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If you look into the world of Mainland Chinese horror movies
You'd quickly noticed that THEY ALL SUCK!
And it's mostly because of one reason
In China
There are mandatory guidelines for media content
That all films must abide by
Before it can be released
This system of censorship
Is one major reason why Mainland horror films are so bad
However, that is not the entire story
From the Soviet era Eisenstein
To the Hays Code era Hitchcock
Great films and filmmakers persisted
Censorship rarely indicates a lack of quality
Even within China
Under the same system of mandatory guidelines
Great films are still made on the regular
EXCEPT for horror
It just uniquely sucks, across the board
Why is that?
It's almost Halloween again
What better way to celebrate the horror season
With some horrible
HORRIBLE movies
Buckle up
And let me tell you the story
Of Mainland horror films in the 2010s
[Mainland Chinese Horror Film & Censorship]
[Chapter One]
So, how does Mainland horror suck?
Well, suckage number one: Nothing ever happens
Famously, the mandatory guidelines banned
Nearly all supernatural elements
To combat superstitions, I guess
That means your ghost movies Can't actually have ghosts in it
Okay...?
Then what am I looking at?
"You mean that night"
"It was all a hallucination from swamp gas inhalation?"
And that was supposed to be one of the better excuses
Almost all Mainland horror films came in two flavors
Either "it's all a dream"
Or the ghosts are actually humans all along
Take Chinese Oujia vs. Ju-On as an example
No, I did not make that up
The film revolves around a dispute
Between a landowner
And a greedy land developer
In an attempt to scare off the developer
The owner and their friends summoned Bunshinsaba
The Chinese Ouija ghost
But then Kayako from Ju-On also shows up for some reason
It's stupid
And it's almost entertaining
That is, until the end
When it is revealed that
Ouija is the landowner in disguise all along
And Kayako is also another human being
Hired by the developer to scare and kill the landowners
It cannot get any stupider...
Suckary number two:
The sleaze
Actresses are frequently put in compromising situations
Or skimpy outfits
Mysterious Island, for example
Features one of China's most popular actresses: Yang Mi
And throughout the film
She's either in a tank top
Or a bikini
Doesn't seem like much
But remember
It's Asia
The thought of seeing a big-name actress in tank tops
Is enough for people to lust all over her bust size
Sex scenes and partial nudity are frequent
So are risque topics like cheating
And teacher-student romance
It's basically exploitation cinema
Sell the film with the promise that
You get to see something titillating on the big screen
But here is the thing:
It doesn't have to all suck
Blood Stained Shoes is one of the more okay films in the genre
In the story
A widow in the village is accused of infidelity
The villagers drown her as punishment
But before she dies
She curses the entire village
Now, we all know the curse isn't real
But it doesn't have to
The fake curse unleashed the ugliness inside everyone
Some villagers even murder others
And use the curse to cover it up
The film becomes a terrifying critique of superstition
What a brilliant idea
It goes to show that written guidelines and codes
Can always be navigated around
So there must be some other reasons for the state of the genre
Right?
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[Chapter Two]
This is a list of bans and directives
From the National Radio and Television Administration
It includes some reasonable orders
Such as a further ban on product placement involving medicine
It also has some ridiculous directives
Such as a ban on actors with tattoos and hip-hop culture
And everything you see here
Happened in just 2018 alone
Unlike the official content guidelines
These directives are not codified into law
It's not easy to find out what directives are in place
They are updated constantly
Often without warning
It is a huge sticking point in Chinese media culture
In September of 2021
The Ultraman Tiga series
Was removed from various streaming services in China
Likely due to its "violent content"
Massive public outcry caused the decision to be reverted
This is the sort of media landscape
That Mainland horror movies have to navigate around
Being one of the more "at-risk" genres
Horror movies have to be produced very cheaply and quickly
To outpace the directives
This is why the prop for Grandma's grave
Has the word "Grandma's grave" written on it
Her name is literally "Grandma"
It's a prop mistake that can be easily fixed in post
There, I fixed it
But there isn't time or incentive for the filmmakers to fix it
Because tomorrow
There may be a new directive that bans showing graves on screen
You don't know what's coming
It's not worth the investment risk
This is also why sequels and knock-offs
Are so rampant and blatant
Blood Stained Shoes was a success
Incomes Frightening Embroidery Shoes
A movie that actually has almost nothing to do with shoes
Midnight Hair is followed by "Who is Crying at Midnight"
Someone under the bed?
How about a face next to your pillow?
Once you find a working formula that can get past the censor AND makes money
It is a big risk to change things up
And since there is relatively little competition in this genre
There is little incentive for originality
[Chapter Three]
Here is the thing
There are people who support these directives
Under the news article about Ultraman
There are not one but two fathers
Openly express their support for the ban
They believe their children's violent behaviors
Were triggered by copying the show
In 2013
Three children were play-acting a scene from a Chinese cartoon
In which a wolf is roasting two sheep in a comical fashion
Despite parental figures at the scene
They failed to stop the children in time
Two children were hospitalized due to severe burns
The parents sued the animation studio
The state media openly criticize the series for violent content
It was a huge thing in China
Critics of the case believe that there is no proven cause and effect
Between the series
And the children's violent act
Many people, myself included
Believe the blame lies on the parents' failure to act
And to educate
I grew up watching Tom and Jerry
You don't see me hitting my friends with a hammer
Nevertheless, the court sided with the parents
And the series has to be changed
The reality is
Censorship in China is both a policy problem
And a cultural problem
This is an anecdotal experience
But I'm sure a lot of Chinese viewers can agree
Chinese parents love to ban things
If you learn a swear word from a TV show
Instead of teaching you not to use the word
Our parents often forbid us from watching that show entirely
It's often suspected that
The illogical directives were made
Simply as a bureaucratic reaction to complaints
Filed by these worrying parents
So, from this angle
Mainland horror is bad
Because of market demand
People don't want violent, bloody, scary movies
Or at least, enough people don't
[Conclusion]
During my time in school in China
Art education was almost non-existent
Since there were no art exams in school
Art classes were often taken by other teachers
To teach Chinese literature, math, or English
Thus, many people of my generation grew up
Without the ability to analyze and dissect media content
"I don't get it"
Is one of the most common phrases uttered After a movie
We never learn
So everything becomes scary to some
And tempting to others
In my opinion
That's why watching girls in bikinis is such a big selling point
Because a lot of filmgoers don't see that often
People never get a chance to approach
And learn from more mature content
The sheltered audience were treated like teenagers
So they stayed like teenagers well into adulthood
But just like abstinence-only sex-ed
Only raises teen pregnancy
Banning all sensitive materials in film
Surely does not help strengthen our mind
But you know what works?
An open and honest discussion about sensitive subject matters
Don't tell me superstition is bad
Show me how it is bad
Don't tell me violence is awful
Let me know why it is awful
Film is such a powerful tool to educate
Surely
We can do better than this