Is this a great scary name for a horror movie? PLEASE help

Nataanii · 06-23-2012, 03:03 AM

I need a great name for a horror movie. Here's what I was thinking:

The Rivervale Massacre

The Rivervale Horror

Does anyone have any good horror titles with the name Rivervale in it? In the sense that Rivervale is the name of a demonically haunted warehouse where a family was slaughtered and their bodies were never found?

WillSauger · 06-23-2012, 03:14 AM

The Massacre of Rivervale

or

The Massacre at/of/in/ Rivervale (depends on the subject matter)

Any location's name in a title sounds boring. Is there any possibly that you can drop the proper name?

FOTSGreg · 06-23-2012, 03:19 AM

No, no, and no.

Try something a little less obvious, but there's not much to go on here.

How about...

Boxes
Warehouse
Night Veils
River Veils
Slaylight
The Towne
The Towen
Towen

Play with your title a little bit. Find something that works for the novel's theme and you like.

That's all there is to it.

Is this written yet? If not, worry about titles AFTER the book's done.

Tinman · 06-23-2012, 06:10 AM

I agree with Greg; try to come up with something more original. Unless you're trying for a 60's retro feel.

Nataanii · 06-23-2012, 05:27 PM

The script is done, I just can't think of a title...until I thought of this:

Either

The Devil's Portal

or The Devil's Doorway

because the story has it where there's a portal to hell and the devil built underneath the haunted warehouse, so I thought: The Devil's Portal or The Devil's Doorway. Does that sound any better?

zahra · 06-23-2012, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nataanii

The script is done, I just can't think of a title...until I thought of this:

Either

The Devil's Portal

or The Devil's Doorway

because the story has it where there's a portal to hell and the devil built underneath the haunted warehouse, so I thought: The Devil's Portal or The Devil's Doorway. Does that sound any better?

Still quite on-the-nose. There are a lot of 'Devil' titled horror films, ie The Devil's Rejects, The Devil's Backbone, etc. Also, bear in mind how much you want your audience to know from the title. Does it give too much of the story away, or isn't the portal a secret for very long? Good luck.

BigWords · 06-23-2012, 05:53 PM

Reminds me too much of Devil's Gateway (a 2007 film), so you may want to start thinking of something which is less specific. It is hard to help with a title, and everyone has different views on what makes a good film title anyway.

Nataanii · 06-23-2012, 09:54 PM

Ok, I think I found a great title. Since the film is going to be shot in the fictional town of Rivervale, I thought about calling it simply:

"Rivervale"

Like Cloverfield was just simply named: "Cloverfield" and it left some mystery to the title, because you wonder "Cloverfield? Hmm, I wonder what that's about?" It's a simply name but when you see the film, it's a total horror knockout. So I thought simply "Rivervale". It makes you wonder "hmm, I wonder what is it about this Rivervale?" And then they see the film and POW! Horror knockout. So...that's just my idea.....*sigh* This is a lot of work for me to do, seeing as how I'm only 11...LOL just kidding, lol, I'm 16

jaksen · 06-24-2012, 05:10 AM

I just want to ask how anyone knows an entire family was slaughtered if the bodies were never found?

Or did the family just disappear and no one knows what happened to them?

triceretops · 06-24-2012, 05:20 AM

Rivervale: Demon's Gate
Slaughtervale
Lucifer's Gate

CrystalCierlak · 06-24-2012, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nataanii

Ok, I think I found a great title. Since the film is going to be shot in the fictional town of Rivervale, I thought about calling it simply:

"Rivervale"

Like Cloverfield was just simply named: "Cloverfield" and it left some mystery to the title, because you wonder "Cloverfield? Hmm, I wonder what that's about?" It's a simply name but when you see the film, it's a total horror knockout. So I thought simply "Rivervale". It makes you wonder "hmm, I wonder what is it about this Rivervale?" And then they see the film and POW! Horror knockout. So...that's just my idea.....*sigh* This is a lot of work for me to do, seeing as how I'm only 11...LOL just kidding, lol, I'm 16

