Ellis James Frank is only 12 years old.
From Victoria, BC, Canada, he is a budding musician, actor, celebrity, aspiring Rock Star, and now even an author.
As you will have surmised by this point, he is an over-achiever.
He has submitted to Random Note Generator an article for publication.
I have been a long-time mentor of this young man and I heartily support all his artistic pursuits. I plan to teach him how to charm lasses, smoothly wheedle beer, and swear with the utmost creativity. His is the first submission I have accepted to this publication. I hope everyone enjoys his article, which follows…
“The Problem with Horror Movies”
“No! Don’t go back into the scary house”, “No! Don’t pick up the telephone!”, or “No! Don’t go in the woods by yourself!”, is likely what you would hear me say (or rather yell) during a horror movie. The scariest thing about these movies is that you can feel the decaying brain that is inside their heads. Seriously. I doubt there is a single living brain cell behind those writers’ eyes. Scary? Maybe. GOOD? No.
When I judge a movie, I look for realism. By realism I mean: No one would be dumb enough to go out by themselves when there is a serial killer on the loose, or fall over while being chased to their impending doom.
Now, every Horror Movie has a Threat or an Enemy. In the Netflix series, “Stranger Things”, the characters figure out the threat’s purpose, its way of finding them, and everything you would need to know to have a good chance of surviving. On the other end of the spectrum, in the movie “The Ouija Experiment”, the characters are helpless. Sure, they figure out the threat’s name, but that’s it. They try and try, but they just can’t make out the obvious.
So here’s a tip any writer: Think about the audience’s logic. If the audience is one step ahead of the characters in predicting what’s going to happen, then you know your movie/TV show or whatever, is bad.
I’ll leave you with that.
-Ellis James Frank
