Atmosphere and horror films (article)

By: JWBM

The intention of this blog is to explore subjects that range from the dark, strange, controversial, to ones that create an outright bloody mess. To me, the layered or boundary-pushing features seem like the interesting ones, and often come with the most to dig into, or even reasoning why to shy away from due to missing the mark. Incidentally, a portion of films that fall into that scope are horror films.

Some time ago, it dawned on me that other folks are looking at horror a little differently. Which is great that we all have alternate view points and interpretations, though—since horror isn't something the normal person puts on everyday—I sometimes notice some people go in with the perspective of other genres. Comedy is self-explanatory: without a few laughs in the beginning, the rest of the feature is destined to decline. With action, the viewer only has so much patience till things start to heat up and move. Then there's drama: character to character interactions are a key component. However any of these might be interpreted is where the creativity or inspiration of the filmmaker comes in.

In my days of working in a video rental store, I used to recommend "Session 9" quite a bit. This being a popular rental chain, the shelves weren't littered with great, modern horror features, though that film felt an experience in itself and delivered in a way that took away the screen and put you right there in the chilling, walls-getting-smaller setting. One day two customers came back and said they didn't like it because the story wasn't original. They said it with a little bit of annoyance and dismissal. I gave them that. It was a simple setup after all that requires patience, just the right mood, and letting yourself go. But then I asked them, "Well, what about the mood and atmosphere? Creepy wasn't it?" Their response: "The what?" Their arms were crossed so hard they didn't allow themselves to escape and breathe the air of this other world that was painted with more intrigue and feeling than it was explained outright in pages of dialogue or action-packed scenes.

To me, the number one feature of any horror movie is its atmosphere. No doubt the script, acting, cinematography, score, and effects are important features and can help amp up the experience in a number of fashions. But without a solid mood—however that may be done in the many dark shades lurking out there—you will not have a solid horror film. Look at the classic "Carnival of Souls." You couldn't quite put your finger on it as the whole experience felt surreal. Let's just say at times it had more mood than Dracula's castle at midnight on Friday the 13th in the month of October overlooking a windy cliff with an ocean view on a full moon night on the anniversary of something nostalgic. *exhales* From the moment of its setup to the closing credits, its grasp got tighter and tighter till those iconic organ melodies were still ringing in your head, and wherever you looked people lost their color and formed dark rings around their eyes. On the other hand, you could easily point out flaw after flaw. Plus it's old and didn't just come out last week, er, yesterday... now. For some, those imperfections could distract from the experience and take one out of the trance. But there's no denying the film had a unique atmosphere and presence that could influence the viewer in ways another slicker film isn't capable of encapsulating.

Some high ratings here have gone to films that you could tear the acting and effects apart. You could even find plot holes in the story. Though it's less common for me to give disparaging remarks to a horror movie that has a consistent, genuine, well-worked through mood to it, but did so badly at everything else that it bombed. Usually that doesn't go hand in hand. Then there are others—as I'm sure we all have—on our imaginary lists that are almost there but didn't quite do it for us. But, of course, everything deserves a case by case analysis and not just some strict rule to go by each time. Rules create walls; horror should be free to roam. What are your thoughts?