What made older horror films classic?

[Nick1138]

I wouldn't necessarily say that horror filmmakers today are less inventive or creative than in the 70s-80s. I'd say that the tiredness of the genre, at least in part, stems more from studios wanting to take less risks on new material and properties. It's true for a lot of other genres as well. Pre-established material/franchises already start with a built-in fan base (or at least, that's what the studios want to hear). Even if good projects may have pretty low price tags, most of the time studios won't want to take the gamble that some of them would have taken 20-30 years ago.

To back that up, just look at how many of the good recent horror movies are actually independent productions. Sure, they may end up being distributed by by the bigger studios/distributors, but they're being made independently and then picked up.

Personally, I miss having FUN new horror movies during the Summer box office season.