As a seasoned horror enthusiast who has braved countless nights of terror, I can confidently say that the surge in popularity of unreliable narratives in modern horror is nothing short of exhilarating. It’s like being trapped in a haunted house with no flashlight, but instead of fearing the unknown, you’re left guessing what’s real and what’s not.
The following contains spoilers for several horror films. Please proceed with caution.
Horror films have unique freedoms compared to other genres, allowing them to tackle elements that might pose challenges elsewhere. For instance, horror franchises can extend indefinitely through sequels, unlike action or comedy series. Additionally, poor CGI effects can be camouflaged within intense scenes in a horror movie. The genre itself follows distinct rules and often thrives on them. An intriguing recent demonstration of this flexibility lies in the use of an unpredictable narrative structure to produce some of the most captivating horror films in recent memory.
In contemporary cinema, there’s not much freshness as we often see everlasting franchises, Hollywood frequently revisiting established titles, and groundbreaking ideas are scarce. However, one genre consistently bringing novelty that catches mainstream attention is horror. This vibrant field offers numerous innovative concepts that frequently earn box-office success due to the ever-evolving hunger for fright among viewers. While any horror production can reach the top of the charts, trends can still shape the market. At present, surrealism is a significant trend shaping the industry.
An Incomplete History of Surreal Horror
The specific concept of discussion at the moment is the idea of the story as its own unreliable narrator. It’s a narrative that refuses to explain whether any of its events actually occurred. This is not new, nor is it exclusive to cinema or horror. Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote in the 1600s, telling the tale of a knight who ruined his ability to perceive the world by fixating on chivalric romance books. This captured the broad concept of an unreliable narrative. Don Quixote doesn’t see things as they are, leaving the entire story in the hazy unreality of his dreamscape. This is a step beyond an unreliable narrator. The protagonists of H. P. Lovecraft’s body of work generally recount the events as they happen, only distracted from the truth by their encroaching madness. Lovecraft told tales about horrors so great that they would taint the perception of their witnesses, guaranteeing an unreliable reality. TV Tropes, the literary omnibus of our age, calls it the “Through the Eyes of Madness” trope.
The predominant single example of this concept is probably Jacob’s Ladder. Adrian Lyne’s 1990 wartime classic practically invented its final reveal, which is obviously better seen in context but is also comfortable among Fight Club and The Sixth Sense when it comes to common spoilers. Jacob’s Ladder follows Jacob Singer, a returning veteran who suffers from all-consuming nightmares that invade his waking life. The film deliberately drags the viewer through incompatible half-truths and bizarre visions. In its final moments, the film reveals its main character on his deathbed, experiencing the feverish visions that his mind concocts to allow him to let go. In the Mouth of Madness pulls a similar trick by revealing, in its final moments, that the entire story and indeed the film that the audience saw was the work of an in-fiction author. These 90s examples were revolutionary in their time, though even they didn’t invent the trope. Now, as a new generation takes influence from those films, the concept gets even more popular and even less restrained.
The 21st Century Loves This Trope
Nothing is real in a modern horror film. The broad concept of time is a plaything for the ghosts and ghouls that invade 2020s horror cinema. It’s bad enough that they have no respect for human life; they tend to completely overwrite human perception. The broad concept of a monster that makes its victims lose touch with reality is endlessly fascinating. Lovecraft did it often, but cinematic examples tend to have a bit more power. Take the works of Mike Flannagan as an example. A film like Oculus can mess with perception by using the same kind of alterations and edits that fans would find common in the genre. The difference is that the characters are experiencing the same uncanny alterations to reality that the audience understands. While it’s not a violation of the fourth wall, it’s a shared experience between viewers and characters. Notable examples include:
- The Smile series
- The Haunting of Hill House
- Mandy
- A Ghost Story
- Drag Me to Hell
- The Machinist
- And many more.
Why is unreliable horror becoming so popular?
The “Smile” series stands out as a remarkable contemporary illustration of this idea. It depicts individuals under the control of a formidable demon who manipulates their minds. The “Smile” Entity transmits trauma from one host to another, causing each new victim to witness someone’s death. This experience is followed by an invasion of the mind, gradually destroying every aspect of their life before directing them towards its next possible target, compelling them to take their own life violently. The “Smile” series is known for many things, but subtlety isn’t one of them. It serves as a stark metaphor for modern horror’s recurring theme: trauma. Horror films often explore the theme of trauma and its detrimental impacts. Trauma can cause a person to disconnect from reality, creating a unique perspective that may make them appear unbalanced. This is why movies like “Smile” focus on the notion of others failing to comprehend the gravity of the situation while the central character experiences torment. The “Smile” Entity embodies this concept perfectly: a malevolent being that transforms the human brain’s response to trauma into a series of attacks. It can be seen as the “Through the Eyes of Madness” trope transformed into a weaponized character, and it’s just one strong example of modern storytelling.
Contemporary horror films often draw from past themes and concepts, yet they manage to stay fresh by incorporating untrustworthy storytelling techniques. Genres such as slasher movies and true crime stories remain somewhat appealing, but the use of ambiguous narratives adds an element of intrigue. Beyond fads like gruesome horror or document-style films, the fascination with manipulating viewers’ minds hints at a deeper preoccupation among horror filmmakers and viewers alike.
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2024-11-12 03:05