my icks: dead pets for shock value, mental illness as a plot twist, excessive and long rape scenes, 3+ plot twists shoved into the last ten minutes of the movie

@_SunscreenQueen_

4 ай бұрын

Yes! SA is such a turn off. It’s not disturbing to me. It’s a real terrifying reality that I feel a lot of make directors use (and usually make them excessive) for shcok

@07foxmulder

4 ай бұрын

I’ll always find it hilarious how some people are not okay with rape but are totally fine with watching innocent people getting slaughtered. Like being murdered isn’t a “terrifying reality.”

@valeriafabi6823

4 ай бұрын

@@07foxmulder obsessed with the implication that men are scared of getting murdered every time they go out because it happens so often

@07foxmulder

4 ай бұрын

@@valeriafabi6823 Well, yes. Statistics prove that men are the majority of victims when it comes to violent crimes. I know that doesn’t validate your victim narrative so I apologize.

@_SunscreenQueen_

4 ай бұрын

@@07foxmulder because murder isn’t a reality that many of us will experience. Rape is.

The “just kidding it was just a dream”…whether it’s just a scene in the movie or the whole movie. Such a cop out.

@brightdreamsfilms3446

4 ай бұрын

regarding that thrope, i always see people say movies with that kind of twist are annoying but i have never actually seen any examples of films that end with the twist of "everything was just a dream". i have seen movies with that kind of scene, but not a whole movie whose plot is literally that. Could you give me some examples?

@janb92

4 ай бұрын

It was done well in Hereditary though…..

@sourpatchkid394

4 ай бұрын

And the dream scene is the best part of the movie. I wanted to see that movie! I need to think what movie. But I’ve definitely seen someone’s dream you think is real and it ends up just being a nightmare… I don’t mind oooh and it was all a dream. Or they were in a coma.

@Corn_Pone_Flicks

4 ай бұрын

@@brightdreamsfilms3446Well, the big one is obviously The Wizard of Oz. Now, it's not literally the entire movie, but it's a good eighty percent of the movie. The 1944 noir film The Woman in the Window also is mostly a dream. Now, I have seen a few films where there's a really long dream sequence that were good because of how it's handled, i.e. the dream serves as a contrast to reality, and isn't there for a cheap gotcha moment, but I don't want to name them because I don't want them spoiled.

@mbf938

4 ай бұрын

@@brightdreamsfilms3446some people think that Mulholland Drive was mostly a dream and certainly has a lot of dreamlike sequences and dream references. I don’t think many people dislike it in that film though and it’s not a horror film, either.

Extreme jump scare volume, because loud is apparently no longer enough. Some of us have _neighbours_ trying to sleep. Micromanaging the remote control becomes a distraction.

@jtru0

4 ай бұрын

Yes!!

@suzybearheart530

4 ай бұрын

And when the jump scare isn't scary on its own without the loud noise! There was a movie called lights out where the scene ends and the next scene starts with someone striking a match. It was loud af and everyone screamed but it was just a damn match being lit. It pissed me off 😂

@ricardotejeda6530

4 ай бұрын

I always find it interesting that people love Insidious and The Strangers because I think those movies are nothing but loud jump scares. That's just me though.

@suzybearheart530

4 ай бұрын

@ricardotejeda6530 Agreed! Also, I don't mind a single, well-designed jump scare every now and then. But if it's reliant on noise, big thumbs down. My favorite jump scare was in Signs when you see the alien walk across the shot at the kid's birthday party. Or again, from Signs when Mel Gibson is looking under the pantry door and the alien hand shoots out. Good stuff.

@everything_movies602

4 ай бұрын

yesss that a good one! Lol older movies do that and Hulu does that it goes from a movie you can barely hear And then tense parts or when the music goes up or a commercial it goes up so loud 😂😂

I love how in Alien the cat survives! You assume it'll get killed but nope!!

@marianadamelio

4 ай бұрын

Is there any horror movie about a killer that loves animals but hates people? I have one for this "Animales Humanos" mexican movie

@mimiM1970

4 ай бұрын

​@@marianadameliothere's a small scene in "Thanksgiving" where the killer murders the owner, but stops to feed and pet the cat before leaving lol.

@Adam-mc3vy

4 ай бұрын

@@mimiM1970exact one I thought of! It was cute lol

@fisheyenomiko

4 ай бұрын

@@marianadamelioKane Hodder refused to have Jason Voorhees kick the main character's dog in F13th Part VIII. Forget killing it, he wouldn't even *kick* it. And yes, Jason was implied to have killed an animal in... part 2? But he was still alive in that one, and I think he ate it for food?

@filmfangirls9163

4 ай бұрын

​@@marianadamelioI know that Jason won't kill little children or animals. All the dogs survive any Friday the 13th film! Thanksgiving too which I think someone already mentioned lol and Better Watch Out. That killer didn't hurt any animal in fact the cat just watched with wide eyes lol

my biggest icks: - cgi gore - jumpscares made for the audience that dont make sense within the movie - faith saves the day - annoying kids wth plot armor - sequels and prequels over-explaining stuff

@Jamieb1994

4 ай бұрын

I don't mind jumpscares, but I don't like to see too many, though.

