Welcome to Horror Court

Hey guys, I've decided to use a lot of the extra time we've had lately to really get into some horror movies I've been meaning to watch. For those of you that remember Scary as 'Elle, this will be our way forward with horror review content as Michelle is and has been devoured by life business. I'm going to take this first review to familiarize you all with my format and how I will rate things as we get into some films, games, and other goodies. And yes, it is called Horror Court because I think I’m funny.

I know that we all have our own tastes, and all of the ratings I give will be my own opinion that you can either choose to agree or disagree with. Maybe it'll turn out that media I don't like will be right up your alley.  I'll be dividing my reviews into three stages. That said, let's dive in.

The First Stage

This first section in any review I give will have some of my long-form thoughts and opinions on the piece of horror that we'll be looking at. This section will include details from the piece and will likely have spoilers and other information in it so that I can really explain what did and didn't work for me with the horror in question. Personally, this is the part that I usually use with most reviews if I'm interested in researching something to see if I would like it.

The Second Stage

The second stage will be for all of my numbers people out there. I will be using five broad categories to describe the piece of media that we'll be looking at. These categories are:

• Behind the Scenes

• Effects

• Threat Execution

• Technical Design

• Personal Preference

I've chosen these categories to be open enough that they can be applied to most forms of media with the idea of particular subcategories that may or may not be mentioned depending on whether or not they are important for a particular piece of horror. For example, "monster design" is a sub-category that will not always be applicable in the strictest sense of the word. This is why I've chosen the broader category of Threat Execution. Let's go through these step by step and break down some of what these broader scoring categories might include.

Behind the Scenes 

This will be the result of factors such as writing, acting, and editing. This section will often include camera work as well unless it really stands out in a particular way that it should be included in a different section. I'll give a throw-back to Cloverfield as an example of a time when the camera moves from behind the scenes straight into technical design. It was an integral part of the way that the story was told and not behind the action the way that the camera from Sinister was. 

Effects 

This category includes things like practical effects, CGI, and may include sound effects at times as well. This is a section where I may issue a warning if there is a lot of flashing that might be a problem for readers with epilepsy or a similar condition. Effects can range from good to bad, but I know that I have seen plenty of movies with bad effects that were still effective at doing their job. 

Threat Execution

It took some time to come up with to make sure that it would describe what I wanted it to. This section will lean heavily into the amount of tension in a piece of media as well as the effectiveness of the antagonist, whether it be a monster or force of nature, that is present in the film. You might want to consider this the "scariness factor" in some ways. I will likely call out if there were an undue amount of jump scares or if the media failed to make me think that the protagonist might be in danger. This factor will be especially prevalent in reviews of horror games.

Technical design 

This will include everything from lighting and sound to puzzle and setting design. This is the section that will generally include the pieces that make up the ambiance of a piece of work. There may be some overlap on this section and effects depending on how the aspects in question are used in a particular piece of media. 

Personal Taste

Finally, I have a section for my own personal tastes. This section will likely encompass whether or not I felt the piece of media was effective for the genre regardless of how technically "good" it was. I'm sure in time you will come to see some of the things that I like and dislike in film. That said, I'm going to take this moment to make a disclaimer that I have noticed that I really like Canadian horror films for some reason compared to most other countries. For whatever reason, the pacing and plot lines usually work really well for me even when there are other aspects that are weak. I'm sure it'll come up at some point.

In all, these five sections will be graded out of 5 and then divided by 5 for a ranking between 0 and 5. For example, if I believed that a film had a 4,2,5,4, and 3 in the above categories that would give the film a total score of 18 or a 3.6. This will hopefully allow for all of the aspects of a film to be looked at without there being too much information in the final score. That said, if you would prefer to see a rating system for 0-10 I will consider adjusting the scoring system accordingly. 

The Third Stage

My final section will be a spoiler-free reflection on whether or not I suggest watching or playing the piece of media being reviewed. I.e. they will be judged as Innocent media that represents the genre or Guilty media that didn't make the cut. I will take some of the strengths and weaknesses into account, but this section should be relatively short compared to the long-form review and will hopefully serve as a way to support or avoid films if you find that you agree with my ratings. 

See You in Court

I look forward to talking about horror media with you all, and strongly urge any suggestions or requests to be added in the comments below. The first piece going to court is the Junji Ito Collection. I'll see you there!

If you enjoy the material on this site please consider supporting us! If you think I missed something, found something you enjoyed, or you would like me to cover something specific make sure to leave a comment below or contact me on twitter. You can also catch our streams over on Twitch for video games, art, and tabletop gaming content. I am also the Lead Writer for the Paths: World of Adia RPG and one of the writers for Realmwarp Media's Great Cities of Magic!