My favorite horror trope is when they use the scary side of the mental. I'm not talking about mentally ill people as killers, but instead they explore the scary part of having it or starting to spiral into it. I see very few horror movies and horror stories do this. You can escape from a killer or monster, but you can't escape your mind.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

I love this too. Especially when you're in the character's POV until the end when you realize it's a mental condition. Powerful stuff

@6black6heart6

Жыл бұрын

Like Session 9?

@icedriver2207

6 ай бұрын

How about Franklyn

@FuzzyFoot58

2 ай бұрын

You dont see this often? Its like THE one thing every haunted house story with a female lead uses. The moment she says what's happening everyone tells her shes crazy and most often she doubts her sanity until someone else experiences stuff and believes her. Another trope that does this is when the hero suddenly wakes up in a mental asylum where people try to convince the protagonist that they were crazy all along. Buffy the vampire slayer, Moon knight and Legion all did this and many others. I hate it because its such a waste of time because we the viewers all know that they arent crazy and it just impedes the storyprogression.

I know this video is old but : A personal favorite type of horror antagonist of mine is when the monster or entity only exists because *you believe in it.* Like, if you believe in it enough, it becomes real. Once it’s brought into the world, you can’t get rid of it. If you choose to not believe in it, it won’t work because you’re still acknowledging that it exists. You can ignore it all you want, but it’s always there. It’s scary because it’s real, and it’s real because you’re scared of it.

The pale man from Pan's Labyrinth is easily one of my favorite monsters from any movie. Something about its design, and the fact that even before it starts attacking, the pictures on the ceiling and the pile of shoes depict how brutal and dangerous this monster can be.

I'm in the middle of writing a script for a horror film and this and the five most hated video has been invaluable.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Best of luck with the script

I love, Love, LOVE symbolic horror. Give me monsters that explore deep-seated, psychological, existential fears, and I will eat it right up. Hereditary's actually a perfect example, where the supernatural elements in question are eerily analogous to generational trauma and/or a mental illness.

@DeadpoolCR13

8 ай бұрын

seem that what you describe is known as 'elevated horror', though i'm not overly fond of this term.

I love the trapped in an isolated location trope. The characters have no realistic way to get help without putting themselves in great danger and even just being trapped in an isolated location gives a feeling of hopelessness and dread. Whether it’s camping, stuck in the middle of nowhere during a horrible storm, on a ski lift, lost out at sea, marooned on a desert island, etc.

@riverdaisy4215

3 жыл бұрын

I think if done right it also helps avoid the frustration of “why didn’t they just call for help” or “why didn’t they just turn around” like like sorry reader but they were literally just going on their annual camping trip in an isolated location far from civilization like they have for years and had no way to prevent these horrible things from happening but at least they didn’t get here through stupid mistakes like coming totally unprepared or to a place famously known for being a murder spot.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@riverdaisy4215 Great trope! But like you said, it has to be done properly. The characters have to be there for a legit reason, and they should be prevented from escaping for a legit reason as well. Alien and The Thing (1982) are perfect examples of this.

@Indie973

8 ай бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty the isolation trope is a big part of Agatha Christie’s mystery methods

My favorite horror trope is probably a group of strangers (or friends) staying in a spooky house. The house doesn’t even necessarily have to be haunted. I like when they stay the night in a spooky house inhabited by weird people lol

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

2 жыл бұрын

I'm not a big haunted house guy, but when those stories are done well, I love them. One that comes to mind is Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand. It's about a folk rock band that stays at a haunted house in order to get inspired to write a new album...and then things start to go awry.

