Postby Jason Toddman » Sun Jun 06, 2010 11:37 am
If you still want input after all this time, I think the scariest stories involve bad situations that could really happen. Everyone is likely to be feel fright for a well-told situation involving a serial killer/rapist or a terrorist on the loose, whereas everyone just laughs at Godzilla rampaging thru Tokyo (despite the fact that this SEEMS like an extremely horrific situation) just because it couldn't actually happen (well, that and the cheesy acting and cheesier plot and even cheesier still special effects). Monster movies tend not to be as frightening unless really well made and acted and treated seriously. But even then, substitute a crazed murderer for Alien and make the scene your own house instead of some starship out in space and the fear factor jumps enormously. The more likely it can happen, the scarier it will be, especially when the 'hero' is greatly overmatched by the 'villain' as in the standard armed robber TUG situation or is at least helpless/ vulnerable. Knowing the 'victim's thoughts and feeling their fears adds to the drama too if you're going for horror. The word you word a story is the most element of all. One person's telling of a murder can be scarier than another person's telling of the same event simply by the WAY they tell it. Mood and 'atmosphere' are important for any story meant to scare; that is partly why 'Alien' works and is in fact becoming a classic despite its many gaps of logic and its lack of immediate reality.
Dare to be different... and make a difference.
To boldly go where no one in their right mind has gone before...