With Cloverfield part of what was enticing was the unusual name in and of itself. Rivervale sounds like a town in The Sims games.

quicklime · 06-27-2012, 07:27 AM

I like titles of some subtlety.....think "Frailty" or "A Simple Plan" or even "Duma Key" versus "The Man Who Saw Scary Demons' Story," "Finding a Million in Drug Money and Losing Everything," and "The Water-Spirit Who Kills People in Florida in a Scary Manner," respectively....

seun · 06-28-2012, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nataanii

I need a great name for a horror movie. Here's what I was thinking:

The Rivervale Massacre

The Rivervale Horror

Does anyone have any good horror titles with the name Rivervale in it? In the sense that Rivervale is the name of a demonically haunted warehouse where a family was slaughtered and their bodies were never found?

Hate to say it but both are way too generic. Make me think of late 70s, early 80s crappy horror films. You want something that stands out in a good way.

Wilmeister · 06-29-2012, 04:59 AM

-The Rivervale Chronicles

-The Rivervale Conspiracies

-Rivervale: The Killings

-Rivervale: The Massacre

-The Legend of Rivervale

-The Rivervale Murders

-The Rivervale Butcher

-Trapped in Rivervale

jennontheisland · 06-29-2012, 08:01 AM

A warehouse named Rivervale? I've never knows warehouses to have names.

"Slaughtered"

What's the name of the demon that haunts it?

BigWords · 06-29-2012, 06:08 PM

I tried to think of several titles like the ones Wilmeister posted, but I keep typing "Riverdale" - when part of the name of a horror film mostly reminds me of Archie comics, something needs to be changed..

Just my two cents.

BigWords · 06-29-2012, 06:08 PM

I tried to think of several titles like the ones Wilmeister posted, but I keep typing "Riverdale" - when part of the name of a horror film mostly reminds me of Archie comics, something needs to be changed..

Just my two cents.

Griffin Hayes · 07-10-2012, 05:48 PM

Maybe think a little more about the specific emotions you're trying to evoke in the film. I know you said scary, but that's vague and generic, therefor your titles will be vague and generic. Are the character's trapped in the warehouse? Are they being hunted like animals? Is there a sense of claustrophobia. The movie Alien took place on a big ship, but the way it was shot still made the audience feel claustrophobic and vulnerable. Come back with a clearer sense of the sensory themes in the story and you might get better results.

JWGriebel · 07-10-2012, 07:59 PM

I've always thought there is something undeniably classy about a horror flick with a simple, one-word name. Something subtle, non-assuming.

I actually think "Warehouse" sounds the best out of all the names thrown out so far.

Try looking into a name along the lines Greg was treading.

zahra · 07-10-2012, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nataanii

I need a great name for a horror movie. Here's what I was thinking:

The Rivervale Massacre

The Rivervale Horror

Does anyone have any good horror titles with the name Rivervale in it? In the sense that Rivervale is the name of a demonically haunted warehouse where a family was slaughtered and their bodies were never found?

If you really want to include the name of the warehouse in the title, why not change its name to something a little less innocuous? I mean, don't go crazy and call it Satanvale or Devilhole or whatever, but why not research old names for the devil and hell and all that, bastardize it a little and see where it takes you.

Lycoplax · 07-10-2012, 09:42 PM

The best moments in horror are when you don't get everything. The shower scene in Psycho is a perfect example. It wouldn't be as scary if it gave you all the gory details.* Even the title is general, slightly vague. I'll just pluck examples from Alfred Hitchcock's filmography: Number 13, The Ring, Champagne, Elstree Calling, The Skin Game, Mary, The Lady Vanishes, Suspicion, Saboteur, Rope, Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Frenzy, Family Plot...

I don't really have examples in horror literature, but titles bear very similar weight for both books and movies.

Being ghastly at titles myself, I have no suggestions of my own. I just wanted to offer some insight as a classic horror junkie.