@Sabiliwisely8315

4 ай бұрын

Then you'll love 'The Last Voyage of the Demeter'. It doesn't have all the things you mentioned.

@KimFromTheCrypt

4 ай бұрын

@@Sabiliwisely8315 seen it! i liked most of the middle where its basically Alien on a boat wth dracula and a bit of gore, but it lost me wth its aggressively melodramatic soundtrack and monologing, turning dracula into a cgi monster and cringy ending

@Abmotsad

4 ай бұрын

"Faith saves the day" is super annoying and a guaranteed movie killer. Think "6 Souls". Could have been a good movie.

@joshuanelsonanimations

3 ай бұрын

I felt that last one with The Cloverfield Paradox

Character on the floor being dragged away by some unseen force in every trailer.

"How do we do possessions without CGI?!" *The Exorcist*: "I'm *right here*, ya know!"

@mistabook

4 ай бұрын

And of course every exorcism film is basically just a copy of The Exorcist anyway. If you're going to copy, copy what they did right

@joannepinnow6929

3 ай бұрын

I'm so glad you said that! I was thinking that too.

I'm over the, "main highways are closed off, so we gotta take the one lane country roads," and the car breaks down stuff

@reallymadnomad7330

4 ай бұрын

The car runs happily all the time, except when the woman is trying to get away from the slasher. RRR..RRR.. - Come on! ...RRR...RRR... (Beats steering wheel) ...RRR...RRR - COME ON!

There's this trope I don't usually hear people bring up where you have a character who's acting really creepy during the plot of the film, such as staring through the protagonist's window during night, is in their house and doing all kinds of things that are really suspicious that you think that they are easily the prime suspect, but turns out that they aren't...

@josh043p6

4 ай бұрын

Trevor from Scream 4 😂 He was such an obvious red herring from the get go

@dannyjorde2677

14 күн бұрын

​@@josh043p6 Cotton from Scream 2 lol

I would absolutely love to see a "yum" list for horror movies!

@Horror_Savant_Jayme

4 ай бұрын

I completely agree please Emma do a yums list!!!

The cop out jump scares "oh it's just a cat" "oh it's just the friend playing a prank" "oh this is actually supposed to scare me but I'm dulled to the jump scares now"

@theasexualvampire13

4 ай бұрын

Especially when you can tell it's coming, oh please.

@valeriebreidenstein8362

16 күн бұрын

True. The only time with the cat as jumpscare that really worked for me was the one in Friday the 13th part 2, because of what happens directly afterwards, because no one would expect Jason to appear just after said jumpscare and kill Alice.

My horror movie icks: •The antagonist of the film being a set of teen boys •Characters knocking out the killer/villain unconscious and then leaving them instead of finishing them off •Overuse of cgi •

Hi Spooky, One particular thing that happens in a lot of horror movies that drives me insane is not turning the lights on. When the characters experience seeing something or hearing something at night in their home and decide to investigate they almost never turn on the lights. This happens a lot in found footage movies. If I heard or saw something in my home I would be turning every damn light on in my home. The other thing that drives me crazy is they almost always remain in their home when creepy stuff starts happening. Thanks

@reallymadnomad7330

4 ай бұрын

And instead of calling the police they always go downstairs alone to investigate the sound, in the dark, with no weapon, asking repeatedly for info - "John? John, is that you? John, are you there? John? John?"

@coffeekat5066

2 ай бұрын

I can kind of forgive the lights thing, yeah it's annoying to see it in a movie... But when you think about it in hindsight, if you were really in that situation would you really be turning lights on and alerting whoever/whatever you think you heard to your exact location? Light is light, you can see them, but they can see you.

UGH 1) Family moves to a new home and the female teen is "always" pissed and sassy and never wanted to move. 2) Killer/monster "always" does that annoying head tilt as he's looking at his next kill as if that's supposed to be ominous...

@Nexils

4 ай бұрын

Maybe it's an American thing, but don't people go look at their house before moving? In what world is the head of the family - usually the father or the single mom - who went ahead and then drags everyone to this ominous place that none of the other family members has seen.

@rightchordleadership

4 ай бұрын

The head tilt was only done once with great effect--MM in the original Halloween. Every other head tilt is a lame ripoff.

@dommoore6180

4 ай бұрын

tbf I was an annoyed teen and never wanted to move when my family moved me to a house previously owned by 3 old people who all shared the same name. And we'd never seen the house before. And we got it cheap. And it used to be a Victorian home for rich folk. And it had a small servants house that was now obviously unused at the end of the garden. And there was a random wood cutting axe left on a box in the basement - which was innocent I'm sure, but we did tick all the clichés off. So I can buy that is could happen, because I sort have to buy that.@@Nexils

4 ай бұрын

I definitely agree with your first point. That is definitely an annoying cliche.

@main9613

4 ай бұрын

Ghostface definitely overuses the headtilt😂

Pet deaths are really the only trigger for me and to then go through all those emotions just for a pet to be used as a prop for 3 scenes is so annoying. Literally when I see a fluffy cutie I instantly get anxious as hell.

