This is a question I ask myself regularly, genuinely seeking answers to this very important question. As someone passionate about well-told horror stories, I am constantly searching for quality work to devour and enjoy. Unfortunately, much of what is served up under the "horror" heading these days leaves much to be desired.
Gone, it seems, are the days when a well-crafted horror film, entwined and enhanced with a classic romance between monster and mortal or two unfortunate souls trying to escape the monster, so they can be together, enthralled audiences. It can be a dismal scene at times for horror aficionados, which crave good cinema. Too often, it appears, contemporary film-maker's sacrifice quality for flash that amounts to little more than cheap laughs, the occasional scare and a predictable, cliche romance.
There was a time when "Frankenstein"," King Kong", and "The Wolfman" were what people thought of when they thought of horror films: quality productions with a tight, interesting script that created a seamless blend of horrific thrill and romance. If someone uttered the words Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, or Vincent Price you would shutter in fear. They combined the best of both genres, culminating in a deeply satisfying, entertaining end product.
Today, we have films like "Twilight, Red Riding Hood, and Beastly" which do more to disparage and bring about the genre's demise than take it back to its glory days. But "Twilight" is all about the horror and the romance? One might, and should argue. The entire story chronicles the protagonist Bella Swan as she cheats death by way of a vampire bite, so she can be with her true love, who also happens to be a vampire. Nevertheless, the poorly developed characters and the thin plot, mottled with warped professions of love and half-baked action scenes, simply cannot be compared to the masterpieces of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells and others that once entertained the masses.
I make this lament not to sound like a curmudgeonly old-timer that longs for the good old days. I make it because entire generations are growing up thinking that cheese ball horror, shallow romance and sloppy scripts are what make an enjoyable horror film. As full disclosure, I should probably add that I am not simply a passive observer of this travesty. I am fully invested in it. I have chosen my side and am digging in my heels. I am a novelist who writes in the genre, who lives and breathes these stories and wants to bring back an appreciation for classic film and storytelling with passion.
The same can be said for novels in this genre. These days, readers are hard-pressed to find a truly well-crafted tale of horror and drama. What happened to the days of masterful writers such as H.G. Wells, who spun thrilling, thought-provoking tales that leave the reader always wanting more, but always full of things to think about while waiting for the next masterpiece? Think about "The Invisible Man," the story of a brilliant man tortured by his own genius when he makes himself disappear. Or "The Time Machine," "War of the Worlds," any of Wells' work.
I can only hope that the horror and romance genres will reemerge from the slump they seem to be in, and that film lovers and those who appreciate the good storytelling will once again have masterpieces from which we might feast.
Matthew DiConti
Author
Moorpark, CA
http://www.matthewdiconti.com/
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