@taylortimeless

2 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty I know exactly what you mean. I’m not big on haunted houses either. That’s the crazy thing. In fact, I feel like the haunted house genre is a hit or Miss. However my favorite horror movie is The Haunting (1963) even though I’m not the biggest fan of the haunted house genre. I know that’s weird to say because I commented how I like the strangers going into a spooky house trope, but usually it’s films where it’s some strange family. But on the topic of ghost films, I feel like the old ones are pretty decent. Also thank you for the recommendation! That sounds so good! Already added it to my list.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

2 жыл бұрын

@@taylortimeless I need to check out The Haunting (1963). I honestly hadn't heard of it till reading your comment, but I could go for some old fashioned British horror

My favorite horror trope is when the hero is going crazy and questioning what they're seeing so much that you yourself also doubt whether the story actually happened as it was told or the whole thing was just an insane hallucination. The Babadook might actually be the greatest example of this, as well as 1408 and The Shining

I’m working on a story that features a backwoods werewolf cult. The werewolf concept itself is one of my favorites, and yet is one of the most maligned, wasted-potential concepts out there. Hard to pull off in a way that isn’t silly. So for that reason, the design of my werewolves is less “wolf” and more “man”. There’s ample body horror, but I’m opting for subtlety, where what I don’t outright describe is far worse than what I do. Implications are always the bread and butter of true psychological terror. The cult leader has an ideology that centers around members purposefully embracing the lycanthropy instead of trying to repress it, and working to mold their bodies into more mutated, grotesque, but also more powerful forms. This is only achieved through masochistic levels of agony and daily self-inflicted torment, but the result is a cult that prizes its top members, who are the most horrific versions of what a human-monster hybrid can be, so grotesque that they look uncanny even when they’re not transformed at all. When they are transformed, they’re downright terrifying and scare the hell out of me, even though I’m the one creating them. Fast, inhumanly strong, vicious, unrelenting, while also retaining their intelligence and predatory cunning. You can try to escape, but they’ve been hunting prey for so long - they know what you’re going to do. They know how to make you think you’re getting away until they snatch away your victory at the last second and then subject you to unspeakable horrors. But the most engaging part of this story for me is the character-focused part. A brother who escaped a cult in his adolescence, but had to leave his younger brother behind in the process. After a decade of recovering and cult reprogramming, he returns to his secret backwoods hometown to rescue his brother. But it’s obviously not going to be that easy. The dynamic between the brothers is where I’m truly immersed to the point where I’m not even writing anymore - I’m recording. They are their own people and I’m simply observing their interactions and scrambling to write everything down fast enough. God, I love writing. I lost touch with it for almost a decade and it’s so good to be back.

I love not knowing whether the monster is actually dead or not.

Tropes become tropes for a reason, ultimately isn't it about execution?

I know everyone shits on Blair Witch, but it was genuinely horrifying because you never see the witch. Nothing's more horrifying than the monster we imagine in our head.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

Just saw this comment today... And yeah, I'm one of the people who shits on it. I do agree with you on the "Not Showing the Monster" trope being effective though. They barely showed the adult Xenomorph at all in Alien 1, and that's what made the movie so tense.

If you like cult thrillers, 'the endless' is pretty good. It's about two brothers who escaped a "UFO death cult" as children but then get lured back in 10 years later.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, I'll add it to my list!

@DeadpoolCR13

8 ай бұрын

The Endless is great. It is however a sequel to Resolution. Arguably the most fun and original horror i've seen in the last 10 years, The Endless just further expands on the story but in a fantastic way. Very highly recommend both.

I was 19 following these rules of yours making short slasher Lebensraum, with zero budget, experience or even a script.

My favorite horror tropes is when a monster is scary but it's not as evil or aggressive as we thought, like The Mist where the creatures only behave like animals despite how they kill and eat humans, or the titular creatures from Gareth Edwards' Monsters as the aliens that land on Earth are only just lost and trying to survive.

@DeadpoolCR13

8 ай бұрын

yeah that's a great one, well said.

Great vid. Working on a cosmic horror comic script

I really like your videos.😃 I appreciate the food for thought.

I just read a short amateur novel about this woman who is kidnapped by a werewolf cult, but we never find out if they are real werewolves or just pretending. They have a rule about not shifting in front of humans which suggest they are fake, but then they have these scars after animal bites...