@bebx9251

4 ай бұрын

same here

@MSTiekims9952

Ай бұрын

I use the site “Does the dog die”. It lets you know if/how/when pets die in a movie. If something happens off-screen I’m a bit more likely to watch something, but if it’s on-screen there is no way.

A couple of over-used devices in recent horror come to mind: 1) Jump-cut movement for evil entities as they approach protagonist. 2) Exaggerated smile. A little similar to CGI possession, it indicates something has been possessed or turned evil. It works fine in movies like Smile, Evil Dead Rise and Talk To Me but it's been overdone at this point. 3) The music in horror trailers, all very alike now. It's the metronome that turns into a crescendo in kind of a ghost gasp as it grows louder and nearer. You'd know it once you heard it if my explanation falls flat. It's in too many horror trailers. I think I will be attuned to your pet peeves more now.

@suzybearheart530

4 ай бұрын

No, your description of the music is spot on. I heard it in my head as soon as I read it. Tick-tock tick-tock cue the strings making a shcoooom sound that keeps getting louder and faster 😂 and then maybe it ends with a slightly sweet piano bit playing in the high octaves while a creepy kid sings "la lala la la". 😂

"Da fuck is that font?" I am friends with a person like that.

@rywk4225

3 ай бұрын

Papyrus!!

@leeshaolivier9298

Ай бұрын

Comic Sans!

I completely agree about teasers at the start of a movie. Whenever there's a big, scary opening scene and then it cuts to "24 hours earlier," I let out the heaviest sigh you've ever heard. It's a cheap way to hook the audience, but as you said, we're already there!

@jessicadesmond-robitaille5972

4 ай бұрын

I will say the exception to this is Evil Dead Rise for me, because that was an epic way to start and kind of creates this mystery and dread from the get

@NicholasKaufmann

4 ай бұрын

@@jessicadesmond-robitaille5972 True, but as Emma mentioned, that is more of a prologue, not a teaser of what we're going to see again later in the movie.

@MichaelWutsch

4 ай бұрын

There are SO many movies that do this. I tried to find a listing online with all of them but couldn't find one, might need to do it myself. I think it's funny when Mission Impossible movies show the entire movie in the opening credits

@matthewmilner3639

4 ай бұрын

This one is fine with me if either 1. The story that catches up to the spoiler is actually surprising / interesting 2. There is a twist where we now know something that vitally changes our impressions of the spoiler scene once we revisit it. Examples could be knowing about an additional threat, knowing a plan or hope is futile, knowing a "good guy" isn't to be trusted, knowing the heroes have aces up their sleeves, knowing that help is on its way.

The overuse of music in horror movies. Silence is the best way to create tension.

@joannepinnow6929

3 ай бұрын

The original Exorcist movie was a great example of this. They alternated quiet (no background music) scenes with loud scenes and it was super effective.

Hard agree about the dead dog, children’s books have been doing that for decades and it was already tired and cliché. At this point I am more impressed when they DON’T kill the animal.

Characters that say, “hello?” when they’re alone or being hunted down by an antagonist 😒 I’m so glad “why are you doing this” or pleading with the killer/antagonist had died down, but “hello” always annoys me. And I agree, a snippet of the end of the movie at the beginning is obnoxious. Enjoy those hash browns!

@marianadamelio

4 ай бұрын

I can't understand why characters enter a house after knocking on the door and the door opens by itself. Don't.do.that.

@filmfangirls9163

4 ай бұрын

Right?!

@KZ66100

4 ай бұрын

When the victim says, "You don't have to do this," to the person who's about to kill them... Why would the killer be under the impression that they HAD to kill you? They're doing it because they want to!

@garynaccarato4606

3 ай бұрын

​​@@marianadamelioI'm not saying that would necessarily be a deal breaker for me but it sort of also feels like if the door opened by itself in real life most people would already be saying to themselves right off the bat that this s**t which is going on is a little bit too freaky and they would simply just get the hell out of dodge.

@Wright805

27 күн бұрын

@@KZ66100 To be fair when people get terrified they do irrational things.

Yessss the possession face was goofy a decade ago, the melty stretch mouth just makes me laugh not fearful lol

@yurilouback6331

4 ай бұрын

Currently the silly melty stretch mouth is being replaced by an even more stupid trope...Unnaturally wide smile!

Pet death is absolutely my #1 ick!! The only movie I can stand it in is Pet Sematary, since it's the catalyst for the whole plot. Also it's an accidental death and not human cruelty which is less of a trigger for me. Much less serious, but I always roll my eyes whenever I hear the "jump scare violin" 🙄I really like hashbrowns though!🥔

@filmfangirls9163

4 ай бұрын

Agreed!

@mistabook

4 ай бұрын

I thought The Babadook earned its pet death scene. It was painful and infuriating, but done for reasons other than cheap shock and plot exposition

dog being an exception to the rule in horror movies: When Evil Lurks.

