[#Horror #Podcast] Horror Movie Podcast Ep. 063: A Horror Fan’s Plea to Jason Blum and Blumhouse Productions or: “Jay of the Dead’s 13 Principles for Making an Effective Horror Film”
In this unusual edition of HORROR MOVIE PODCAST, where we’re Dead Serious About Horror Movies, Jay of the Dead attempts to save the future of horror cinema by delivering an open letter-style address to Producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, arguably the most important Producer in horror today, in hopes that he will listen to this episode and consider implementing these good-natured suggestions to improve the overall quality of his future productions.
The Background: Last weekend, Jay saw the latest paranormal, found-footage Blumhouse flick called “The Gallows,” and its utter failure as a quality horror film inspired Jay to finally openly express his concerns with the direction of contemporary horror cinema and to publicly provide a list of foundational filmmaking tips that he calls, “Jay of the Dead’s 13 Principles for Making an Effective Horror Film.”
Jay and Josh conclude the show with Feature Reviews of two of the most recent Blumhouse Productions, “The Gallows” and “Creep.” If you’re Dead Serious About Horror Movies,” this is a must-listen! Join us!
Advertisement
Horror Movie Podcast is a weekly show that’s released every Friday. If you’d like to support our show, please subscribe to our podcast free in iTunes, and leave us a review! And remember, we love getting your voice mails, so call in with more recommendations and comments at this number: (801) 382-8789 Thanks for listening to Horror Movie Podcast!
SHOW NOTES:
I. A Horror Fan’s Plea to Jason Blum
— Explanation for this epsiode
— Hear Jason Blum interviewed on: KCRW’s The Business
— Acknowledgements and admissions
[ 01:13:36 ]II. NUTSHELL SUMMARY OF JAY’S MESSAGE TO JASON BLUM:
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Don’t run a successful property into the ground with several sequels. Leave the audience wanting more.
WHAT TO DO:
Adopt what Jay calls, “Christopher Nolan Model,” where you produce great, one-off Horror films and instead of producing numerous sequels, you move on to the next great, one-off Horror film.
Advertisement
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE GREAT, ONE-OFF HORROR FILMS:
“Jay of the Dead’s 13 Principles for Making an Effective Horror Film”
1. Introduce a new kind of monster.
2. Reverse-engineer the writing of your film, so it’s built upon themes that reflect actual, societal fears.
3. Regardless of the universe that your film is set in, anchor certain aspects in realism.
4. Conjure “Horror in the Daylight” by making Horror spring out of what’s typically safe and the mundane.
Advertisement
5. True Horror is born out of deep sorrow or profound rage, often both.
6. Write and observe the rules and parameters for the world of your film, but don’t explicitly reveal them all to your viewers.
7. Don’t try to depict everything visually onscreen, but provide an equally powerful alternative method for conveying that same idea.
8. Defy expectations and conventions by seeding in mystery.
9. Story beats should organically and logically lead one to another.
10. Generate genuine Suspense in your Horror film.
Advertisement
11. Horror is not just physical violence, but it is also emotional violence or terror.
12. Remember that Horror happens to those who deserve it least.
13. Don’t be afraid to have a devastating ending to your Horror movie where balance and peace are not restored.
[ 01:19:11 ]III. Feature Review:THE GALLOWS (2015)
Jay of the Dead = 3.5 ( Avoid )
[ 01:54:11 ]V. HMP Voicemails
— Voicemail from Fritz about watching “EAT”
— Voicemail from Dr. Shock at the beach: As Above, So Below = 7.5 ( Rental )
Advertisement
VI. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
JOIN US IN TWO WEEKS ON HMP: Our next show, Episode 064, for a THEMED episode about “The Found Footage Convention in Horror.” It will release on Friday, August 7, 2015. (We’ll resume our weekly schedule thereafter, but we need to get back on a 10-day editing schedule, as opposed to a two-day one.)
NOTE FOR NEWCOMERS: If you love this podcast, there are 36 episodes of two other great podcasts that precede this one. Just scroll back through our archives, or use the links in the sidebar on the right.
Leave a comment or e-mail us here: HorrorMoviePodcast@gmail.com
LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:
RT this episode to Producer Jason Blum: @Jason_Blum
Advertisement
RT this episode to Blumhouse Productions: @Blumhouse
— Don’t forget to help Kyle and leave a positive review here for his book, American Zombie Gothic, and you could win a free Horror Movie Podcast T-shirt of your choice!
Jay of the Dead’s links:
Jay of the Dead and Horror Movie Podcast Official Twitter: @HorrorMovieCast
Jay covers new releases in theaters on: Movie Podcast Weekly
And if you’d like to e-mail Jay with a good Beastly Freaks recommendation: BeastlyFreaks@gmail.com
You can always contact us by e-mailing HorrorMoviePodcast@gmail.com. Or you can call and leave us a voice mail at: (801) 382-8789. And you can leave us a comment in the show notes for this episode.
If you like Horror Movie Podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review in iTunes. If you want to support the show, we have PayPal buttons on our sister site, Movie Podcast Weekly.com, in the right-hand sidebar where you can make a one-time donation or you can become a recurring donor for just $2 per month. (Every little bit helps!)
Thanks for listening, and join us again next Friday for HORROR MOVIE PODCAST!