What's your favorite horror trope? Let us know!

@TheBluenyt09

3 жыл бұрын

My favorite trope of course is the creative monster. 😎🤘🤘

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheBluenyt09 So much fun. It's the intersection of horror and fantasy

I love Until Dawn. I'm a pretty young dude so that game came out at a much younger, golden age for me. I remember seeing gameplays of it and being so interested in it's story, deaths and scenes. In fact, this video is inspiring me to go check it out again!

i like when horror unsettles you but will build up to nothing.an example is in dead space where you hear banging noises and see a moving shadow in a room across the hall,it builds up a lot of tension just to see it was a person banging his head on the wall.another one of my favorites ar things like weird video edits,it will just show a picture of a person and some static noise and repeating one word and it just changes to a distorted unsettling image with a blink of an eye

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

I just bought Dead Space last month. Can't wait to play it. But you're spot on--tension without release can be completely nerve-wracking.

@potatomanboooi3105

3 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty another good example i found was in the comic industry with junji ito's work it is some of the most unsettling things i have ever seen.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@potatomanboooi3105 Haven't read any of his manga. Anything you'd recommend?

@potatomanboooi3105

3 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty uzumaki is one of my favorites and gyo

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@potatomanboooi3105 Just added it to my wishlist. Now to find something to boost me over the free shipping threshold...

Keep me guessing! Make me think about where the story is going. I don't care if in the end I figured it out in the first 10 min, but make me question my myself. Am I right? Or is it really something else? I will forgive bad acting and poor monsters if the story is well done.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

Great point on the "Am I right?" dilemma! I'm the same way--even if I figure it out in the first 10 minutes, I love sticking around till the end as long as the story keeps me second-guessing

You're in for a treat when I write my one novel then, because it explores the concept of the afterlife not as you'd expect

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

Жыл бұрын

Awesome, best of luck with it!

#5 got me really excited. I currently have my own story concepts that I've been building for full stories to be movies and my big 3 are all tackling death in different ways. For example, one of the stories has a message that you can't promise when you will die despite the guarantee it'll happen. If you just been diagnosed with something that you are estimated to succumb to in a week, who's to say Death isn't already coming for you beforehand and will not be waiting to get you when you do succumb?

The happening is such a good example of number 4

Cults work for horror because they're so determined. You can't reason with them, and they think they'd be wrong NOT to do what they do.

Small town confrontations with cunning devils or demons (in disguise, or not) making some kind of bet or deal is pretty fun to read about. Seeing people grapple with temptation---and try to rally people to strive with them against intimidating odds---and struggle to find a way to outwit or banish or defeat something ancient and supernatural. Everything from the classic story of "The Devil and Daniel Webster" to...well, BAD PARTS in 2020! =D

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

Annnnnnddd "The Devil and Daniel Webster" just landed on my to-read list. Thanks for the BP shoutout as well! Have you read HEX by Thomas Olde Heuvelt?

@msteiner5511

3 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Not yet! Here's a Project Gutenberg link for "Daniel and Devil Webster" short story: gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0602901h.html

@msteiner5511

3 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty On second thought, lips sewn shut is a particular horror of mine, I had a nightmare about it once, I'm not sure I can handle that, ha. XD

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@msteiner5511 I'd rather have my lips sewn shut than wake up with my head sewn to the carpet uggghhh

Body horror: especially the degradation of the body and mind of a likeable character, eg. The Fly or Jonathan Harker in Netflix's Dracula. Satanic: The Exorcist, Constantine, and Carrie had a disturbing fundamentalist theology. Statues coming to life or people climbing out of pictures/screens, eg. Chucky, The Ring, the Angels in Dr Who. Creepy mind control children, eg. Village of the Damned, It's a Good Life

YES TORCHWOOD MICRACLE DAY !!!

The "creative monster" is one of the reasons I like the work of Junji Ito. Heck,.sometimes you never know what the heck happened. L I still don't know what is Tomie or what is behind the curse on Uzamaki (spiral).

