Pla has a gift for editing, as his mosaic of testimony flows seamlessly and never drops the momentum. He also put himself on camera, in the action, roving reporter style. This increases the sense of bonding on display, punctuated by previous photos of Pla with many of the subjects. This method also allows the director to set a speedy, breathless pace for the interviews that matches his tone of voice. There is a pinball logic to the structure where subject matter changes rapid fire into richer and richer veins of horror life. I was amazed by how heavy things got at times.
The Horror Crowd may be the best retrospective of the last four decades of the genre we will ever get. We are introduced to folks whose names we didn’t know but whose work we do, like Jeffrey Reddick, creator of the Final Destination franchise, and Adam Robitel, director of the Escape Room movies and Insidious: The Last Key. The sit-down with Paranormal Activity director is a lot of fun as Oren Peli is so much more normal than he is para. Newer directors like Chelsea Stardust and Dan Walker remind us about the horror tradition in counter-culture, as punk and gothic helped “those weird kids” convert horror into a lifestyle.
“…the best retrospective of the last four decades of the genre we will ever get.”
Also great to see in the limelight is the great Ernest R. Dickerson, who shot Brother From Another Planet and directed Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, which seems to be highly regarded by the interviewees. I need to get around to that one. Actors like Lin Shaye of the Insidious series are very charming, though I cannot forget the image of her in the rearview mirror in Kingpin. Former Film Threat scribe Dave Parker has some of the most touching scenes in which he addresses the cloud of success that floats further and further away.
Pla succeeds at his stated objective of creating a time capsule of the horror community and its warmth and support. The Horror Crowd will please anyone who has ever walked around in public wearing plastic fangs when it wasn’t Halloween. Just remember to keep telling yourself, “It’s only a nifty documentary. It’s only a nifty documentary.”
The Horror Crowd is a 2023 Award This! Film About Movies or Filmmaking.
"…will please anyone who has ever walked around in public wearing plastic fangs when it wasn't Halloween."
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