@gavvo-7640

4 ай бұрын

EXACTLY what i thought too :)

@_SunscreenQueen_

4 ай бұрын

I love this movie omg. Truly thé definition of a disturbing and well made horror

@Alesae132

4 ай бұрын

That dog was a very important part of the film, though.

@doctajuice

4 ай бұрын

The dog being the aggressor rather than the victim is what makes it work so well. Takes the tired trope and flips it upside down

@BjornV1994

4 ай бұрын

I would argue Pet Sematary is also an exception as the cat dying is plot-crucial.

I have 2 tropes that make me crazy. 1. Zombies sneaking up on people. There are 2 types of Zombies, slow and fast. The slow ones growl, hiss and make disgusting noises. The fast ones very often scream or make a high pitched noise. But in every Zombie movie there is a scene where someone looks around and the coast is clear, only to turn back in the other direction and there is a Zombie standing face to face with them. Zombies arent sneaking up on anyone. 2. People acting casually about something that should send them screaming and running away. A perfect example is the beginning of "Lights out". The lady is walking through the facility and the lights are flickering. When she gets to the office area she sees some sort of scary figure in the doorway when the light is off. When she turns it on the figure diasappears. Then every time she turns it off the figure gets closer. So she just stands there flicking the light switch until shes killed. Any sane person would have seen that creepy figure and taken off like a shot!! I do have 1 Yum. When a movie gets the feeling of isolation right. 30 days of night is a good example. Movies that show the characters stranded alone out in the desert/forest/ocean are my favorites.

@ccsx222

4 ай бұрын

Can you recommend some good movies about being stranded ??

I do love the earlier jump scare! It's like saying "put down your phone and watch the movie" lol I'm kinda sick of SA scenes and SA revenge storylines though. I could totally do without all that at this point.

@bayoumuddah

4 ай бұрын

I agree I'm tired of those. They are all the same

@BMovieTheater

4 ай бұрын

@@bayoumuddah I know right! It just makes the movie uncomfortable and not in a fun way. It's not need to be entertaining.

@Xehanort10

4 ай бұрын

Especially when rape's just used to make a film seem edgy or to lazily try and make a villain seem more evil.

@BMovieTheater

4 ай бұрын

@@Xehanort10 Ya it's not needed, they can do better.

I'm starting to get fed up with close-ups of chopping vegetables. It's been coming up in a lot of the movies I've watched lately and it's almost always played the same way. It's the new "putting your hand in the garbage disposal."

Thank you for mentioning pet deaths right out of the gate! I'd love it if this stopped, too. Great video!

What i hate the most is when there is a sex scene in a horror movie and it doesn't matter to the story at all, hopefully that trope will die down, and i don't like the fake out jump scares they just don't work as well anymore.

@goodchildmusic0

4 ай бұрын

Don't knock titties and great abs. We want our horror and to get our jollies off :D No. Seriously. I agree with your statement.

@thehitherto5348

4 ай бұрын

There's far less sex in today's horror compared to the fanservice'esque style of the eighties/nineties (especially in slashers), although you could possibly link those scenes to the "sexually active people die first" trope.

@HECTORMONTALVO-le9cn

4 ай бұрын

From Cameron Mitchell in Terror On Tape:"of course no horror movie is complete without beautiful women...especially if they got no clothes on..."🤔

@MadGeorgeProductions

4 ай бұрын

What sex scenes? Cinema is completely sexless these days. We need MORE. Titillation is fine.

@Corn_Pone_Flicks

4 ай бұрын

@@MadGeorgeProductionsThe only time you really see it is in arthouse type films. Mainstream horror left it behind a long time ago. From what I hear, the younger generations have left it behind, too, so that may be why.

08:05 Right!? Like the infamous subway scene in Possession 1981... a performance that is beyond harrowing to look at. Pure hysterical manic spiralling rage. Also, a HUGE part of the mystery of possession is whether it's a neurological disorder or actually 'paranormal' or something in between (and that's real life and the movies). Believe it or not, a Grand Mal/Clonic Seizure is one of the weirdest and most unnatural and scary things you can witness in real life (said with all empathy for the sufferer) - so why trope it up with make-up CGI and dodgy pageantry..?

@darlalathan6143

4 ай бұрын

Probably to distinguish spirit possessions from Grand Mal/Clonic Seizures! If the patient's eyes glow red and they levitate 4 feet and cuss the priest out in Latin, that's possession!

Absolutely takes me out when a Found Footage film suddenly features shots that could not POSSIBLY be filmed on the device they're claiming it was filmed on (maybe that's just me?) Also, there's a right way, and a wrong way to use Show Don't Tell via darkness: a good example of not being able to see I would say is Skinamarink, where its hard to see, but there's that childlike fear of the dark. A bad one, again just my opinion, is The Outwaters. Straight up could not see what was happening for over 60% of the film because it was just a tiny pinhole light.

That "show the beginning of the third act, then flashback to ___ time earlier" isn't just in horror, but I HATE IT wherever it's used. The 2003 TMNT cartoon started every episode like that, I just got into fast-forwarding to the theme song after a few episodes, and I not only didn't miss anything, it preserved the surprise & tension when it finally arrived naturally.

