Underground Film Journal

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Experimental Horror Film: Terror!

By Mike Everleth ⋅ August 15, 2012

[vimeo 46827748]

Compiling dozens of clips from classic ’80s horror movies, experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers has created the ultimate horror experience in his short film Terror!.

Standard tropes from the genre — e.g. foggy exterior shots, nubile young women performing mundane tasks, lights being flicked on and off, clueless soon-to-be-victims call out for their friends and others — create and extend a build-up of mood and atmosphere that culminates in a blow-out orgy of gore and violence.

Woman crying in fear

Eagle-eyed fans of the genre will be able to instantly spot the scenes from their favorite, and probably not-so-favorite films, from the original Friday the 13th and Halloween, The Evil Dead, Suspiria and loads more.

Some clips might be more difficult to place, but it’s also very clear that Rivers, who is mostly known for more poetic documentaries such as Two Years at Sea, is an avowed fan of slasher movies and other low budget horror flicks from the ’80s horror boom. By constructing the sequences that he does, Rivers is calling attention to them as a form of tribute without condescension or derision.