I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Is the real culprit the monster that can turn the dead into walking corpses?

No, the real culprit is the hospital director, the doctor who wanted to break the taboo.

It's fair to say that even without monsters, these people would likely have used other means to achieve their goals.

But if he asked himself honestly, if he didn't know the true consequences of this monster, and if he were in that position, possessing the technology to bring people back to life, Jia Wenbin wasn't sure if he would have done the same thing.

What is most frightening is always the human heart.

After a moment of sighing, Jia Wenbin reached out to pick up his wine glass.

He found that his hands were trembling slightly.

Only by pressing his left hand down with his right hand was Jia Wenbin able to drink the last bit of wine in his glass.

"This movie doesn't have anything particularly noteworthy in terms of plot arrangement alone, but its strength lies in the filming techniques, special effects, and atmosphere creation. It is an excellent work in the horror genre."

Having directed commercial films, Jia Wenbin doesn't possess the arrogance of an old-school filmmaker. He understands very well that there's only one standard for evaluating horror films: whether they're scary or not. If they're scary, they're good films.

Lu Ban's "Crying" is undoubtedly a very good horror film.

"It looks like this year's film festival awards are going to produce a dark horse."

For some reason, Jia Wenbin felt a sense of schadenfreude when he thought about the reactions of his colleagues and students when they saw the movie.

……

The Yannan University Student Film Festival, a ten-day event, opened on November 20th.

Several cinemas in Yannan will screen the film festival's entries and nominated works in rotation. Due to the special nature of these works, many independent films and student films will earn higher revenues than regular theatrical screenings, with returns reaching up to 40%.

Among them, the most anticipated work is undoubtedly "The Night Is Short". The director of this film, Lin Mo, is only 25 years old this year. His graduation project film "Wonderful Weekend" won the Gold Award for College Student Film at the Yannan College Student Film Festival that year. Later, he shot some commercials and short dramas. This year, he brings a big-screen movie.

This film also resonates with college students and young people. It tells the story of several friends from college who encounter various setbacks, decline, confusion, and despair after graduation, giving it a sentimental literary feel.

As for Lu Ban's "Crying," although it was mentioned in "Film Report" before, it is a relatively professional industry magazine, and ordinary viewers don't know much about it. Those viewers who don't pay attention to online movies or watch old video websites often have a very shallow impression of Lu Ban.

The 20th, the first day of screenings.

According to the rules, movies of the same genre are shown in rotation, and the screening schedules of several movies are basically the same, with no difference.

The first scene of "The Crying" was scheduled for 9:10 PM.

This is a somewhat awkward time, because a movie ends around 11 p.m., most shopping malls are closed, and the subway is almost running its last train, which leads more people to choose the 8 p.m. showing.

Of course, there are some exceptions.

For example, Bai Qiquan from Yannan University of Science and Technology, along with his girlfriend Pang Zhen, originally planned to buy tickets for the 8 o'clock performance of "College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination! College Entrance Examination!", but they didn't expect that the competition for tickets on the first day was so fierce, and there were even scalpers entering the venue, which resulted in him not being able to buy any.

After some discussion, the two decided that the only tickets they could get were for the 9 pm showing of "The Crying".

"A horror movie? You're not going to be too scared to go back to your dorm alone, are you?"

Bai Qiquan arrived at the movie theater entrance and joked with his girlfriend.

"Hehe, who was it that held my hand the whole time during the last horror movie, afraid to look at the screen?"

Pang Zhen scoffed.

There were quite a few audience members at the 9 o'clock show; the ticket hall was already filled with many people, many of whom were young people like them.

It's a horror movie after all, and it's shown at night, so it's only for young people looking for thrills.

"Tickets are being checked."

When it was time, the cinema staff called out, and everyone lined up.

"Do you think we're the only show here at nine o'clock?"

Bai Qiquan looked at the empty corridor ahead and felt a little guilty.

He felt that the movie theater shouldn't be so quiet.

"No way, aren't there still a lot of people waiting over there?"

Pang Zhen pointed to one side.

Bai Qiquan looked over, only to find that there was no one there.

"Where did this person come from?"

He immediately countered with a question.

"There they are, a group of people. Are they from some company? They're all wearing the same clothes. Is it a team building activity?"

Pang Zhen said earnestly.

Bai Qiquan felt a chill run down his spine, as if the people in front of and behind him were looking at him strangely.

At this point, his girlfriend couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You were lying to me just now?"

Bai Qiquan was somewhat embarrassed.

"Will I have to take you back to your dorm later?"

Pang Zhen laughed heartily.

The two entered the movie theater and sat down. They glanced around and saw that it was full.

After the commercials, the film begins.

Bai Qiquan had seen some horror movies, but this was his first time watching one in a movie theater.

