Horror movie...

[Fawkes]

... that takes place in an apartment.

I was just watching Paranormal Activity (in my apartment) and I started thinking about how I don't think I've ever seen a horror movie that takes place in an apartment. It's a lot easier to be scared in a house, it is an isolated, free standing structure where one can easily find themselves alone, unlike in an apartment building.

No doubt, this is largely the reason why houses are the main settings, but could any of you give me some horror movies that take place in apartments? I'm curious as to how they would play out and differ from others.

[blake 3:17]

Roman Polanski made an excellent trilogy of apartment based horror movies: The Tenant, Repulsion, and Rosemary's Baby.

Hitchcock's Rear Window would probably count as well.

I saw a recent verymediocre one that I can't remember the name of or who was in it. Big help, eh? It was set in apartment buildings facing each other and the lead character was a woman who knew she was being watched from across the street but struggled to figure out which apartment was spying on her.

PM me if you want a lengthier discussion.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Next Door (2005) takes place in an apartment.

[Fawkes]

Just watched Child's Play for the first time, there's an apartment movie.

[blake 3:17]

Nasty Chucky. It's a good one. Does it all take place in the one apartment? Or just the first half? I can't recall.

Maybe the single best apartment film is Hitchcock's Rope. There could be an argument over whether it's a proper horror film, but it's pretty creepy.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Damn Blake, you beat me to it. The Tenant is on of my favorite movies - and probably deals with the anxieties of renters (not wanting to loose the unit even if it is wanting, unease because of the legacy of former renters in that unit, being surrounded by other renters but also being isolated from them) more than any other movie I can think of. Rosemary's Baby is just a classic and amazingly done (and Repulsion is great, but I just like the others more).

Fawkes: well I think the other reason that movies largely take place in homes is because people who are not either rich or a professional of some kind are not considered interesting subjects by Hollywood - especially in genre movies. Which is a shame - horror is a genre where identification with the protagonists is important and yet Hollywood keeps making horror movies where the main character is "Scientist" "Large Bug Expert" "Horror Novel Author" (Most Stephen King Movies) and so on.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Fawkes: well I think the other reason that movies largely take place in homes is because people who are not either rich or a professional of some kind are not considered interesting subjects by Hollywood - especially in genre movies. Which is a shame - horror is a genre where identification with the protagonists is important and yet Hollywood keeps making horror movies where the main character is "Scientist" "Large Bug Expert" "Horror Novel Author" (Most Stephen King Movies) and so on.

Have you seen Bug (2006)?

Ashley Judd's character is an unhinged tweaker who lives in a seedy motel in that one.

[Fawkes]

Fawkes: well I think the other reason that movies largely take place in homes is because people who are not either rich or a professional of some kind are not considered interesting subjects by Hollywood - especially in genre movies. Which is a shame - horror is a genre where identification with the protagonists is important and yet Hollywood keeps making horror movies where the main character is "Scientist" "Large Bug Expert" "Horror Novel Author" (Most Stephen King Movies) and so on.

Nearly the entire slasher genre is predicated upon depictions of "middle class" suburban teens. The Saw films, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Chucky, The Ring, The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, Carrie, IT, Paranormal Activity, and Jaws are all very different, but classic (or in the process of becoming) horror movies whose protagonists are not rich professionals.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Nearly the entire slasher genre is predicated upon depictions of "middle class" suburban teens. The Saw films, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, Chucky, The Ring, The Exorcist, The Amityville Horror, Carrie, IT, Paranormal Activity, and Jaws are all very different, but classic (or in the process of becoming) horror movies whose protagonists are not rich professionals.

Rich OR professionals. Sure I was overstating it a bit but I think for most genre movies now what I said holds up and many of the movies mentioned above are either not Hollywood movies or are from the 1970s. And even then: Jaws is about a Sheriff, The Ring is about a reporter and photographer, IT is about a writer isn't it, did the people in Paranormal Activity even have jobs to go to, I only saw the first "Saw" movie but wasn't the main guy a surgeon?

Even the high school aged characters in these movies have gone up a few notches in social status. I think the reason that some of these more memorable and classic movies are so good is because they do have more relateable and realistic characters and settings. Poltergeist could be anywhere, the people in Evil Dead or Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be almost any group of friends, the character in "Drag Me to Hell" has a job and is worried about her position there. That's why I roll my eyes when a movie makes its protagonists a crew of bad-ass underwater salvage crew looking for a sunken artifacts or a group of teenagers on their Yacht. It takes me out of the movie and reminds me of 50s horror movies where the characters were always like, the scientist, his hot assistant, a military guy and a cop.

