2009: The Return of 'Fun' Horror?

With early impressions of Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell trumpeting it as a victorious return to the genre for Raimi - a film that sports the trademark camera moves and gonzo sensibilities of his earlier horror films - it looks like fans will have a good time to look forward to this May when Drag Me To Hell hits theaters.

But Drag Me To Hell isn't alone in reviving 'fun' horror this year. If 2009 can be characterized as having an overriding trend, its that horror seems to be hearkening back to the crowd-pleasing era of the '80s. My Bloody Valentine 3-D was one of the best times I've had in a theater in awhile - an unabashed, gore-soaked thrill ride that had no illusions about what it's audience wanted to see. And next month sees the return of '80s superstar Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th remake and from all indications it looks like the filmmakers have endeavored to make this a fast-paced roller coaster ride that cuts straight to Jason in action, rather than follow in the footsteps of Rob Zombie's reinvention of Halloween where a long ramp-up of a psychoanalytical backstory was provided.

Later in 2009 - besides Drag Me To Hell - there's Final Destination: Death Trip 3-D, which ought to give My Bloody Valentine 3-D a run for its money. Then there's the Wolf Man remake, which should be old-fashioned monster movie fun, Richard Kelly's The Box, which looks to be an oddball horror offering with its kitchy '70s setting, and Wes Craven's still-untitled latest, which might be just as satisfying a return to his roots as Drag Me To Hell is for Raimi. What isn't on the horizon for 2009 - save for the Last House on the Left remake and Saw VI - is anything in the way of torture porn or the kind of deliberately grim offerings that have dominated the genre in the later half of this decade. If this is the trend for the foreseeable future, I'm all for it.

The dreary era of Hostel and Saw hasn't done much for me. There's been good films during the last few years but mostly of the arthouse variety (Let The Right One In, The Orphanage) while the general direction of popular horror hasn't thrilled me much. The few films of recent years that have tried to revive a lighter, '80s style of horror - like Slither and Snakes on a Plane - have failed to draw an audience. But maybe this'll finally be the year that horror finds its gory groove again.

When Harry Schooled Jason

Fans of '80s horror got a full serving of awesomeness today with the teaser trailer debuts for the upcoming Friday the 13th and My Bloody Valentine remakes - both films due early next year.

But while Jason is the bigger brand name, in this initial face-off between MBV's Harry Warden and F13's Jason, I've got to give the early advantage to the mad miner. Call it a surprising upset but I'm suddenly way more excited about MBV than Friday the 13th. And it's not just about the 3-D - though that's a hard factor to ignore - but Valentine simply looks like the movie to beat.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the Friday the 13th teaser:



It looks slick - not bad at all. I like the heavy use of the classic Harry Manfredini music, the Pamela Voorhees voice-over, and the prospect that Jason might finally be scary again.

But just compare it to the My Bloody Valentine spot:



Now that's how you sell a slasher movie, folks! It's possible that seeing the My Bloody Valentine teaser on the big screen tonight in front of Saw V might've given it an edge for me but regardless, I think the MBV teaser readily hands Friday the 13th its ass.

Jason probably didn't think he had to look over his shoulder, what with being an icon and all. And 3-D? He's been there, done that. But in the world of slasher cinema, you're only judged by your last body count and by the look of these two teasers, the makers of My Bloody Valentine have taken that to heart.