Can You Hear Me Now? Help! My Movie Has No Signal!
Lazy screenwriting gets a montage...
Back in June I wrote an article headlined "Is Technology Ruining Movies?" primarily focusing on the lazy screenwriting tactics of cell phones with no signal and the continued overuse of search engines. Well, that editorial spawned a small conversation of 20 comments, but nothing tops this fantastic montage created by YouTube user "richfofo" of what he describes as "the most overused horror-cinema plot device, post-2000." I can't tell you how happy I am it includes my P2 example and The Strangers.
Just give it a watch and add any comments on the subject you may have below or continue the discussion in the comment section for piece from June.
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I think those movies in this montage were ruined far before technology arrived.
New Rule !! Lol No More Phones In Movies ! … except 1-900 calls in porn movies. lol
It's kinda of a running joke in "The Way of the Gun" but that was 1999 when this was not such a beaten to death plot point.
We haven't even addressed the plot summaries done via telephone conversations. MORONIC!
@Jim_A: Agreed.
Folks keep blaming screenwriters for this. Obviously, you don't have Sprint or worse yet, Verizon. Simple things like, oh, say, WIND blocks your signal. And with Bing! I automatically find those websites that tell me precisely how to summon demons from hell, or every detail about someone I just met. And usually, There's a Sprint or Verizon ad at the top.
Constant "my signal is broken" with the cell phones is a little dumb and lazy. However, I don't think I would've paid attention for one second to the remake of "When A Stranger Calls" if it wasn't for the technology. And "The Departed" could've never happened the way it did without cell phones. The movie "Pulse" couldn't have been nearly as good either.
So I would say it is becoming overkill and a lazy screenwriting device. But saying "screw technology" would not work in a lot of movies, not that anyone is saying that.
It's just my opinion the matter.
I don't want to defend lazy screenwriting, but cell phone are so engrained in society how do you get around it? If these scenes weren't in all these movies, 99.9 percent of people would say "Why don't they just use there cell phones to call for help?"
Automobiles are also a lazy writing tactic. I would love to see a montage of how many times in these same movies a car either a) breaksdown b) a found car won't start c) the keys are on the visor or d) someone can hotwire the car in the nick of time. And why are the doors never locked?
@rdog: LOL! Yeah!