About the pets as props, it happens even more with cats. They're also used as props, and not only in horror films. It's so lazy, as you said. A not horror example is the film Argylle... Geez, the most rubbish film I've seen this year. The way they treat that cat makes me realise why they used such a horrible CGI... But I swear media likes to perpetuate the hate and miss treatment towards cats any chance they get.

@reallymadnomad7330

4 ай бұрын

I hate it when you just know that the cat has been mistreated to get the scared/angry response.

SOOO true about the dog part. I hate that I knew immediately what was about to happen when I saw a dog in a horror movie, and I hate that I was always right. it may have something to do with how I'm very sensitive when it comes to animal death or animal cruelty even if it's just in a movie. but yeah it got too predictable at this point.

@garynaccarato4606

3 ай бұрын

The first children of the corn movie is an example of where a dog gets killed however what also kills me about that movie is when the main character gets stabbed right in the middle of the chest with a knife pulls the knife out of his chest and then continues to run around for what seems like a long period of time in the movie even after getting stabbed.Granted you don't typically drop dead instantly right after getting stabbed in most situations and granted he might have got his wound tended to after getting stabbed but realistically he definitely would have been dead and I definitely don't think that a couple of random young children who stock piled medical supplies even if they've read medical and surgical books alot would have been able to save someone from a stab wound like that and then it seems like the guy just starts running around as if it never even happend.Plot armor so thick that you can easily shrug off a stab wound square through the chest as if it was absolutely nothing is in my opinion absolutely f**king hilarious

i actually prefer it when texts and stuff like articles etc are shown on the screen instead of in any other way

@SA-hz1rs

4 ай бұрын

agreed! Texts can make things more suspenseful honestly. Like with scream. You dont know whos really texting, you cant see them, its great for horror

A cheap trope I find is only used for shock value is naked elderly woman. There are films in which I can ignore it because the movie is so good, like Hereditary, but it's something that absolutely never adds anything to the plot. It doesn't make the movie better or scarier at all.

Regarding the pets dying trope, that's one of things I liked about Thanksgiving, even if it was a small scene.

@Julia-sleeps

4 ай бұрын

I was also thinking about this!! When I saw it, the whole theater cheered lol

@simplythebestgirl

4 ай бұрын

Does it die? I haven't seen it yet.

@filmfangirls9163

4 ай бұрын

Yeah that made me laugh lol

Yes to the Yums list

A trope that I don't necessarily hate, but I find silly and usually makes me laugh now, is the person who belatedly realizes that they were killed... like their head gets cut off or they're cut in half AND THEN you see their facial expression change. SO EXTREME 😆

@spookyastronauts

4 ай бұрын

Hahaha

I hate fake jump scares! Usually are always cats lol

@main9613

4 ай бұрын

Cats and trucks/cars😂

@geraldmartin7703

4 ай бұрын

I'd like to see a compilation of cat jump startles.

@matthewmilner3639

4 ай бұрын

I think it's fair enough with cats. They spend their lives pushing objects off shelves and jumping from curtains onto grandma's shoulders.

@AC-dk4fp

2 ай бұрын

@@main9613 Probably entirely the fault of a 2000s era genre retrospective documentary that mentioned the movie Cat People having popularised the 'bus scare'.

1) Establishing the leads as partying college kids on a break - I never warmed to that even when I was in college and when I see it in 2000's horror movies I'm like "Okay I hate this, when's the monster coming?" It's clearly just there to have them be little idiots motivated by sex and alcohol and nothing endears me to these characters. Wolf Creek fares the best but that's because the annoying stuff is actually toned down. 2) This is a weird one but walking or turning around slowly - especially after the danger is established. It's clearly there to add more suspense but there are ways of doing that without sacrificing the character's very clear need for urgency. It shatters the immersion for me. 3) Jump scares aren't the problem, what is is the loud noise that accompanies them that is not in the diegesis of the film. The more a horror movie has them the more that it feels like the people making them don't have faith in what they're using to startle people. Honorable mention to when a horror movie is nothing BUT jump scares because it becomes expectation rather than startling and that ruins what jump scares actually do.

YES! I am so glad to hear you talking about pet deaths in horror media. I remember being a young teen and my father had rented I Am Legend for the family to watch. When the scene came up where Will Smith has to kill Sam because she's been infected by the zombie virus, I got so upset, I refused to watch the rest of the film. My father got pissed off, said I was "ruining family time" by "being a pu$$y". I will never forget his intense reaction to my hyper empathy and my love of animals. It's how he always was, vocally and emotionally abusive. One of my worst movie going experiences was going to see Smile with my cousins. When THAT scene comes up (if you know, you know), it took me right out of the movie and upset me so much, I had to leave the theater because I was having a panic attack. When my cousin found out why I was in the lobby drinking a Coke and trying to calm down, he got upset at the film makers on my behalf. Then he found out what animated movies were playing and bought us both tickets to the next showing. It was so different from my father's reaction and made me feel seen, understood and above all else, loved. That's one of the myriad of reasons why The Lost Boys is one of my favorite horror movies of all time and one of my favorite movies period. There's a moment at the end when one of the main characters' dog, Nanook, has been left outside and the vampires are beginning to lay siege on the house. His young owner Sam races outside in an attempt to save his beloved pet and he does! With a lesser writer, the vampires would have killed Nanook to show the escalation of the stakes, but that's not what happens. Nanook survives the movie and even saves two of the characters from one of the invading vampires. I was so relieved when I first saw the film at 13, relieved that Nanook wasn't even so much as scratched, let alone killed.

