Everyone has their own nightmares. To comment on what is or isn't "objectively" scary would be unthinkably dense. But I saw a comment on the internet that seemed to acely encapsulate the anti-found footage perspective. In regards to Paranormal Activity 2, someone said "A picture in the attic isn't scary."
Doesn't that say it all? There are some for whom monsters and bloody fight scenes are scary, and others for whom something ridiculously simple that seems plausible with sinister implications is scary, and then of course there are various shades in between. One ideology isn't more intelligent than the other. I consider found footage highly nuanced, but it's also extremely simple. I could outline the way to make a found footage masterpiece in about 4 steps, but that doesn't mean 90% of practitioners wouldn't still find a way to screw it up. Doing anything well is considerably difficult. Found footage is just another genre in horror, like slashers or monster movies, with a basic formula, transcendental examples and throwaway works. It's no more complex than a slasher, although for me personally it is far more compelling.
Found footage movies like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity chill my bones to an extent that no other type of horror movie ever has. For whatever reason, I find suspending disbelief much easier in these kinds of films. And, believe it or not... I find some magic in them. Yes, they're terrifying. But I'm also a stone cold cynic, and to be pulled so deeply into a fantasy world that seems so very real to me, it's like an affirmation that there is some magic in the world after all. It's grim, but strangely beautiful, like an ultimate dark fantasy. And, I mean, hey... it's fun to be scared!
I'm moved by aspects of subtlety, supposed realism. It's good, scary fun. I like movies where the action stays off screen most of the time. I like chilling settings and non-existent budgets and meandering dialogue with a very slow escalation of paranormal foreboding up until a conclusion that defines nothing but strongly hints at death. If this doesn't sound like you, you probably won't agree with my reviews. But at least you can get the low down on some found footage movies, maybe you'll like the ones I review poorly. ;)
I like your approach to found footage films. There is definitely a discriminatory attitude out there. The biggest problem I see is not that some people don't like them (nothing wrong with that), but they make the mistake of trying to rationalize their subjective experience as an objective fact. If it doesn't scare them, then it's not scary, and anybody who likes them has low standards. Frankly, I think a picture in the attic can be extremely scary, in the right context.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of similar attitudes thrown out about slasher films, except that a lot of people within the horror community like them. I've always liked slashers, and while it's true that there is a whole lot of really bad slashers out there, and that it's very easy (and cheap) to make a trashy slasher movie, fact is, there's something about the slasher formula that's compelling. Which leads to two points. 1) I can enjoy a trashy slasher film, and 2) slasher films don't have to be trashy. In fact, some of the best horror movies of all time were slasher films, in spite of how many cheap sequels and knock-offs they may have inspired.
When I watch found footage films, I suppose that I don't really believe that they're real (that would be pretty naive), but I think the reason that suspension of disbelief works in these cases is, because of the way it's filmed, it looks and feels like the real world, even if what's happening isn't something you believe could ever truly happen in the real world. It's different than seeing monsters or ghosts or whatever wreak havoc in Hollywood-land, and seeing them wreak havoc in the world you and I occupy. And it's not just characters and settings that mark the difference between Hollywood-land and the real world, it's also the way you view the world. Hollywood films are filmed in a way that the camera is invisible, and you feel like you're there in the scene, as if you were watching it in a dream or in your thoughts. Whereas, with the found footage approach, you can't ignore the fact that there's a person with a camera filming what's happening, and that makes it easier to believe (or not really believe, but to *feel*) that this is something that's actually happening, and not merely a figment of imagination in some screenwriter's head.
Anyway, I think it's awesome that you've taken to this subgenre, and also awesome that you've started a blog for it. I don't think I've ever come across anyone with such a concentration before, and to me that says that there's an opening just waiting to be filled, within the horror/film community. Good luck, and have fun!