Horror movie writers: can you do us a favor, please?
Stop treating the viewing public like idiots.
The movie The House of The Devil has an official synopsis of (emphasis mine):
The House of The Devil('s idiotic brother)
Sam is a pretty college sophomore, so desperate to earn some cash for a deposit on an apartment that she accepts a babysitting job even after she finds out there is no baby. Mr. and Mrs. Ulman are the older couple who lure Sam out to their creeky Victorian mansion deep in the woods, just in time for a total lunar eclipse. Megan is Sam’s best friend, who gives her a ride out to the house, and reluctantly leaves her there despite suspecting that something is amiss. Victor at first seems like just a creepy guy lurking around the house, but quickly makes it clear that Sam will end this night in a bloody fight for her life….
This is the 21st Century. The 20th Century isn’t that far behind us.
ANY person who goes to a babysitting job and finds out there is no child is GOING TO LEAVE. No amount of money is going to change that, no amount of convincing by the people who posted the job is going to do the trick. People have a survival instinct and when they smell something rotten like this it kicks in and they realize, “Hey, something is not right here.”
Yes, everyday there are idiots in the news, especially if you read Fark™ or live in Florida. Yet the idea above is so beyond the pale that even a person of sub-par intelligence would not accept it. Her friend who drove her to the house didn’t even accept it, yet “reluctantly” left her there. Not much of a friend.
What does a babysitter need to know before accepting the job? The kid. The person needs to know feeding times, nap/sleep schedules, allergens, phone numbers for emergency contact, and much more. If a person shows up and the answer is, “well, we don’t really have a child for you to sit. We just want you to stay in the house during this lunar eclipse. Oh, and don’t worry about Victor, he just likes lurking. [insert_maniacal_laugh_here]” then they are going to disappear, much like your audience.
What horror fans want is more intelligent horror movies, or at least more intelligent protagonists. The whole premise of The House of The Devil is so out of touch with not just the previous two decades but the generation that were spawned in the 70s and 80s. After the advent of “Stranger Danger” and scare stories of babysitters getting raped/Satanically sacrificed became playground and campfire fodder it would take a sensationally idiotic person to continue with the offer made in this movie.
They would leave then become strippers to get the deposit they need on the apartment.
To you horror movie writers that do believe your audience is full of idiots I say: come up with some more plausible plot lines for Flying Spaghetti Monster’s sake! The suspension of disbelief that each viewer of film and television automatically brings with them does not extend to idiocy.
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