@garynaccarato4606

3 ай бұрын

I think part of why the dog was killed off in that movie was because of the fact that the movie was trying to highlight the effects of isolation and how it kind of screws with people and how even loosing something such as a dog for such an isolated individual can sort of screw with them even further and I think it was also meant to further highlight the idea of being isolated alone and the effects it can have.Unlike in some other movies I don't think that the dogs death was simply a manner of "Oh my God,holy shit they've just killed a dog."As for the dog death in the first Children of the Corn that was just more so trying to shock the audience and sort of say "Oh my God!These people are such fucking nut cases that they've just killed a dog."

@LokiMartin

3 ай бұрын

@@garynaccarato4606 Thank you so much for this comment. It gave me insight that I never would have thought of. Like I said, animal lover and hyper empath here, I thought the film makers were just using the trope of the animal death because its a horror movie and since it first appears as if Robert truly is the last human, who are you going to kill to make the audience feel something? That's right, kill the beloved pet. You have given me food for thought to chew over and I thank you for that.

@Wright805

27 күн бұрын

You have my sympathies. My own father was like that.

@user-sy4vf8yn1n

22 күн бұрын

You really need help if you get all screwed-up when they fake killing animals in a movie. It's only a movie. Only a movie. ...a movie. ...a movie.

@LokiMartin

22 күн бұрын

@@user-sy4vf8yn1n No, you really need help for saying things like that to strangers on the internet. Everyone has things that affect them. Of course, you're probably one of those people who feel no control in their everyday life so you like to bully people on the internet.

I personally hate the car accident at the beginning of a movie. For me that's lazy writing. Love this video btw.

Thank you for mentioning text messages. Social media has rendered modern horror and thrillers pointless. That's why I prefer vintage horror (Hammers, 60s Italian gothic, 70s giallo). iPhones have taken away the sense of vulnerability.

@thebeatles114

4 ай бұрын

Oh my god you are so right... movies to me are a form of escapism, mobile phones are a reminder of reality therefore I'm not a massive fan of movies where the characters even use them.

@Chaso-1124

4 ай бұрын

And often times the characters in those type of movies are just annoying or awful people

@thebeatles114

4 ай бұрын

@@Chaso-1124 Yes, yes, yes!

@garynaccarato4606

3 ай бұрын

For me the text being put on the side of the screen sort of makes it so that I do not even care about what is even being said in the text in the first place and it also sort of makes me not even care about what's actually going on during the scene while it is happening.

An ick of mine are characters that talk about sex all of the time. Pretty common in the slasher genre. Especially if they're played by an actor who looks nothing like a high schooler. 😅

Conjuring is my favorite horror movie but I hate the dog death. I named my dog after a dog from a book that survived the apocalypse then fought off wolves. I love when media make animals badass

The exorcism of emily rose scene of her contorted body was such a jump scare! Really shows how much scarier it can be without special effects. Now I want to watch that movie 😂

I think the "teaser" opening is something that carried over from books. Since you don't have trailers for books and they take much longer to consume than a movie, authors sometimes choose to have a prologue that acts like a promise to the reader saying "stick with the story and you're going to get to a place where all this cool stuff is happening and it'll make sense!" Obviously it doesn't make as much sense mechanically in a movie, but I wonder if it started in books and just became a storytelling trope regardless of medium over time.

Although not as prevalent anymore I always hated the giant mouth phase movies went through, the CGI mouths that are way too big when a person ( usually possessed ) screams or roars.

Definitely want a list of positives to go with this video

I'm right with you regarding all the needless pet deaths. All those spooky, psychic-power nosebleeds need to stop too.

This isn’t exclusive to horror, but my biggest one is lengthy exposition delivered in dialogue or monologues that is provided based on the assumption that the audience is too dumb to figure out anything for themselves. Like I don’t need the entire plot explained for me like I’m 5 😭

I'm with you on most of these. A few "icks" for me are the "bully" character. The throw away character that's just there to be mean to a main character. That's it. That's all they do. Also, False Tension, caused by characters fighting over stupid things, that either don't matter at all, or don't move the plot forward. And something that happened with Smile. Explaining plot points, or monster rules multiple times throughout the movie. I'm mean we get it, we know what's happening, let's do something about it. And finally, hashbrowns

1- Comic relief; 2- Comic relief; 3- Kennys; 4- scenes of abuse done only for shock value; 5- Comic relief.

my biggest tick in horror movies is people who are self aware but still do dumb stuff thats why i dont like scream they talk about how to avoid horror conflict but they do the opposite and still get killed

Excessive flashbacks drive me crazy. Also, info-dumping all the relevant backstory/world building/character motivation in a conversation.

