It's funny, but foreign horror films, like the Korean and Japanese films, take horror seriously. It's not an A or B or C movie labeling for them. Their actors and directors take what they do very seriously. It's mostly in America that this odd system of B and C movie labeling has evolved.
When you look at the early Universal films, especially Lon Chaney's silents, they were extravagant, main-studio productions. They kept Universal afloat during the Great Depression. As you move more into the 1940s, you start seeing lower-budgeted films specifically targeted for fast production. The stories were treated with less importance, and the studios started lining up lower-status actors to star in them. So the difference between a mainstream and B-movie then was the cost, story quality, production quality, and acting roster. But the funny thing is that they were made quickly and cheaply to turn a fast profit — and they made money!
Today, I'd not use that letter-labeling anymore. Now it's mainstream versus independent movies, and all bets are off. When you see an independent film like The Abandoned, or Head Trauma, you can't say that a lower budget means low production values. Often, it's the independent film that shows more originality, more creativity, and more professional heart than many big-budget mainstream offerings. Look at the incredible foreign films we're seeing, like Nightfall and The Maid. Hell, even Bollywood has a wonderful film, Naina.
While the main differences between mainstream and independent films are similar to the older B-movie labeling system, these days it's more a matter of budget, actors, and distributor, not quality. Quality can vary in mainstream films as well as independents, so that's not a fair measuring stick anymore.
And yes, horror is a global art form. Even more so today with Japan, Korea, Russia, and India, lord, you name it, getting into it. It's also global in more overt and subtle ways. Look at the recent influx of torture and torment gore-soaked films coming out, from Hostel to Saw to Texas Chainsaw, and the boffo box office they're getting. I think they are a reflection of our time.
As our world descends down the ladder of evolution with terrorism and religion as rationale for evil, horror films reflect that paranoia and loss of self-control and security. As we become more desensitized by the horrors on the news, horror films have upped the ante visually on depraved human suffering - to be viewed from the comfort of your own theater seat, popcorn and soda included. And speaking of horrors, those concession stand prices are horrific indeed!
Where is horror as an art form heading?
Article comments
1 - Rene
I enjoyed the read. Thanks!
2 - Brad Schader
Great interview with one of my favorite Blogcritics. Thank you for this scary look into the mind of someone who lost his long ago =P.
3 - Kaonashi
Great read! But I wanted to point out that the link to the filmsite.org article is a little messed up.