Earlier this week we started talking about the movie Identity and I talked about the things that did not work about it. (If you have not read the previous post please do so now because I am just picking up where I left off with minimal recapping.) The movie had some major plot gaps and the identity of the one killer personality did not make sense. Despite the movie's failings I do like it. The movie was trying and I give it credit for that. Several movies, especially in the Horror genre, don't try anything new at all and just churn out the same tired crap that everyone has seen already. Identity wasn't very good but it had some interesting ideas and the potential for greatness was there. Today we'll talk about what could have been done to make the movie better.
Before I go into the potential of the movie I need to address the question, is Identity scary? No. Not in the way it wants to be, at least. There are some hints at a larger issue that the movie never covered or dealt with that I believe would have made a far scarier movie.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Oh, the Horror!: Identity
Hello again. Last week I brought up a problem that I have been noticing. Horror movies have no element of fear to them. Last time I established that Horror involves three elements: shock, disgust, and fear. The Horror genre has plenty of shock and disgust but very little in the way of fear. I set up that I am going to be looking at different movies of the genre that have had any effect on me. This week I am looking at the film "Identity" which involves a group of people getting picked off one by one. But none of them are uninspired teenagers, so its okay.
Before I get into the movie I will tell you what I find scary. Its not monsters, slashers, aliens, ghosts, zombies, demons, and general supernatural spookiness. The thing that scares me the most is what one seemingly normal person can do to another seemingly normal person and still be seemingly normal. "Identity" is not necessarily a good movie because it has many failings in its story. The direction by James Mangold is solid and the rest of the film serves as a good example of how to make a low budget film but elements of the story hold it back from being a great film about the nature of people, how fragile life is and how easily one person can take that fragile life away from another. Instead the movie is a who-done-it? in a single location with an eye-rolling reveal at the end. The movie is in an odd state of almost good. Meaning that it had plenty of potential and it was trying to do something interesting but it just didn't get there. I'm going to talk about the movie in more detail now. So... spoilers.
Before I get into the movie I will tell you what I find scary. Its not monsters, slashers, aliens, ghosts, zombies, demons, and general supernatural spookiness. The thing that scares me the most is what one seemingly normal person can do to another seemingly normal person and still be seemingly normal. "Identity" is not necessarily a good movie because it has many failings in its story. The direction by James Mangold is solid and the rest of the film serves as a good example of how to make a low budget film but elements of the story hold it back from being a great film about the nature of people, how fragile life is and how easily one person can take that fragile life away from another. Instead the movie is a who-done-it? in a single location with an eye-rolling reveal at the end. The movie is in an odd state of almost good. Meaning that it had plenty of potential and it was trying to do something interesting but it just didn't get there. I'm going to talk about the movie in more detail now. So... spoilers.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Oh, the Horror
Hello again. It has been a long time but I've been busy then enjoying not being busy. I just finished a semester of school and took a week off to sleep and be bored. But have no fear I'm back now and ready for summer. An additional note- I have dropped the moniker of Musing Matt because I learned that I'm not the first and only one to discover the alliterative fun of that particular word paring. Until further notice I will just be Matt. This week's topic will have multiple parts because I am trying to figure out the answer to a question that has been bothering me for quite some time now. Why aren't horror movies scary?
This question is one that I have been obsessing over for years and I mean obsessing. You see, the reason that I started this blog is because I have an obsessive mind and when an idea gets into my head I can't stop thinking about it to the point where I can't think about anything else. As is obvious this can be a problem. I started this blog as an experiment to get out my obsessions and this far its working. Horror movies and their lack of horror are near constant obsessions for me because I would think fear is an easy concept to grasp. Either I'm wrong or the people making the movies don't understand fear.
First, I think it's important to define horror and fear to establish a base line with which the movies can be measured. I will also establish why the horror genre is important enough for study in the first place. My definitions come from the Oxford English Dictionary (here on out referred to as the OED). The OED definition of horror is sweet and simple: "an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust." This definition provides a solid basis for what the horror genre to offer and it seems that horror movies have covered shock and disgust fairly well, what with jump scares and gore fests. But the genre seems to have missed the mark on the third part of the definition. Fear has a very expansive and quite loaded definition(s): "an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm/ a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the safety of someone"(OED). I can't think of any movies in the genre that fully capture that definition. I've seen movies that try but none of the movies that I have seem have made it.
