deconstructions of established tropes or mashups with other genres.

    • whaleross@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      3·
      1 month ago

      These are valid points. But still, I think there is little point in repeating templates just because making something worthwhile is challenging. Especially in art of any kind. I mean, it’s been a mantra since mid last century at least that everything is done and yet artists of every discipline keep pushing the envelope to achieve something original.

      • Godort@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        1 month ago

        For some reason it seems to be the aspiring young directors first feature length flick for the last few years or so.

        There are 2 approaches to consider here:

        • This is my first movie so I can get real weird with it and use “I’m still learning” as an excuse

        • This is my first movie so I better follow the formula so I can learn what rules I can break.

        Making a movie is expensive, even a cheap horror movie. When you’re not comfortable in the space yet, it’s very easy to do something rote so that you can be a little grounded.

    • Encrypt-Keeper@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      That’s not really a hard question to answer. Cellphones batteries die. You can lose your phone or have it taken from you. It can be damaged. You could be physically isolated and have no signal. It could not work due to interference. You could be overheard. Hell even 911 call systems go down from time to time. Maybe the police are even in on it.

      In pre-cellphone horror movies you still had to answer the question of “How come they don’t just start screaming for help or for someone to call the police” and if you can answer that question, the answer for the cellphone question isn’t much of a stretch beyond that.