Have Horror Films Ever Been Quality?

Horror films have been a staple of cinema since the advent of films as a mainstream medium of entertainment. They’ve birthed untold nightmares in the minds of children and adults alike, tapping deep into the fears that lay within even the best of man. It would stand to reason then that the genre will have had a golden period of sorts to point to as a shining example of the form, but that isn’t really the case.

Now, to be clear, this is not to say that there hasn't been sterling offerings from the world of horror movies, as indeed there have been a great amount, but rather that there is no time period in the genre that one can look at as being the highest point for the art form.

Firstly, it seems only right to acknowledge the parameters to be used for determining the quality of individual films. Each should be taken as a product of their time and not marked down in any way for aging poorly as that is not conducive to examining the period in which they were released. Conversely, praise will be given to films that have stood up well under the scrutiny of time as that is a glowing testament to the staying power of features from that point in time. Be it due to the quality of filming or due to the way in which the script engages those fears deep inside. Similarly, it is also well worth pointing out films that were dated at their time of release. With that set out, let’s look at the successes that have permeated pop culture.

It is fair to say that one of the most famous franchises from film’s fright factory is A Nightmare on Elm Street. From the sadistic yet darkly witty villain to the effect it had on a generation who didn’t sleep well for a good week after consuming this morsel, it has to be said that Freddy and his children were a rousing success. Wes Craven tapped into the human psyche perfectly with this off the wall yet traumatically plausible slasher flick and that likely has to do with his basing of the narrative on a phenomenon that was seeing youngsters dying in their sleep at the time. See, a truly great horror is often marked by its relation to the real world around you — drawing you into the story and setting you on edge long after the end credits roll. The box office success enjoyed by the film and the fact that audiences are still enamoured with its lore to this day is a testament to the fact that this is one of the true treasures of the genre. So, is it proof positive of horror being great, at least in the 80s?

Well, it would be if it weren’t for the sequels that, by and large, eviscerated the franchise by removing the tension with increasingly dopey plots and cheesy acting. Freddy remained fantastic, mostly due to Robert Englund more so than anything else, but the movies surrounding him continued to fall flat until they were nothing more than a parody of themselves and for this reason Elm Street can only be considered proof of one film’s brilliance and not that of a genre or a time period.

Thankfully, the 80s gave audiences a great deal more than one classic genre as hordes were also treated to the potentially even more terrifying Friday the 13th. The story of a group of amorous camp counsellors being hunted down and killed in satisfyingly inventive ways, it struck a chord with viewers and, like Elm Street, continues to do so to this day with a reboot in the works and Halloween masks being shifted by the crate load (though the mask debuted in the third film). However, this franchise has exactly the same problem as previously outlined, the quality sharply declined after the initial few offerings.

Admittedly, it held its mystique a little longer than other such titles managed but it still fell off the same cliff as all the others. Just as Child’s Play did, just as Halloween did, and just as all other pretenders to the throne did, too.

So, you see, it would be fallacious to say that the 80s was any sort of heyday for this particular genre when even the best it had to offer couldn’t save it.

Perhaps the 90s managed a minor miracle then?

Spoiler: it didn’t.

Again you have the same problem as with the decade prior. There are a great many classics dotted throughout this time but they alone do not make up for the deluge of tripe that was peddled by hacks.

One film that is still held in high regard and has even recently birthed a TV series spin-off is Scream. It turned the slasher on its head by intelligently poking fun at its many engrained tropes whilst also offering a genuinely intriguing plot full of suspense and scares. The problem with this one is not so much the franchise as it has more or less maintained its quality with each new entry but rather it is that it gave way to so many rip offs that trampled all over everything it achieved.

Urban Legends is a perfect example of this as it completely missed the point of Scream and bored audiences with a predictable story and overall uninventive production. This sort of film would go on to become extremely prevalent and you can thank Scream for opening the doors for lazy filmmakers to make a quick buck whilst feeling as though they’ve actually had something insightful to say about the genre.

Another absolutely torrid offering that is, for some reason, heralded as one of the greats is Hellraiser. Each film could be dissected and talked about at great length in their very own articles but for now consider them all as one entity as they are all roughly the same in terms of quality or lack thereof.

It is this film that can be sited as the reason for adding the line regarding things looking dated at their time of release. The rough, tactless production does not add to the creepy, otherworldly aesthetic but instead gives the impression of the whole thing being decidedly amateur. The visual effects are somewhat spectacular, it has to be said, but there is nothing more to add substance here and putting Pinhead in space in Bloodline did nothing to help with that. It is a fond hope that this particular series can be laid to rest now.

Something that feels pertinent to point out before people wade in with shouts of Seven, The Silence of the Lambs, and Misery that these are all thrillers rather than horrors — though really so is Scream. The absence of any supernatural elements means that they cannot be added to the horror genre and so are not really relevant to the discussion despite the popular misconception that they are in the same category.

This leads onto the 2000s where you once more encounter a mixed bag of greatness and horrific failures.

It would take an unreasonably long time to go through all of the worst horrors of this decade and so it is probably best just to touch on the worst offenders and what could be more infamously terrible than a Uwe Boll picture? The House of the Dead was one of the most hyped up car crashes of all time and like a good car wreck, it was hard to look away from but not for any good reasons.

It was billed, by the creator, as a rival to Resident Evil and boy was it ever anything but. It does hold the dubious accolade of being one of the most unintentionally hilarious motion pictures ever to grace screens, though Boll would undoubtedly claim it to be a masterpiece. The fact that the director’s online rants are more entertaining than his actual film is really all the reviews you need for this particular monstrosity.

The other movie to share space on the worst of the decade list? The Happening.

Oh, you've all heard about this one by now even if you haven’t had the *cough* pleasure of watching it. Simply put, it is a confused, moronic, and needless production that features some of the most implausibly poor performances from big name actors this side of anything by Nicolas Cage. Plants get a bit rowdy and make people kill themselves, uh huh, that’s the premise, cue shots of people running from the wind lest that pesky pollen get to them. It’s the most extreme form of hay fever you’ll ever see and it is absolutely ridiculous.

You’ll be glad to hear that there are some absolute gems to be found and that that list is impossibly long, too, so, here’s two of the finest examples.

J. A. Bayona had one of the most impressive debuts of all time when he gifted the world with the truly terrifying The Orphanage. From start to end, this chilling tale grips you by the throat and refuses to let go right up to the tear jerking finale. It is a testament to the power that the genre can hold when utilized properly and it shows that this decade recognized once again that a focus on the individual and their emotions is always far more effective than looking almost exclusively at the creature lurking in the shadows.

In many ways, 28 Days Later is also a lesson in this as it is the humans at the centre of the film that drive home the emotional gut punches rather than the rage zombies trying to slaughter them. Its premise is highly inventive as it takes the tried and true zombie genre and adds something new and unexpected into the mix to great effect. It is films like this that make the 2000s come so close to being a golden decade, but the host of sub-mediocrity stops it from being so.

It would be remiss to judge this current decade on its overall quality as there are still two and a bit years to go at the time of writing.

Despite that fact, it has to be said that the end of decade review will read much the same as all the others as for every instant classic, such as The Cabin in the Woods, you have a predictable snoozefest like the newly released Annabelle: Creation.

Clearly, there is never going to be that near perfect decade for the genre but, it can easily be argued that there isn’t a single year that holds entirely or even largely quality horror films. The truth is that this is a genre that so easily lends itself to abysmal creations due to the free reign it gives to the less impressive writers in our midst and because of that it will never reach a zenith or be able to compete with big budget action flicks and it will never be “quality.”