Interesting take and one that I would agree on! I would also point that the two most recent Evil Dead entries were timed perfectly for their kind of horror and the genre’s general landscape at the time.
The 2013 remake was a more hyper-violent endeavor. When the project was in its infancy, the mainstream horror genre was bloated with its fair share of Saw knockoffs as the torture porn era of the late 2000s began to die down. I’d argue the next major hit after the Saw series was when Paranormal Activity hit the festival scene and then was quickly picked up Dreamworks. I tend to believe the release of ED 2013 was timed perfectly as the market had gotten gore fatigue out of its system as the wide share of mainline horror films shifted to the found footage genre.
The same goes for Rise in today’s climate. In terms of the independent scene, horror films seem to be developed in a grind house style. Green Room & Terrifier are just two examples of successful indy horror movies over the last few years. With the former feeling more realistic with the later going so far into the violence that it feels surreal. Then you have mainstream horror which I would argue has been shaped by Jordan Peele and Ari Aster. With both of them taking the approach of grounding the horror in either social constructs (Peele) or the inability to handle grief/trauma (Aster) then adding one supernatural element to the story. Then seeing how this small group of characters are either brought together or torn apart. This is the flavor I experienced when I saw Rise for the first time.
On another note, I wonder if you guys would find it interesting to look back at the 1999-2010 years where a number of remakes and sequels to horror franchises released. While some can be dismissed as soulless cash grabs. Some had fun and/or interesting takes on their source material. The attempt at the Dark Castle reboots with The House on Haunted Hill and the pulpy Thirteen Ghosts. Then there’s a slew of remakes of franchise icons or influential stand alone movies. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, Funny Games, Friday the 13th, Zach Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, Black Christmas, and what I would consider to be the capstone to this era, the 2010 remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. Although some may argue Scream 4 in 2011 is the end of this age of reboot horror that existed during the torture porn era and found footage era of modern horror.
Even if tackling individual films isn’t a plan. I think going through eras of modern horror is quite interesting. I would almost compare the horror genre to stuff like Rock music, rap, & pro wrestling. It’s a fluid genre that every few years reinvents itself. In that time it births new fans while sometimes passing on old ones. While I never finished film school, in my time talking with film buffs, I’ve found no one that loves as strongly and hates as strongly like horror fans do.
Interesting take and one that I would agree on! I would also point that the two most recent Evil Dead entries were timed perfectly for their kind of horror and the genre’s general landscape at the time.
The 2013 remake was a more hyper-violent endeavor. When the project was in its infancy, the mainstream horror genre was bloated with its fair share of Saw knockoffs as the torture porn era of the late 2000s began to die down. I’d argue the next major hit after the Saw series was when Paranormal Activity hit the festival scene and then was quickly picked up Dreamworks. I tend to believe the release of ED 2013 was timed perfectly as the market had gotten gore fatigue out of its system as the wide share of mainline horror films shifted to the found footage genre.
The same goes for Rise in today’s climate. In terms of the independent scene, horror films seem to be developed in a grind house style. Green Room & Terrifier are just two examples of successful indy horror movies over the last few years. With the former feeling more realistic with the later going so far into the violence that it feels surreal. Then you have mainstream horror which I would argue has been shaped by Jordan Peele and Ari Aster. With both of them taking the approach of grounding the horror in either social constructs (Peele) or the inability to handle grief/trauma (Aster) then adding one supernatural element to the story. Then seeing how this small group of characters are either brought together or torn apart. This is the flavor I experienced when I saw Rise for the first time.
On another note, I wonder if you guys would find it interesting to look back at the 1999-2010 years where a number of remakes and sequels to horror franchises released. While some can be dismissed as soulless cash grabs. Some had fun and/or interesting takes on their source material. The attempt at the Dark Castle reboots with The House on Haunted Hill and the pulpy Thirteen Ghosts. Then there’s a slew of remakes of franchise icons or influential stand alone movies. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Last House on the Left, Funny Games, Friday the 13th, Zach Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead, Black Christmas, and what I would consider to be the capstone to this era, the 2010 remake of Nightmare on Elm Street. Although some may argue Scream 4 in 2011 is the end of this age of reboot horror that existed during the torture porn era and found footage era of modern horror.
Even if tackling individual films isn’t a plan. I think going through eras of modern horror is quite interesting. I would almost compare the horror genre to stuff like Rock music, rap, & pro wrestling. It’s a fluid genre that every few years reinvents itself. In that time it births new fans while sometimes passing on old ones. While I never finished film school, in my time talking with film buffs, I’ve found no one that loves as strongly and hates as strongly like horror fans do.
-JP