How DogCatBear aims to bridge the gap between “popcorn movies” and “Art house films
Modern filmmaking exists in a constant war between being an artistic craft and purely existing to entertain the masses. In an age of information, where so much of it is at our disposal, it can oftentimes be difficult to navigate such an array of content. Screenwriters today find themselves falling into a trap, where quality of story and structure is sacrificed to achieve a larger audience and immediate gratification. Luckily, many still aim to achieve popular demand, while not sacrificing artistic excellence. Through our latest horror project, DogCatBear (or DCB) hopes to reach this goal.
The latest entry in our slate of feature film projects, titled “The Roswell Entry”, follows a dysfunctional, yet relatable, family of four, as they work out their differences and attempt to survive a sudden otherworldly threat. The elements of horror in this project strive to never feel out of place or purposeless. It is this very idea of “Story Driven Horror” that DCB aims to combat the stereotype that most big name horror films lack story.
In a genre plagued with the necessity to always raise the stakes, “The Roswell Entry” shows how characterization and emotion can allow an audience to raise the stakes themselves and even push the stakes even further than gore and shock value alone could. Through deep dives into the relationships between the family members, as well as, with themselves, we are brought into a sense of fear, not for ourselves, but for the characters we help you intimately get to know.
Horror films in general are measured as successful and great based on their ability to scare us in addition to their ability to entertain us. This means that there is not always an emphasis on creating dynamic characters or compelling stories. These elements may inadvertently become empty vessels from which we only observe the horror rather than being the thing we are afraid of. A movie can rely on scary too much making it one dimensional, leaving the audience constantly waiting for the next “scary” thing to occur.
Everyday the divide between what is made for the craft versus what is made for the market grows larger and larger. It is our belief that the line on which excellent horror exists lies at the intersection of compelling, dynamic stories and terrifying visual elements. A line the team at DCB believes they have achieved with “The Roswell Entry” and hope you all agree.
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