Brainstorming Ideas!

 


I’ve been thinking a LOT about different concepts for my film. As I said in my previous post, I’m very attached to the horror/thriller genre, and my mind is pretty much set on making my short film in said genre. This does give me problems, though: the general public’s expectations for a horror film are predictable if you watch it often enough- if you stick close to the mold, your film gets boring FAST, no matter how suspenseful you make it. Predictable jumpscares don’t work. Additionally, the genre itself is so expansive there are so many ways to go about making a horror film- but anything too far away from the mold is easily considered an “experimental” film (which wouldn’t be too much of a problem, if it wasn’t for the fact I need a somewhat stable genre to be properly assessed by graders.)

Despite this, though, I enjoy the versatility of the genre- you really don’t need a high budget to creep people out. One of my favorite examples of this comes from the movie “Creep.” The film, to me, screams “achievable on a low budget,” and I was OBSESSED with the film for weeks after I saw it. There are no crazy special effects, no people crawling on ceilings or ugly CGI monsters- instead, they utilize the viewer’s fear of the unknown (harnessing their nature to be suspicious) and deploying a cheap rubber wolf mask not even halfway through the movie. Another fact that draws me to the genre is just how many cheaper college short films are members of the horror genre- I’ll link one of my personal favorite short films ever below. It’s extremely well-made, and thoroughly eerie. It’s also likely going to be one of my main inspirations for my piece, as well, because I love the atmosphere and aesthetics created in the few minutes, and I hope to achieve something similar. 

Horror Short Film “Portrait of God” by Dylan Clark on Youtube: https://youtu.be/BI9fKfX5V68?si=G6Xg71Mc-j_inwzV


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