By Grace Gavilanes, Columnist
Recall those earlier years of past Halloweens, back when parties and overtly sexual costumes were considered unappealing. After following through with the tradition of trick-or-treating with friends, your best friend's cool older sister would play tape after tape of horror films, which your parents would never approve of you watching, for you and your eagerly awaiting group of friends.
Staying up late with close friends watching Michael Myers, Jason, and Freddy Krueger inflict mayhem and wrath on innocent bystanders was what I considered a successful Halloween night back in the day. It's poignant to recall those nostalgic Halloween nights, back when innocence was a prominent virtue and horror movies were still worthwhile watching.
Horror movies today are definitely steering away from the classic horror movie genre most of us grew up obsessively watching and adoring. The suspense and thrill that was willingly offered by John Carpenter, director of the classic slasher flick "Halloween," has become a rare quality in present day films. Maybe I'm biased, but I have noticed a pattern among recent horror movies: most of these supposed nightmare-inducing films are not scary.
It seems as if directors' and producers' main concern is making a higher-than-average income on these overly hyped films, rather than making a lasting impact on moviegoers. This should not be entirely frowned upon. A higher salary should be expected after producing a high-budget horror film, nowadays.
My main worry, however, is how this goal is being executed. Unfortunately a higher budget means a divergence from the classic movie genre and the components that have made it so widely successful and accepted in the past.
This becomes apparent with the emergence of the 3-D experience that we have grown so accustomed to seeing advertised. It is nothing but a gimmick and a way to trick almost every demographic into buying an overly priced ticket to experience a supposed innovative experience. 3-D ultimately proves to be nothing more than several protruding objects annoyingly invading your personal space, while you, the loyal horror film buff, try to assemble the logic and relevance of pairing this 3-D experience with a weak plotline. As a duo, they do no justice for the horror movie genre. Audience members are not fully enveloped in the plotline of the movie, and rather solely focus on the amplified images emerging from the screen. This shows a shift from a genuine understanding and appreciation of horror films to a temporary feeling of fear after watching an over-glamorized version of a horror film. "My Bloody Valentine 3-D" uses this tactic and proves it to be successful, gaining a US gross income of over 51 million dollars. Compare this to the low-budget classic Halloween, yielding 47 million dollars. Not too far off, but, which movie is preferred and remembered?
So if you truly want to end your Halloween night on an extremely good note and watch a legitimately scary movie, then you might just have to ask your best friend's older sister if you can borrow her VHS tape of "Friday the 13th."