Amen to the pet deaths issue. Nothing ruins the enjoyment of a film quite like something that reminds me of some of the worst experiences in my life. I would have really enjoyed The Lodge if not for that dog scene, which just left me depressed for days. If I want to be depressed, I'll think about my job. The other big thumbs-up for me is the text issue. I watched a few episodes of Euphoria before deciding it just wasn't for me, and one thing that put me off was an entire conversation done as onscreen text...in other words, done with no acting whatsoever. It's tedious and boring...I don't care if it's realistic. What's the deal with the hashbrowns, anyway?

One effect that always takes me out of the story is fake blood that looks fake. The blood looks like house paint. This happens the most in horror movies from the 1970s and earlier. If I see a trailer that shows bad fake blood, I won't see the movie.

I love that you put in the exceptions too. I agree about the teaser at the start of movies period it might be different for books because you can just put the book down if it takes too long to get into period but with the movie, I don't think the length of time is as much to invest and if you're in a theater, yes, you probably paid, so you're pretty invested. It's so funny that you don't like the text on screen- for some reason I actually like. I don't know why. I definitely want the positives!

@matthewmilner3639

4 ай бұрын

Yes I like the text one too because it makes it much more readable and there are no better alternatives. It's similar to someone receiving letter and the viewers hearing the contents read by the writer of the letter. This works well unless the writer is in the same room as the reader. But texts have bad grammar, acronyms, abbreviations, emoticons etc so this option wouldn't work well (wherever the writer of the text is).

When the main character gets a knock on the door in the middle of the afternoon and they walk slowly and nervously towards the door, even though there's no reason to suspect that the person knocking on the door is a serial killer.

On par with pet death for me is ‘occasional pet’ the dog is such an ingrained family member but then things start getting wild and the dog is never seen or heard from again. Like Will’s dog in Stranger Things. Because Will had a dog, occasionally, in Stranger Things. The kids from Mama, they occasionally had a dachshund. Why even bother?

@user-lv6mu8er9z

4 ай бұрын

This made me think of the first Mad Max and Max's very ephemeral infant child

You soooo nailed it!! I was completely thinking of Insidious when you were talking about texting lol and The pope's exorcist when you talked about CGI possession

my least favorite horror trope is probably "person kills who they think it's the killer but it ends up being their friend/ally/boyfriend etc"

I agree with the things mentioned. I too do not like my immersion interupted. ❤ your channel. Lets see the positives now.😊

The opening teaser thing oh man! I just rewatched House of Sand and Fog, forgot that’s exactly how it opens. I know that it isn’t a horror movie but drove me nuts haha. Great video as always! 🤘🏻

I too hate the "dog dies first" cliche. Or cat. Or any animal. And I hate horror movies that start at the end.

You're such a positive person that i feel like the normal videos are everything you love to see in a horror movie. But it's so fun to see you let out this tiny bit of negativity and complain a little, while still being so nice about it, haha! I say do more of these! Everyone loves when someone is a bit out of character

@pariahred13

4 ай бұрын

@@poopy_barbie but she is so super sweet and bright with him. She even brings him an extra piece of bread every year on his birthday!

I'm so happy to see you Emma! I hope you're doing well

im soooo with you on the text massages on screen! takes me out every time!

My biggest ick is when the monster acts stupid or inconsistent out of nowhere or at random times. An example I mean is in the movie "Grave Dancers" when the ghosts present themselves, at first the ghost of the woman with the hatchet is going fast trying to attack a guy, then when the people are together pulling the guy away, the ghost is suddenly floating slowly while dragging her foot on the ground.....as though she weren't going fast just moments ago....and she's supposed to be a restless, vengeful spirit.....What? Did she get tired and decide to take a break while still pursuing her victims???....This RESTLESS VENGEFUL SPIRIT??? These kind of inconsistent choices can be exceptional for maybe something like a zombie who just rose from the dead and is still kind of confused and groggy while in the middle of focusing on catching a victim, but if let's say a monster is supposed to be a skilled hunting predator that can hide well, then make sure the monster is not doing actions that would contradict it's character like popping out in jump scares!

Oh goodness the 'Welcome To Your Possession SPFX Pack' good gawdz. Elements of it were effective early on, but it's like they just squished them all together and it became standardized. My least favorite element is the huge mouth thing, who's only saving grace is that it's become hilarious, but that's not good for the movie. My sense of it is that there are two ways to try to make images in horror; one being looking at the situation and story and with that in mind, figure out what you can do to ratchet up the tension or freak people out (while avoiding things that are too familiar). The other is to have some kind of list of known ways to make something scary, and lean on them and work them in where you can. The second is assembly line, the first is art.

Evil Lurks dog moment was on point

Things I hate in movies. The fake out jump scare to give into the real jump scare. Or when somebody grabs somebody from behind. Also dream sequences can be a bit boring.

