Your Opinions of what I'd call, for better or worse, the New Wave in Horror Films

By no means have I seen all the horror films that have come out since this new phase of horror films began, but I have seen a few:

The Saw films
Hostel
The Descent
Remake of The Hills Have Eyes
etc...

Most recently we had a very controversial remake of "The Last House on the Left."

I have mixed feelings about these films, but I'm more fascinated by what you all think?

The only comments I will make are:

1. Some of them are obvious failures of almost narcissistic magnitude that serve no purpose whatsoever as works other than to make money.

2. Some of them are political, and I even think Noam Chomsky would approve of at least one of them. A few of them seem to be feminist statements, and one is definitely a criticism of United States politics in Eastern Europe, to say the least. I love this aspect of the evolution in this genre, but am disappointed that these dimensions of the films are not more widely discussed or recognized.

3. The technical film-making is sometimes superior to what we sometimes see even in the films nominated for "Best Picture."

If you do happen to like these new-generation horror films that really go for broke, please recommend your favorites.

...the drill Sargent from "Full Metal Jacket."

I like Rob Zombie's "Devil's Rejects" but thought that his "Halloween" remake was unnecessarily cruel and brutal.

I liked the Ving Rhames / Sarah Polley "Dawn Of The Dead" remake because the story was tight and held together as a film.

And regarding the creator of the original "Dawn," George Romero...I thought his "Land Of The Dead" was a masterpiece, a much more satisfying addition to his canon than "Day Of The Dead."

:toast:

Fewer of them coming out

...Hollywood ones don't do shit for me.

I'm not sure I would use the term "horror film" to describe these films - especially the first one.

I love psychological thrillers - and "The Silence of The Lambs" is still #1 in my book; but "Saw I" is a close second.

"Saw II" and "Saw III" were much more gory than the original; the original was a major mindfuck - all the way to the very end. I saw it in the theater - and I'll never forget the reaction of the entire theater crowd (myself included), at the very end of the movie. We all collectively gasped "NO WAY!" "OH MY GOD!"

I couldn't believe it.

They are the kinds of thrillers I like. It's not about the gore - that does NOTHING for me. It's all about the psyche of the killer - and trying to figure him/her out before the movie ends.