Article written by Michelle Contarino.
As young children, we had one of two types of parents: the ones who shielded us from films because they were 'too scary', or the ones who allowed us to watch these films with the family. My mother was definitely not the latter. She insisted that any film over PG was out of bounds. Being a rebellious child, I found myself watching films my mother banned me from seeing. This was away from home with friends and their families or by persuading my grandpa to let me.
The first film over PG that eight-year-old me watched was the 1990 film Ghost, starring Patrick Swayze. When my mother found out, she was not happy. My grandpa just shrugged and said I liked it (which was true, although, I would flinch and close my eyes at the end scene where the villain would get killed by a falling piece of glass).
I continued to watch scary films (or, at least, films that my mother said were scary for someone my age). From the cult classic film Jaws to the comedy/horror film Gremlins, I revelled in the feeling of my heart beating out of my chest. Something about those films delighted me. As I grew up, my tastes changed, and I began to climb the scary film ladder, surpassing moderately scary and reaching full-blown horror.
By now you're probably wondering why I wrote nearly three-hundred words about my film experience. It may sound useless, but it does open my article up to our topic: Why do we love horror?
For me, it all stemmed from not being allowed to watch these films. I wanted to know what was so bad about them that my mother would have a hissy fit when I asked if I could watch one. I've seen quite my fair share of horror films and I can pinpoint exactly why I still like them.
Horror films let the viewer satisfy their need for chaos without feeling as if they're a depraved individual (sometimes it can feel that way, I must admit). It's the knowledge that what I'm appreciating is something that would be regarded as sick in the real world. If what just happened on television happened to an actual person, I would be regarded as immoral for finding interest in it.
My personal preference when it comes to horror is high-impact horror, where there is plenty of blood, guts and body parts. There are many types of horror films: disturbing and violent to name a few. I want to go through these two types of horror films and talk about what makes them so fun to watch.
Coming in first, we have the disturbing horror films. These are the films that are downright chilling, where the room feels colder the more you watch, and you feel the need to huddle under a blanket. Most of them are supernaturally inclined, with monsters, ghosts and demons that haunt houses and just generally terrify the audience. Some films that fit into this category would be The Babadook, Annabelle and The Nun (coming soon in September).
Why do we like these kinds of horror films? I asked a friend why she enjoyed watching disturbing horror films. She seemed to hit the nail on the head with her response.
"The storylines are a lot more interesting. The fact that we're talking about the unknown and spooky stuff, we don't expect the norm to occur. It makes us think more about what could happen next."
All of these films have the element of suspense. It all boils down to the lead-up of a scene. The fear and adrenaline that ensues when the suspense amps up and the climax is about to occur. The moment where a cupboard door has creaked open on its own, an invisible force has moved an object, or something is breathing down a character's neck. These moments either have people on the edge of their seat with anticipation or curled up into a ball of anxiety, eyes ready to be clenched shut when the jump-scare happens.
I always deliberately watch disturbing horror films at night. I love the thrill of being spooked in the dark. The film feels more real when you're sitting alone with the lights off. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have been scared sh*tless and by the end of a film have to check my cupboards to make sure no evil spirit is lurking. When you start to question and second guess if what you just watched could be real? That's the real fun behind disturbing horror films.
Coming in second, we have the violent horror films. My favourite, of course. The reason these films are my favoured choice is because they don’t hold back. I don’t think I have seen a violent horror film that doesn't try to make its deaths as gruesome as possible. When I watch these films, I can view death as something not so pretty. It's easy to sugar-coat death as something that will happen to everyone, but it's not easy to imagine just how we could die. For example, the Final Destination series (my all-time favourite horror film series) demonstrates how death can be right around the corner no matter where you are or what you are doing.
These films, while able to be disturbing, usually involve a human villain rather than an otherworldly entity. This type of horror film is not for everyone. Some people may be squeamish about seeing blood, gore and the excessive use of violence in a horror film. Others love it for the exact same reasons the squeamish people find it off-putting. Films that fit into this category would be The Strangers, Hostel and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Fear is another aspect that plays into why people may love violent horror films. The content can be so close to real life. Thoughts that what we are watching could happen to us or someone we know give us a fright that can be carnal and addicting. Violent horror films are places where the viewer can sit back and experience humanity at its darkest, purest form.
Violent or disturbing or both, horror is a genre where the goal is to unsettle the audience in all the ways it knows how. Without horror, I personally think the world would be dull. Horror can be an escape from life as we know and a journey into a world where the rules of morality and normalcy do not apply.
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