It: How to Make a Modern Horror Movie - Film Analysis
Full Video Version: https://youtu.be/h9rlIswOyUo
Ah, scary movies. There’s just something about them that makes us wanna keep watching. Maybe it’s the adrenaline rush that we get when we’re scared to death or maybe it’s that sense of accomplishment that we ¨made it¨ through something that terrifies us. Whatever it may be, we love horror movies, And It just became the highest grossing horror movie of all time and the fourth highest grossing R rated film at the box office, as well as having pretty good reviews. So why did it work?
Let’s talk about jump scares for a second. A jump scare is not necessarily bad, when properly executed. To execute a proper jump scare, you need two things: First a proper build up of tension. And the second requirement is that it’s not a false scare. Most of the jump scares in the movie are actually properly earned. They all have a proper build up and they aren’t false. The payoff would have been really good if only they hadn't added that stupid clang noise attached to every single scare in the movie. A loud noise isn’t scary. It’s definitely startling and annoying, but scary? Not in a million years. I highly recommend you watch The Problem with Horror Movies Today over on Chris Stuckmann´s channel where he thoroughly explains how people have forgotten what scary actually is. But the point is that what's actually scaring the kids in the movie is the frightening part, not an added loud noise. (To illustrate this point, let's watch this scene of the movie as it was originally released and now a sound edited cut where there´s no loud noise after the scare). Both of these clips are just as effective in their build up and pay off, but one is annoyingly stupid and the other one isn’t. It may seem like I’m complaining way too much about a jump scare tactic that has been used for years but there is a big problem here. And that is that these loud noises take you completely out of the movie experience as you´re fully immersed. It's frustrating. So why do pretty much all modern horror movies have them? Well, the obvious reason would be that ADD audiences have forgotten what true horror is. But the real reason is the same one why everything in It is blown out of proportion. The best example of this is the projector scene where Pennywise starts appearing on screen, which is probably the most horrific thing any one of those kids has ever seen in their lives. The situation itself is creepy. But then they had to show the huge clown coming out of the screen. (Sigh). Subtle moments like the page turning scene do not have a lasting impact on today's audiences. Speaking of modern audiences, let’s talk about the timing of the It release and why it’s so important.
Full Video Version: https://youtu.be/h9rlIswOyUo