Horror / Sci-Fi audience intersection?
- Thread starter Jimi King
- Start date
What is it you're trying to achieve?
I consider myself a horror fan. I don't really consider myself a sci-fi fan. But Alien is one of my favourite films. As is Planet of the Apes (as well as Rise...). I'm not really into Star Wars or Star Trek, although I thought the new JJ Abrams films were good.
I think it's difficult to say how much the over lap is. It's also difficult to define a "sci-fi fan". Am I a sci-fi fan? It's a difficult one.
I consider myself a horror fan. I don't really consider myself a sci-fi fan. But Alien is one of my favourite films. As is Planet of the Apes (as well as Rise...). I'm not really into Star Wars or Star Trek, although I thought the new JJ Abrams films were good.
I think it's difficult to say how much the over lap is. It's also difficult to define a "sci-fi fan". Am I a sci-fi fan? It's a difficult one.
All genres can have a mixture of other genres within it. Alien is a sci-fi film in the sense that it is set in space, in a future time period, with an android on board the ship and an Alien. It is a horror film too because people get killed off, there's moments of suspense and terror. John Carpenter's The Thing is a sci-fi horror as well because it deals with an alien being we haven't encountered before. Species is in this category as well.
A pure sci-fi film without horror would be something like The Day the Earth Stood Still (1950) where it deals with an alien being but there are no horrific scenes of violence and bloodshed, or moments of terror.
A pure horror without sci-fi elements would be Friday the 13th as it is set on Earth in a certain time period and the technology isn't advanced in any way.
I like movies that have combinations of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, comedy, action and thriller and I also like movies that concentrate on one of those genres on its own.
A pure sci-fi film without horror would be something like The Day the Earth Stood Still (1950) where it deals with an alien being but there are no horrific scenes of violence and bloodshed, or moments of terror.
A pure horror without sci-fi elements would be Friday the 13th as it is set on Earth in a certain time period and the technology isn't advanced in any way.
I like movies that have combinations of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, adventure, comedy, action and thriller and I also like movies that concentrate on one of those genres on its own.
This thread should have been set up as a poll question. It would be cool to see how people on the forum lean. I like horror and I like sci-fi, but horror and sci-fi together, I love!
It is my opinion that sci-fi is more story and fantastical setting oriented, while horror is often more about the suspense, dread , horrific moments about an incident or character. This is why I really like the combination of the two genres - I get my thrills and a story to go with it.
I would use a lot of slasher movies as an example of formula over story - kids have sex and get killed and the "good" character defeats the evil. This is not true of all horror, but it is a genre that can get away from tradition, because it is so visceral.
It is my opinion that sci-fi is more story and fantastical setting oriented, while horror is often more about the suspense, dread , horrific moments about an incident or character. This is why I really like the combination of the two genres - I get my thrills and a story to go with it.
I would use a lot of slasher movies as an example of formula over story - kids have sex and get killed and the "good" character defeats the evil. This is not true of all horror, but it is a genre that can get away from tradition, because it is so visceral.
Horror and Sci-fi do complement one another quite well. Both can deal with fear of the unknown, fear of our bodies being invaded or attacked in some way, our own technology killing us and many other things.
Slasher films are heavy on formula over story. The same can also be said for other sub-genres of horror like supernatural films where you have a ghost or some kind of ethereal presence that is always lurking somewhere in a certain location and you know that characters are going to think they have heard something, go to investigate, find that it's just some animal or other non-threatening thing and they jump out of their skin but as soon as they do they turn around and come face to face with what they were afraid of encountering in the first place, and then die.
Not all of those though are poorly made. Films like The Changeling (George C Scott) is interesting because of the way in which events unfold. It's more like a mystery with the main character trying to figure out why the ghost or ghosts are haunting the place. I guess you could put Stir of Echoes and it's sequel in that category too - both main characters are trying to get to the bottom of all the supernatural events they are experiencing. There's also Session 9, which is more like a slasher film in a way but it's done like a ghost picture. It's more of a psychological horror, a sub-genre that has become my favorite in recent years. I actually prefer these horror movies now. Not that I don't like others of course but psychological horror films are more effective for me.
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