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Topic: Animated horror movies
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Smeeb!
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Member # 67
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posted
I mean think of all the cool monsters, Werewolves, Vampires, Phil Donahue, The Undead, and then there's Psychological stuff, that could be done quite feakishly through art direction and such...There's so much that hasn't been touched in this category for animated fare....
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Hockey Frog
IE # 32
Member # 1432
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posted
The Japanese have been doing it for a while. My fav..."Wicked City". (Of course, there's always "Fire and Ice"...oops, wrong thread!)
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"I was obliged to work hard. Anyone who works equally hard will succeed, equally."
Johann Sebastian Bach
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Twedzel
IE # 102
Member # 122
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posted
One of the reasons may be that well done true horror requires some form of audience empathy, in which the audience believes... or chooses to suspend disbelief that this very situation could happen to them. It is more difficult to do that with animation given the nature of suspension of disbelief. You can empathise with the characters that the story is happening to, however putting yourself in their position is naturally one more step removed. Not to say its impossible. Quite the contrary, given the fact of the psycological nature of a really good horror, and art being a direct link into our emotional state... I think someone very talented could do it and do it well. If this were to ever unfold, I'd be all over that project like a fat kid on M&M's.
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Smeeb!
Member
Member # 67
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posted
I was thinking more in terms of American horror films, not that overseas ones are bad or anything.
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Bull Clamped
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Member # 1105
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posted
The rumor about an animated version of Dracula was true. It was one of a bunch of interesting ideas being tossed about at Fox Animation in Phoenix.
I believe the working title was "The Night Raven" or something very similar. From the concept art I saw it looked very dark, vibe wise. Another idea
that was somewhat in the horror/adventure genre Fox was thinking making was Jason and the Argonauts.
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Queb
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Member # 738
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posted
Try to see"The Tell-Tale Heart", Ted Parmalee's version of Edgar A. Poe's classic. I haven't seen it for years, but it's one of the very best of all animated films and it ought to be better known.
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pomgod
Member
Member # 221
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posted
a stumbling block persuing this is the fact that cheaply made, live action, horror films offer a pretty safe return on investment (for those doing the investing).You and I know animation could achieve some mind blowing visuals for a moderate amount, but investors only see the return numbers on a horror film. They aren't in it to make art. If 100 grand, 4 weekends, and a space ship set rental can bring back 200 grand on video, odds are that is where the money will go. The thought that occurs to me, is that if Final Fantasy went into some over the top horror and made it a straight up, bloody, monster from space flik, it would have been successful in North America.
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Twedzel
IE # 102
Member # 122
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posted
But that's the thing, good horror isn't about stunning visuals, or showing the audience something that could never be done in real life...that is the antithesis of really scaring someone. To truelly induce fear, you don't show the audience something scary.. you give them the clues and hints, let their brains fill in the details. Glimpses and shadows are always more terrifying than being presented with the faked reality of what could happen. When that happens the audience can have their good laugh and say, its only a movie (ala the slashers of the eighties). Personally I have found sound to be one of the most effective tools in terrifying myself. A creaking floor board is far more scary than a snarling werewolf oozing blood. My theory is its because our worst fear is actually fear of the unknown... however it ends up manifesting itself, once we know it... its not so scary. As you can tell I kind of get into the fear thing.
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pomgod
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Member # 221
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posted
Twedzel- I hear you there and definitely agree about what creates good fear based entertainment. Thats why a film like Ridley Scott's "Alien" is a classic. Where animation is concerned though, I still feel that the medium needs to utilize its strengths, which are notably, visuals that can not be achieved in real life. That doesn't always translate to monsters and blood, but it does necessitate that we are given something interesting to look at. I love the animated depiction of the Passover night in Prince of Egypt (maybe one of the most "adult" moments in North American animation). Stunning visuals that really needed animation to be achieved. My fear is that someone would try to animate Blair Witch Project(some very scary moments that showed us nothing but darkness). What a waste of the medium that would be. Can you imagine though, if the supernatural elements of that story had some animated art direction, what could be achieved? Animation would allow an audience to jump into the visuals of our imagination. Something that live action can't easily do.
