Horror Movies Rhetorical Analysis

King concludes his essay by stating that horror movies appeal to the worst in us, and that is why we feel the need to watch them. King suggests that by watching horror movies, we help ourselves to keep our bad emotions and instincts at bay, and allows the good emotions to continue to remain on the surface. It allows us, as humans, to remain sane and happy. In conclusion, while there are basic and obvious reasons for wanting to watch horror movies, such as to have fun, there is also a deeper, psychologically-based reason: they allow for expression of the basic "bad" human emotions, which most find is essential to our mental health.

Finally, Mr. King ties the alligator metaphor to an allusion to The Beatles’ classic song “All You

The potential lyncher or saint needs to be “let loose to scream and roll around in the grass.” Why over-work the good emotional muscles and neglect the muscle-tone of those less desirable?

There is a logical fallacy in the title of his article, because not everyone craves horror movies. King eventually tells the truth concerning horror movies, which becomes the key to understanding why certain people crave. First, he says, “the horror movie is innately conservative, even reactionary.” What is being held back? What is being reacted against? All that is good. He writes, “If we share a brotherhood of man, then we also share an insanity of man. None of which is intended as a defense of either the sick joke or insanity but merely as an explanation of why the best horror films, like the best fairy tales, manage to be reactionary, anarchistic, and revolutionary all at the same time.”

What he admits is that, on the action level (where we live), man is without excuse, whether he picks his nose in public or eats someone’s lung just to see what it tastes like. The level of non-reality (in the horror film) does not give man a way out, but a place to reflect

The horror of Poe and other classical writers is rooted in the knowledge that destruction is inescapable on various levels. The cruelty of man against man is shocking, fantasy or otherwise, and the bar must be lowered for impact.

he explained some of the reasons that people choose to go to horror movies to be entertained. King goes on to explain that we as a people need horror movies as a sort of release; to feed the darker elements within all of us without having to sacrifice our humanity (also, civility). In contrasts, people go to watch horror movies is to reassure themselves that they are normal. Another reason, is that people go to horror movies is to prove they can sit through it and are not afraid to watch such types of movies. His final reason is that people enjoy seeing others in danger. He gives examples in his essay by comparing horror movies to roller coasters. People ride roller coasters to prove that they have the courage to sit through it just like horror movies. He also goes to on to explain that people “crave” horror movies to manage their uncivilized emotions of fear, violence, and aggression. He concludes the essay by