Short answer yes. Long answer I sent an email to you at MacabreSociety.com discussing this very thing just over a week ago. Never heard back, maybe I don’t have the reputation. Would love to hear your thoughts but, honestly, I have no idea my email was received.

Maybe this will get a response.

I LOVE short stories (and short films). I watch a lot of older series on Chiller like Night Visions and Tales from the Crypt. With commercials, most of those episodes and stories are only 20-25 minutes long. But even in such a short running time I find them really entertaining (some of them pretty scary). I think it is very impressive given that there has to be an introduction, rising action, climax, and denoument all within that time period. But maybe that format only works on television. I think most normal movie goers would be wary to spend 10-15 dollars to go see a series of 20 minutes films. And the studios probably wouldn’t market them well.

It kind of makes me sad when I see short stories turned into full length movies. I’m embarassed to say I haven’t seen Midnight Meat Train yet (not that it actually played in a theatre anywhere near me), but the Books of Blood are some of my favorite stories. When I heard that one in particular was being made into a full length movie I assumed it wouldn’t be good for the mere fact that they would take an amazing story and add a bunch of stuff that never existed and would ruin the plot. And in the end, it was just a another movie being made from a story that already existed, a story I already knew.

Clearly there is something happening in horror that is unsettling, the constant barrage of content that is given to horror fans has been catering to that $$$ you spoke of, and largely missing the real point of ENTERTAINING. In recent years, many of the horror films that actually get distribution have great moments, or great special FX, or great music, but then leave us with an overall bland feeling toward the film. One of the solutions is to cut the running length down. Hollywood is so set in its ways of that almighty 90 minute mark to assure quality and sale-ability yet, many of these films could be extraordinary if they were cut down in length to SERVE THE STORY, and not the running length minimum requirements.

But its not just features, it seems that even some shorts go too long, and some episodic films for TV (Fear Itself and Masters of Horror) pad out what should be a short film into an hour. As we speak I am trying to do something about this, in my own way. Will it succeed? Will it fail? Who knows until I try, and I encourage you and anyone that is reading this to try something new.

Regardless of the current trends in horror, NOW more than ever is the time to try something out of the box, something unsafe and something original!

Most of us say we want originality, but when something untried comes out where the fuck are we with our money? We are sitting at home doing EXACTLY what the studio execs said we would. As a fan you should be there for anyone trying something new even if it might suck. Because the message you want to send to Hollywood is “Yes untried ideas and original material does sell.”

Far too often we as fans write films of before even giving them a chance. If you didn’t go see Repo! because it was a musical or because it had Paris Hilton in it then you are to blame for the blight of originality. No one says you have to like it, but atleast throw your vote (and it is a vote) in the ring for something new and fresh. All you did by skipping out on movies like this is just reaffirm what Hollywood says about genre films. You did exactly what the people who pass on these kinds of movie said you would do. It doesn’t matter WHY you chose not to see these films, only that you DIDN’T.

The dollar rules all. And while we are quick to fire off our tirades on the internet few of us are willing to back it up with the one thing that would change the tide. Showing your support doesn’t mean you have to love the film or even like it, but that you atleast respect that they are trying to give you something new.

You have to take the bad with the good and support it all the same. Not every new idea is a break away hit and Im not here to infer otherwise. If all you do is get behind the one or two things you REALLY like and let everything else get fucked then all you are doing is proving Hollywood’s point. That we as fans are too fickle to bother catering to and they are better off making rehashes of tried material to make a sure return on profit.

Fans argue that Hollywood is fucking insane for thinking they can make money on just serving up the same old shit over and over. Well, wake the fuck up because they do. They make tons of it. Because people exactly like us have proven to them that making something other than the cookie cutter film may mean a bomb at the box office. Since we are only concerned with supporting the best of the best and not the genre as a whole we perpetuate the cycle. All this thinking does is prove to Hollywood that there is more money to be made by sticking to the safe shit.