Oscar Picks

I want more 60 minute Horror movies

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I've watched a lot of horror movies over the years, and although many are terrible by design, so many have had a good idea, and/or some great scary and violent scenes, but were clearly padded to reach feature length.

Flashbacks, scenes of driving, random shots of the woods at night, repetitive conversations that go nowhere, etc.

The most recent example I can think of is the movie "Nope". I really liked the first 2/3, but when the surviving characters leave town, the movie essentially stops, only to slowly restart again. Characters waste time re-explaining what's going on, a new character joins the team, and the film turns into more of an action/adventure.

It was a TERRIBLE decision. A solid half hour of the film from that point didn't work for me at all. It completely took me right out of the movie. But if they went from the scene where our heroes first retreat from the ranch, and then immediately went to the finale, then it would've been a really solid, scary film.

So why not end things a little early? Especially for movies going right to streaming. My favorite example is Host (2020). 60 minutes by design, and I wasn't bored for a minute of it.



The trick is not minding
Not many films clocking in at exactly 60 minutes, but I can compile a list of films that fall at less than 90 minutes. Plenty of them range from about 70 to 80 minutes.
Many of these are 1950’s sci fi films and some are HGL’s exploitation horror/splatter films of the 60’s and 70’s.



If you haven't already watched them, you might like this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448190/

I own Carpenters contribution Cigarette Burns (i am not a fan of carpenter but this was pretty good) and Stewart Gordons H.P Lovecraft adaption, The Dreams in the Witch House.

I'm with you on short horror films and sometimes just short films in general. There's more discretion as to what really needs to be said, and when they work, they seem to hit harder than longer films. Oh, and i can't stand the 3hr trend - drives me nuts!



I've watched a lot of horror movies over the years, and although many are terrible by design, so many have had a good idea, and/or some great scary and violent scenes, but were clearly padded to reach feature length.
Yes, and I think that horror as much as any genre really suffers from "Great idea, but how to make it 90 minutes or more?"

I think that part of the problem is that people expect a movie to be that 90 minutes, especially if paying to see it at a theater. And most people don't think of themselves as watching a lot of "short films", so that label can really mean something doesn't get as much recognition/distribution.

Two movies that are right about an hour long that I think really exemplify telling the story in the exact correct amount of time are Lyle and The Hatred.



I think that part of the problem is that people expect a movie to be that 90 minutes, especially if paying to see it at a theater
I think the 100+ minutes running time has become the new standard. I don't know why, maybe because everything needs to be epic these days.
And while that doesn't necessarily makes them less entertaining, it does make them less memorable imho.
Personally, I think Django Unchained would have been better as two films because there's too much going on.

NOPE has that Gordy's Home subplot which I thought was too good to be a subplot but at the same time it clutters the flow of the story (and did it really help to flesh out the character, or was that even necessary?).
I don't need to know everything I just want to watch the evil cloud doing bad things.



I think the 100+ minutes running time has become the new standard. I don't know why, maybe because everything needs to be epic these days.
And while that doesn't necessarily makes them less entertaining, it does make them less memorable imho.
Personally, I think Django Unchained would have been better as two films because there's too much going on.

NOPE has that Gordy's Home subplot which I thought was too good to be a subplot but at the same time it clutters the flow of the story (and did it really help to flesh out the character, or was that even necessary?).
I don't need to know everything I just want to watch the evil cloud doing bad things.


I honestly think Gordy's Home should've been its own movie. It's the scariest part. There are many different ways they could've gone with it to flesh it out to a full film.



If you haven't already watched them, you might like this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448190/

I own Carpenters contribution Cigarette Burns (i am not a fan of carpenter but this was pretty good) and Stewart Gordons H.P Lovecraft adaption, The Dreams in the Witch House.

I'm with you on short horror films and sometimes just short films in general. There's more discretion as to what really needs to be said, and when they work, they seem to hit harder than longer films. Oh, and i can't stand the 3hr trend - drives me nuts!


Thank you! I'm surprised I've never heard of this. I'll check it out.



Thank you! I'm surprised I've never heard of this. I'll check it out.
Here's what I thought of the different episodes (obviously, your mileage may vary!!)

The Good
Incident On and Off a Mountain Road--adapted from a short story by the great Joe Lansdale, it benefits from being the perfect length of story

Sounds Like--Directed by Brad Anderson, with his signature blend of atmosphere and shocking violence.

The Screwfly Solution--a super dark premise (an epidemic of violence against women breaks out and it's so normalized that it takes people a while to realize something is seriously wrong), I thank this episode for introducing me to James Tiptree (aka Alice Sheldon) the sci-fi author.

Deer Woman--I really love when horror taps into folktales or mythology where gods/demons/monsters are just forces of nature and not necessarily evil. I thought that this was a charming, funny story.

Sick Girl--Funny and sad. This is a horror movie where you like all the main characters, the two leads and the guy who plays the main character's best friend.

Pick Me Up--Doesn't quite stick every moment, but this tale of dueling serial killers is a lot of fun.

Fair-Haired Child (maybe?)--I remember enjoying this one, but at the same time I can't remember much about it.

The Passable

Cigarette Burns--many people consider this one of the best of the series. I just didn't gel with it.

Dreams in the Witch House--some fans really enjoy this one. I found it mediocre.

Dance of the Dead--I watched it, but remember nothing about it.

Haeckel's Tale--Likewise, watched it, but unmemorable.

Valerie on the Stairs--Another one that made little impression.

Right to Die--Can't remember if this one is on the lower end of passable. I know I liked the actors in it.

Family--Meh.

We All Scream for Ice Scream--Meh.

The Black Cat--Another one I barely remember.

The Washingtonians--Goes on too long.

Dream Cruise--Unmemorable.

Hard Pass

Imprint--Overly violent and cruel, in my opinion, with some bad acting to boot. The only episode in the series I'd consider basically torture porn.

Pro-Life--It just . . . bad

Pelts--It's also just . . . . bad

Jenifer--She's deformed, but don't worry. She has nice breasts because heaven forbid a woman exist on this show that we can't sexually exploit. Sigh.

Haven't Seen

Chocolate, Homecoming, The Damned Thing, The V Word



We need more 60-mins movies in general I'd say, or at least a legit cut-down of the ones we're getting these days... they all seem like they go on forever.
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HEI guys.



We need more 60-mins movies in general I'd say, or at least a legit cut-down of the ones we're getting these days... they all seem like they go on forever.
It's actually one bright side of streaming, in my opinion. Movies or TV episodes can really be of different lengths. It was fun to see the Roald Dahl shorts from Wes Anderson, for example.



Victim of The Night
Or another Karloff favorite of mine...


...clocking in at just 68.