#or even like people bash on the monster designs for c.h.u.d. and it’s like okay but. what do you want them to look like instead?

[devilsskettle]

i’m kind of bored that the be-all end-all of horror sfx is realism. i would much rather see less realistic sfx that focus on visual interest/design and i really admire creative problem solving to achieve a particular effect, and i think the focus on realism makes it harder for low budget filmmaking to have a shot at being made and/or respected. i don’t think this is an uncommon opinion either but i think there’s just this prevailing assumption that films should represent reality and that that’s what audiences want and even when you’re making a movie that’s already based on an unrealistic premise as is often the case in genre fiction, if your movie doesn’t seem realistic, audiences won’t be able to suspend their disbelief and/or they won’t take the movie seriously. and sometimes this does seem to be the case! but also i wish we could all give each other the benefit of the doubt that audiences are able to recognize and engage with unreality in fiction. because it’s fiction. and that unreality in fiction can be intentional on the part of the filmmaker and can be done well and in fact be the correct choice for the movie overall. not that i want no realism ever but i don’t think it should be the only acceptable mode of filmmaking