In 2021, co-directors Sarah Appleton and Phillip Escott released their documentary, The Found Footage Phenomenon. It was a great success and was immediately scooped up by horror streaming giant, Shudder. Then the duo parted ways to make two further documentaries with Escott helming The Legacy of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Appleton pairing with Japanese cinema expert, Jasper Sharp, to create The J-Horror Virus. Now the two have reunited for their latest exploration into horror cinema history, Generation Terror.
Whilst there are several documentaries that exist that explore the horror films of the 70s, 80s and 90s, the 00s remain heavily uncovered. With the exception of both The Found Footage Phenomenon and The J-Horror Virus, few works have explored what was a truly fascinating era of the genre. This wrong is now thankfully righted with Generation Terror, an in-depth look into a decade of horror that, unlike previous ventures, explores the era as a whole, rather than a singular movement.
Starting with a look at the latter half of the 90s, Generation Terror moves all the way through the first ten years of the noughties. Unlike other genre documentaries such as In Search of Darkness, Generation Terror does not concern itself with highlighting movie after movie. Instead, it is focussed on stimulating discussions around world events from the era and how that impacted and influenced the genre cinema being created. Appleton and Escott also expand the viewpoint wider than just America or England, with discussions about the films that both Japan and France were making at the time.
Most importantly, unlike some of its horror documentary peers, Generation Terror has a modest run time. Many recent film documentaries have been over three, if not four, hours long. This is too long a runtime for most to watch in one sitting, and even if they do, it becomes a case of information overload. Generation Terror keeps to a more respectable 100 minutes, making it more of a bitesize morsel than its beefier counterparts. The drawback to this runtime however, is that some topics are not afforded as much screen time as some would want, but overall the directing duo do a great job at keeping everything balanced.
Of everyone interviewed, it is director and podcast host, Joe Lynch, that appears to get the most time on screen and this is more than deserved. Lynch is a fountain of horror knowledge and hearing him talk about these films and topics could get even the most 00s horror hater excited to watch a movie or two. Britain’s Christopher Smith and Neil Marshall also provide a lot of great insight. The most striking aspect across the board is that on the whole, the filmmakers interviewed don’t keep the focus on their own films. In fact, most barely mention their own contributions to the movement and are instead far more interested in talking about the films that helped shape and inspire them to get involved. Prince Jackson’s contributions to Generation Terror also needs to be championed. The film journalist rivals Lynch in terms of knowledge and repeatedly gives thoughtful and incisive responses.
With so much to discuss, from the events of September 11th and July 7th, to the rise of torture porn, J Horror, French Extremity, and the onset of the ongoing cycle of horror remakes, Generation Terror has plenty to delve into. Whilst some aspects are focussed on slightly more than others, the overall feeling is that there’s just enough on each to keep fans engrossed. As with other era orientated horror docs before it, Generation Terror presents some key moments of nostalgia for those for whom 00s cinema was a formative part of their horror journey. This nostalgia is reinforced through the use of Thibault Chavanis’ new metal inspired score.
Even before the release of Generation Terror, Sarah Appleton and Phillip Escott had proved themselves masters of the horror doc, both individually and together. Generation Terror establishes them as being even more capable at their trade. Whether they stick with documentary cinema for their next project remains to be seen, but whatever they create and with whomever they work with next, we’re certain it’ll be another hit.
Generation Terror
Summary
In Generation Terror, a key era in modern horror cinema is finally explored in all encompassing depth.
Generation Terror was reviewed at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest 2024.
