Comments on: Horror Film Effects: Not So Special

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Mon, 05 May 2008 15:13:20 +0000

I know that Bravo’s Project Greenlight had some SFX segments when it aired, but of course you are referring to older stuff (as in the Ray Harryhausen movies using stop-motion, for example?).

Sounds like a very good show! I agree that CGI has really ruined the craft. I’ll look for that series you’re talking about and see what we can dig up.

By: ac nightwing

ac nightwing — Mon, 05 May 2008 00:44:01 +0000

this is completely off topic but there was a tv show that used to show you how they did the special effects in gore/horror films(not cgi effects, the old school stuff) but i can’t remember the name of the show i think it was on bravo late at night and had a fit brunette as the presenter/hostess, do any of you lot know the name. also some cgi is good but alot of the time the idiots go overboard with it and it just ruins the effect.

By: Mammoth Crocs

Mammoth Crocs — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:13:34 +0000

Is hokeyness a word? I just hate to use cheesy.

By: Crocs

Crocs — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:10:40 +0000

CGI seems totally fake to me, although the younger people are the more they seem to like the CGI. CGI adds to much hokeyness to a movie and takes away any realism.

By: Mark Herpel

Mark Herpel — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:52:19 +0000

I totally agree…I really miss the black and white “Haunted House” movies like The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill. No special effects just great scary stuff and it appeared to be living in the house!! Lighting and camera angles did the trick for me. Recommended.

THE HAUNTING – Julie Harris – B&W – 1963

House on Haunted Hill – Vincent Price – (1959)

I think there were recent remakes of both of these but the pale in comparison to the originals.

Mark

By: Erik Schark

Erik Schark — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 05:30:30 +0000

I agree. We just shot a zombie-filled Halloween episode of our web series “Something To Be Desired” (www.stbd.tv) and didn’t use any CGI. Seeing a zombie ripping a buxom woman’s throat open using good old-fashioned latex is totally the way to go.

By: Marti

Marti — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 10:22:04 +0000

I like the suspense better than the blood and guts, and CGI blood is the worst!

But…
(Marti starts jumping up and down)
Halloween is coming! Halloween is coming!

LOL

Take care, sweetie!

By: J. Clerkin-Whitcomb

J. Clerkin-Whitcomb — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:40:36 +0000

Thank you, thank you and thank you. The state of horror films today is deplorable! With few exceptions, CGI has all but ruined the genre.
I view The Mummy as more of a thrill ride than horror and therefore did not object to it so much.
However, remakes of classic horror films such as The Haunting, arguably the best ghost story ever put to film, prove the point that less is more.
To take the divine Lilly Taylor and stick her in the middle of that over-produced train wreck of a movie was just a crying shame. And don’t even get me started on the “comic” retelling of the Stepford Wives, whose laughable special effects added nothing to the “comedy”. I hope more and more of the viewing public turn their backs on these CGI extravaganzas and demand more cerebral thrills – it’s hard to find a genuinely scary movie anymore!

By: Mick Gordon

Mick Gordon — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 03:37:28 +0000

Working in amongst a gory mess for several years of my life, all the gore of a horror movie doesnt do much for me. I dont watch horror as the blood etc seems to do a lot more for other people – invariably the story sucks. As mentioned, a lot of the craft of really building up some decent suspense is ruined by the silly stuff.

By: stonemonkey

stonemonkey — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 02:41:02 +0000

… I miss practical effects a lot, I don’t mind CGI when there is no other choice but the reliance on it has become a negative for the genre.