So I may have started the idea for this post back in October. You know, that time when it might actually make sense to talk about horror movies. But I still want to finish off my thoughts about horror movies anyhow.

So, horror movies. Some people love them, some people hate them. What initially got me thinking on this track was the movie Priest which came out this past year. It's an excellent movie with amazing cinematography, an awesome setting and excellent writing. While the previews made it seem like a nonstop action movie, there were what I would consider some excellent executed horror elements in there as well.

What many many people making horror movies these days don't seem to understand is that for something to be scary you need to *care* about the damn characters. There are several things that are common in modern "horror" movies that I think detract from the whole experience.

They have a tendency to make it so stupidly obvious who is going to die and who is going to live that you don't worry about major characters, since you already know what's going to happen to them. They need to learn pacing and tension, so that they can actually scare you.

These are two things that Priest did a great job with. I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie. I couldn't tell who might or might not die at any given moment. Pitch Black is another great example. You can be confident that Ridick won't be dying, but other than that? Anyone was fair game.

What these trends seem to end up promoting to me are movies that aren't scary, they're just excuses for people to go watch a series of horrifically gruesome deaths. And I'm sorry, that is simply not horror. Gore does not make something scary. Uncertainty is scary, the unknown is what frightens us. This is why we fear the dark.

Sadly, Priest got horrific reviews and did not gross much box office. We need to turn this trend around people. New, interesting and unique things are failing all around us. Movies like Priest, shows like Pushing Daisies and Firefly.