In honor of Halloween, today's post is about the horror genre of movies is doing really well in recent years. And actually, the "Halloween industry" in general has been doing well, from costumes to decoration. Here is an article from USA Today
discussing the boom in revenues from horror movies and a new venture planned by Comcast and Sony called FearNet.
Here are some questions from Sarah:
What has casued the rise in horror genre popularity over the past few years, especially given that most movies this year are sequels or part of a series?
Do you think this new horror web site will stay in business? Is there enough of a fan base?
(From: Sarah O.)
7 comments:
I think the stresses and overall pressure associated with our increasingly fast-paced world have forced people to look beyond everyday life and consume themselves with other's terrors and face their own fears. People can easily watch a scary movie and say "that would never happen to be" and be content with themselves. By noting how awful and terrible other people's lives are, Americans can be content with their own lots in life. The overall allure of fear and pain not actually present in thier lives creates an outer world where people can escape themselves and their present situations. I truely do believe that the new business will stay alive--people are always wanting to watch a scary movie "on-demand," right when they want to. By having these movies available whenever you want them, it is a lot cheaper to just watch the movies from home then to go to the theatre to watch a new movie. I think people's willingness to pay for on-demand horror movies is a lot higher than others may think. The demand for scary or horror movies is extremely high, especially around Halloween time. People love scary movies and, most importantly, being scared--i have faith in this new venture.
^^Alena...sorry.
In my experience with scary movies, I always watch it with someone else. Someone can come over to your house with about the same effort as to go to a movie theater. I think that unless you have a home theater, you do not get the same experience. The on demand feature is cool because people don't have to wait for a specific time to begin watching it. I don't think though that enough people will watch this channel often enough. I only like watching one scary movie a week during the fall. During the holiday season, I don't really ever watch scary movies because I like to be in a good mood. But if a NASA channel can survive, maybe anything can.
- Brian Meier
I like this idea alot. With the easy accessability and convienience of the website I believe the demand for scary movies will rise. Usually when going to see a scary movie (maybe a couple times a month), you travel to the theatre to watch it. But with advertising this website and broadcasting the movies over all media, the marginal benefit of staying at home may exeed the marginal cost of driving to the movie theatre and paying for the movie. Just like sports, there are going to be certain seasons in which certain movies are popular. I think that most people like to be scared around halloween, however, with the additional accessablity more people will be watching these scary movies year around, making the site profitable.
-John Schmidt
I believe this industry would be incredibly successful. People crave knowledge of that which they do not understand so horror films are very appealing. Just as Alena said, without sadness and fear, happiness and joy cannot exist. Both extremes are necessary for each others survival. Likewise, the demand for on-demand films is increasing as more and more people are getting digital cable from companies like Comcast. I love watching scary movies and I would be interested in such a product. Society also seems to enjoy such products with such a booming industry right now. I believe they could go even further with seasonal channels with specific interests.
-Tyler
YOU ARE ALL CRAZY!!! there is no way this will work. So i am going to take a stand against all of the above and say i have very little faith in this new venture. I have to be mean and say that almost every scary movie is the exact same in many different aspects. Most plots are based on someone getting chased by someone who wants to kill them. That does get old. Even if the killer is a ghost in one movie and a zombie in the next, its pretty much the same movie with different people getting killed. Now im not stating that i do not like scary movies, i absolutely love them. But, if i were to watch a scary movie a week, the effect would wear off and not as much of a scare would come from each additional movie. Thinking logically, having to go to the theaters to watch the movie means that there is a less chance you will go as often. If the movie comes on at a click of a button then the scary movies will be watched that many more times. I am sorry but i think that after a while, people will get bored with it and not want to watch scary movies anymore. I mean who doesnt want to watch the notebook every now and again. I mean a tear shed is better than a fear of going to bed. That was for you Mr. Arjona.
-Ryan Schoettler
I'm going to go against the grain and agree with Ryan. I don't believe there to be a big enough fan base to keep this new venture afloat. Sure, there is a definite interest in horror movies now, but there is no clue what the future will bring. The boom in revenues by horror movies, I believe, will cause filmmakers to try and produce more horror movies in order to increase their revenue. Then, people will begin to get bored with as more and more horror movies come out, most likely with similar plots and endings. I believe it is a phase and a FearNet would not be successful.
-Tanner
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