I never said I was the only one that was correct. It's just an etymological fallacy that people tend to make. If you really took the literary traits of Horror it would not apply to the Resident Evil games.
Bringing up 28 Days later, it's like saying that they aren't zombies but the creatures in Romero are 'true' zombies. the same semantic nonsense.
28 Weeks Later is a sequel to 28 Days Later and in it the military has shown up with massive fire power ready for action and they know exactly what they are dealing with so the mystery of the unknown is gone. All of the infected are grounded in logical reality and the virus is scientificly explained and yet it is still classified as a horror movie dispite anything you say to the contrary.
I don't consider it horror. 28 days later? full blown Horror. We don't know the nature of the creatures, why the world is in disarray/ abandoned, there's an emphasis on primal emotions to the 10th power, there's moodiness. Trying to faze rational meaning in an irrational complex.
28 weeks later? Straight up Sci-Fi Thriller. No longer Horror. Thrilling and suspenseful with a glint of action. Horror? No.
28 Weeks later is more closely related to Resident Evil 2 than it is to 28 Days later in tonality.
_______________________
PDBPO LEADER
reply
share
peteepabl0
8 years ago
Even RE4 had elements of horror to it, as Leon uncovered the mysteries of the inhabitants and the area, but I agree that largely it was an action/thriller end to end.
At most I would concede that RE2 and RE3 were horror/thriller hybrids, and RE4+ pushed the thriller/action agenda.
Most people won't dig as far into a technical definition of horror as you have, though, and even if they did I am guessing that there would still be gray areas to debate what the proper definition is. It will be different for everyone no matter what. Some people consider Evil Dead and its ilk to be horror, and some feel it is comedy.
At the end of the day, I ask: Was I frightened during significant stretches of the game? For RE1-3 the answer is yes, though the reasons may differ. RE1 was as you described. RE2 expanded on a city-wide sense of despair and mystery within the PD and additional questions about Ubrella, STARS, and the main characters...plus a good share of jumps (Mr. X was also nasty touch too). RE3 had similar elements but what really put it over the edge was the eponymous Nemesis, which expanded on the Mr. X angle tenfold and left you dreading every footstep. I likened the "constant pursuit" element to last year's smash horror success It Follows.
Just my $0.02.
Take The Challenge: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410591/board/threads/
reply
share
Prince_of_IMDb
8 years ago
The problem with calling the PS1 games horror is that it didn't emphasize on primal fears / emotions. I took it as a sci-fi thriller. Suspenseful mazing and zig-zagging in and around zombies and creatures but none of that makes it horrifying.
I agree that there are elements. but on a spectrum, the games are more thrillers than horrors. Horrors are usually rooted in the irrational, or supernatural.
All those cool examples you brought up aren't scary or horrifying; they're suspenseful and get you to the edge of you seat. I think there's a false conflation between the merits of 'survival horror' as a genre and the term 'horror' itself.
Silent Hill and Fatal Frame are clear-cut examples of actual Horror games. I genuinely find those games scary. Resident Evil? Suspense / Thrills to the 10th power.
I didn't even find the first Resident Evil game scary. But I can acknowledge that it is Horror. Resident Evil is too grounded in reality and lacks the primal / emotional gravitas to make it scary for me.
_______________________
PDBPO LEADER
reply
share
DirtyDale
8 years ago
The opening scene of 28 Days Later show the viewer exactly where the virus originated and the cause of the outbreak. It's only the characters that aren't aware.
You don't consider Weeks horror? Man I'm so glad we've all learned that you set the standards on all genres...oh wait.
28 Weeks Later is classified as horror on nearly every single website that you look at. IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic, Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, Coming Soon, Fangoria and any other website you want to go look at. Your inflated ego and sense of self importance doesn't supersede the actual classification of the movie just because you don't agree with it.
Turn off your thesaurus app and step away from your computer.
------
Ultimate RE film cast - http://tinyurl.com/yarj5vl
Xbox360 GT - xDIRTYDALEx
reply
share
Prince_of_IMDb
8 years ago
oh snap! I totally forgot about the intro. sheeit! also, no reason to be an a**hole and start making ad hominems about the thesaurus.
in any case, it felt more like Horror because it was moodier and relied more the primal atmosphere than Weeks. the quiet, minimalism in the first-half really sets the creepy mood. It reminds me alot of Silent Hill.
Just because it's classified as horror doesn't mean that they're right. that's called an appeal to authority. although in all fairness, me in admission of my mistake with Days doesn't make a suitable candidate of classifying genres, either.
but that doesn't mean anything else i've said prior should be dismissed.
Here's the golden question:
Does simply having zombies automatically make a film 'Horror? I'd argue that it doesn't.
_______________________
PDBPO LEADER
reply
share
peteepabl0
8 years ago
Here's the golden question:
Does simply having zombies automatically make a film 'Horror?
Absolutely not, and I haven't seen anybody make that argument here. Look at movies like
Detention of the Dead,
Fido and
Shaun of the Dead for starters. For games, look at
Dead Rising,
Zombies Ate My Neighbors,
Plants vs. Zombies, or
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare.
Zombies are zombies...it's all about how you use 'em.
Take The Challenge: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410591/board/threads/
reply
share