Are modern Scary Movies Scarier than Scary Movies from the 70's,80's and 90's to you?

[ITDEFX101]

Just wanted to hear your thoughts.

Although I am not a big fan of scary movies in general, my wife has gotten me to go with her to see quite a few these past few years. I grew up in the 80's so I have seen quite a few scary movie during that time frame for example Nightmare on Elm Street, Gremlins 1, The Fly, Poltergeist 1 and a few others and there were quite a few scenes that were back then to me scary as hell.

Watching a scary movie now I noticed there is more of a reliance on jump scares and things that move in the shadows....yet these movies are still rated R and not as scary as the R scary movies of the 80's.

What do you think has happened? Is it because I grew up seeing a few scary movies in the 80's (mostly on tv/hbo) that I have become desensitized to what is shown in theaters today? Don't get me wrong, there are a few movies that were like WTF?

[Batmon77]

Kids - Yes
Old Folks - No

[jacobsever]

I don't think horror movies are ever scary in general.

And that's coming from a HUGE horror fan. It's basically Halloween/October 24/7 in my mind. I watch more horror than anything else. But with that being said, nothing scares me. I can't remember the last time got a reaction from me via yell, jump, etc. I can sense jump scares from a mile away, so they never draw a reaction from me. Even ones I don't see coming...I still don't jump or anything.

I'd love for a movie to literally scare me and make me too nervous to leave the theater and walk outside to my car. But that just hasn't happened.

[The Great Owl]

I'm a 44 year-old who has been an avid horror fan since the late 1970s.

I believe that the absolute best newer horror movies stand up well to the older ones. The Witch, which was released this year, is pretty phenomenal, and it has some truly intense images. Under the Skin is pretty amazing when it comes to otherworldly horrors. Pulse/Kairo (2001) is downright scary.

Now, I do think that the quality horror flicks of the past two decades are probably fewer and farther between, since computer-generated images are not scary to me, and they will never be scary to me. Older horror movies with practical effects had a tangibility to them, however crude the effects. I find that the scariest, or, to use a better description, the most unsettling films these days are more akin to the slow burner dramatic horror films of the 1970s.

[Batmon77]

Prolonged Fear > Shock


It Follows was good but not a personal classic.

[Mr.Twinks]

Foreign modern horror does it great right now. American horror was great in the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and the 90's imo. 2000's on are hit or miss on horror films made in America.

[Packerfan75]

Gotta say no. I'm well aware that this is subjective but I find that the horror genre has been stale for a long time. Minus the few that have actually put thought into their stories, most by far are just lazy. They're completely dependent on either jump scares and graphic violence. Watching someone being tortured and mutilated isn't really scary as it is disgusting. Posession, ghost stories and found footage have also run their course. It's just so recycled now that it seems like the next one that comes along is just in the same cookie cutter mold of what came before it. Half of them are still following the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th formulas. I don't think it's wrong to ask for some creative writing from Hollywood and I need more than more of the same to stay interested. I'm also a big believer in the less is more approach. The scary monster or disfigured man isn't enough. When it's so overtly displayed, it leaves nothing to the imagination which is the scariest of all.

[ITDEFX101]

Well what I have noticed that the younger generations find things scary when my wife and I don't. Like that movie Ouija. I didn't find it scary at all and it was forgettable. The teens that were near by where screaming and jumping out of their seat like it was the most scariest thing they have ever seen. Yes they are teens but seriously?

You guys are right about CG effects vs Practical effects. Even with the advancements in computer graphics, I don't think if The Fly were ever remade (you know Hollywood), I don't think their version the character's final transformation reveal will be as scary as Davis' character ripping off his face to reveal the creature inside compared to the actual
physical prop used. That to me back then was scary af :-|

Now there seems to be an also rise in disturbing scenes in movies. Like for example Splice, that ending was so disturbing that I actually felt sick to my stomach after it was over. Don't Breath was potentially turning into a rape scene as well...

Yes there are warnings but no one really remembers what they say under the R label.

[Pondosinatra]

I just get tired of the never ending quick cut edits and close up shots that seem to plague newer horror films.

Give me the cool, detached, wide angle shot, style of Kubrick in the Shining.

