Gothic Horror

[Robbie]

Hi there everyone,



I'm pretty new to the forum and just want to throw out a question to anyone out there with some thoughts on the matter.



I'm finishing an MA in screenwriting and am focusing on traditions in "gothic" storytelling.



The release of Let The Right One In has been hailed by many to redifine the modern horror but does anyone out there think the last twenty (even thirty) years has seen a decline in gothic sensabilities and icons in mainstream horror? Or has it simply become appropriated by film makers like Guillermo del Toro outside the boundaries of horror? Or even applied to a younger audience of romantics that films like Twilight appeal to?



Any thoughts would be appreciated.



- Robbie



(hope I've put this thread in the appropriate section of your forum)

[jaycad]

i think the popularity of the hollywood 'slasher' films such as 'halloween' and 'friday 13th' in the late '70s onwards was the death knell for the gothic horror-a genre hollywood has never done well in my opinion! the need to keep the audience 'on the edge of their seat' with constant 'jumps' seems to override the need for a good plot! my interest in british supernatural drama on tv originated from the complete lack of quality in this area so i've got hollywood to thank for that!

[moonfleet]

By a matter of fact, someone lended Ken Russell's The Lair of the White Worm to me.....haven't watched it yet, is it good



Personal bests in Gothic (or assimilated):



- Frankenstein must be destroyed

- Le Cauchemar de Dracula

- The Devil rides out

- Dellamorte Dellamore

- Le corps et le fouet ( The flesh and the wip ??) / Mario Bava

- La maschera del demonio / Mario Bava

- The Relic / Peter Hyams

- The black torment

- The most dangerous game

- Dracula / John Badham

- The Wax Museum / Andr� de Toth / Michael Curtiz

- The pit and the pendulum / Roger Corman

- The abominable Dr Phibes

........



Mn.

[batman]

name='moonfleet']By a matter of fact, someone lended Ken Russell's The Lair of the White Worm to me.....haven't watched it yet, is it good

In a word .... no!



It's very sloppily made IMHO and the low budget does show. Having said that is quite entertaining in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way.

[moonfleet]

name='batman']In a word .... no!



It's very sloppily made IMHO and the low budget does show. Having said that is quite entertaining in a 'so bad it's good' kind of way.

Hugh Grant in his first ???

[batman]

name='moonfleet']Hugh Grant in his first ???

No, he'd made about six or seven by then and done quite a bit of TV.

[DB7]

I'd say one of the last genuine gothic horrors was Coppola's Dracula, which is hindered by a dreadful performance from Keanu.

[moonfleet]

Also I'm discovering Tales from the Crypt, a serial I didn't know but that I've heard about....some have very good "plots" and it's funny to see now stars in this "disjoncted" kind, in their earliers for some; but the directing of all seems unpersonal, even if great directors were involved ....





Moon.

[moonfleet]

name='DB7']I'd say one of the last genuine gothic horrors was Coppola's Dracula, which is hindered by a dreadful performance from Keanu.

To me, Shining

[moonfleet]

MIDNIGHT !!! now....

[BillTurner80]

Guillermo Del Toro: Pan's Labyrinth . . . The Devil's Backbone . . . outside the boundaries of horror? I don't think so. Jaycad's point about films like Halloween and Friday XXX eroding the craft of effective gothic storytelling are valid. Horror icons are more difficult to classify into gothic and/or another category: The Wolfman, Frankenstein amd Dracula are instantly recognisable; but then, so are Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers and Freddie Krugger - all horror icons, but the latter three are not, in the narrow sense of the word, particularly gothic. The genre gets reinvented every so often (John Landis - Werewolf; Ridley Scott - Alien; Francis Ford Coppolla - Vampire.) Some directors try to invent their own ethos, like M. Night Shayalaman; others are happy to retread Zombies (Zack Snyder). I'm taking a long time to say that, yes, there has been a decline in classic gothic storytelling, but as far as icons go, there seem to be more now than ever before.

[jaycad]

name='DB7']I'd say one of the last genuine gothic horrors was Coppola's Dracula, which is hindered by a dreadful performance from Keanu.

there was absolutely no need to cast an american in the role of 'jonanthan harker'-especially one who couldn't even do an english accent! the film already had a star cast without ted 'theodore' logan!!