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tstevens
IE # 234
Member # 801
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posted
I actually posted a similar thread a while back about this same issue. I remember Olve having some really good ideas and input.The problem with animating a horror film is getting people to buy into the fear that your characters are taken by. Disney actually had quite a few moments that could have made for really scarey stuff but they could never take it to the place where it could have gone. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and even Icahbod had some genuinely good moments and now that I think about it Night On Bald Mountain and even a few scenes from Pinochio had some pretty cool moments. Some of the comments regarding anime I think are definately true. However, Blood had some nice scenes but unfortunately the story just kind of floundered. THe Tell Tale Heart for American animation was quite nice though. I think eventually someone will pull it off but it probably won't come out of the mainstream animation houses. Maybe a producer like New Line could get it done.
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Mr.U
IE # 47
Member # 1292
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posted
Have you guys ever watched Roman Polanski's "Fearless vampire killers"? I'd love to see an animated film along those lines, kind of "horror-ish", but with enough distance and humor that it's more a satire than an actual horror film. Horror's been done, done and redone in live action, and an animated "horror" film would definitely have to find a wholly different tone to avoid the "why not make it live action" argument. But yeah, genre films are something that animation have barely touched, and such a project could be really cool.
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Coffee Cat
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Member # 897
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posted
Twedzel, I always thought the great thing about animation was that it was EASIER to suspend disbelief and to empathize with the characters. When I see Bruce Willis in a movie, I empathize less cause it isn't someone I can "become". Because it IS Bruce Willis - I know that it ISN'T me. Animation uses more iconic characters that are "less specific" in being "someone else, other than me." That's why, when reading Batman comics, I can imagine being Batman. I'm probably more like any Bruce Willis character than I ever will be like Batman - but Batman being drawn makes him less of a "someone else" and allow more people to take part in "being him." I think animation works the same way. Thats how animation gets people to care about talking animals, for instance - talk about disbelief!!! The only way animation makes the jump to suspending OBVIOUS disbelief is that characters are more easily identified with - not harder to identify with. Just my opinion - but thats always been part of the point, for me, in the animation/illustration asthetics.As for Horror - there are a bunch of classics that you can see having animation potential - from Frankenstein to Dracula - the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari had great visuals that animation would LOVE to work with - Island of Lost Souls - Carnaval of Souls, etc. etc. Then there is always normal scare stuff - like film noir and other creepy non-supernatural villian type things you could do nicely in animation - from Hitchockian thriller types to the suspense of Double Indemnity, etc.
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JDC
IE # 116
Member # 1993
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posted
this is a very interesting topic.. I believe the old UPA studio did Tell-tale-heart.. done very nicely.. I think a horror.. or just scary animated film can be done.. You have to use the strengths that Animation has that live action doesn't.. I remember being a bit spooked on the pink elephants in Dumbo.. Akira had the scene where the kid was hallucinating on the bed...Spirited Away ..well there was all kinds of cool stuff in that. Combine some of those elements with a classic tale like Frankenstein.. and you can really spook some people..geeesh.. I'm excited just thinking about this.. Even if animators made this out of their garage during off studio time.. I think everyone would go nuts working on something like this.. ooh I know what I'm gonna draw in my sketchbook today! thanks for the inspiration people!
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Renart
IE # 71
Member # 979
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posted
I guess Rock and Rule had horror elements in it- nasty looking monster there at the end.
Just thought about it, when I saw the thread about Rock and Rule finally having a chance to be released on DVD.
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Calvin
Member
Member # 28
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posted
The "Dracula" animated film discussed before was a musical, with both screenplay and lyrics by Joss Whedon (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and a contributor to Toy Story). Unfortunately, at the time it looked as if it might have been directed by Don Bluth, who simply couldn't handle that material.
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fishmorg3
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Member # 1906
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posted
Remember "Creepshow 2"? It was worse than the first one. It had animated bits, especially toward the end, where the kid sics his man-eating plant on the bullies. "They eat MEAT!" says the kid, in a 'scary' voice.
Both Creepshow movies were trying to be cute, rather than scary. Anyway, as seen in so many other animation in general, it's easy to go wrong.