Agree completely about perspective suddenly changing to found footage… But I love it when someone comes across footage or audio in a horror movie

When the protagonists run over an animal on their way to the main horror destination. It's a played out unimaginative horror beat that's supposed to be foreboding. It was old before Get Out did it.

Great video, thank you for the hashbrowns! Did you ever watch Personal Shopper? It’s not really a horror movie but it has a sequence near the end of the film where it feels like… 20 minutes of the main character texting someone with no dialogue in between. It’s crazy. It’s probably not that long but it FEELS that long

@Fueledbychapstick

3 ай бұрын

Ok since watching this vid I watched Escape Room and it did that thing where the opening happens later in the movie 😭 It wasn’t terrible but felt pointless to me

I'm seeing Late Night with the Devil Friday. I can't wait! Looking forward to a spookyastronauts review in the future.

I like the climax of a film to be shown at the end , not the beginning of the film !

@gavvo-7640

4 ай бұрын

Except for maybe "Irreversible"?

I loved how hybrid found footage was used in AHS: Roanoke. They managed to make it incredibly immersive and suspenseful for the most part and I really enjoyed how it was a meta commentary on social media in itself.

Major horror pet peeves, especially in slashers: people throwing weapons away for no reason after using them once. Also, running away after getting a real advantage over the antagonist.

One of my biggest icks is the twisted childhood song used in the trailers and the possessed kid trope. Hate it. I also agree with pretty much everyone else's; especially the mental illness exploitation too. 'Oh, the main character was the villain the whole time and didn't know it'. I'm getting more and more sick of jumpscares also. I appreciate when movies can make something super creepy and scary without relying on the loud noise and the pop up faces. Thanks for making this video and starting this dialogue! Horror movies are my favorite, and I hope we get more creative and inventive with them down the road!

Great video! I agree with you and would LOVE to see a positive video! I agree with the teaser pre-credit scenes being annoying and lazy. It seems most studios demand it to keep audiences in their seats since people have short attention spans. Five Nights and Freddies didn't need the teaser scene showing what happened to the previous guard at the restaurant, because the film then attempts to build up to the reveal afterwards and becomes a dull film since you already know what's going to be revealed. Sometimes a pre-credit/title scene that's just a cheap scare can be fun and set an ominous mood. But it's so overdone today it's annoying as hell and should not be mandatory for every film released today.

I would love to see the 'yums' 😆 discussion!

My pet peeve is the type of fast paced kinetic editing that was in the early Saw movies. Instantly makes me want to turn the movie

Giant insects or spiders always make the same high pitched screeching noise. Sure, it sounds scary, but why should bugs have vocal cords?

@spookyastronauts

4 ай бұрын

Haha I love spiders and bugs!

@metamorphicblood

4 ай бұрын

@@spookyastronauts Me too. But I’d probably have them make weird clicking, rattling, or hissing sounds, instead of screaming like Xenomorphs like they do in so many movies, haha.

@Wright805

27 күн бұрын

@@metamorphicblood Agreed. Clicking or rattling sounds would be a much better fit.

Icks: Scary little girl- It was cool when it started and now we can stop; Person who refuses to turn the lights on in their own house when investigating the creepy sound; Long exposition scenes to explain all the evil happening, especially when told by a character that is soon to die or never be seen again.

I'm curious to see the ´green flags´ list👀

I would have never expected to see Supernatural. 😂😂 But yes, sometimes it looks like the eyes got added with good old paint.

You hit them all SPOT ON!

I totes agree on the possession one, the over the top CGI in these movies is hilarious. The Last Exorcism is a good example of it being done well, I met the actress at London Frightfest and she did all the contortionions in front of us 😊 Great vid SA

I love the opening teasers for well known threats like Evil Dead, Friday 13th, movies where I'm looking for some creepy showcase moments. I understand how it messes up plot flow though

I can smell an exposition dump a mile away so the second the dialogue takes an unnatural turn to throw facts at me I get side-eyed AF.

Great review 😊

i comment here because i dont know how else to recommend you a movie named: In the Earth 2021(mystery,horror) This movie made me anxious and i liked it very much!!

I agree with everything you mentioned! I would love to see a list of things you love too!

Hear you regarding text messages on the screen in horror movies, Emma. One of the reasons I hated The Shallows. It felt so cheap, gimmicky distracting and completely unnecessary. 🤨

It is so incredible, we share some of the same turn offs, like the black eyes ( I don't find them scary) and starting off a movie with a teaser. I would add starting a movie with a flashback/teaser. Some directors know how to do it. Like Mario Bava (Black Sunday) or Sam Raimi (Drag me to hell), but most fall on their faces. I don't like the intro in the Evil dead remake for instance. Or anything that starts with a ritual or period setting.

Totally agree with "teaser opening" hate. Why do I want to know how it's going to end at the BEGINNING ?

Similar to the pets, to me it's cute children, when they have a bunch of scenes of the kid being nice and friendly to everyone, you know they're gonna get brutally killed or tortured, specially with french extreme movies or any extreme horror movie in general.

please give us the positives too! I would love to watch that :D