High-Brow Horror (oxymoron or reality?)

[GRAEME]

Lots of great films being mentioned - Night of the Demon, especially and the Val Lewton ones.



But the thread started by asking about "high-brow" horror.



Surely that doesn't just mean "good" or even "intelligent". It's about trying to appeal to a different kind of audience - indeed I think it is about excluding the mainstream.



There are some examples of this - and I would argue they are generally bad movies.



Night of the Demon is an intelligent film, but very much a mainstream piece of cinema.

[batman]

name='GRAEME']Lots of great films being mentioned - Night of the Demon, especially and the Val Lewton ones.



But the thread started by asking about "high-brow" horror.



Surely that doesn't just mean "good" or even "intelligent". It's about trying to appeal to a different kind of audience - indeed I think it is about excluding the mainstream.



There are some examples of this - and I would argue they are generally bad movies.



Night of the Demon is an intelligent film, but very much a mainstream piece of cinema.

That's a good point Graeme. I agree about NOTD but I think Lewton, particularly with The Seventh Victim, sometimes attempted to find that 'different' audience.

[GRAEME]

name='batman']That's a good point Graeme. I agree about NOTD but I think Lewton, particularly with The Seventh Victim, sometimes attempted to find that 'different' audience.

I don't know The Seventh Victim. But I know what you mean with Lewton. They are certainly different - but you don't have to be "high-brow" to enjoy them.



The films can be read on many levels and certainly one level is highly cerebral - an intelligent viewer can get a great deal more from these movies.



However, I would argue that films like Cat People, for example, do not gain this intellectual audience at the expence of the mainstream. I don't think they are trying to be obnoxiously arty - just get something a little different into the film under the cover of a mainstream popular entertainment.



To be properly "high-brow" I think the piece would have to be aimed at an elite audience and would be hard to enjoy without comprehension.



For me Roeg often stumbles into this territory, which is why I find it hard to like his films - even whilst acknowledging his astonishing skills.



I think great movies can be intelligent and artistic without being exclusively the preserve of "high-brow" audiences.

[batman]

I'd agree with that. IMHO Lewton was trying to take 'horror' away from 'monster on the loose' territory into an area where the intellectual, and not just the visceral, came into play. As he was working within the studio system he had to make allowances for the 'entertainment' factor which was required. It would have been interesting if he had been allowed a 'free hand' 'cos I reckon he would have come up with some even more interesting ideas. Re Roeg, I find his films difficult but, like the films of his old mate Donald Cammell, they can be quite rewarding if you stick with them.



ps - I highly recommend The Seventh Victim

[wadsy]

One of the best films to scare without resorting to cheap thrills was



"The Uninvited 1944. A very intellectual horror film!

[CaptainWaggett]

I managed to avoid spoilers for both The Others and The Sixth Sense and they kept me intrigued right until the end.

[batman]

name='wadsy']One of the best films to scare without resorting to cheap thrills was



"The Uninvited 1944. A very intellectual horror film!

I have just bought a copy of that .... I have not seen it before and am looking forward to watching it.

[CaptainWaggett]

name='batman']I have just bought a copy of that .... I have not seen it before and am looking forward to watching it.

It's a shame Dodie Smith didn't complete any other screenplays during her Hollywood stint because it's excellent.