For as long as I can remember Horror has been my favourite film genre. Yet as much as I love the genre with every release of yet another remake, found footage film or painfully cliched horror movie it has become obvious the genre has become broken. Not that there is not some great horror movies coming out, but they are few and far in-between. Because of this the genre needs to be reinvigorated, and the following list of 10 suggestions is my own possibly crazy ideas on how to do this.
10. No More Cliches
Horror movie clichés can be hilariously ridiculous. An example of this is when teens in horror movies seem to be instinctively drawn to investigating strange noises and having sex at the worst time/place imaginable. However this can also be painfully dull, distracting the audience from the viewing experience. So, in order to rejuvenate the genre filmmakers need to stop falling back on the clichés or at the very least do something unique with them. Like Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods which appears to have the most clichéd plot imaginable. A group of friends, each a different horror archetype (the jock, the blonde girl, the goofy guy/stoner, the smart guy and the good girl) decide to party in a cabin, in the woods. If you have not seen it how do you think it's going to end? (Spoiler warning) If you said everyone dies and ancient evil gods awaken form their slumber to unleash a new age of death and darkness, then I would say how did you possibly guess that? (Are you some kind of witch?) This movie embraced nearly every cliché you can think of yet does something brilliantly unique with them. As well as presenting the thesis that the horror genre up to this point has been fun but what's new? Filmmakers should follow the example of The Cabin in the Woods (and Scream) then either twist the clichés to make something clever or do something original.