Sex and violence in film...

[Guest Downhome]

I love a good slasher flick with lots of violence every now and then, so don't mistake me by what I'm about to say...

 

...from the standpoint of a true lover, fan, aspiring film maker and screenwriter, I feel that it is much more effective to give the illusion of graphic violence and sex, rather than flat out showing it. One that really comes to mind instantly is the film which came out this past year, Fraility. It was a grusume film at heart, full of violence and horror, but it presented it in a way in which it left it to you, the viewer, to interpret the severity of the killings. I think when a film does that with either violence, OR sex, it is much more effective. Even take the love scene in Titanic, they obviously were having some hardcore whoopie, but the way it was shown in the car, the way it was presented, it was much more effective to me rather than just being explicit.

 

In short, in my opinion when it comes to sex and violence in film, less is very much more, as long as they present what they do show, in the right way, with the right feeling and mood and the such. Eh, I'm sure you get what I'm saying, lol.

 

What is your thoughts on this?

 

Sincerely,

...Downhome...

[Guest the pinjockey]

How many films though are of the quality of Frailty that you think they could actually pull off the suggested action route? There is so much crap being pumped out there that they need to show the action to kill time and actually have something going on.

[Guest Downhome]

How many films though are of the quality of Frailty that you think they could actually pull off the suggested action route? There is so much crap being pumped out there that they need to show the action to kill time and actually have something going on.

That my friend, is exactly what is wrong with Hollywood, and all of the cookie-cutter writers/dirrectors out there who apparently don't have a fucking CLUE how to write or dirrect a film.

 

There are some great ones, obviously, but it seems that the diamonds in Hollywood are a dying breed. Then again...

 

...what else is new?

[Guest Lethargic]

That's the problem with new horror movies to me. They don't get that point. They feel the only way to scare people is by using gore and over the top death scenes or my least favorite....the music stab/jump thing. God, I wish I'd see one horror movie that didn't do that. You would think that they would've seen how many people enjoyed the Blair Witch which had no gore at all and realize it but they still don't. I just watched/reviewed a movie called The Collingswood Story which is one of the best and scariest horror movies I've seen in years and I don't think there was a drop of blood in it. It was just so friggin tense that it keeps you on the edge of your seat and ready to jump at any moment.

 

Not that it's not fun to see gore and violence sometimes. But it's not scary. I don't watch Jason bashing somebody with a axe and think it's scary. I watch it and I think it's hilarious.

[Guest Downhome]

Or how about Psycho, just how perfect was that films set up and structure? We have a murder there at the begining, and it sets up the audience to feel that something horrible, some act of violence, could happen at any moment. Throughout the film, we are left in suspense, even though there is hardly any more violence for the rest of the film. It's perfect, just totally perfect.

[Guest EQ]

I'm not a fan of gore in movies in general. As far as sex goes, I don't need to see people fucking on the screen. (there are other types of movies for that purpose) If it's well-done, it can help a movie. Otherwise, just imply that two characters had sex.

[Guest El Satanico]

Texas Chainsaw Massacre despite what alot of people seem to think has very little blood or gore in it. Was that a product of a good script or because they had no budget...well we know that answer but still.

 

I'm a big fan of gore and blood, but if it's a smartly written movie then I'd be just as happy without blood and gore.

 

If the blood and gore is handed smartly in the movie I'm a bigger fan than if it's just thrown around with no rhyme or reason. However mindless gorehound movies hold a special part in my heart as well.

[Guest IDrinkRatsMilk]

I'm with EQ on the sex thing. If at all possible, you don't need to show sex at all. It's distracting if it isn't done right, which it isn't most of the time. The two types of movies where it's ok to show that without much thought are pornos, and teen sex comedys, which in a way are pornos with a better plot. You can take a really good teen sex comedy, and a fucking phenomenal comedic porn like Debbie Does Dallas, and they're not much different.

[Guest red_file]

I only really have a problem with the portrayal of sex and violence when they're done poorly. I understand what you're saying in keeping the power of illusion when keeping sex and violence off screen, but I don't think it works as a blanket statement. For example, the unflinching portrayal of violence in A Clockwork Orange; the violence was handled well and was designed to cause uneasiness in the viewer. The carefully crafted love scenes in Emmanuelle -- artful and sensual -- do a better job than the audience's imagination could.

 

I think less can be more (as an aside, I can't even describe how much I hate that phrase; somehow it's passed beyond meaningless cliche into being a vacuous truism, yet everyone knows exactly what it means) but it requires just as much skill to effectively use the illusion of sex/violence as skillful use of sex/violence. So it's not so much one is better than the other, merely that skillful use of either/or is effective.

[Guest notJames]

Less is definitely more.

 

Case-in-point 01 (sex): Fight Club. None of the sex scenes are overt (apart from that little artsy montage when Marla and Tyler first copulate), but the implied chaos of their hard fucking is brilliant, from the copious amount of used condoms in the toilet, to Tyler snapping the rubber gloves when he comes out of the bedroom. That's an effective way of using sex in small doses to give a sense of a larger picture. No need for big titty shots or naked pelvises overtaking the screen.

 

Case-in-point 02 (violence): Pulp Fiction. It's notorious as an extremely violent film, but there are only about six instances of overt, on-screen violence, and they usually last for a few seconds. And the most violent of them all -- the rape scene -- is shown off-camera. It's all implied, whether it's through camera placement or dialogue, especially the dialogue. It seems like there's a threat of violence any time someone speaks. Think about all the yelling and screaming in the most "violent" scenes... yet the actual violence is over in a matter of seconds. Compare that to your average action film, and they're miles apart. That's what creates all the tension and drama in the film, and that's what makes it so effective.