I also usually find the CGI to be distracting over practical FX. Case in point Let Me In - thought the scenes of her attacking people looked cheesy and out of place.

[Pondosinatra]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm a 44 year-old who has been an avid horror fan since the late 1970s.... Under the Skin is pretty amazing when it comes to otherworldly horrors....

I could not imagine today's youth actually having the patience to sit through Under the Skin (which I loved).

[kylec123]

I can't recall ever actually being scared from a horror movie. Drama/things I can relate to on an emotional/personal level have an easier time actually scaring me.

[chip75]

The biggest difference I see is the majority of today's horror are manufactured products produced for an audiences' reactions to jump scares. They have very little in the sense of atmosphere or a sense of dread which was so present in the movies of yesteryear.

There are still great horror movies been made, but they're not as mainstream as they used to be.

[baheidstu]

I've seen tons of horror movies over the years. I grew up in the 80s and back then ten year old kids seemed to have no issues watching slashers films filled with tits and violence. Horror movies do not scare me AT ALL. That being said about ten years ago I sat down late at night to watch The Changeling with George C. Scott and it definitely got me on edge in a way that no blood splattered gore fest ever could.

[meremortal]

It's hard to say because the movie watching experience is completely different compared to when I was watching horror as a child. Back then, I was completely immersed in the story and took each movie at face value. But now I've seen so many flicks and behind the scenes material that for some reason my mind just kind of takes me outside of the movie when something "scary" is happening. In other words, it's kind of like a mental fourth wall breaking and I'll suddenly start picturing the set design, production aspects, and so forth.

[Captain Flint]

I don't know really. Horror movies never really scared me, they're just flat out fun to watch. However I will say the cheap jump scares in every modern horror movie certainly aren't scary, they're just stupid.

[sxerunner]

Like comedy, horror is very subjective to taste and effectiveness so the answers are going to be all over the place here.

Personally, I think that there have been a few films that can stand with the classics (REC, The Ring, 28 Days Later, The Witch), but the older films have the advantage of legacy and time.

[P-Rock]

There are still good, unsettling horror movies being made. Just don't rely too much on the more popular directors like that hack James Wan, a.k.a. Jumpscare James.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

There's been a surprising revival of some pretty good to great horror films made the past 16 years. The mid to late 90s had a major drop in quality with horror but 2003's Texas Chainsaw Massacre showed it can still be done masterfully. There have been a pretty good amount of pretty scary horror films made the past 16 years as well with some being even scarier than my 3 favorite decades of horror...the 70s, 80s, and a good amount of the 90s. I'm also a James Wan fan too. He's made some of the best horror films since the golden era of horror. The 70s, 80s and 90s are still the best for me though.

[octagon]

I think horror has been in a really good place for the past ten or fifteen years.

The Descent, Triangle, Cloverfield, Let the Right One In, Rare Exports, 28 Days Later, The Orphanage, The Mist, Only Lovers Left Alive, Jennifer's Body and The Cabin in the Woods were all excellent. M Night has even gotten back into the act with the surprisingly good The Visit.

It Follows, Crimson Peak, Wolfman, The Conjuring, World War Z, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Pandorum, 1408, The Strangers and even Lost Boys: The Thirst were all flawed in some way but had pretty solid foundations nevertheless.

And TV horror is no slouch either. The first couple seasons of True Blood were very good. Penny Dreadful hit a pretty solid stride after an uneven start. I drifted away from The Walking Dead after a few seasons but those few seasons were pretty damn good. Ditto the first season of Bates Motel. And I just watched the first American Horror Story and was floored by it.

So yeah, I think horror is in a pretty good place right now with smart writing, excellent performances and production values and no shortage of scares.

[Monterey Jack]

It's a hard subject to properly judge, because if you're honestly frightened by movies after the age of fourteen or fifteen, there might be something wrong with you.

Seriously...I remember being TERRIFIED of scary movies as a kid, but by the time I hit my late teens, I had basically "seen it all". I still love horror movies, and sometimes a good, shivery jolt will sneak through and remind me of the days I could be honestly frightened and have nightmares from a movie back in the day, but I very rarely am haunted by "scary movies" these days. Something like The Mist haunted me, but it was more the awful moral decision at the end that wouldn't leave my head than any of the rote (if very well-done) monster stuff.