Mystical thoughts

Few days back, I was watching this horror movie - The Wrong Turn. By the way, I am a big fan of horror plots – could be fiction or real. But I have not yet seen or read or heard anything which could have that ‘chill down the spine’ effect on me. The genre of horror movies sadly has changed tracks drastically. Its more to do with psychic cases than paranormal or supernatural beings or should I say things!!

Nowadays its more of bloodshed & brutal violence rather than a good, thrilling storyline. Afterall, it’s the same human body that is being dissected – just that the character & instruments keep changing depending on the plot. At a certain point, it becomes monotonous. The same psycho, the only innovative thing about the plot would be ‘what turned him into a psycho’, on a killing spree hell-bent to kill everyone who comes in his way. Now in most of the cases, since they are shown as extremely mentally disturbed, there’s no explanation as to why victims are killed. But some plots are original enough to deviate from this cattle-killing trend. As in, the psycho here is more of a genius but unfortunately in the perverted sense. And he/she gets a high by proving his/her mental faculty; they are least bothered about the consequences. In these plots there is a certain pattern followed both in terms of victim as well as the incident. And the story revolves around the identification of the scheme / modus-operandi rather than the killer; the more interesting & innovative the pattern, the more interesting the climax.

I somehow am more inclined towards paranormal narrations. Its way more creative, it plays more on imagination & the climax could be anywhere between perfectly logical to extremely bizarre. Depends on the horizon of your imagination – you can create a world which didn’t even exist in your subconscious mind. I don’t think you have to be a firm believer of paranormal occurrences to be receptive to such plots. I am quite neutral towards it but I enjoy such narrations. If they do exist, I would like to experience it atleast once in my lifetime. Basically because the theory excites me & if its not just theory, I would like to be a part of it. To be part of the world made of people who were like us probably days, months, years or centuries ago. And if the basis is nothing but illusion, then again it will be pretty interesting to study the reasoning behind these innumerable incidents. Either ways I find it a very thrilling subject & at any point of time should I have the means or opportunity, I would definitely like to pursue it.

Coming back to narrations, I feel the plot should be intriguing, should have lot of substance in it instead of being stretched (in all possible directions) on the basis of some vague thought. Well, it could start with a vague thought but the thought has to be well processed till it gives you good number of ideas which are not only logically related to it but also equally uncanny. For, if the ideas lose their intensity, the plot will not be consistently stimulating & the viewer/reader/listener’s attention will stray depending on the occurrence of such ideas. Thus the parent thought & the specific ideas born out of it form the basis of the plot.

Once the foundation is set, half the battle is won. What remains is the creative prowess of the writer. Introducing characters which camouflage with the script & nerve-shattering incidents which extend from the ideas mentioned before is the next level. Off-course the inter-relation of the characters & the sequence in which these incidents are knitted to reach the climax smoothly, play a very crucial role in presenting the script. It’s the same carbon but under different circumstances turns either into graphite or diamond!!

A very good script can be turned into a box-office hit or a best-seller only if placed in the hands of the right director or borne in the mind of an ingenious author or narrated by a gifted storyteller. Things can topple on the other side as well in case of a mediocre director/author/story-teller; they are capable of ruining a very good script. While the director can make use of sound-effects (or sometimes the absence of it – very eerie!!) & light effects (no make-up stunts, that’s the least you could do for us), to make the most of the plot; the author could make the scene alive with his writing skills. Though the director has more of an advantage as far as the tools are concerned, the author if successful in achieving what he/she is set to achieve makes the effect far more long-lasting than a well made movie.

Whichever way the book or the movie is made, when it is out in the market, it is ultimately at the mercy of the receiver’s judgment. Its individual perception, what I find interesting somebody else might sum up as ridiculous. Just as in, if you have had the patience to read this stuff till this point, you might end up feeling you wasted your time reading this mindless jargon or you might enjoy every bit of it if you are kind of ‘my type’ or akin to it. Whatever it is, I enjoyed penning down these mystical thoughts.