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Im making a horror movie and i need some tips. How to make it more scary than the movies out there now? what things should i look for in people when auditions come?


please hurry i need answers by next week thanks

well you can tell us what its about that would help us give you ideas. but i like belivable phsycos. and try to make it as realistic as possible we got to many immortal people running around

have mortals, MORTALS! And have a stabbing scene, where you can totally see someone stabbing another person, and blood just splattering all over their face, and they are laughing or either screaming really weird, I'd like to see that

It's all about the element of surprise. Use your own imagination. You'll come up with something brilliant.

If you're going to draw inspiration from other directors, I strongly suggest you draw from Kubrick, Carpenter, and Romero. Tobe Hooper, as well, I might add. Simply because of his work from TCM and Poltergeist.

What kinda horror movie are you making? Exploitation? Gore? Jump Scene, psychological? Slasher? Zombie? blah blah?

All of these movies have different aspects that are necessary.

I saw both nightbreed and dawn of the dead original recently so i have a few tips based on what i really enjoyed

1) add some humour - not necessarily leprechaun but similar to how the male characters were running around like they were in a fifties adventure movie

2) The scariest and coolest psycho i've seen is David Cronenburg in Nightbreed and he's also a human

3) Don't make all the victims helpless

4) Perhaps make the psycho/monster/whatever sympathetic depeding on the type of movie you are making

5)don't ever start with a sense of cliched normality such as in slasher flicks

6) You can cover up anything too contrived with tension or adrenalin

ok as a lover of horrors id have to say you need to expand on what weve seen if you want to make it goodon the realism side exorsist did its job as at the time no-one had really done a true to life horror before ,on a visual side the first real one for my was hellraiser and on an utter fiction side you had freddy and the like now we have clever plot twists and "jump scenes" which are all cool but not quite (in my opinion) a point of horror whatever you do try to give it some=thing either as new as possable(nothing is ever origanal) or expand as much as posssable on an already great idea but never mimic. and wud love to hear where your goin with it so far so we can give you better ideas.

Despite horror is about the actions of the killer, usually the main focus remains on the victims, as they have the lead roles and the stories revolve around them, with the killer as 'just' something they have to deal with.
I suggest using the killer's point of view, explaining his motivations and emotions, and maybe even the doubts he/she/it has concerning it's actions. And opposed to that, also the satisfaction it gets from it's deeds that forces it to continue.
For the victims, stay away from the cliche characters of course, and make them or plausible targets for the killer as well as challenging, make the killer have to put blood sweat and tears in getting his goals.

Be extreme.
Make sure you have good solid ideas, if you are a true horror fan you should know yourself exactly what to do if not maybe you shouldnt be making a horror film.

Good Luck Blood.

Remember....."Art is not safe."

I love everyones ideas, the killer in the movie willl be a manic named Sawney Bean (look him up). And another thing, before i get started i need to find a cheap, less than $150 camera and a day for night filter.

Sawney Bean?

Have you heard of a film called The Hills Have Eyes? Its inspired by the Sawney Bean myth.

The Beans were a mythical/factual scottish cannibal family that lived in caves that were cut off by the tides, they would rob, kill and eat people, they were feral humans.

Originally posted by Pandemoniac
Despite horror is about the actions of the killer, usually the main focus remains on the victims, as they have the lead roles and the stories revolve around them, with the killer as 'just' something they have to deal with.
I suggest using the killer's point of view, explaining his motivations and emotions, and maybe even the doubts he/she/it has concerning it's actions. And opposed to that, also the satisfaction it gets from it's deeds that forces it to continue.
like in the book In Cold Blood

Do you think I should still go with sawney bean as the killer? He would fit perfect.

I cant believe this my only idea for a killer and they already made on movie on him!!!!