After becoming old enough to not be scared of horror movies, they became a love and special interest. The first movie I saw was Seed of Chucky. Before someone judges, it wasn’t the best but I did beat my fear of Chucky that day. The second was Scream 2, as there were no streams for Scream itself. From them onwards, every horror that was released or looked good in any aspect, that was it, countdowns on for release. Complete excitement…only to be disappointed.

Modern horror…It doesn’t deserve the title horror, the only thing about it that creates horror is the fact, they tend to be horrifically bad. Yes, there are some exceptions but they are few and far between.

When we look back at some of the most iconic horror movies of the past, especially those in the 80’s, they had something that would grab the audience in and make them watch. You were rooting for the characters and didn’t want them to die. You wanted them to fight and live. Characters like Laurie Strode, she was the ultimate final girl. You wanted her to kill Michael Myers. This aspect of horror has dried up majorly to the point, you don’t care who lives or dies, you just want it to be over.

The truth:
Character development, looking back, horror movies started with a lot of it. We found out a lot about the characters and who they were. Part of their life story. We saw that they were human doing human things, just like the average person in the world. They were relatable and put the audience in a relatable point of view.

Now, you’re lucky if you get to know or relate to the characters. They’re so one dimensional that they’re barely human. Why should we root for a person we know nothing about? For all we know, they could be the villain themselves, not the victim. We’re not bothered at all if they die, we don’t miss them, it’s not upsetting in any way.

Sidney Prescott, why did we root for her? She had a backstory which involved her Mom being killed. We felt sorry for the way she had to live. We saw aspects of her life, like her boyfriend, we know how that turnout but still. She was more than one dimensional.

Scream 1-4 were the perfect example of character development. Every installment, the characters were given life. Even the supporting characters. You got to know about them. They didn’t miss anyone out in the development which made a solid movie.

If it’s a true story, there tends to be development but apart from them, not much at all, which is a real shame. If the trend continues this way, true horror as we know it, will cease to exist in the future.