While watching Funny Games (the US version) recently, I was struck by the scene in which Paul knocks Ann's cell phone into the sink water early in the movie. The advent of the cell phone has put a real restriction on horror films. One of the over-arching themes in many of these films is the "breaking of communication," getting the lead in a one-on-one situation with the monster/slasher/alien. In many of the 80's slasher films this was achieved with a 1-2 second shot of the killer cutting the phone lines, something that really didn't affect the movie. But, due to the cell phone, we are forced to watch scenes that make the characters out to be careless (they leave the cell phone uncharged or in the car), clumsy (they drop the phone and disable it), uncaring (they manage to actually call the police, but they only send a lone officer to check things out), or scenes that go to elaborate ends to make sure the characters can't simply call in reinforcements (they wander into a "no service" zone right as the villain arrives). For those of us that dabble in writing horror stories or scripts it can be just as daunting, trying to find a way to truly isolate your characters. The rise in social technology, keeping us all connected, is a serious problem for horror.
Are their any horror films that do a good job tackling the cell phone problem?
Are their any horror films that do a good job tackling the cell phone problem?
