The first “scary movies” I remember watching were Disney’s “The Black Cauldron,” and R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” TV adaptation. This media was undoubtedly frightening for me as a child, but the scary characters in them weren’t quite blood-curdling enough. These films left me thirsty for a more intense, spine-chilling feeling.
As I got older, I surrounded myself with scary movies all the time. Thrillers and horror films quickly became my new favorite genre. They were always among my favorite new releases, but I also became interested in the classics, the horrifying films that started it all.
After watching many scary movies — and doing some research about them — I was left with one lingering question: What makes these films utterly terrifying? It all seemed to boil down to how fear was imposed on viewers, or more importantly what was inflicting that fear. The monster seemed to be at the core of this imposition.
Monster movies all contain similar tropes, mainly that there are human protagonists fighting against one great evil represented by the monsters. Oftentimes, the evil qualities of these monsters are representative of our own human flaws in an inhuman body.
In the 1930s, the American monster movie started to really take off. We began to meet incredible movie monsters: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and King Kong, to name a few.
These monsters were shockingly horrific. Finally, stories that had only been on paper were completely transformed into fantastical feature-length films. Most of them based on Gothic stories or German Expressionism.
As years gained on the classic monster movies, these tropes seemed to disappear. Monster movies became total and utter jokes compared to the original films. Movies such as “Scream” and “The Village,” made in 1996 and 2004, respectively, were made fun of in the “Scary Movie” films time and time again.
A genre that once had people jumping out of their skin was now comedic. This was partly because monster storylines had been used up, but it was mostly due to the level of respect we now hold for technology.
We think every single monster movie made in the modern era should project our value of technology through how well it is used, yet we forget the importance of relatability.
If all of the sudden there is computer-generated imagery of a monster on the screen, to what extent is that believable? Does it make you want to laugh at this monster rather than scream? If it is a person dressed in a well constructed costume, the monster becomes a much more realistic character with very real human qualities.
The art of making a good monster movie was consistent with my desire to immerse myself in traditional tropes, and to feel like the monster was actually a believable one — sans cheesiness — is something only old monster movies possess.
Reach writer Rebecca Gross at arts@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @becsgross