*Which is why I'm intensely disinterested in Saw and its like. That's not scary, it's a stomach-churner. However, in terms of titles, it might be a good example.

quicklime · 07-11-2012, 06:19 PM

following lyco's lead, in books and shorts:

something wicked this way comes
i am legend
rebecca
the stand
thinner
duma key
swan song
the lake
joyride
dracula

note how many of them evoke SOME sort of sense of what is in there, but many of them don't even do that.....Dracula, and Rebecca, are names--want to know the significance? Fine, read the book. But titling them "The Scariest Vampire Evah!" and "A Gothic Ghost Story of English Scariness!" doesn't enhance their impact, it actually serves to dilute it. Thinner really is about a guy who loses weight...relentlessly. But the title is just enough to make sense in relation to the book, not a tell and not an over-earnest, shrill cry for attention. "The Guy Who Can't Stop Losing Weight After a Spooky Gypsy Curse" would be far less intriguing.

If you want something a bit more directly relevant, Carrie was not titled "The Carrie Wood Prom Massacre" either. Count me in as well under the "less is more" camp.

Lycoplax · 07-12-2012, 02:43 AM

Nice examples, quicklime. You know... It never occurred to me to reference Dracula. (Duh!) I guess I spent so much time picking it apart on a psychological level in a literature exit course, I sort of forgot it was horror. The same with Frankenstein. Christabel. Carmilla. The Fall of the House of Usher. The Cask of Amontillado. Granted, Poe's titles are a little longer, but they still avoid being overly descriptive.

Sounds like I need to reacquaint myself with my horror reading. It's a stormy night out... Perfect weather.

The_Riskbreaker · 07-12-2012, 06:10 PM

Originally I was thinking of something using Riverdale. Eight people were killed, right?

Riverdale Eight (perhaps add "the" to beginning)
Warehouse Eight

But I think the single word titles and other unique names are better. Like "Boxed", or "Rental Space".

Niccolo · 07-23-2012, 12:35 AM

I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have to agree with something a little more subtle. It's about a doorway beneath the building? I was thinking, why not,

Threshold

A threshold is the entryway of a door, like the portal beneath the building in your film. It also leaves some to the imagination, without giving away too much.

06-23-2012, 03:03 AM	#1
Nataanii figuring it all out Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Flagstaff AZ Posts: 87	Is this a great scary name for a horror movie? PLEASE help I need a great name for a horror movie. Here's what I was thinking: The Rivervale Massacre The Rivervale Horror Does anyone have any good horror titles with the name Rivervale in it? In the sense that Rivervale is the name of a demonically haunted warehouse where a family was slaughtered and their bodies were never found?

06-23-2012, 03:14 AM	#2
WillSauger The Beast I Worship. Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada Posts: 3,672	The Massacre of Rivervale or The Massacre at/of/in/ Rivervale (depends on the subject matter) Any location's name in a title sounds boring. Is there any possibly that you can drop the proper name? __________________ Don't Fear Failure. "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" -- Alvin Toffler.

06-24-2012, 05:10 AM	#9
jaksen Caped Codder Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: In MA, USA, across from a 17th century cemetery Posts: 3,945	I just want to ask how anyone knows an entire family was slaughtered if the bodies were never found? Or did the family just disappear and no one knows what happened to them? __________________ Just sold Story No. 28! To EQMM! I am so happy. (New grandson, too. Life is good. ) Eeyore was saying to himself, “This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it.” A.A. Milne

06-24-2012, 05:20 AM	#10
triceretops Super Browser Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 10,176	Rivervale: Demon's Gate Slaughtervale Lucifer's Gate __________________ BLOG http://guerrillawarfareforwriters.blogspot.com/ WAR GATE http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Gate-e...9233675&sr=1-1 WOLFEN STRAIN http://www.amazon.com/The-Wolfen-Str...vglnk-c1189-20 Planet Janitor.

