Horror movies have been a staple of Halloween since 1896, when the first horror flick, a silent film called “The House of the Devil,” was released with a runtime of just three minutes. 

In the centuries since, horror movies have become some of the most iconic films in American culture and produced some of the most recognizable characters of all time. 

Despite this fact, classic horror movies just aren’t as terrifying as ones made today. 

When people think of horror movies today, the films that come to mind are classics like “Halloween,” “The Shining,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” “It,” “The Conjuring,” and maybe even “The Exorcist.” 

These movies are good. Some even set the standard for modern horror. But not all of them have a big scare factor, which should be the determining factor when judging films in this genre. 

“Halloween,” directed by John Carpenter, is a classic horror movie. In the movie, Michael Myers, played by Nick Castle, killed his sister when he was six years old. After spending 15 years in prison, he escapes and returns to his hometown to look for his next victims. We follow Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, as she tries to keep herself and the child she is babysitting safe from Myers. 

I am not saying this is a bad movie by any means; it just isn’t that scary. It relies more on the suspense of not knowing where Myers will be next and on the use of silence throughout the film. 

Prior to the mid 90s, horror movies had to rely on the use of practical effects like prosthetic makeup, animatronics and monster costumes, instead of CGI. Just because a movie is made with practical effects doesn’t mean it is inherently any less scary, but these technological advancements opened up a whole new world of possibilities for filmmakers in the horror genre.

The 2017 remake of the movie “It” uses both practical effects and CGI to create the unsettling transformations of Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Compared with its 1990 counterpart, the 2017 version has better jumpscares and better portrays Pennywise as a monster.  

One of the scariest and freakiest movies I have seen is“Talk to Me,” released in 2022 and directed by brothers Michael and Danny Philippou. In the movie, a group of friends discovers how to talk with spirits using an embalmed hand. 

I am a big horror movie fan, specifically supernatural horror, and didn’t have any expectations before watching “Talk to Me.”  But for me, this is the kind of movie you only watch once. 

“Talk to Me” is rated R, allowing for more graphic imagery. When a person becomes a conduit for the spirit, the spirit can become violent and cause the person to attack themselves in horrifying ways. 

Not only does this movie have possession as a scary element, but it also weaves in everyday horrors like grief, addiction and helplessness to fill you with a sense of dread that stays with you throughout the entire movie. 

While some of the “classic” horror movies still hold up, many of them couldn’t compare with the horror movies being produced today. 

Horror movies are like any other media, products of the times they are made in, horror movies have only gotten scarier over time. 

The continued innovation of technology has moved most horror films from the fear of the unknown to the fear of whatever monstrosity they can accurately put on the screen and as a result, left some of the older “classics” in the dust. 

Old horror movies have their place, but modern horror frights and delights so much more. 

Categories: Arts & Entertainment