But with so many people watching together, it shouldn't be scary anymore, right?

Bai Qiquan soon realized that he was very wrong.

for example.

For example, when he watches horror movies at home, if he encounters a scary part, he either cuts the scene, watches something else, or even fast-forwards. In any case, he can always avoid some of the scary parts.

But in the movie theater, especially next to his girlfriend, Bai Qiquan couldn't do that.

He could only stare wide-eyed as the nurse in the video walked step by step down the quiet corridor of the hospital.

Subconsciously, Bai Qiquan wanted to tighten his grip on his girlfriend's hand, which he was holding in his right hand.

But then he noticed that she was holding on even tighter.

"No, I need to muster up my courage!"

Bai Qiquan encouraged himself inwardly.

Then he saw the elderly man in the intensive care unit mechanically waving to the viewers on the other side of the camera.

In an instant, a chill surged up from his stomach, and Bai Qiquan felt the hairs on his body stand on end. He wanted to cry out, but his throat felt blocked and he couldn't make a sound. He could only hold his girlfriend's hand tightly.

At this moment, Bai Qiquan was filled with regret, extremely regretful.

Chapter 164 Shattering the Sense of Security

In the latter half of the film, Bai Qiquan used his free left hand to wipe the sweat off his body.

Despite it being a slightly chilly autumn day, and despite being in an air-conditioned movie theater, Bai Qiquan was already drenched in sweat.

They were all scared into it.

The guy with the saw suddenly popped his head out, causing almost everyone in the movie theater to scream in surprise.

Bai Qiquan estimated that if it weren't for the fact that it was in a public place, some girls and some boys might have let out screams that would have hurt the eardrums.

For example, the person next to me.

Pang Zhen was curled up in the chair, her head pressed tightly against the backrest, her eyes squinted, trying to avoid the horrifying images.

However, The Cry is not a movie that relies on scary images to frighten people, or rather, it is not simply a movie that relies on such images to frighten people.

Just Lu Ban's first-person perspective of walking through the hospital corridor with a flashlight was already terrifying. Pang Zhen felt as if she had really entered that abandoned hospital. The air was filled with the smell of medicine and dust, as well as some strange, indescribable odors that sparked her imagination.

In this atmosphere, would you say the visuals are scary? Not really. It's more about creating an atmosphere, laying the groundwork for psychological suggestion.

In addition to the overall audience perception in the movie theater, what truly frightens the audience is their own imagination.

Despite Bai Qiquan's gloating, he himself was not feeling too good.

The thought of someone exploring an abandoned hospital late at night is terrifying, not to mention the doctor who looks like a stitched-up corpse wandering the corridors—it's definitely a chase scene from a horror game.

Soon, Bai Qiquan saw a man dressed as a worker wandering in the corridor. The camera followed him, and Bai Qiquan immediately recognized him as the previously missing construction site manager. Then, when the camera followed this zombie-like man to a room and saw the large pit dug in the ground and the worker's body in the pit, he could hardly bear it.

Because of the atmosphere earlier, he watched the movie very attentively, so he immediately thought of the living human stake mentioned in the recording.

"These workers were bricked into the walls; they were sacrifices!"

Bai Qiquan gradually came to understand everything.

This hospital may be some kind of huge sacrificial site, or perhaps it was built for some evil ritual!

His curiosity overcame his fear, and despite the goosebumps all over his body, as if those numb corpses were right in front of him, he continued watching.

Everyone has a different threshold for fear.

Some people would be terrified at the sight of blood, while others could make a V-sign at Kayako. What Bai Qiquan was afraid of at this moment was not entirely these scenes, but the atmosphere.

Hospitals that are supposed to heal and save lives actually hide dark secrets, and even use the sacrifice of innocent people as a foundation. In the walls of the wards, workers who died tragically are bound inside, which is quite horrifying to think about.

This is the sense of horror that comes from the contrast.

Why do some people find amusement parks, deserted schools, and abandoned hospitals scary at night? Because these places are usually associated with sunshine, joy, cheerfulness, and liveliness, and are places that give people a sense of security.

Horror works, by portraying these places as eerie and dangerous locations, completely shatter people's sense of security, thus creating a more intense sense of terror.

This is why Kayako would crawl under the covers. After all, many people used to think that if they were in doubt, they should crawl under the covers and nothing would happen. Kayako broke this notion, which is why she was so terrifying.

While Bai Qiquan was still curious about the hospital's secrets, the sound of the elevator running caught his attention.

Ding--

As the elevator arrived, all the audience members shuddered, and some even cried out.

A doctor who wasn't wearing a mask stepped out of the elevator.

Bai Qiquan recognized him as Zhao Gongping, the hospital's director!

He was just like any other doctor in a corridor, walking slowly and unsteadily.