06-27-2012, 07:27 AM	#12
quicklime Classy, eloquent, shit like that... Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: wisconsin Posts: 7,050	I like titles of some subtlety.....think "Frailty" or "A Simple Plan" or even "Duma Key" versus "The Man Who Saw Scary Demons' Story," "Finding a Million in Drug Money and Losing Everything," and "The Water-Spirit Who Kills People in Florida in a Scary Manner," respectively.... __________________ Three words that convey the meaning of six will always look better than twelve....

06-23-2012, 03:19 AM	#3
FOTSGreg Today is your last day. Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Broken Arrow, OK Posts: 7,005	No, no, and no. Try something a little less obvious, but there's not much to go on here. How about... Boxes Warehouse Night Veils River Veils Slaylight The Towne The Towen Towen Play with your title a little bit. Find something that works for the novel's theme and you like. That's all there is to it. Is this written yet? If not, worry about titles AFTER the book's done.

06-23-2012, 06:10 AM	#4
Tinman practical experience, FTW Join Date: May 2012 Location: Southeast Missouri Posts: 200	I agree with Greg; try to come up with something more original. Unless you're trying for a 60's retro feel.

06-23-2012, 05:27 PM	#5
Nataanii figuring it all out Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Flagstaff AZ Posts: 87	The script is done, I just can't think of a title...until I thought of this: Either The Devil's Portal or The Devil's Doorway because the story has it where there's a portal to hell and the devil built underneath the haunted warehouse, so I thought: The Devil's Portal or The Devil's Doorway. Does that sound any better?

06-23-2012, 09:54 PM	#8
Nataanii figuring it all out Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Flagstaff AZ Posts: 87	Ok, I think I found a great title. Since the film is going to be shot in the fictional town of Rivervale, I thought about calling it simply: "Rivervale" Like Cloverfield was just simply named: "Cloverfield" and it left some mystery to the title, because you wonder "Cloverfield? Hmm, I wonder what that's about?" It's a simply name but when you see the film, it's a total horror knockout. So I thought simply "Rivervale". It makes you wonder "hmm, I wonder what is it about this Rivervale?" And then they see the film and POW! Horror knockout. So...that's just my idea.....sigh This is a lot of work for me to do, seeing as how I'm only 11...LOL just kidding, lol, I'm 16

06-29-2012, 04:59 AM	#14
Wilmeister New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 3	-The Rivervale Chronicles -The Rivervale Conspiracies -Rivervale: The Killings -Rivervale: The Massacre -The Legend of Rivervale -The Rivervale Murders -The Rivervale Butcher -Trapped in Rivervale

06-29-2012, 08:01 AM	#15
jennontheisland the world is at my command Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: C eh N eh D eh Posts: 6,315	A warehouse named Rivervale? I've never knows warehouses to have names. "Slaughtered" What's the name of the demon that haunts it? __________________ You are more than welcome to take anything I say personally, whether it was intended that way or not. Eat This.

07-10-2012, 05:48 PM	#18
Griffin Hayes One evil little baby step at a time Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 2,766	Maybe think a little more about the specific emotions you're trying to evoke in the film. I know you said scary, but that's vague and generic, therefor your titles will be vague and generic. Are the character's trapped in the warehouse? Are they being hunted like animals? Is there a sense of claustrophobia. The movie Alien took place on a big ship, but the way it was shot still made the audience feel claustrophobic and vulnerable. Come back with a clearer sense of the sensory themes in the story and you might get better results. __________________

07-10-2012, 07:59 PM	#19
JWGriebel Decrepit Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Bristol, CT Posts: 77	I've always thought there is something undeniably classy about a horror flick with a simple, one-word name. Something subtle, non-assuming. I actually think "Warehouse" sounds the best out of all the names thrown out so far. Try looking into a name along the lines Greg was treading.

