Horror...

just watched this show on Okto's Sunday FilmArt called Pulau Hantu. i must admit... that the did give me the creeps. but i put it down mainly to the music and a few eerie scenes. other than that... the show was rubbish. theme was shallow, acting was bad, no character development. it's a far cry from the great horror shows of the Far East. i think that Japanese, Korea, Thai have a warped and perverse talent for shocking, scaring and traumatizing audiences with their film creations.

i think what makes their shows so successful is that these shows leave most things up to your own imagination. so you don't really see the thing that is supposed to scare you. and the most frightening things are usually just at the periphery of your senses and yet suggesting the most horrible terrors, such that as you strain to see/hear them, you actually end up forming scenes of your own and hence scaring yourself.

all these are taken to a whole new level because very often these shows very often make use of everyday objects, places, throw in masterfully chosen camera angles, mix it up with simple yet eerie sound effects, and what you get is a show that really toys with your mind. of course, there must be the mandatory little 'boo' effects (i.e. things dropping suddenly, abrupt changes of camera angles just to reveal freaky things combined with sudden loud music following relatively softer sound effects). and the worst part of these shows are that they leave a very deep impression in your mind (because you were the one who formed most of the scariest images).