Id like to see who shares this opinion with me.

[Myron Mumbles]

Since I had the day off, I just decided to stay home and watch movies. I watched Black Christmas, I Spit on Your Grave and The Last House on the Left. After watching them, it made me realize how much better horror movies used to be 20-30 years ago. Low budgets, mostly unknown casts, no special effects, grainy pictures. They were legit HORROR movies. Todays crop cant touch them. Does anyone fee the same as me?

[Requiem-for-a-Dream]

Very much so actually. However, there are some truly awesome horror flicks that have come out in the last 12 years that will be remembered in me forever for being so amazing. The films released a long time ago were more realistic in some cases. To say that all horror films in those years were better then the one's released today isn't true. Many horror flicks released back then were crap just like many horror films these days are crap. The door swings both ways.

Matt

[crapgame]

I think a majority of the problem is that there is no outlet for B-movies. Lets not forget most of the movies we would consider classics were released as small budget flicks. But they still got time on the big screen. Roger Corman gave some of the industries biggest names a start and they made classics with no budget to speak of. What they did have was a distrobution system. In all honesty, I dont think John Carpenter could get Halloween made today, Tobe Hooper would have a bitch of a time getting TCM released and no goddamn way would night of the living dead ever see the light of day.
Unless you are a fan of straight to video you will probaly never see a cutting edge horror film anymore. We will probaly get a steady stream of Scream clones until hollywood decides that the demographics are no longer the target audience anymore.When someone gets the balls to make something good the MPAA in all their collective wisdom decides for us that it has to have an "R" rating which the suits look at as though it has herpes becuase it cuts out the majority of movie ticket buyers.
Movies were definitely better back then.

[Scully1888]

I definitely agree. In my opinion, 70's and 80's horror films are the best. The lack of recognisable actors, (mostly) original plots and reliance on good old home-made gore FX instead of this CGI pish mean they were definitely the best times.

[Jason Voorhees]

Well, don't get me wrong, I do like today's horror. But yes, I agree, horror films from the 70's and 80's are generally superior to modern offerings, in my opinion.

[countchocula]

This is brought up more than it should be. There's just as much quality horror being churned out today as there was twenty years ago. The only difference is that you have to dig deeper for it. It's too easy to exploit the recent tidal wave of mediocre slashers and say that horror isn't credible anymore. There were many other genre films made in the past five years besides refuse like Urban Legend and Valentine. I know that none of you cited those flicks as examples, but the implications are there. And you can't tell me that every film made in the '70s and '80s was top-notch stuff. Every decade is riddled with cinematic shit. I apologize for coming off as spiteful, but this is something that I'm very passionate about. In my eyes, horror IS NOT on life support. Currently, it's thriving, and next year's line-up is rather promising.

[Jason Voorhees]

Actually, I'm with you all the way, Count. My entire point was that if I watch a modern horror film and an older one in the same setting, generally, I'll enjoy the older one more. The sentiments you and Requiem expressed about each decade having crap and the ''door swinging both ways'' are entirely accurate, in my opinion.

P.S. For some inexplicable reason, I enjoyed Valentine.

[ParileseMonster]

I agree with you Myron and I do not fully agree with the respective Count but I do know what you are saying.
I think back then, people really wanted to act and they even went so far as to get educated either on film or stage. Lately the actors are churned out and most of them are not very good and that cheapens the quality of any film. I always will think that the 70's and 80's were the peak and prime of horror movies and although we have in recent past been given some real boring shit, there have been some diamonds in the charcoal, so no Horror is not dead it is just lacking and could use a dustbuster!:p

[CheekyShepherd]

The best horror films were always shrouded with innuendo and suggestion, unlike the in-your-face blood & gore effects which are synonymous with horror nowadays.

[Jewbo]

i totaly feel thet way. horror films will never look the same as they did in the 80's and they will just never have that feel about them. alot of things can e replicated in films 2day but u just cant get that same look.

