Growing Out of Horror Movies?

Over at the Duquesne Duke, Jess Eagle has a little memoir about falling out of love with horror movies.  I'm not sure I buy the analysis, but it's an interesting perspective.

Most Profitable Horror Movies

HorrorMovies.Ca has a list of the 9 most profitable horror movies.  Top honors go to blockbuster indies that filmed with very small budgets, like the Blair Witch Project (below) and Paranormal Activity.

Top 10 Creepy Children in Cinema

Here's a solid list of creepy children in horror movies, which, while comprehensive, seems to leave out quite a lot of them, too.  Seriously, what is it about kids that's so unsettling?  Has anyone ever done a study of this?

Ghost T-shirt

 

"Ghost" T-shirt, by droopbomb, on Threadless

Scorcese's 11 Scariest Movies

Last year, the Daily Beast ran a list of Martin Scorcese's 11 scariest horror movies.

The list is a pretty great one, though it skews pretty heavily towards pre-1970s cinema. I haven't watched my way through the entire list, but those I've seen have been excellent, and Scorcese includes a couple of my favorite ever horror films, including The Innocents and the 1963 version of The Haunting.

David Gordon Green on His Suspiria Remake

Pineapple Express director David Gordon Green will be directing a remake of Dario Argento's horror classic Suspiria.  Complex has an interview in which he talks about the project:

With Suspiria specifically, you’ve been trying to get a remake made for years now. What is it about Dario Argento’s original film that keeps you so determined to make a new version?

To me, what I love about it…. I love the original, but the movie that I’ve written based on that is just very much influenced by that. I think the idea of an isolated setting with a young, naïve girl stuck in the isolated setting is just a field day for what I find to be scary. It’s me responding horrifically to that movie; I was really terrified by that movie. My take is somewhat different from what Argento’s movie is, and it’s really me seeing what I have to offer that genre.

It’s the seed that Suspiria planted in my head, rather than a shot-by-shot remake. It takes that tone and goes into a new place with it

Ten Tricks For Surviving A Horror Movie

 Not only is this article on how to survive a horror movie in the Miami New Times full of helpful hints should you fall into a horror movie, it also demonstrates a pretty sharp understanding of the rule-governed nature of the horror genre, and of the concept of genre in general:

​A scary movie is nothing but a pattern; a circumstantial plot that moves from one point to the next,systematically taking its viewers into a familiar world. In one version the chick might be the hero, while in another she's the victim. There are serial killers and ghosts, and there's always some idiot who does the opposite of what the audience is telling him to do.

But the thing is, no matter the premise, horror flicks are adrenaline-based entertainment that drag their audiences through the mud and back again, throwing obstacles at them from all angles without a care in the world about feelings, stress, or any other emotion.

Jezebel's Ghost Stories

Here are those ghost stories Jezebel was looking for.  I think my favorite is "Charlotte," although it's a fun selection generally.

The Exorcist on Stage . . . Now With More Teller

Why is possessed Linda Blair so happy?  Because not only is there a stage play of The Exorcist in the works, but now it looked like Teller, of Pen & Teller fame, will be working on the stage effects.  Strange, but true.  [Via The Mary Sue]

On a side note, I'm more freaked out by that photo than I was by the entire film.

10 Worst Haunted House Cliches

In honor of the recent release of Dream House, Complex has a list of the ten worst haunted house movie cliches.

In case you ever feel like keeping count, here's a horror cliche bingo card for you, via Sarah Hates Your Movie:

NPR on the Haunted House Business

djwudi, via Flickr

NPR has a fun behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional haunted houses.  You can listen to the article, or read the transcript, at the link.

The Woman in Black

Oh, hell yes.  [Via io9]

The Gawper

[Via The Mary Sue]

Steven King on TCM's Night at the Movies

Dread Central would like to remind you that Steven King will be on TCM's "A Night at the Movies" tomorrow night, October 3, at 8 PM.  Following the special, TCM will be showing a bunch of great classic horror films all night, including Frankenstein, Freaks, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Here's the full lineup:
8:00 PM TCM "Night at the Movies: Horror" 
9:00 PM Frankenstein 
10:15 PM Freaks 
11:30 PM TCM "Night at the Movies: Horror"
12:30 AM Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 
2:15 AM Mark of the Vampire (’35)
3:30 AM The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
4:45 AM Nosferatu 
6:15 AM Phantom of the Opera