CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › The Siege Story
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Siege Story

post #1 of 13
8/31/04 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
Some of my favorite films use this claustrophobic device to create tension.

A group trapped in a confined space, either for shelter from the Horror outside, i.e the Romero DEAD movies, or from a mistake of their on undoing like STAGEFRIGHT, and are faced to confront it on the inside.

Other examples are Lamberto's Bava's DEMONS films, HARDWARE, and CUBE. Carpenter's THE THING uses similar method.

It's always interesting to see how filmakers re-invent this formula, which really requires some creativity to pull it off affectively.

What are some other films that adapt the same principles?
Reply
post #2 of 13
8/31/04 at 1:04pm
I think it stems from the horror of claustrophobia, inclosed spaces.

Naturally, what kind of horror film would revolve around the heroes attacking the monster?
Reply
post #3 of 13
8/31/04 at 5:20pm
The thing I love about Lamberto Bava's "Demons" is that even though they are isolated (like in the other movies you mentioned) there are really only a few bricks separating them from freedom. They have several great shots of the theater from the outside. Life as normal in Rome(?) I always found that small detail really chilling.


Stuart
Reply
post #4 of 13
8/31/04 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 
Yeah that's a nice touch!

Not what I'd consider a siege story, but works to similiar affect, are the shots in OPEN WATER back on the mainland of the Bahamas as the couple drifts helpless at sea.
Reply
post #5 of 13
8/31/04 at 5:42pm
Yeah, because it's such a stark contrast. Here's this awful situation. And just in case you've lost perspective on how awful it is, here's the really idyllic situation right nearby.
Reply
post #6 of 13
9/1/04 at 1:34am
Although not horror, but the first film that comes to mind ( and a personal favorite to boot ) would be DOG DAY AFTERNOON ...

But getting back to the topic as far as horror goes, what I find interesting is that there is usually an interesting diversity within the group, and because of their situation, the indivduals find a common bond ... I think that creates a nice human element .........

DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and LAST MAN ON EARTH deal with the theme of being holed-up, with the latter having our hero go at it alone, which makes it especially frightening ....
Reply
post #7 of 13
9/1/04 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
The similarities between LAST MAN ON EARTH and Romero's work are undeniable. It's a neat comparison.

How about the sequence where Price is looking for his daughter's body and winds up at a miliatry camp where soldiers hurl dead bodies into a funeral pyre.

That's a very Romeroesque moment. Not to mention the aloneness of the house already discussed.
Reply
post #8 of 13
9/1/04 at 5:04pm
I was going to say... one reason I adore Savini's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is the use of the house (I know it was used in the original... I just prefer the remake).

As far as one film where the heroes hunt the monsters... ALIENS started off like this, but the hunt backfired. It ended up with them trapped on the planet, but remained claustrophobic because there was not much that could be done but get the Hell off LV-426 or get yourself some weapons.

I'm trying to think of another film that reverses the "Siege" formula... I know there are some, I just can't think of any right now... anyone want to help?
Reply
post #9 of 13
9/1/04 at 5:08pm
Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor do it at the beginning of THE PHANTOM MENACE.
Reply
post #10 of 13
9/1/04 at 5:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles B
Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor do it at the beginning of THE PHANTOM MENACE.
Too... many... jokes... filling head... I... *
Reply
post #11 of 13
9/2/04 at 12:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Legba3
How about the sequence where Price is looking for his daughter's body and winds up at a miliatry camp where soldiers hurl dead bodies into a funeral pyre.
Wow, what a nightmarish scene ... Great, eerie film ...
Reply
post #12 of 13
9/2/04 at 12:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dariodevil
Too... many... jokes... filling head... I... *




nice
Reply
post #13 of 13
9/2/04 at 12:58am

o/t anyone living in charlotte,nc

Does anyone live in Charlotte, NC that knows how I can get passes to see Resident Evil Apocalypse ?
Ninja
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Creature Corner Main
CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › The Siege Story