Hollywood lacks creativity, needs improvement

The+original+Netfl+ix+horror+series+premiered+on+Oct.12.

Courtesy of Netflix

The original Netfl ix horror series premiered on Oct.12.

Fran Partlett, Film Analyst

Let’s talk about Halloween. Let’s talk about real fear, hm?

 

As we approach the end of hearing ‘spooky scary skeletons’ blast from everyone’s Instagram feeds, we can take a moment to reflect on what the entertainment industry has deemed fit to serve us.

 

Hollywood churns out movies like butter with each themed season so we, as consumers, can leave it in our fridge until we feel like making something quick and easy for lunch.

 

This past Halloween was an exception; a parading game for disappointed spectator-hunters. The industry has rather plumped for money-making, award-winning schemes.

 

Franchises were lobotomised in hopes of discovering something new, comic book universes revealed their lack of creativity under the guise of genre experimentation. The U.S. is aware of the monster underneath its bed, but is so afraid of discovering its own reflection that it creates weakly woven tales to mask its insecurity.

 

I’ve spoken about Hollywood’s obsession for jump scares and my dislike on the matter. The film industry uses basic horror methods and gives us presentation after presentation of something that we’re only left mildly disturbed by.

 

I face a dilemma in criticizing a conglomerate for spawning less-than-terrifying horror through the medium of this particular trope, as it served Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House captivatingly well. But here we also see fantastic storytelling feeding the rhythm of nightmares with intricate and interesting cinematography. Television is upping its game in terms of delivering easily consumable content on fine china, rather than silver platters.

 

Hollywood is the man facing a mid-life crisis, squandering his hard–earned dollar on a trip to Thailand to ‘find himself,’ only to discover upon his return that his wife and kids have left him because he didn’t treat them well enough.

 

So what have we learned? Well, I’m bitter about shoddy remakes and hasty experimentation. We deserve more than attention-grabbing fodder. Political undertones? Me? Never.