Halloween is upon us yet again, and with it comes plenty of spooky movie nights in which we ask a friend to accompany us to the bathroom lest a monster creep out of the toilet. Your annoying cinema major friends may compel you to watch films by directors David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and the like because “they just don’t make them like they used to.” While I have an incredible amount of respect for older horror films and the pioneers behind them, you need not look past 2010 to find an overabundance of films that will age to become classics.
Upon writing, I tried to research articles that supported my claim about modern horror movies. Instead, I found a plethora of opinions that lamented the death of the genre and censured the decade’s heavy reliance on jump scares, gore and poorly conceptualized found-footage films. But as ‘torture porn’ and the like began to wane at the end of the early 2000s, movies of the last 10 years have warranted critical and commercial acclaim through their revitalization of old tropes, complex narratives and social commentary.
Independent horror and foreign horror films from Iran, Austria and Korea, which are being imported through remakes, have mastered the art of storytelling and are attracting more dramatic actors and directors to the genre. I believe we’re entering a golden age of horror in which these newer films are about something larger than themselves. They are stories of family, struggle, survival and offer great reflections on race or capitalism. Good modern horror often incorporates elements of the fantasy, thriller and drama genres, while still providing fresh scares and more insightful characters.
Arguably this year’s best horror movie, “Get Out” explores the power dynamics of race and privilege and ultimately leaves viewers with a responsibility to stay woke. Its protagonist, Chris, is far more savvy than your average horror victim. Audiences didn’t find themselves vainly yelling at Chris, telling him not to make stupid moves that would get him killed. Chris made intelligent decisions and this made it easier for viewers to identify with and root for him.
Horror’s main challenges are to be both scary and original. There’s an expectation that a scary film will produce a reaction in a viewer, manifested through yelps, jumps and goosebumps. If a horror movie doesn’t yield fear, it’s simply not doing its job and can be dismissed simply as bad. An exceedingly large number of tropes force horror masters to think outside of the box, because they know their audiences will grow bored of a little girl singing the same creepy nursery rhyme. “The Girl With All the Gifts,” a recent independent zombie movie, flips the narrative and focuses on the zombies themselves, investing more in the characters while also providing genuine scares.
Critics are often quick to denounce jump scares as cheap, a bodily manipulation for which the film does not deserve credit. Director James Wan, of “The Conjuring” and “Insidious” franchises, makes exquisite use of the jump scare. By refraining from the false-alarm jump scare, he rewards the viewer with a genuine shot of terror. Wan’s films introduce suspense with their first scene, often an unrelated narrative that will become more relevant by the end.
It may be in vogue to deride contemporary art because the works that precede it have already been hailed as classics. Current music, television and movies apparently just can’t top our parents’ generation. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin explains that the music people listen to as teenagers is the music they’ll like for the rest of their lives. This grumpy-old-man phenomena may hinder movie lovers from tasting new works that enjoy larger budgets, more practical effects and more nuanced story lines. This Halloween, avoid the cult of nostalgia and embrace newer titles. I guarantee you’ll need a fresh set of pants.
Kristen DiPietra is a senior double-majoring in English and human development.