A great idea IMO, and The Arrow concurred so it’s a go. After all, there is a ton of great genre stuff getting produced to check out year after year, but it seems like much of it now is that flick somebody saw at a festival that came out of Sri Lanka, or some other surprising place.
Since there are so many elements at play in an issue like this, I’m expecting ya’ll to step up and spit bullets on what you think about all this – and of course, a big thanks to Adam for the list idea.
A lot of the weight behind this list comes down to the simple concept of respect, or lack thereof. People in the U.S. don’t really consider genre work as legitimate as other categories. Foreign cinema doesn’t seem to suffer from this delusion, and so a horror pic gets everyone’s best effort and legitimate appraisal, just like a non-genre offering. End result = horror is global, but the U.S. is losing steam.
document.write("
");
postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
As touched on earlier in the list, remakes, reimaginings, reboots and such have taken over. There are so damn many that inevitably some will seem interesting, some will even be good. But all it does is fill the void that would be filled by new ideas. Fortunately foreign flicks so far have stayed true to making original content for the most part. God love ’em.
I’m not sure why genre work is looked down upon in the U.S., but any director who gets their start in horror is not only pigeonholed, but also falls victim to the “it’s just horror” attitude. Foreign directors either through better opportunities, or maybe just better current talent, bring all the techniques of classic filmmaking to bear and make movies, instead of “horror movies”.
Known thespians and horror are a tough mix. When an actor brings baggage to a role, it’s hard to get lost in the world of the film in the way you need to in order to really get pulled into the terror being built. Who saw MIRRORS and didn’t have Kiefer as Jack Bauer in mind the whole time? Foreign actors are less well known relative to U.S. stars, so you can get equal or better quality without so many preconceived notions.
There is enormous pressure on studios and their producers to make movies that make money. That’s the bottom line. When they bring in a hot new director, or buy up a script that’s got tongues wagging, it’s because that hype will help sell their movie. Cast a big name? Same damn thing. Quality is an ever-diminishing by product of a corporate system that’s become as bloated and tenuous as U.S. banks.
document.write("
");
postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
There’s not another market in the world that is so driven to turn out product that skirts an edge specifically so that teens and pre-teens are allowed in by the letter of the law. It weakens the whole process in the U.S., and the level of excellence we see in a lot of import horror is the best argument for why PG-13 is bad.
Most U.S. horror for the last decade has followed a fairly predictable formula. Plenty of remakes, and then basic plot and scare points for the “new” ideas. It basically feels like there’s nothing new under the sun. Then some twisted piece like OLD BOY or GINGER SNAPS makes itself known to us, and we’re reminded that expectations can be checked when a good horror flick gets sent our way.
Building tension is all well and good, but once things go down it’s gotta be worth it. And man, oh man does the rest of the world drop it like a bomb. I can’t tell you how many films coming out of Hollywood have left me underwhelmed, while flicks like AUDITION, MAY and INSIDE have me squirming in my f*cking seat.
In the U.S. we like fast food, fast cars and fast women. Get it to us and get it to us now. Which is great if you’re looking for a burger, but not so good for building legitimate scares. Those come from a well established tension, something that foreign films usually excel at. Quick cuts and jump scares may make a trailer good enough to pull people into the theaters, but that’s about it.
document.write("
");
postscribe('#'+dynslot, 'cmnUNT("inline'", tile_num++, 0, "'+dynslot+'");'+'ipt>');
It’s been well established that the MPAA is a pain in the ass, but worse than that is how they treat different filmmakers. Those working within the studio system get detailed notes of what exactly resulted in the rating they received. Those outside that system just get general statements. The result is that some indie horror that could easily reach a wider audience through a PG-13 rating with some moderate guidance never get the chance, while the counter is that studios will spend enormous effort making sure they skate that same line instead of putting that energy into the quality of the film. And that’s without even getting into the box office killing NC-17 which many of the more intense horror efforts end up threatened by.
