by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden
In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s the documentary Generation Terror by Sarah Appleton and Phillip Escott.
Synopsis
Horror bleeds into the 21st Century in an incisive documentary looking back at the late 1990s film industry on a global scale to find out what happened at the turn of the millennium to allow for the huge wealth of horror films flooding out from all corners of the globe.
The Good
Joseph: I checked out of most late nineties to early noughties horror cinema at the time because of two trends often discussed in Generation Terror: torture porn (Yes, I use that description, which may cause some readers’ hackles to rise) and the often post-Scream films that often unimaginatively featured the young stars looking at the camera. I certainly made some exceptions at that time, but the transition toward (arguably) portraying graphic torture more than ever before in horror films turned me off. Because of my avoidance, I knew that Generation Terror would show me some new things and even teach me something, and I was correct. I appreciated the talking heads’ considerations of world and national events that led to the increased graphic depictions, from 9/11 to the division of red and blue states, and beyond.
Mike: Torture Porn. That’s a term that many people associate with the late 90s and early 2000s world of horror. However, while not totally debunking this association, Generation Terror goes deep with a long list of ‘talking heads’ that explain why and how the term came about and what more the era brought to the table.
After the 70s and 80s, horror turned to look at ourselves as the villain and after 9-11, we (here in the United States) learned how easily terror could come to our front door.
The brutality that was possible was easy to put on screen.
Xenophobia and the divide of ‘Red’ vs ‘Blue’ along with the cultural anxiety as the turn of the millennium added to the spirit what people like Joe Lynch, Rob Zombie, Neil Marshall, and Jeffrey Reddick were putting on film and this film does a great job of exploring all of this, and more. A lot of varied opinions on the genre are given and not everyone agrees on what the filmmakers were putting out there, a fact that seems very fresh for a film of this type.
A lot of people discount this era of horror, but Generation Terror does it’s damndest to show it shouldn’t be ignored and maybe there’s more to it than just the unfair moniker of torture porn.
The Bad
Joseph: I mentioned in our recent review of The Last Sacrifice that that film’s editing was often so quickly paced that “some clips are so short that trying to keep track of the titles is not always an easy task.” I have similar feelings here, and the same goes for some of the ideas presented. I’m happy to see that J-horror, New French Extremity, and other international fear fare was represented regarding the time period covered, but found footage horror came into its own then and was only minimally represented.
Mike: The only real faults that I can lay on Generation Terror is that it hits at a very rapid pace, leaving little breathing room in between thoughts and ideas, leaving other things to fall through the cracks. Little room is spent on talk of sequels (although there is some derision of studio remakes) which seemed a bit odd since things like the Scream and Saw sequels dominated and influenced the market as much as anything.
It’s also a bit strange that, aside from The Blair Witch Project, there’s very little said of the found footage style and the movies that certainly influenced others such as [REC] and Paranormal Activity.
The Verdict
Joseph: Fans of the period and styles that Generation Terror covers will undoubtedly find plenty to like about this well-considered documentary. Even non-converts like myself should also find the film well worth a watch. It reminded me of why I never got into a majority of that period’s cinematic fright fare but also gave me insight about some viewpoints that I hadn’t previously mulled over.
Mike: All in all, Generation Terror is a well put together and detailed look at the horror films of the late 90s and 2000s, an era that is a bit underrated and still overshadowed by the similar and template setting films of the 70s and 80s. There’s plenty of thought provoking takes on what made things scary in the time period; werewolves are no longer as scary as they were when you see what regular people are capable of. Granted, there are a few shortcomings, but they can be easily overlooked thanks to the sheer breadth of coverage with all of the ‘talking heads’ that the film puts out there. Generation Terror is a film that a lot of fans are going to love thanks to its deep coverage of the late 90s and 2000s horror films.
Generation Terror
Directed By: Sarah Appleton, Phillip Escott
Written By: Sarah Appleton, Phillip Escott
Starring: Adam Wingard, James Wong, Rob & Sheri Moon Zombie, Neil Marshall, Joe Lynch, Xavier Gens, Srdjan Spasojevic
Run Time: 1h 40m
Rating: NR
Release Date: August 26, 2024 (United Kingdom)
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