I agree about the horror movies. Especially since so many of them just take the approach of putting things up on the screen that, if an audience member were in the middle of it, would be scary--getting stalked by a mysterious murderer, attacked by zombies/bugs/chainsaw maniac, etc. It seems like most horror movies can't really get past gore as a method of horror.
Generally, I think horror works better as an element of a story, rather than as the main feature. I feel like the biggest problem with pure horror is that it's hard to sustain tension for the hours it takes to watch. People just can't stay scared that long (at least of something up on a screen). Eventually, their bodies relax and they disconnect from the stressful elements playing before them, and they miss out on a lot of the emotion of the rest of the movie. If horror is just an element, you can then move onto to other things in the story, setting them up for future scares down the road.
Pacing is also really important. If a movie pounces on you right out of the gates it can really screw up the progression of things. You don't care if somebody is going through something scary if you haven't invested anything in their character. And if you watch somebody get horribly mangled right out of the gates, it teaches you that life is cheap in this movie, and you might as well not get attached to anyone. Movies can't actually threaten the audience. The only reason they're scary at all is because they're threatening something we care about--the characters. The more we care, the scarier it will be. This is true of games as well as movies--as Shamus wrote in an earlier article, games stop being scary and start being annoying when they actually kill your character. Tension and suspense come from a threat, not a carrying out of that threat. The goriest murder scene in the world, while difficult to watch, is actually a relief when it finally happens because you can stop worrying about it after.
As far as horror movies that do it right, there are few. One of my favorites, though, is the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Good characters, tons of threatening mystery, a really frightening chase sequence at the end, and the terror of realizing that, no matter how far or fast you run and no matter what you do, you will never be safe. And the ending shot is one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life!
Generally, I think horror works better as an element of a story, rather than as the main feature. I feel like the biggest problem with pure horror is that it's hard to sustain tension for the hours it takes to watch. People just can't stay scared that long (at least of something up on a screen). Eventually, their bodies relax and they disconnect from the stressful elements playing before them, and they miss out on a lot of the emotion of the rest of the movie. If horror is just an element, you can then move onto to other things in the story, setting them up for future scares down the road.
Pacing is also really important. If a movie pounces on you right out of the gates it can really screw up the progression of things. You don't care if somebody is going through something scary if you haven't invested anything in their character. And if you watch somebody get horribly mangled right out of the gates, it teaches you that life is cheap in this movie, and you might as well not get attached to anyone. Movies can't actually threaten the audience. The only reason they're scary at all is because they're threatening something we care about--the characters. The more we care, the scarier it will be. This is true of games as well as movies--as Shamus wrote in an earlier article, games stop being scary and start being annoying when they actually kill your character. Tension and suspense come from a threat, not a carrying out of that threat. The goriest murder scene in the world, while difficult to watch, is actually a relief when it finally happens because you can stop worrying about it after.
As far as horror movies that do it right, there are few. One of my favorites, though, is the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Good characters, tons of threatening mystery, a really frightening chase sequence at the end, and the terror of realizing that, no matter how far or fast you run and no matter what you do, you will never be safe. And the ending shot is one of the scariest things I've ever seen in my life!