Loading…
var ready_add_content = true;
function getNextTopTen(type,id) { var dynamicData = {};
dynamicData["type"] = type; dynamicData["id"] = id;
return jQuery.ajax({ url: "https://www.joblo.com/top-ten.json.1.0.0.php", type: "get", data: dynamicData, dataType: 'json', beforeSend: function() { jQuery('#loading').show(); }, success: function(data) { jQuery('#loading').hide(); jQuery("form#pagination > input[name$='ajxp_joblo']").val(data.ajxp_joblo); jQuery("form#pagination > input[name$='ajxp_arrow']").val(data.ajxp_arrow); jQuery("form#pagination > input[name$='ajxp_hotties']").val(data.ajxp_hotties); jQuery("form#pagination > input[name$='ajxp_video']").val(data.ajxp_video); } }); }
// Detect if div is in page function inView(el) { var width = jQuery(el).width(), height = jQuery(el).height(), offset = jQuery(el).offset(),
vp_dimensions = { height: jQuery(window).height(), width: jQuery(window).width() },
y_offset = (document.documentElement.scrollTop ? document.documentElement.scrollTop : document.body.scrollTop), x_offset = (document.documentElement.scrollLeft ? document.documentElement.scrollLeft : document.body.scrollLeft);
return ( offset.top y_offset && (offset.left + width) > x_offset ); }
function send_to_google(urlTitle,rank) { if( jQuery.inArray(rank, window.page_view) == -1) { if(typeof rank != 'undefined') { ga('send', 'pageview', { 'page': '/horror-movies/news/lists-'+urlTitle+'/item#'+rank }); console.log('send pageview https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/lists-'+urlTitle+'/item#'+rank); } else { rank = 0; ga('send', 'pageview', { 'page': '/horror-movies/news/lists-'+urlTitle}); console.log('send pageview https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/lists-'+urlTitle); } } window.page_view[rank] = rank; }
jQuery(window).ready(function($){ // get currect title window.current_seo = document.title; window.lastScrollTop = 0;
$(window).scroll(function(event){ // check the direction of scroll var st = $(this).scrollTop(); var dirct = ''; if ( st > lastScrollTop ){ dirct = 'down'; } else { dirct = 'up'; }
lastScrollTop = st;
// start changing the title $('.hash').removeClass('selector_current'); $('.hash').each(function(){ var self = $(this); if ( inView( self ) ) { self.addClass('selector_current'); $('.selector_current').removeClass('select'); // TODO : bug don't add correct class if(dirct=="up") { $('.selector_current:first').addClass('select'); } else { $('.selector_current:last').addClass('select'); } } });
if( jQuery("div.hash.selector_current.select").length > 0 ) { var metaTitle = jQuery("div.hash.selector_current.select").attr('data-metaTitle'), rank = jQuery("div.hash.selector_current.select").attr('data-rank'), urlTitle = jQuery("div.hash.selector_current.select").attr('data-urlTitle');
// if the title is not the same change if( window.current_seo !== metaTitle ) { document.title = metaTitle; window.current_seo = document.title; if(typeof rank !== "undefined" && rank != "" ) { window.history.pushState( {} , metaTitle, '/horror-movies/news/lists-'+urlTitle+'/item#'+rank ); send_to_google(urlTitle,rank); } else { metaTitle = jQuery("div.hash.default").attr('data-metaTitle'); window.history.pushState( {} , metaTitle, '/horror-movies/news/lists-'+urlTitle ); send_to_google(urlTitle,rank); } } } }).scroll(); });
.sidebar-dvd-releases .order-it { margin: 0; width: 100%; padding: 6px 10px 2px 6px; line-height: 16px; font-size: 12px; } .sidebar-dvd-releases ul.main-releases li div.orderLinks {
position: initial; width: 100%; height: 57px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4); } .sidebar-dvd-releases ul.main-releases li div.orderLinks {
bottom: 2px; height: 20px; line-height: 25px; width: 100%; text-align: left; line-height: 25px; font-size: 12px; font-family: Oswald, Arial, sans-serif; } .sidebar-dvd-releases ul.slideshow li a img.cover { width: 100%; } .sidebar-dvd-releases ul.new-releases li.continue { float: none; display: block ; width: calc(100% - 10px) ; height: 35px ; margin: 0; background:none; } .sidebar-dvd-releases ul.new-releases li.continue a { float: none; padding: 12px 12px 8px; background-image: none; background-color: rgba(220,9,11,.9); color: #fff; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase; font-size: 15px; display: block; width: calc(100% - 24px); margin: 0 ; line-height: 15px; text-align: center; } .sidebar-dvd-releases .limited { display: block; position: absolute; right: 10px; top: 10px; color: #fff; background-color: rgba(220,9,11,.9); padding: 4px 7px 1px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px; } .left { float: left; }