Why Horror Scares Hollywood

Ghosts and gore aren’t big box office draws these days. It’s been years since the $200 million grosses of “The Sixth Sense,” “Jaws” and “The Exorcist.”

Hollywood has taken notice.

Rather than putting their faith in original concepts or actually scary movies, mainstream Halloween weekend releases have tended toward low-budget subgenre films.

Torture-horror hit when the first “Saw” movie returned big on a modest budget.
Suddenly, “Hostel,” “Turistas” and other torture flicks were hitting screens.

Found-footage-horror took off in the mainstream with the surprise success of “Paranormal Activity,” which made $100 million off a $15,000 production budget.

These cheap movies get franchised and released around Halloween, when
casual moviegoers are expected to get their annual thrills.

This helps explain why “The Cabin In The Woods,” one of the best mainstream
American horror films in years, was quietly released in April.

The offbeat horror-comedy opened to $14 million, about half its estimated budget, in the blockbuster wake of “The Hunger Games.”

This Halloween’s “Paranormal Activity 4” had a production budget of $5 million and earned $30 million during its opening weekend.

You can probably expect another “Paranormal Activity” next Halloween. It’s a surefire win for the studios, something they can depend on until the next cheap horror sensation comes around.

The only original horror film in theaters right now is “Sinister,” a not-too-bad spin on found-footage, supernatural and slasher flicks.

It opened in third place with a meager $18 million and fell to sixth after the opening of “Paranormal Activity 4.”

By no means a classic, “Sinister” is still a cut above the lamely paced shock tactics of “Paranormal Activity.” Some of its better scenes even go somewhere new with serial killers.

But Halloween means horror remakes, retreads and sequels nowadays as much as it means pumpkins and trick-or-treating.

If cash cows like “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity” continue to capitalize on small budgets and cheap thrills, it’s unlikely the studios will pursue anything more creative or substantive.

The worst part is casual fans don’t know what they’re missing. They get their seasonal dose of scares and deny themselves the special experience of horror.

Don’t let Hollywood scare you away.

Horror movies are more than jump-scares, torture-porn and bad acting. They are more than Halloween novelties.

Horror movies are the blood and guts of genre filmmaking, where some of the boldest visuals make their mark and the best stories get told.

Instead of routine scares from “Paranormal Activity 4,” go for the character-fueled classics like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “Carrie” or the freaky-fun gore of “The Descent” and “An American Werewolf In London.”

There’s nothing to be afraid of.

By Patrick Beane