Tonight we watched a horror movie (more like a monster movie) called The Mist, based on a Stephen King novella. The creatures were fun looking, and the characters likable. I especially liked that one of the secondary protagonists/action heroes was a short, balding, glasses, mild mannered assistant manager at the grocery store where they're trapped.
However the hero was the usual chiseled chin sort, and the other good guys white. My other main problem was that the characters were, in internet parlance, To Stupid to Live. It's so aggravating. Cause it brings me out of the movie, and makes me feel like stuff is being done just for the plot, rather than actions flowing naturally from the plot.
I can think of two good examples, off hand, of horror movies that are good at dotting the i's, crossing the t's: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, and Misery. Both are about one person trapped by another in a house, and every time you think "She/he should just___" either the baddie closes that possibility, or the protagonist tries and fails. Which makes you, as the viewer, feel trapped too! You're really there with the protagonist, wondering desperately how you'll ever get out!
In these trapped-by-baddies movies, like zombie movies, you kind of need one of the characters, in each instance, to give voice to what the audience is asking. And have those questions answered. Otherwise it feels like the director/writer thinks we're Too Stupid to Notice.
Hmph! Not that I don't have favorite stories with plot holes in them. But in a movie where the characters are pretty stock, like The Mist, then there's not much to distract me from foolish behavior. I'd be interested to hear of any movies/books you think are well plotted in this respect. Or poorly...
7 comments:
Not sure I can help you here cause scary movies make me cower under the covers. I don't watch em anymore.
Don't have to be scary movies :-D I'm just curious if the whole "too stupid to live" concept brings specific titles to people's minds.
The Ending of the Mist STILL hurts!
Message in a Bottle. Don't know if the same thing happens in the book but in the movie the male protagonist is TSTL.
Have to agree with Simone about the ending of The Mist. I also like that the woman who insists on leaving to go to her children passes him by, with her two children. But very painful ending by stupid people who could have done things differently. Still scared the crap out of me.
I watch lots of monster movies and feel that one of the best I've seen with heroes who were smart and bad guys who were TSTL (eventually) was Deep Rising. I love it so much I bought it. Hero was chiseled (Treat Williams ... yum!), but secondary male was pretty damned wimpy and funny as hell.
Don't watch horror movies.
Have to agree with Mary about MiaB. Can't think of any other at the moment but I'm sure there are many. Brain is taking a break today. : )
@Mary S & Robena - I don't think I've sat through an entire Nicholas Sparks movie, but I can imagine...
@Skye - I just couldn't feel sad at the ending, cause I was all "But you could have done x! And what about y??" Will keep DR in mind.
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