CHUD is a place that I consider to have been an integral part of my film education. An enormous chunk of that had to do with horror films, since I discovered the site via the fondly remembered Creature Corner domain. If it hadn’t been for that, I wouldn’t be the kind of film fan I am today. I still love the horror genre deeply, and consider CHUD to be a place with like-minded individuals when it comes to enjoying a little (or a lot of) blood in my celluloid.
It’s with that mindset that I urge you to go see It Follows this weekend. Our fellow Chewer Travis reported on the film’s changing release and it’s a story that has me infused with hope for the film genre I adore so much. Independent horror has really been blossoming in the past year or so, and seeing a film that was slated for a typical VOD release get bumped up to over a thousand screens is a humongous show of faith from distributor Radius-TWC and the big theater chains.
The studios will keep churning out cheaper quality films (quality in terms of their content, not their budget. Horror has always been an inexpensive genre, ensuring a quick return) if that’s what people continue to turn out for. Movies like Ouija and Annabelle (the two top grossing horror films of last year) will become the standard for the genre, and I can’t speak for everyone, but I know a strong contingent of horror fans would prefer if that wasn’t the case. Going out to the theater this weekend and seeing It Follows would help to send the message that audiences want something more challenging and unique from their fright flicks.
On my blog, I wrote a piece about how the horror genre needs to enter a new cycle: the return of A-list horror pictures. You can read the full piece here, if you feel so inclined. I think now that we’re finally in the death pangs of the found footage cycle, the chance to infuse the genre with some high caliber filmmaking is upon us. That’s going to spring out of the indie market first by finding directors who are committed to the genre and want to see it flourish. Once that happens, then we’ll possibly be seeing these directors getting bigger budgets, bigger names and bigger ideas at their disposal.
Don’t think I’m some brainless shill for It Follows. I haven’t seen the movie yet (going tonight!), I have no connection whatsoever to any of the people involved in the movie, and I don’t even know if I’m going to enjoy the film. That’s not the point of why I’m asking you to go see It Follows this weekend. I want you to go and see it for the good of the entire horror genre. I want us to come back here and discuss the film with as much passion as you think it deserves. I’m not saying that It Follows is the key to “saving” horror films, but I do think casting your vote for it with your dollars can’t hurt the horror genre at all. It’s proved to be one of those Little Movies That Could, and it’s not one of those cloying Oscar dramas or anything as saccharine and typical as those Little Movies often are. It’s a horror movie, and when we get a Little Horror Movie That Could, forgive me for getting a little excited. That enthusiasm for the genre is all CHUD’s fault.