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Mz
Member
Member # 1035
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posted
Have you read any comics that scared you? If the answer is yes, Animated horror can be done! The Devil in Fantasia is not scary at the very least, even Spawn,
The Creepshow, Freaky Stories are borderline funny! Kids don't even blink.
Twedzel has a very good point here, to scare is to be able to empathize and hint something from the unknown!! A sting ! a surprise, just like a sudden jump at Jaws where the sound and vision collide - BANG!!! or even the original Nosferatu-- it's a silent B & W movie but, for some reason, you feel and imagine something in the dark. The live action ceiling is something like "The Exorcist", anamorphic images wouldn't even come close to that if you're trying to scare the audience.Anyway, anything is possible!
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Marcus Moore
IE # 108
Member # 197
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posted
What are you guys talking about?! There's animated horror in america right now! It's called "Archie's Weird Mysteries". Horror in both subject and execution. Be afraid...be not really afraid... but be afraid anyway....
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Ferretshark
Member
Member # 1875
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posted
What about the Black Cauldron? THAT was pretty "horror"-ble!
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pomgod
Member
Member # 221
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posted
This morning, I was thinking of horror based games and recall how freaked and creeped out I felt playing Resident Evil 2 for the first time. My floor boards in my apartment started creaking a little louder, my dreams were invaded.A good reason for a video games' ability to do this with animation is that it is an immersive entertainment. The first person perspective plays a big part of that, along with pacing, sound, and environment. Just a thought, but I'd think that tinkering with point of view may be something worth trying with animated film. Up to this point, the direction of animated fare, may not have embraced these manipulative possibilities. Not sure how that would go down, but I'm pretty sure a little imagination could go a long way in this regard. I'm not saying leave the characters altogether, but rather put them in situations that alter our senses a bit. The opening scene of Monsters Inc. set up some possibilities and created a tense environment, but more often than not Animation rarely takes the time to show that lengthy shot of: [the doorknob in the dark....the wind blowing a tree branch that is tapping on the window, spreading shadows that creep across the room....the bedside clock tick-tock echoing more audibly....the doorknob....the doorknob....MELISSA crouching in the corner, stunted breathing....the doorknob...slow zoom on the doorknob as it begins to turn back and forth....MELISSA's eyes expanding as a tear falls down her face.....the doorknob stops jiggling.....the clock noise stops....MELISSA breathing ....and then....!!!]
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Marcus Moore
IE # 108
Member # 197
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posted
I was briefly involved with with an animated incarnation of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. Though initially weary, the basic story elements held some interesting possibilities. It was definitely going to skew older (ala Spawn I suppose, though I cring to say it...), and I was definitely interested in bringing out a horror/thriller element to it rather than a straight up G.I.Joe action/adventure scenario. Unfortunatly, as has been stated above a number of times already, the risk involved in a "adult" animation show was deemed to great, and the project quickly dissapeared...
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Coffee Cat
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Member # 897
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posted
I think you guys are thinking about it as horror movies where you must feel a physical threat - like, you must place yourself in an empty house with a madman stalking you. Thats only one horror style. There are many other ways to present creepy and horrific and thoughtful ideas to people without relying on them needing to feel scared. Thats a very limited view of what horror has to offer.
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Twedzel
IE # 102
Member # 122
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posted
No not physical threat fear... in one of the most intense horror flicks I've seen lately literally nothing much happened through most of it, but it set a tone. It was about an asbestos/harmful materials cleaning crew given a job to clean out an old insane asylum. While you watch you don't feel intense fear of immediate danger, but after viewing you are left with this intense feeling of 'woah, that was creepy.' It sticks around like a good horrer should. When I think of the genre of horrer, I think scary movie. Physcal threat is scary, psycological threats are even scarier. But a horrer gotta be scary, or it just ain't horrer. I think with horrer the film makers goal should be to tell astory, and scare the audience doing so. If the scare the audience goal isn't there then it's not a horrer, even if Frankenstiens monster is running around. Just like if the filmmakers goal isn't to make the audience laugh, it ain't a comedy. (Please don't start cross genreing, I know there are grey areas).
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Mz
Member
Member # 1035
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posted
That's "Session 9", Twedz! some gory scenes too... but, minimal!
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