07-10-2012, 09:42 PM	#21
Lycoplax practical experience, FTW Join Date: May 2012 Location: Ballston Spa, NY Posts: 339	The best moments in horror are when you don't get everything. The shower scene in Psycho is a perfect example. It wouldn't be as scary if it gave you all the gory details.* Even the title is general, slightly vague. I'll just pluck examples from Alfred Hitchcock's filmography: Number 13, The Ring, Champagne, Elstree Calling, The Skin Game, Mary, The Lady Vanishes, Suspicion, Saboteur, Rope, Dial M For Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, North By Northwest, Frenzy, Family Plot... I don't really have examples in horror literature, but titles bear very similar weight for both books and movies. Being ghastly at titles myself, I have no suggestions of my own. I just wanted to offer some insight as a classic horror junkie. *Which is why I'm intensely disinterested in Saw and its like. That's not scary, it's a stomach-churner. However, in terms of titles, it might be a good example. __________________ I married my co-writer. We shared the fun of writing, now he's in the Navy and I'm at home, rewriting and (theoretically) revising. Living in NY state for the six coldest, dreariest months of the year. Boo.

07-11-2012, 06:19 PM	#22
quicklime Classy, eloquent, shit like that... Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: wisconsin Posts: 7,050	following lyco's lead, in books and shorts: something wicked this way comes i am legend rebecca the stand thinner duma key swan song the lake joyride dracula note how many of them evoke SOME sort of sense of what is in there, but many of them don't even do that.....Dracula, and Rebecca, are names--want to know the significance? Fine, read the book. But titling them "The Scariest Vampire Evah!" and "A Gothic Ghost Story of English Scariness!" doesn't enhance their impact, it actually serves to dilute it. Thinner really is about a guy who loses weight...relentlessly. But the title is just enough to make sense in relation to the book, not a tell and not an over-earnest, shrill cry for attention. "The Guy Who Can't Stop Losing Weight After a Spooky Gypsy Curse" would be far less intriguing. If you want something a bit more directly relevant, Carrie was not titled "The Carrie Wood Prom Massacre" either. Count me in as well under the "less is more" camp. __________________ Three words that convey the meaning of six will always look better than twelve....

07-12-2012, 02:43 AM	#23
Lycoplax practical experience, FTW Join Date: May 2012 Location: Ballston Spa, NY Posts: 339	Nice examples, quicklime. You know... It never occurred to me to reference Dracula. (Duh!) I guess I spent so much time picking it apart on a psychological level in a literature exit course, I sort of forgot it was horror. The same with Frankenstein. Christabel. Carmilla. The Fall of the House of Usher. The Cask of Amontillado. Granted, Poe's titles are a little longer, but they still avoid being overly descriptive. Sounds like I need to reacquaint myself with my horror reading. It's a stormy night out... Perfect weather. __________________ I married my co-writer. We shared the fun of writing, now he's in the Navy and I'm at home, rewriting and (theoretically) revising. Living in NY state for the six coldest, dreariest months of the year. Boo.

07-12-2012, 06:10 PM	#24
The_Riskbreaker knows bears make everything worse Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Union Aerospace Corporation Sewage Plant Posts: 122	Originally I was thinking of something using Riverdale. Eight people were killed, right? Riverdale Eight (perhaps add "the" to beginning) Warehouse Eight But I think the single word titles and other unique names are better. Like "Boxed", or "Rental Space". __________________ "To your question as if this is publishable; I don't know. The only true way to see, is if a publisher picks it up. I mean, EL James is published. Who knows anymore." - WillSauger Current Novel: The Outlands - 90,245 / 90,000(done when I say so) Side Project: The Dead Puppets (NaNo 2012 story) - Editing finished slop Last edited by The_Riskbreaker; 07-12-2012 at 06:10 PM. Reason: added quotes

07-23-2012, 12:35 AM	#25
Niccolo practical experience, FTW Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 158	I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have to agree with something a little more subtle. It's about a doorway beneath the building? I was thinking, why not, Threshold A threshold is the entryway of a door, like the portal beneath the building in your film. It also leaves some to the imagination, without giving away too much.

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