Booze Talkin #18

3-D Horror

Whether we like it or not, the three-dimensional gimmick is back, and it's taking our genre over. It's a fad all too familiar to us. Some of the greatest horror legends of all time have succumb to it's guilty pleasure. THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON was there (twice), Frankenstein's Monster got some (albeit in a softcore porn titled FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN), that house in Amityville, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and even everybody's favorite great white in JAWS 3-D. Were any of them any good? Barely, which brings up the question - why are we going back there?

The easiest answer would be because technology has made it easier. The sad answer is because studios think it will bring new life to dried up horror franchises. On the very same day HALLOWEEN II got it's ass handed to them by THE FINAL DESTINATION (a film that was only ever made because of it's promise of the third dimension) the Weinstein's announced HALLOWEEN III in 3-D in order to save face, I guess. There's an origin story coming out in the next few years of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in 3-D. And there's more! SAW VII is supposed to join the fun, PIRANHA 3-D, and all sorts of rumors about sequels to RE-ANIMATOR, THE GATE, THE EYE, PUPPETMASTER, RESIDENT EVIL, and a remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD.

3-D is a pretty cool concept overall and, on some occasions, I think works really well. The only thing that irks me is when the production, itself, gets wrapped up in it's own gimmick and becomes a cliche. Murderers hold their weapon out that extra couple seconds so you have no other choice but to acknowledge it's 3-D-ness. Specific projectiles are chosen to fly towards the screen and make you jump due to their icky-factor. There was only one scene in the recent MY BLOODY VALENTINE remake that made me ooh and ahh like they wanted me to. It was the construction of the Lionsgate logo at the beginning of the film. Everything else seemed cheesy and over-thought.

Maybe it's the booze talking but I think the less cheap scares influenced by 3-D the better. Just make a great looking film that focuses on story and performances (Thomas Jane hits this nail on the head in on the AITH Podcast). Then maybe that extra dimension becomes less of a distraction and more of a bonus.