Steven Spielberg & the Horror Inside Blockbusters (video essay)

A look at Steven Spielberg's set pieces and why horror may be the key to great blockbusters.

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Music by Epidemic Sound
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SEND ME SOME MAIL:
Patrick Willems
P.O. Box 380333
Brooklyn, NY 11238

[Wintertalent]

Another thing that makes the t.rex scene work so well is the absolute absence of music. All the tension is created by the acting, editing and direction. The music being absent works well in that movie, because for much of the rest of it, the music is bombastic and full-on.

[houston-coley]

Fantastic video - I'd love an entire essay about the problem with "film student" perspectives on movies to begin with.

[mr.admiralaweshum]

I have always maintained that the T-Rex scene is probably one of the best scenes in movie history.

[TheMemoman]

I've never been much of a horror movie guy, but I do recognize their ability to create mood and manipulate the audio, visual and kinetic elements needed to create an effective scene. That's why I had enormous expectations for Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange, and though I really enjoyed the movie, I felt it didn't really went that far with the occult, horror palette. It could've been much more intimidating. On the other hand, look at James Gunn's Guardians Of The Galaxy, what a beautiful peach that turned out to be!

[Crosshair]

In 2005, I told my film class that Steven Spielberg was the reason why I wanted to get into movies. They looked at me like I just told them that my hobbies included drowning kittens.

[fitz]

I wish I had something more insightful to say than "great video, " but this is really great work. I actually think the biggest single problem with Jurassic World is that Trevorrow and co. forgot that Jurassic Park was a horror film.

[PauLtus_B]

This is one of these things you just don't think about and then when you hear it it makes perfect sense.
A lot of action movies have all been thrown on the same pile of "dumb action". But doing good spectacle is _really_ hard. With this video I think you've pointed out a relatively reliable way to make it work when aiming on the fear rather than the coolness.

[TheZombiezeus]

I had the same 'fight' in film school re: Spielberg! Off-the-cuff dismissed because he was popular. And it was MOSTLY because he was popular; the lapses into sentimentality are a side argument.

[solidsnake]

Thank you for defending Spielberg and thank you for the jabs at film students.

[TotallyRadicalShow]

Amazing video man, I'm studying film at a liberal arts college and one of the guys in my class is a huge Spielberg fan and luckily everyone more or less feels the same way about his films. He even brought a breakdown of a scene from jaws that used a lot of the horror elements you talked about.

[beccahawkins]

There's a reason Spielberg is a household name. Film snobs may scoff at him, but he knew how to command tension on the screen, which is why he was able to create so many iconic movie moments. Not everything has to be above the intellect of the common moviegoer. I can't stand pretentious academics who dismiss the mainstream as not sophisticated enough for their taste. Like, I love Ingmar Bergman, but film snobs, you're not better than the average person just because you won't admit you also like blockbuster Spielberg films.

[DirkSholar]

I'm so glad I never went to film school. I'm so glad I didn't waste my money on pretentious art snobs that forgot the FUN of making movies. You never cease to open my eyes more and more to my journey into film making. Thanks, Patrick!

[OakViewFilms]

Patrick, what the hell kind of film school did you go to where they would dismiss Jurassic Park ( or Spielberg for that matter)? At my film school, my professor wouldn't shut up about how great Spielberg was, and most students didn't mind. Some were even intrigued.

[FuzzySoulTiger]

Wow, what a thoroughly detailed and enjoyable essay. Subliminally, I knew this about Spielberg but sorta denied it until watching your video. He truly is a master of directing horror masked as a blockbuster film director. I love his work.

[mrflipperinvader]

6:13 NOW I know why I see a lot of directors who make big Blockbusters did a few horror films when they started their careers

[agraciotti]

Awesome video! I have always told people who say they "don't like horror movies" that they actually do, they just don't know that, and I always mention Jurassic Park or Black Swan as exemples of blockbusters that have strong horror elements. It's a misunderstood and underestimated genre.
Never made that connection between action x horrors directors. Makes perfect sense. No wonder some of the best films in the past years are from new horror directors.

[VincentStevenStudio]

Lol thats why I began to hate film school. All these snobs who think they are too good for these type of films. Most of them dont even have the talent nor will they ever be as good as Spielberg. I love movies period. Wether its terminator 2, star wars, or pulp fiction, or boogie nights, or la la land. A good movie is a good movie no matter what style or genre. Paul Thomas Anderson has a funny interview of why he dropped out of film school for this same reason. People are so full of shit.

[riparianlife]

OOH! I have some inside info on the T-Rex scene! Spielberg looked at a very preliminary version of the scene, told his crew it looked and sounded great, and told everyone to go home. The crew played along, turned out the lights, and walked toward their cars. When he got to his car and drove off, the crew went back inside and kept working all night. As good as the scene is, it is FULL of mistakes from visible crew and equipment, to weird foley effects (The popping tire sounds awful) and the wall that was and wasn't tall alternately, as well as problems with the vehicles' glass and doors. The crew wanted to work the scene for much longer, but Spielberg rushed it.

All of that being said, yeah. The scene worked. Well. And made a huge impact on me. When I visited the home of multiple academy award winner Dean Drabin, an absolute master of sound, I asked him to queue up that scene to play through his unbelievably-expensive system, and that was when he told me the story above.

[apollocobain]

Spielberg mastered the craft of film making early on. Great at getting the most out of a single shot, long or short. For example the push in zoom out in "Jaws." Great at giving you the big picture by breaking it up into details, . The T-Rex being too big for the frame suggests more size and tension than showing the whole creature (ala "King King").

[JohnTalksPolitics]

Great vid. Great correlation. Can't believe film students would dismiss that scene. Definitely one of my most memorable theater experiences ever. It's so good.