10 Golden Rules For Making The Perfect Horror Movie
6. The Scares Must Escalate
Granted, this rule holds true for every genre not just horror (swap out "set pieces" or "laughs" and you've got a just as universal rule for action and comedy films as well), but it is something that contemporary horror really struggles with.
An ideal horror film is constantly building suspense, and granting a little catharsis each time with (well earned) jump scares. But it never lets up. The line graph on a horror film should be a near constant ramp up, meaning the suspense, tension, and all that good stuff keep your pulse pounding faster and faster until the climax.
What the climax is can vary based on the sub-genre of horror we're going for. Is it when the hero steps into the vampire's lair? Is it when the slasher finally goes after the protagonist? Regardless, like with any genre, the climax of the perfect horror film needs to justify why we're watching the film in the first place.
This is another reason why jump scares are so often diagnosed as the problem with contemporary horror - they diffuse tension and let a little air out of the constantly inflating suspense balloon. So many films have their biggest scare in the middle and fail to recapture the same level of tension for their climax. The Conjuring (pictured) has its most effective scare near the end of the first act, but somehow manages to keep its suspense ramping up from then on.
I wonder why that is...