You might really like The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh. idky, but that one stuck with me; it's not super action packed, and features lots of cool shots of this house. There's hardly any characters, but it explores a dude who dealt with a like crazy Christian mom, who was into it to a cult-like level. Pretty lowkey, but it really sticks with you, I think I saw it once, and I just keep going back to it in my head. There've been others that I've just forgotten, but that one... idk something about it hits the right spot for me, I really want to get the DVD/bluray. xD

As much as I love creative monsters I can’t help but try to make my monsters mythological accurate so that way it feels like there real life and not fictional however I do give them creative twists like say a incubus pimp who uses voodoo to create zombie prostitutes

Now I know this isn't a good film, but Halloween Ends features that whole dark arc. It also worked for Harvey Dent and Anakin Skywalker.

THERE ARE A LOT OF WAYS TO DIE IN HORROR BUT THE MOST TERRFING HORROR STORIES ARE ABOUT WHAT IF THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS DEATH NOT ACTULLY IMORTAL JUST SIMPLY UNKILLABLE

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

2 жыл бұрын

Good point--any that you would recommend?

I want to hit the thumbs-up, but there are 665 likes. It just feels too creepy for me to bring it up, especially on a horror-themed video.

It might be related to cults, demonic possession, or soul contracts, but I love black magic.

There's a horror trope I wish I could see, but I don't know if it exists or is any good for the story. Smart characters vs smarter villain. The characters are always trying to make the best decisions possible to stay alive; the kind of decisions that even we would think about after watching so many horror movies. However, very often in the story, the villain foils their plans and just make their situation even worse. I think this could work if executed correctly because I'm just tired of ignorant characters making decisions that just make you want to get out of your seat and ask for a refund. What do you think?

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

Жыл бұрын

Ideally you want both the hero and the villain to be smart. That way they can challenge each other and constantly strive to outdo one another like Batman and the Joker in The Dark Knight. Horror movies often don't have smart villains because the villains are usually supernatural creatures or monsters that are trying to survive. However, there's no reason why you can't have a horror story with a hyper-intelligent villain who challenges an equally smart hero. I don't consider Hannibal Lector a villain in Silence of the Lambs (he's a mentor more than a villain), but he's nonetheless a great example of a dark, intelligent character who can appear in a horror story.

great video , btw am making a horror game that is based on the island of the dolls would you be interested in working on the story of it ?

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

Hey thanks for the offer, but I've already got my hands full with two separate novels and the channels. Is your game survival horror like Resident Evil and Silent Hill? Or more modern action-horror?

@issamaf80

3 жыл бұрын

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty more like a Re and silent Hill its a third person survival horror game. For pic and more info check the twitter profile: twitter.com/RedUmbrellaG?s=09

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@issamaf80 Nice! Based on those movement videos, it looks like your going for the over-the-shoulder 3rd person style like in RE2 Remake (which I loved). Do you have any sort of cool concept or gimmick that you're building the gameplay around? Or just straight-up classic horror?

@issamaf80

3 жыл бұрын

​@@WriterBrandonMcNulty yeah I do have a base story, as for the gameplay it will be classic horror where you have goal and puzzles.

@WriterBrandonMcNulty

3 жыл бұрын

@@issamaf80 Awesome. I'm finishing up Parasite Eve 1 tonight. Love classic survival horror. Keep me posted on this

imo, Midsommar was one of the worst movies ever. dumb characters, dumb motivations and an overall dumb plot.

My favorite horror trope is when the monster/antagonist is created by the protagonist/ organization. You talk about until dawn. But *spoilers* Hanna wouldn't have become the alpha wen*igo, if she wasn't bullied off into the woods with her sister. But because she was not only now the group have to deal with her brother who blames them, but the creature herself. Or other films like i spit on your grave, Jennifer's body, ginger snap, hell even friday the 13, and nightmare of elm street has this universal karma in play that i found so satisfying.