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AIBU?

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To think CGI isn't scary and it's ruining horror?

126 replies

MrsFattyBumBum · 09/10/2019 23:53

I was watching IT, the one from a few years ago on Netflix before.

And Pennywise is scary as a character but all the CGI stuff, it's just so unrealistic that it just makes it almost like animation, just takes all the fear away. It's like watching a cartoon. You just know it's all fake.

I miss good old fashioned horror films that are just creepy. Things in the shadows crawling about. Peeping out from round corners. Not really knowing what is out there.

With CGI you see too much. Nothing is left to the imagination and it's imagination that keeps you up at night after a scary film.

So AIBU that CGI is ruining horror films?

OP posts:
PablosHoney · 11/10/2019 11:22

Agreed, Part 2 of the new series is just pants because of it

timeforawine · 11/10/2019 11:24

Also Autopsy of Jane Doe, was on the edge on my seat the whole film waiting for something

TheSandman · 11/10/2019 11:27

I don't know about Horror so much but over use of 'cool' CGI has ruined more SF films than anything else especially it has been used to replace ideas and plot with whizbang ooooh shiney!
Ready Player One being a good example.

TheSandman · 11/10/2019 11:30

Sorry forgot to put the punctuation in that last:

I don't know about Horror so much, but over use of 'cool' CGI has ruined more SF films than anything else. Especially when it has been used to replace ideas and plot with whizbang ooooh shiney!

Ready Player One being a good example.

pikapikachu · 11/10/2019 11:30

I know what you mean. I find horror very samey these days I can't decide if it's my age (more you watch the less scary they are), CGI makes them all look similar in the way that action movie explosions don't inspire awe any more or it's the writing (too many reboots) or the casting (young unknowns).

I definitely prefer the ones where they aren't so gory but you can imagine the fear based on the acting and clever music /angles to create tension and scares.

WhentheRabbitsWentWild · 11/10/2019 12:17

Oh yes , Autopsy of Jane Doe .

Watched that without reading up on it and it really was a good film . Very normal at the start but it gets a whole lot weirder . Whomever played Jane Doe is a beautiful woman

elQuintoConyo · 11/10/2019 13:04

Nothing is scarier than John Carpenter's The Fog from 1980. I still can't see the opening scene without reaching for my blanket to hide behind!

The Orphanage was fantastic, Pan's Labyrinth too, and the Devil's Backbone. The original Dark Water and The Eye - my god, the man floating; n the lift Shock the remakes I find to be just wank.

What Lie Beneath was pretty good - Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford. The most recent Woman in Black had too many 'boo' moments and got quite boring. The original TV version from the 80s has stayed with me, it was under-the-skin creepy.

For me, it's definitely what is not seen but merely hinted at that is most powerfully scary.

elQuintoConyo · 11/10/2019 13:07

Carpenter's The Thing was super scary to be, even though cgi was in its infancy so not great, and there were puppets Grin but it is brilliant.

Watching some episodes of X-Files have scared me more than Annabelle and the like.

100PercentThatBitch · 11/10/2019 20:06

Yes @TheSandman Ready Player One just departed too far from the book in favour of big tricks. It was a crushing disappointment

100PercentThatBitch · 11/10/2019 20:06

Yes @TheSandman Ready Player One just departed too far from the book in favour of big tricks. It was a crushing disappointment

MitziK · 11/10/2019 20:29

I like proper monster movies and nothing beats a good old Catholic Horror. SFX isn't the be all and end all - the story needs to be there in the first place.

TheSandman · 11/10/2019 20:30

The Changeling (1980) - There's a moment in his that scared the carp out of me*. No CGI, no Special effects of any kind - a kid's ball bounces down a staircase and gives the whole audience the whim whams because of mood, script, acting... the whole mise en scene thing. Not "shoot it on green screen and we'll fix it in post". You know, REAL movie making.

*I had just eaten 3 goldfish.

zebrasdontwearbras · 11/10/2019 20:39

Nothing is scarier than John Carpenter's The Fog from 1980.

I agree! I watched that as a teen, and it kept me up nights. The fog still freaks me out now.

Chesntoots · 11/10/2019 20:43

I remember watching The Haunting. The old version. It was truly scary because you didn't really see very much at all and it's all in your head.

elQuintoConyo · 11/10/2019 20:56

BOO!

zebrasdontwearbras · 11/10/2019 20:59

Grin Thanks elQuinto - Dh has just commented that it's the "best film ever".

Veterinari · 11/10/2019 21:03

The descent
The ring

HelenaDove · 11/10/2019 21:06

As well as being a great horror film, (spooky and not gory) I hate gore, The Changeling is haunting in another way Its hauntingly sad.

As is Lady In White If you liked The Changeling i think you would like this. Though it does explore a theme that can be hard to watch..............................

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_in_White

TrainspottingWelsh · 11/10/2019 21:17

I think it's laziness. With most decent horror novels, it's the depth and psychological fear that provide the story. Eg the shining, the fear isn't about Jack Nicholson running around with an axe. Older style films might have missed a lot of it, but the shitty effects meant they still had to include some. Eg the shining still included a lot of the build up to insanity. With CGI they are mainly just relying on that, so drop the deeper story and horror.

Tbh even though I enjoy horror, it doesn't leave me feeling scared anyway. However I don't expect to be left sniggering, or bored.
But in honesty, plenty of the supposed classics leave me feeling that way too.

Of the top of my head, haunting of hill house, orphan, the stand (original tv series) and paranormal activity are the closest.

Makeyourownkindofmusicsingit · 11/10/2019 21:18

4th kind scares the shit out of me. You never see the aliens and I don’t think the effects are too terrible

Makeyourownkindofmusicsingit · 11/10/2019 21:19

Whoops posted too soon!

YANBU though. Too much CGI and nah my remakes. It’s shit atm

Binforky · 11/10/2019 21:24

I agree I found IT ridiculous and more funny than scary. The last thing to give me the creeps were some of the Inside No 9 episodes. They just seemed to build suspense better than alot of things I've seen lately.

I also agree creep is a great film I didn't know there was a second one.

Binforky · 11/10/2019 21:30

It's funny I was talking to my 11 yr old ds yesterday he is a huge Godzilla fan and even he was saying he doesn't like the newer ones as they use to much CGI and the storylines are boring. He said even though the people in costumes is a bit silly the stories were alot more interesting.

Igotthemheavyboobs · 11/10/2019 21:42

I saw the Woman in Black in the theatre, the old lady violently rocking a rocking chair back and forth was the scariest thing I have ever seen. The film was really disappointing.

I have the over use of CGI. Especially on faces. The original It was soo scary because it was just Tim Curry in white face paint. The new cgi eyeballs etc, they just look a bit naff imo and ruined it. There was no reason to cgi his face! Makes it less realistic and breaks the fear for me.

MorganKitten · 11/10/2019 22:39

Bad storylines ruin horror