I love watching Shudder, especially when they send me a screener to preview before the film or series premiers on their streaming site. If S01 E01 of Horror’s Greatest is any indication of what to expect…then, my fellow horror gurus…get that popcorn ready.
Horror’s Greatest S01E01
The first episode of Horror’s Greatest, ‘Tropes and Cliches’, from Marwar Junction Productions, does a review of several types of horror films, giving us a fresh take on the classics. The horror experts, which include Joe Hill (Locke & Key, NOS4A2), Kate Seigel (The Haunting of Hill House), and Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play), share with us the secret that makes these films so popular even though they all seem to follow the same set of rules.
Most horror films have a formula where the characters make stupid decisions; for example, the girl running up the stairs where she is trapped inside the house, instead using the open door behind her to freedom. We see this a lot in slasher films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th. The formula of a successful fright film continues with the well-known “split up,” where the characters go against logic and go in two different directions, guaranteeing someone’s bloody demise. Every trope and cliche is covered including The Horney Teenager (Scream franchise), The Sinister Conspiracy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Rosemary’s Baby), The Cursed Book (The Ninth Gate), and of course everyone’s favorite, The Creepy House (The Haunting and The Conjuring).
Conclusion
I really enjoyed hearing from the directors and actors who specialize in the horror genre on how the different tropes and cliches continue to work, even after all these years. Yes, we know that the virgin will make it out alive, or that the car will always break down when trying to escape a chainsaw maniac…but it is still fun.
You need to watch this series just to watch the breakdown of my favourite horror film, The Cabin in the Woods. Every single trope and cliché were used, and it made The Cabin in the Woods a classic.
The series premieres on Shudder, August 27th. I’ll be there with the lights on.
