Hollywood Gothique

While I was watching PRIMEVAL, I couldn’t help think that computer-generated imagery really has a lot to answer for, interms of undermining cinematic horror.

The movie is better than I expected, but it’s seldom scary, and the reason is that – as is too often the case – the CG effects establish their own aesthetic, which has little to do with effective horror. The goal, instead, seems to be th show off how many different things the animators can get the crocodile to do, even if those things are unbelievable or, in some cases, totally ridiculous.

In fact, it occured to me that, if JAWS were made today, it would suck horribly. Instead of an ominous primeval monster lurking in the darks of the deep blue ocean, we’d end up with an acrobatic fish performing Olympics-worthy stunts from start to finish.

It’s sad that filmmakers show so little judgment. With CGI, you can do pretty much anything. But the fact that you can do something does not mean that you should do something.