The best part of horror movies is the gruesome effects that send chills down the spine, and through the horror genre, these effects have created some of the most iconic moments in media. However, over time, this genre has fallen into the hands of CGI, rather than primarily using practical effects, taking away the fear factor of this beloved genre.
Practical effects should continue to be primarily used in the horror genre, rather than using CGI, because they are more realistic, allow more believable performances and are timeless.
When looking at the importance of practical effects, it’s easy to see how it brings insane imagery to life that quickly captivates the audience in a trance, unlike CGI. This is due to the realism and the sensory experience that is crafted. A cult classic film that utilized practical effects and left a long-lasting influence on the genre was “The Exorcist” 1973. According to Screen Craft, these effects seemed so real that viewers leaving the theater either fainted or vomited. An example of an effect from the film is the well-known spinning head scene, which utilized a mold of the actor’s head placed on top of a dummy to capture a full 360-degree rotation. Watching that scene creates the feeling of exactly what is occurring in the moment because of how disturbingly perfect the effects are.
Additionally, practical effects allow memorable and believable performances from actors. When it comes to CGI, it is much harder for the actor to visualize the monster or object when they are just looking at someone in a green suit or at a stand-in object. According to Actress Aileen Wu, who starred in “Alien Romulus” 2024, she didn’t have to do any acting or imagining because the alien was right in front of her; it was real. Her chestburster scene shadows the original iconic scene from “Alien” 1979, the alien bursts through the Wus’ chest cavity, which was just as terrifying for the audience as it was for the actress. By bringing back practical effects and utilizing the original methods, it makes Alien Romulus a new, terrifying watch for this generation of upcoming horror lovers.
Furthermore, films that utilize practical effects are now considered timeless and sometimes cult classics, an inspiration to upcoming horror movies. Take “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors” instead of focusing on CGI, it primarily uses practical effects like puppetry, stop-motion, mechanical effects and prosthetics to capture the gore in scenes as well as the supernatural aspect of Freddy Krueger. According to special effects artist Damien Leone, he took big influences from “Nightmare on Elm Street 3”, especially for the supernatural aspect of the tormenting Art the Clown in the film “Terrifier 2”, which is known to be a very disturbing horror film for its gore and realism. Practical effects are clearly timeless and always something worth bringing back to the big screen, with the classic films inspiring some of the upcoming films.
Admittedly, CGI does have its benefits, especially when creating bigger visual effects. According to Fangoria, in a recent film, “Together”, a disturbing body horror that utilized CGI for huge transformations that occurred because it worked better. However, the film primarily used practical effects, demonstrating that CGI can not compare to practical effects. Although CGI is more convenient, that does not mean that it is better than practical effects.
CGI is gradually taking away the fear factor from horror and practical effects need to continue throughout the horror genre because they are more realistic, allow believable performances and are timeless. Viewers want the gruesome effects that send goosebumps up their arms, making them hide behind their hands and they want the disturbing realism. They want that fear factor and practical effects are what fuel it.
