Universal Studios creative director John Murdy likens horror to the fantasy genre. “There’s a reason the horror genre was born in the Great Depression…people needed an escape.”
Year after year, moviegoers and entertainment junkies feast on violent and terrifying content. Although most common during Halloween, horror movies and spine-tingling series are a mainstay in our pop culture. As films get more violent and depraved, video games get more immersive and disturbing, and television gets more depressing and bleak, we often find ourselves asking one question: why do we enjoy this? Our enjoyment of mayhem and gore can easily be dismissed by our primal nature as humans to be predisposed towards the macabre, but perhaps there’s a better explanation than that. While this article won’t uncover any psychological secrets on why we enjoy horror or dive into the lasting effects of violent media, it will hopefully give you a better view of the genre as a whole. As Halloween creeps closer, let’s take a look at why we love to watch scary movies.
The idea of macabre stories is as old as time itself. History is littered with unspeakable crimes and tragedy, so it’s only natural that our fiction would reflect it. As far as movies and television are concerned, the horror genre didn’t really start until the early 1900’s. Although some silent films and Japanese films dating in the late 1800’s had horror tones, many attribute the rise of the genre to the monster movies of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Needing a release from the stressful world around them, citizens flocked to cinemas to watch films like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Mummy.
The genre stewed for many decades, with various countries and cultures adding their own distinct flavor. Around the 1950’s and 1960’s, there was another resurgence, with films like Godzilla, Rosemary’s Baby, and a few Universal monster movie remakes. Things started getting really bloody in the 1970’s and 1980’s, with trauma-inducing films like The Exorcist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and a slew of Stephen King novel adaptations. We also saw the rise of the slasher genre, with films like Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, and countless others. When it comes to the late 20th century and horror, the list of great films is nearly endless. Everyone has their favorite, whether it’s the sci-fi thriller Alien, the supremely gory and disturbing The Thing, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, or many others.
I consider the horror genre to be the most flexible and inventive genre in recent years, and the reasons behind that are the same reasons we must love to watch them so much. As the horror genre has matured, we have seen a massive amount of sub-genres. Like fear itself, horror films can be based on every aspect of life. From the mundane to the insane, the horror genre taps into our most fundamental anxieties. The early 2000’s pushed the limit on blood and gore, with films like Hostel shocking audiences around the world. Brutal scenes of torture became commonplace, and film series like SAW transformed from crime thrillers to depravity-filled nightmare fuel.
This eventually gave way to the more refined horror we see today. There’s a big focus on the paranormal, but I argue that this focus is less about creepy ghosts and more about the unknown. The fear of the unknown is probably the biggest fear that grips us as humans. It’s why we are afraid of space, the ocean, and the giant mystery that is religion and the afterlife. Horror films like to prey on those anxieties when they’re not shoving them down your throat. Early 2000’s horror feels very “in your face”, opting to let you see all the grisly details up close. Although this can be disturbing as hell, it’s the more realistic fears that take a deeper hold on us.
Looking at the horror genre as it stands today, it’s one of the most robust genres for storytelling. Horror content allows creators to explore the darker parts of our existence, and dig up the things that keep us awake at night. Sometimes, that’s simply a blood-thirsty monster or ghoul. Often though, our fear is much more grounded than that. The most popular horror movies of recent memory, specifically Get Out, Hereditary, and a few others, focus on the more human element of horror. They force us to come to terms with things like racism, guilt, family trauma, and mental health. Sillier horror movies like The Purge and Happy Death Day remain popular, but it’s the more serious and grounded films that seem to gain the most acclaim.
Horror films and television series are great at making us terrified for a few hours, but the truly great pieces of media stick with us for much longer. They force us to examine our darkest fears and bask in them, under the illusion of entertainment. A good horror film makes you scream, but a great one makes you think. They ask you to surrender control, expect the unexpected, and then slowly break down your guard. Then, once the terror has ended, you are free to return to everyday life. Horror movies always have a conclusion; a way to justify the fear. Perhaps that’s why we love them so much. We are allowed to feel vulnerable and scared, but we always know the movie will come to an end. True fear and anxiety feel never-ending, and only the horror genre is able to bottle such strong feelings and deliver them in bite-sized chunks.
About Author