[Jason Vorhees]

horror movies these days are just suspense movies with too much money in the budget and horrible plots


they aren't even scary

[Boogeyman]

Originally posted by Jason Voorhees

P.S. For some inexplicable reason, I enjoyed Valentine.

yeah me 2. ive always wondered why and I think it was just because it was the first new slasher we has seen in a while. I mean of course there was scream 1,2,3...and others but it was new. a new killer was in the mix and i thought he was pretty scary.

later

[asyouwish530]

Yeah, I'm pretty much of the same sentiment here that horror had a more tasteful identity way back when. I'm actually building my own time machine so I can go back and enjoy that fresh approach. See you guys, say around '75-'80?

[AlienClown]

Originally posted by Jewbo
i totaly feel thet way. horror films will never look the same as they did in the 80's and they will just never have that feel about them.
Exactly. I also feel that horror today isn't like, and isn't as good as the horror of old. I know there are some fans that say things are good now, and have been for a little while, and are optimistic about the future and all, but I just don't agree with them. I just don't like much of the modern horror that's being made these days, so things aren't great. Almost everything feels like a retread. Yeah there has always been a mixed bag of films through the years, but retrospectively it seems like there was always a bunch of really good films despite all the bad/average ones, every single year like back in the 80s. And I don't feel that way about now, nothing really impresses me that much. If someone were to offer me a bad horror movie made this year and one made 20 years ago, I'll watch the older one.

[HalloweenShape31]

Yes I agree life was much better for horror fans in the good old days of the 70s and 80s. Even though I didn't live during the 70s and early 80s (I was born in 86), i know it from the greatness that I have viewed from that era. My favorite movie of all time, HALLOWEEN is from the 70s. Other greatnesses are Nightmare On Elm Street, Monster Squad, Friday the 13th, Phantasm, Dawn of the Dead, Near Dark, the Lost Boys. All we have today are pieces of shit like 13 Ghosts, Ghost Ship, Feardotcom, etc. At least this year we got some greatness with Resident Evil, Signs, and Frailty.

[Toxferatu]

i very much agree, i havent seen a new horror movie in years that i think will be considered a classic in years to come.

candyman is one that can live on, but i dont compare it to classics like exorcist or halloween. wishmaster was great, but i dont think its "classic" level great. i dont think in 20 years people will watch wishmaster and think what i do of the exorcist today. candyman i can see having some following still. i use those 2 as examples because to me they are some of the only great ones that have been made in more recent years. scream, i dont see it happening at all, i jsut cannot see it ever being considered a classic.

american psycho i can see in 20 years still having an audience, but i wouldnt consider it a classic but a cult movie.

[electriclite]

I think the 70s and 80s churned out a lot of considerably better horror films than today.

The difference that I've noticed about yesterday's horror films and todays is that more older horror films' directors and/or writers took their inspiration from events and stories from life, while most horror filmmakers of today watch old horror flicks. The latter dilutes what makes a film scary. If you understand what scares people instinctively, than you probably can make a scary film, but if you know what gimmicks scare people because that's what you've seen in other films you probably don't know what really scares people.

I think a lot of older scary films delve right into those things that we subconsciously find scary, or that relate in some way to recent tragedies.

Last House on the Left is scary to me because it reminds me of all those warnings my mother used to give me about staying nearby her when were shopping or else I might get kidnapped and probably taken into the woods and killed. Keep in mind I happened to have grown up in the era of the Adam Walsh kidnapping.

A good modern horror flick is The Blair Witch Project, because it delves right into your natural fear of being lost in the woods, being cut off from civilization and being hunted by the unknown. Yeah, you may not have liked it or thought it was scary, but it was smart and it knew how to represent itself. Also, just liek those older films, it had a small budget and resourcefully used it to its advantage.

[XCoRyX]

i agree, the 80s horror definetly sprouted some good movies,cult favorites,my favorites more importantly.But i cant say i havent enjoyed a movie since so im with both sides.

[Jason13thh]

It is true for example my favorite period for the slasher genre is the early 80's, for the giallo the 70's.
I don't find the same atmosphere, the same cheese, the same characters and it misses me a lot, even if I know about 80 gialli/slashers.
Now it is only question of budget and rentability.