Among the many genres that exist in movies, books, and video games, one of the most distinctive is horror. To many, the thrill they feel is something they could never experience outside of a screen or page. Although in our culture there are those who avoid it, horror and gore has become appealing to our society in the form of entertainment. First, it is easy to get “thrillers and “horrors” confused. A “thriller” is something that, while it does bring as some of the same feelings, is less about relating to the audience, and more about making the situation each character in thrilling. “Horrors” on the other hand are more about trying to put you and the characters into a scene of spine-chilling jumps and scares. Television companies jumped on the bandwagon after they realized, we as people want to be scared. If you notice the most watched shows such as NCIS, The Walking Dead, or Sherlock all have a thrill that can only be found in gore. …show more content…
With other elements such as suspense and mystery, horror has taken the younger generation by storm. Every suspicion felt after an intense gore is often mistaken for fear, but this only adds to show how involved we feel in these situations that we ourselves cannot experience. That hesitation about taking a shower after watching blood and gore rain from the sleek showerhead of a crime show is natural, as the brain cannot distinguish reality from thoughts. Eventually that self doubt and “fear” exit the stage, and because of that there are people who find what once scared them has no
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
The genre of horror when associated to film, it reflects on a vast variety of issues but when examined for the cultural significance it is narrower to what the aim is. This review surveys multiple scholarly sources from different aspects of the purpose of horror films. This literature review justifies that horror is derived from the fear and guilt within our psychological minds. I will argue that the cultural significance of this genre relates back to the emotional appeals that are conjured up when viewing these films.
Often times I wonder if people go to see horror movies for enjoyment, or is it something much more than that? I have mixed feelings about the idea that, “the horror film has become the modern version of public lynching” (King 562). Horror movies do promote violence and can influence the mindset of the audience, but sanity people is not based on the excitement we receive from watching a horror film. Instead, it is based on what is already within us, not what we witness on a movie screen, but what we experience throughout our lifetime.
Horror is one of many fears humans have. We all have many terrors, but horror is the one that gets the best of us. Some crave, while others resent, the feeling horror movies bring to our body and the emotions that we experience. In Stephen King’s article, “Why We Crave Horror,” he explains that it is a part of the “Human Condition,” to crave the horror. King gives many strong and accurate claims on why we crave the horror movies, such as; testing our ability to face our fears, to re-establish our feelings of normality, and to experience a peculiar sort of fun.
I have provided a clear evaluation of his essay in an organized way using the appropriate standards of evaluation. In understanding why humans “Crave Horror Movies” even when some people get nightmares after watching them we find the importance of our emotions and fears. We find those emotions and fears form a body of their own which needs to be maintained properly in order to remain healthy. We see how emotions can be controlled though viewing horror movies. Stephen King’s “Why We Crave Horror Movies” is a well written essay with convincing analogies, comparisons, and urban humor.
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.
A person’s motive to watch gore and violence is fueled by their desire to explore and familiarize themselves with situations and emotions that could possibly be all too real. In Gerard Jones’s essay “Violent Media Is Good For Kids” Dr. Melanie Moore, a psychologist, supports this claim by stating: “‘Children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that they’ve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood’” (374). Adults function in the same manner and also need violent films to explore those feeling that are locked away inside. By bringing them to the surface, we can confront those feeling and then grow accustomed to them. An example of individuals watching film to
People are addicted to the synthetic feeling of being terrified. Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned.
Would you rather be horrified beyond repair or thrilled to the point of no return? In horror, the main purpose is to invoke fear and dread into the audience in the most unrealistic way. Horror movies involve supernatural entities such as ghosts, vampires, teleportation, and being completely immortal. As thriller films are grounded in realism and involve more suspense, mystery, and a sense of panic. Though both genres will frighten the audience, it will happen in two different ways. Whether the horror thrills or the thriller horrifies, a scare is always incorporated.
The topic I have chosen for my investigation is horror/gore films. The hypothesis I am trying to show is the desensitisation audiences have adopted from films such as Carrie and The Human Centipede. What I have noticed over the years is the competition within the film industry over who can produce the most thrilling, spine-tingling and downright mortifying horror films that will still attract audiences. There are always reams of people who are dismayed by the copious amounts of blood and gore they find in most horror/thriller films, so why are productions like these still being made? The public yearn for more. They want more gore, more extreme deaths, and suspense; but how far will they go? Where will the line be drawn? In a world that is so saturated and ingrained in violence, where brutal murders, wars an deaths can be seen on television and read about in the newspapers, is it possible that people are becoming desensitized to it?
Horror movies today are a part of our culture, and different cultures around the world. This genre of movie may be a hit or miss with people, but it sure does have some devoted fans. People crave adrenaline; and scary movies can be very satisfying. The only problem is, some argue that seeing so many terrifying images can harm your psychological state and your health. In some cases this is true, but in many other cases people tend to handle fear quite well and learn to overcome it.
Over the years horror movies have become a big part of cinema business. Teenagers and adults like to watch scary movies because of the adrenaline rush. Every scary movie includes unexpected scenes that make the movie interesting and frightening. It is very terrifying that, parents are allowing their children to watch horror movies. This can be very harmful for children’s mental health. Watching really scary movies and cartoons, and even playing scary games, has many lasting side effects on children. When we watch those horror movies with kids, unknowingly we might hurt their feelings. To be more precise, it can easily affect their nervous systems. Unexpected loud scenes in horror movies may scare children easily. Horror movies can create negative
Horror movies generally are all the same. They all have been based off of something that has already happened or a previous movie. Society has paid to be entertained by these gruesome stories that we all truly fear. Before movies, people would purchase books of similar tramatic events to read in their spare time for amusement. Writters such as Bram Stoker created graphic novels that grabbed peoples attention for years to come. But the horror movie, The House Of The Devil(1896), was noted as being the first ever horror movie. And as the years pasted, the industry grew and became stronger. The artist and creative portion of the movies became more gruesume and realistic. Now many of the horror films that have been creatured are said to be based off an events that were real. The fact of knowing that the events could be real attract millions of people, and keep the industy growing. Numerous people spend countless hours perfecting the art of terror for our amusement. Truly, they are looking at previous story lines and methods that had become successfull before.
Why are individuals drawn to things that scare them? Perhaps the adrenaline rush or even the sense of fearing the “unknown.” A good horror movie is usually full of suspense, where one is on the edge of their seat worried about what is going to happen next. Not all horror movies have to contain blood and gore, but they all have the same goal which is to be scary. Sometimes, the result of fear from the movie can cause the audience to dread leaving or may relieve them when it is over. Even though people realize that they are watching a movie, their brain reacts by believing that they are in the situation happening on the screen, which causes dismay and fright. Horror films have been around for over a century and have evolved into several different sub-genres: Comedy-Horror, Teen-Horror, Supernatural-Horror, and Slasher.