[Fawkes]

Rich OR professionals. Sure I was overstating it a bit but I think for most genre movies now what I said holds up and many of the movies mentioned above are either not Hollywood movies or are from the 1970s. And even then: Jaws is about a Sheriff, The Ring is about a reporter and photographer, IT is about a writer isn't it, did the people in Paranormal Activity even have jobs to go to, I only saw the first "Saw" movie but wasn't the main guy a surgeon?

Yeah, I definitely know what you mean, I just think that it's not at all difficult for the average person to identify with a journalist and a photographer, both working-class jobs. Also, even if they aren't a member of the proletariat, most don't have huge trouble identifying with a sheriff of a resort town. It's about a bunch of suburban kids in 1960, then it shows them later in life, one of whom actually did become a writer. Paranormal Activity, the boyfriend's a day trader and the girlfriend's a student (speaking of the girlfriend, who the fuck puts on deodorant before going to sleep? Some neat freak of a demon crawled up in her). One of the two guys in Saw was a photographer.

I do know what you mean though, I just think it's a stretch to say what you initially said. Also, that was just a really random list, but the intention was kind of to take movies from different decades and show this particular commonality.


It takes me out of the movie and reminds me of 50s horror movies where the characters were always like, the scientist, his hot assistant, a military guy and a cop.
Or bikini-clad researchers in the Amazon....

[blake 3:17]

The origins of the modern horror story are founded in the late 18th and eaarly 19th century gothic. Kate Ellis in her book, The Contested Castle, makes a pretty strong case for the role of the emergence of domesticity and the division (or really the creation) of the private and public spheres. The basic question is the source of terror from outside the home or from inside the home?

On the question of class, it's not usually the very rich, but those in the middle, although usually on the more well to do side. The action often gets started with a crisis often with some loss of status or wealth. Or in some cases, like Psycho or Drag Me to Hell with a protagonist who's trying up the ladder.

The horror films I've enjoyed the most in the last while have been the Rob Zombie remakes of Halloween 1 & 2. The attributed motivation of the villain is actually a return to domesticity.

On a simpler and less sociological level, houses do make better places for horror to occur -- they are more private and also larger. It's hard to make a good chase scene in a bachelor apartment. Like the 19th century gothic, large houses, and abandoned hospitals and warehouses are spooky in and of themselves.

Anybody seen Session 9? It kind of seems like a Ken Loach or Mike Leigh attempt at a horror film.

[Os Cangaceiros]

The horror films I've enjoyed the most in the last while have been the Rob Zombie remakes of Halloween 1 & 2.

http://files.sharenator.com/fuuuuuu_Comics_Gifs_Verticals_Etc-s498x387-93636-580.jpg


Anybody seen Session 9? It kind of seems like a Ken Loach or Mike Leigh attempt at a horror film.

My favorite moment in Session 9:

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[Diello]

Roman Polanski made an excellent trilogy of apartment based horror movies: The Tenant, Repulsion, and Rosemary's Baby.

Oh, you beat me to it!


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a256/Emperor_Diello/Album2/9563786_tml.jpg

"I think I'm pregnant!"

[Os Cangaceiros]

I'm pretty excited for the upcoming Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010), though. It features two hillbillies as the protagonists, and preppy 20-somethings as the antagonists. If that isn't a good send-up of the genre's conventions, I don't know what is. :lol:

[blake 3:17]

And Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave!

[Jimmie Higgins]

Despite Caruso, Session 9 was fantastic! Creeped the crap out of me for days - and that's one of the things I love about the horror genre - it's such a gamble when you rent low-budget horror. Many of the best horror movies I've ever seen were rented totally cold - I'd never heard of Session 9 when I rented it and I had a blast watching it.

[blake 3:17]

It's so good eh? I should watch it again. I'd forgotten Caruso was in it.

[praxis1966]

I'm personally kind of surprised that nobody, Explosive Situation in particular, has mentioned La Horde. It technically doesn't take place in an apartment, but it does take place in a nearly uninhabited project building. Granted, there is a bit of cinematic contrivance to form the primary group of protagonists who work together to fight a bunch of zombies so that they're all guaranteed badasses (a special police unit goes to the building to take out a group of gang bangers headquartered there and they're forced to work together), but it's still damned good.

[Stand Your Ground]

Have you seen Bug (2006)?

Ashley Judd's character is an unhinged tweaker who lives in a seedy motel in that one.
That movie sucked. I wish I could rewind life so I never watched it.