I am not a horror movie buff and the fact that horror movies have little effect on me is the reason. For the next few weeks I will be looking at the concepts of horror, itself, and revisiting some of the horror movies that I have seen that did manage to stir something in me. I won't be giving reviews of these movies in the traditional sense of a review but I will be looking them in terms of what they say about the genre and the elements of fear. I will also try to reach outside my own collection for movies I have not seen before but bear in mind that I'm college student who works part time. Also, there are a few types of horror movies that I don't even give the time of day. Slashers, monsters, torture, gross-out, and pretty much anything with uninspired teenage stereotypes being picked off one by one. I'm looking for fear not irritation and hastily thrown together cash-grabs.
It is my belief that the horror genre is one of the most important genres of film and its also the one that the film industry puts the least amount of thought into. The genre is important because experiencing fear is important. Horror movies can make you feel fear and through experiencing fear we can learn thing about ourselves. Horror movies can also make you face your fears so that you can deal with them and come out on the other side alive and stronger. Horror and fear are fundamental experiences that we need to experience and learn from. Cinema has the potential to provide important learning experiences. Through cinema and other forms of literature we can learn from experiences without having to face them ourselves.
I will start my look into the films in the genre this weekend with "Identity." I will be looking at how the movie represents the horror genre. What works. What doesn't work. And how it could have been improved to actually instill fear.
This question is one that I have been obsessing over for years and I mean obsessing. You see, the reason that I started this blog is because I have an obsessive mind and when an idea gets into my head I can't stop thinking about it to the point where I can't think about anything else. As is obvious this can be a problem. I started this blog as an experiment to get out my obsessions and this far its working. Horror movies and their lack of horror are near constant obsessions for me because I would think fear is an easy concept to grasp. Either I'm wrong or the people making the movies don't understand fear.
First, I think it's important to define horror and fear to establish a base line with which the movies can be measured. I will also establish why the horror genre is important enough for study in the first place. My definitions come from the Oxford English Dictionary (here on out referred to as the OED). The OED definition of horror is sweet and simple: "an intense feeling of fear, shock, or disgust." This definition provides a solid basis for what the horror genre to offer and it seems that horror movies have covered shock and disgust fairly well, what with jump scares and gore fests. But the genre seems to have missed the mark on the third part of the definition. Fear has a very expansive and quite loaded definition(s): "an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm/ a feeling of anxiety concerning the outcome of something or the safety of someone"(OED). I can't think of any movies in the genre that fully capture that definition. I've seen movies that try but none of the movies that I have seem have made it.I am not a horror movie buff and the fact that horror movies have little effect on me is the reason. For the next few weeks I will be looking at the concepts of horror, itself, and revisiting some of the horror movies that I have seen that did manage to stir something in me. I won't be giving reviews of these movies in the traditional sense of a review but I will be looking them in terms of what they say about the genre and the elements of fear. I will also try to reach outside my own collection for movies I have not seen before but bear in mind that I'm college student who works part time. Also, there are a few types of horror movies that I don't even give the time of day. Slashers, monsters, torture, gross-out, and pretty much anything with uninspired teenage stereotypes being picked off one by one. I'm looking for fear not irritation and hastily thrown together cash-grabs.
It is my belief that the horror genre is one of the most important genres of film and its also the one that the film industry puts the least amount of thought into. The genre is important because experiencing fear is important. Horror movies can make you feel fear and through experiencing fear we can learn thing about ourselves. Horror movies can also make you face your fears so that you can deal with them and come out on the other side alive and stronger. Horror and fear are fundamental experiences that we need to experience and learn from. Cinema has the potential to provide important learning experiences. Through cinema and other forms of literature we can learn from experiences without having to face them ourselves.I will start my look into the films in the genre this weekend with "Identity." I will be looking at how the movie represents the horror genre. What works. What doesn't work. And how it could have been improved to actually instill fear.
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