Enduring Movie Themes

[BeyondTheGrave]

College kids dying on vacation- Been noticing a recently high number of movies involving college kids going to other countires/vacation and getting kidnapped/killed. Hostel, Wolf Creek and upcoming Turaitas (sp?)

[ulthar]

College kids dying on vacation- Been noticing a recently high number of movies involving college kids going to other countires/vacation and getting kidnapped/killed. Hostel, Wolf Creek and upcoming Turaitas (sp?)

Interesting.  Could this be a reflection of an increase Xenophobia?  "You want to be safe, stay home."  Or, perhaps "stay home where your friendly government can protect you."

[dean]

Dean, I think your first suggestion is often called the "They Tampered in God Domain" theme.

Spot on Yaddo, that is a much more appropriatly named theme than 'Science gone bad'  Makes me shameful that I seem to be losing my vocabulary!

Also, Ulthar, those culturally specific themes you brought up are pretty interesting.  It didn't even occur to me that these 'ancient' storytelling themes may have been gender specific based on the history of who generally wrote, created and performed those stories.

Although there lies a certain problem in those Rape Revenge films that are made for just pure exploitation as opposed to social commentary.  I spit on your grave treads a fine line in that regard, since at times it feels like it's trying to make a point, but at others is just a disgusting display of blood, gore and tittilation.  Although I must admit my memory is a bit hazy on that.

I suppose another, very crude and basic theme, which has been mentioned of sorts is the idea of the wanderer.  Whether it be a John Wayne Western, or a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, or even an ancient myth [I suppose] the idea of a foriegner coming to a land, and either changing it for the better, or making their own specifc mark on this new society, is one that can be adapted to many forms and many movies.

Hmmm... requires more thought!

As for the xenophobia, I'm not sure whether that could be classified as a theme as such, but it certainly is a very interesting tool when it comes to story-telling, whether it be a fear of the unknown, in classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, or by isolating a part of society by demonising them by constantly portraying them as the evil attackers [classic example of terrorists shouting 'Praise Allah' shooting Ak-47s and doing evil dastardly deeds.

The whole vacation leading to death plot isn't that new, but like rich mentioned, it does seem to be on the rise.  Is that like Ulthar seems to be mentioning, a reflection on society being more concerned with travel or a known act, like taking a holiday, becoming more of a possible threat, or perhaps it's just on the increase because studios figure they'll make money like the Japanese Horror boom we had for a while there [which seems to be slowing slightly]? 

[Yaddo 42]

Looking at my post again Dean, my grammar and spelling are worse than you're vocabulary! That Should be "Tampered in God's Domain", among other misspelling and mangled diction I wrote.

The far flung locations for "College kids dying on vacation" films may have more practical reasons. Fear of the unknown is always a safe bet for horror and suspense stories since the main characters are out of their comfortable, safe element. There are fewer remote and isolated parts of the US that characters in a mainstream story would want to go to without a higher purpose. Notice The Grudge remake was set in Japan as well, it might have been a tougher sell of a story in the US. Also audiences are less likely to find settings in much of the US frightening in such stories since so much of the country has been homogenized by franchise food places, strip malls and chain stores. Many people consider anyplace without cell phone coverage to be the middle of nowhere now.

Language barriers are good isolating factors in stories. Even if you find other people when you go to help, how can you communicate there's a killer after you, can you trust these people you can't understand, will they unwittingly play into the hands of the people after you, or are the customs you consider monstrous and evil no big deal to them, etc.? Also, the unfamiliarity of another country probably makes it easier to sell a supernatural story element to an audience. Lots of ancient or mysterious folklore going back centuries or more to draw on.

Then there's the really practical consideration: "Let's shoot it in (fill in the blank)! The exchange rate is awesome, they work cheaper, they have tax incentives we can use, we found locations that look just like (fill in another blank), the labor and safety rules are easier on us, etc...."

[dean]

Then there's the really practical consideration: "Let's shoot it in (fill in the blank)! The exchange rate is awesome, they work cheaper, they have tax incentives we can use, we found locations that look just like (fill in another blank), the labor and safety rules are easier on us, etc...."

And that my friend, is why many people in Australia still have jobs in the film industry: we're that cheap alternative [supposedly I guess].  Not that our industry sucks, it just needs the odd Foriegn film to boost the industry up bit by bit.

As for the other practical reasons for that college kids on vacation theme, I suppose like everything in the horror/thriller genre, these things tend to be cyclical and fade in and out of popularity over the years.