I will be honest and say I am not a fan of old movies. Those movies were made with people’s preferences in mind at that moment. It was also limited by the technology so there were no voice overs or color. it just personally detracts from the experience. But the movie was not that bad as I watched it. It was a little slow at first until I saw the carriage driver who took Hutter to where he was going. That guy was the definition of creepy. It also turns out he is the Count Orlok.
Count Orlok was a welcome change from the twilight style vampires I have been saying recently. I mean I am not an expert but I think vampires are supposed to be scary. No matter what you do, if the vampire looks like he wears more make up than most girls, he is not scary. He will forever be a pretty boy.
I think this has become a pattern in movies. There are less ugly or scary people than there were earlier. Villians, vampires, other monsters are becoming more chiseled with washboard abs and great skin. I think it is a bad direction to move towards because then scary movies will lose a major topic or character because if more vampires come out looking like the vampires form twilight, vampires would not be taken seriously.
I would certainly be terrified if I saw Count Orlok at my door. But the problem is I know I never will, which is why modern horror movies do not scare me either. I went to see The Conjuring but I just wound up laughing through most of the film because I have this thought in the back of my mind that I am watching a movie and the events of the movie do not happen in real life.
Overall I slightly enjoyed the movie. It made use of what it had and that is commendable. I also respected how it used real horror instead of bone chilling special effects, highly realistic sound, or surprises to scare the viewer. It uses a person’s mind against them when scaring them.
Also, as a long time fan of spongebob, I have to reference that time Count Orlok made an appearance. This was actually the first thing that came to mind when hearing about this movie.
I wholeheartedly agree that the limitations of technology in old films are what put modern viewers off from entirely enjoying the experience. Even with the most open-minded audience, there will always be the knowledge of how films like Nosferatu could have been improved upon with the skills we have available today. And, if one isn’t so critically inclined to think so, then their perspective of the film is marred by the few accomplishments of special effects that the director was able to add. They become overly accepting of the limitations in old movies without considering the holes such limitations leave in story-telling.
What you say about laughing at The Conjuring brings to mind the idea of suspending reality. It seems to be true for you that reality diminishes your ability to be scared. As someone who would probably hide beyond her hands for that movie, I think initially I would be really jealous of that ability. However, I certainly don’t watch scary movies because I’m resistant to unrealistic scenarios. I deliberately watch them to be frightened.
I really like your insight about the fact that the villains in the movie come out as visually more attractive than they should be. As a result, people tend to have more sympathy towards them instead of hatred! How ironic. I also agree that reality is the key when it comes to horror movies. No matter how creepy, frustrating the scenes can be, if we are absolutely positive that such will never happen in our lives, the level of horror will diminish. But I believe it depends on your imagination as well. If you believe in ghosts or supernatural incidents, the films will come more believable and therefore, more realistic to you.