Selecting a horror film -- how do you do it?

For me, getting to rent some scary movies is a special event. My greatest frustration is that I often go to the video store, browse the shelves, and am completely clueless about the vast majority of the releases.

Certain things are right out. Anything that feels like an 80s-era slasher film is right out. Had my fill of that particular genre. Slasher films in general are not my cup of tea, so I can eliminate those fairly quickly.

What I'm left with, though, is trying to wade through movies that could be good, could not be. I'm a particlular fan of ghost stories, and so I'm always on the lookout for such. But for every "Devil's Backbone," a film I loved and now own, it seems there are three "Ghostwatcher"-level flicks. I consider that to be one of the worst films I've seen in recent memory, and I shudder to see there's a Ghostwatcher 2 on the shelves currently.

Don't get me wrong -- I love lots of types of horror, from religious-inspired fare to magical realism gone wrong to the "boogeyman in the dark" sort of flick. Ghost stories are just my personal favorites because the best ones tend to meet my highest horror film ideals.

I look for certain things in a horror film, wit and intelligence being paramount. Unfortunately, any film can seem to be witty and intelligent from the synopsis on the DVD cover. So sometimes, I'm forced to just try something out and see.

Sometimes, I'm rewarded. Most often, though, I am not.

Now, it's fun to laugh derisively at horror films, whether deliberately bad or not. But they do cost money to rent, and oftentimes I don't think to carry pen and paper with me to jot down names and read reviews later. That's my fault.

What do you guy do when you're in the Great, Vast Video Store of Life and need to rent a little fear? How do you pick the winners? I can't just rent everything, and half the time films disappear from store shelves and are never seen again after a few months, so it's hard to even go back and review films I might have passed on for one or another.

Brian

[urgeok]

i research ... by coming here mostly ..

and by looking in this particular forum (modern horror movies) to see what the buzz is.

blind buys/rents are ok if you know what to look for (certain directors - or labels with a good track record)

the straight to video stuff all has a familiar look to it...
and you never recognize the people i it ..

rule of thumb, when Corbin Bernsen is the lead .. skip that shit.


oh .. and i subscribe to Rue Morgue .. that and other mags, online or in print are a big help.

[Soloman Kane]

Three things
1. Interesting plot
2. Its got to grab me staight off.
3. Gore & cool monster

[filmmaker2]

Interesting question...

If it's a current flick, I ask my friends about it. I have found that if a film gets the thumbs-up from three people I know (and whose opinions I respect), then chances are I'll probably like it too, and it's usually worth checking out. If I ask everyone and don't get three good responses, I usually don't rent the film.

There are research books and online resources (imdb isn't bad) to look up stuff on older films. Classics that made big ripples in their day are usually recognized as such, and there are so many "bad movie" websites that there are lots of detailed, loving critiques on bad films.

[newb]

I tend to do what you've said.....try to carry a pen and paper if i know i'm going to the video store.If i see something that looks interesting....i jot down the title and do a little research on-line.

I, like most, have been burnt too many times by promising DVD covers.

Or you could try something else that works for me.......get married....have kids....and when one of them reaches legal working age, hope they get a job at a video store.......free movies the weekend before their released to the public :D

[urgeok]

p.s.


if you like ghost films as you said .. check out the japanese movie section for some good j-horror ghost stories.

6th Sense, The Others, The Changeling being the good american ones.

[sabersword]

Ya, it is a problem. You just got some good advice so, you might follow up on that. On my part, I have let the covers sucker me in however, It is rare that even on some of the worst horror films, I generaly have been abel to find a moment of somthing good.

[gorefreak]

Originally posted by newb
I, like most, have been burnt too many times by promising DVD covers.

lol You're not kiddin! :mad: Not when you can see a cool pic like this....



And you watch the movie, you get to see Godawful crap like this....



:rolleyes: Gee, looks more like a disgruntled version of the Michelin Man who just got fired.

As far as movie selection goes, I basically look at the producer/distributor titles and learned from experience to skip the crap from York and New Concorde of which have absolutely THE worst record for lousy movies. Artisan is second, Full Moon is third, and Lion's Gate seems to be a hit-or-miss. Sometimes you get a good movie, sometime it's just horrible.

[The STE]

good rule of thumb: if Gene Shalit's opinion is on the case, 99.9% of the time it SUCKS (unless his opinion is negative, in which case the filmmakers are geniuses)

[mothermold]

Originally posted by The STE
good rule of thumb: if Gene Shalit's opinion is on the case, 99.9% of the time it SUCKS (unless his opinion is negative, in which case the filmmakers are geniuses)

you've aroused his anger.....he's sending his moustache to kill you.