rukaio101 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 I recently watched the Exorcist for the first time and despite it being billed as a horror classic, I wasn't particularly impressed. Sure the effects were great and there was some standout stuff, but the whole thing seemed packed with tired horror cliches. It took me a while to realise that the reason it seemed so cliched was because it inspired those cliches in the first place. But, even though I could respect it more, I just still couldn't enjoy it. Well, that's the Seinfeld Effect in a nutshell. It's where you can't stand a classic movie for being so cliched and uninspired, ignoring the fact that, when it was released, it wasn't cliched or uninspired at all and in fact popularised those cliches you're so sick off.So are there any films you've watched which you can't stand for being so cliched, despite it creating those cliches in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainJackSparrow Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Paranormal Activity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webslinger Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Meh, Paranormal Activity doesn't really count here. More ground was broken in the found footage subgenre with The Blair Witch Project ten years earlier... and that wasn't even the big groundbreaker for the subgenre. For years, I thought this effect would come into play with Citizen Kane, but it did not. Holy balls is that cinematography amazing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Disney Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) For me personally, Animal House is a movie that sorta fits this description. I actually like Animal House and think it's a good movie. However, I don't think it's a great movie, despite really being the ground-breaker when it comes to wacky frat movies with weird characters. It feels like stuff I have seen before, despite it coming first. Edited October 14, 2013 by Walt Disney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CloneWars Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Meh, Paranormal Activity doesn't really count here. More ground was broken in the found footage subgenre with The Blair Witch Project ten years earlier... and that wasn't even the big groundbreaker for the subgenre. For years, I thought this effect would come into play with Citizen Kane, but it did not. Holy balls is that cinematography amazing. Except that Citizen Kane does factor into it. I believe it was the first eve non-linear film. Where would Memento be if Citizen Kane never came out? it also invented a lot of techniques that films take for granted nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmac Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Yes, Paranormal is like BWP in that it is found-footage but there was enough stuff different about that film that resonated with me and made it very scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webslinger Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) Except that Citizen Kane does factor into it. I believe it was the first eve non-linear film. Where would Memento be if Citizen Kane never came out? it also invented a lot of techniques that films take for granted nowadays. Oh, Citizen Kane does count as a movie that could be a victim of The Seinfeld Effect. I'm saying it doesn't fall into that category for me because I think it's an excellent movie that does a better job with its techniques than the vast majority of other movies that have been released since. Edited October 14, 2013 by Webslinger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt Disney Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) Except that Citizen Kane does factor into it. I believe it was the first eve non-linear film. Where would Memento be if Citizen Kane never came out? it also invented a lot of techniques that films take for granted nowadays. You missed the point of the thread. The idea wasn't to name the films which created techniques/ideas that were copied later. The point was to name films that when you finally saw them, they weren't great masterpieces to you because you saw those techniques used in many later films (which you saw first) and the techniques/ideas became clichéd. Edited October 14, 2013 by Walt Disney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasmmi Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 I imagine a lot of 70s/80s horror falls into this category. Like the magical slow walking madman who can walk menacingly faster than Usain Bolt can run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinHood26 Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 (edited) - Edited January 3, 2019 by Jay Hollywood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lordmandeep Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 At first it was Casablanca. I watched it and thought omg so Cliche then I watched it again and Loved it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blankments Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 This happened to me earlier this year when I watched High Noon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatebox Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 Matrix for me, I really really like it, but because I saw it so late it couldn't be "The Matrix" to me. Luckily I saw it upon release, but yeah - the bullet time would be cliched as hell watching it a decade later. I imagine a lot of people who've never seen Bond watch the old ones and roll their eyes at some of the stuff the franchise planted into pop culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
