As you know, I often give quite negative reviews of most of the films that I watch. I don't do this out of meanness or just for the hell of it but because, from seeing the mistakes that some make, it should be easier for others to avoid them in the first place.

Alas, that is never the case. Everyone thinks they know best when they are making their own movies and forget even the most important rules due to budget and time constraints.

So I thought today that I'd outline a few points which would make my horror film watching more enjoyable. Directors and actors please take note.

1) A horror film should be scary. It's no good just loading it up with blood, gore and screaming if you are playing something like "The Smurf Song" in the background or you have distanced your audience from any empathy with your characters. Think of how to evoke an atmosphere of dread by using suitable background music (or even not using any at all!) and by making your characters attractive to the viewer. Remember your target audience and what they are there for.

2) Characterisation is everything. If we don't get to know the characters then we don't care about what happens to them. Flashbacks and voiceovers don't work. The character should give his own exposition throughout even if you are short of time. Also characters should be consistent or consistently inconsistent. Don't suddenly turn a weakling into a hero or a hero into a weakling and try to avoid comedy unless you know your stuff and have someone with natural ability to perform for you.

3) Unity of time and place is also very important. This is straight out of Aristotle's literary criticism. Try to keep the action in one place (unless you are making a James Bond movie) and in a reasonable time period. You only have 90 minutes to fill so try not to get over ambitious and put a year's worth of action into 10 minutes. You are not supposed to be making "Dances With Wolves". Most good horror movies are over within a 24 hour period or less. Let's try to keep it that way. Also watch out for continuity errors. Even changes in light can make editing later an absolute nightmare.

4) A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end. It doesn't matter if you put the beginning in the middle or the middle at the start as long as the plot has those three elements. Don't confuse the audience with numerous flashbacks and an ending that makes no sense to the original story. The use of an epilogue is best avoided unless your name is Quinn Martin.

5) Avoid CGI unless you have an enormous budget. Even the most expensive computer effects always look fake and are easily spotted and sneered at. If you don't have a big budget avoid the gore in favour of other more creative deaths if that is what you are after. Watch Twilight Zone episodes to see how it is possible to be really scary at times without resorting to buckets of corn syrup or a bag of pigs' intentines from the local butcher. If you are making a monster movie, keep him hidden most of the time so that you can get some shock value with the final reveal.

6) Make some suspense. Use some appropriate music and focus on the predicament of one character. Don't go overboard or the audience will feel fatigued and bored. There is a natural timing involved in such things and you will only see it once you view the film yourself after shooting.

7) Don't have too many characters on screen at the same time all jabbering over each other either. More than three speaking roles and the viewer is lost. Using an eavesdropping character who is out of sight of the others is also a good use of a silent character to create some intrigue.

If you are a director then give your actors some appropriate direction. Remember that this is your film not theirs and your vision is the one which will be pulled apart by critics when you get it wrong. Don't suffer primadonnas from acting school telling you how they should be in the role. Check with your scriptwriter often to make sure this is what he or she intended the character to be like too. Use storyboards if your cameraman doesn't have a clue either and never let him use his own judgment.

9) If you are an actor, do not give your director a hard time. He has the producers breathing down his neck and just wants to get on with the job. He doesn't care if you just learnt how to speak with a glass of water in your mouth in acting class and doesn't want it demonstrated in every scene. Do what he tells you to do otherwise you'll end up on the cutting room floor or be replaced with a sock puppet.

10) Finally, for this time. After you have made the film, don't rush to sell it straight away. Watch it again, edit a lot and reshoot if possible. You are very unlikely to get it right first time and no movie is perfect but being realistic about what you are seeing yourself is. If you can no longer trust your own judgement get an outsider in to critique it before you make the changes.

*****

I may add some more to this but I'd like to get some feedback before I continue.

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