Ladies, gents, welcome to the class of Enjoying Horror! Today we’re going to consider how to enjoy a horror movie and why they’re so very disliked. Are you ready? Ok! Let’s get started.
To like them, we first need to understand why they’re hated. Well, first of all, many horror movies aren’t ‘good’ movies. What? It’s true, and I’ll admit that. A lot of ‘em are sub-par. But isn’t that also true of any type of movie? Maybe, but the difference is that people seem to hold it against horror more than they would against any comedy or action flick. The average movie-goer (myself included) will watch the stupidest comedy in their lives, and still laugh their butts off. They’ll watch a generic, same-old same-old, action movie but still get a rush from it. Why isn’t it like this for horror?
It’s partly because it just can’t cover up its faults as easily as other types. Bad acting, bad plot, bad setting can be covered up with tides of action, comedy, morals, or emotion. But if you throw too many scares at watchers, they’ll quickly become resistant to it: part of what makes it scary is unexpectedness. So all the necessary slow parts let any defects seep through. The viewers then get so caught up in the bad that they block out and forget the good.
What’s the moral of this story? Try to stay objective! That means be fair and aware of both the pros and cons, enjoying the good and destroying the bad. This way if you watch a mediocre horror movie, instead of saying “That was crap!” you might say “That was alright.” Better yet, instead of calling an actual factual good one ‘alright’ you might very well find yourself giving it a thumbs-up!
But for the average movie-goer, that’s not even the main issue. The primary problem is empathy. Let’s stray off topic for a sec. Why do guys generally dislike chick-flicks and emotional movies? Because it would be ever so un-manly of them to share in those mushy-mush feelings, of course. Then, give them an action movie and they can allow themselves to relate to that: car chases, explosions, yeah,
The point of all that? You need to empathize with a movie to enjoy it. You need to want to feel the emotions that the film stirs up. And what’s the emotion that almost everybody doesn’t like feeling? Fear. So they’ll do whatever they can to avoid it. That means avoiding horror and talking it down. The funniest part is: many people keep watching horror movies and keep saying they hate them. Isn’t that hilarious? I mean, what’s the point? Ah, but the answer is in the fact. People keep watching them so that they can keep calling them stupid! They’ll go watch a horror movie and try hard not to get scared because they don’t want to look like wimps. Not in front of family. Not in front of friends. Not in front of themselves. Again this is particularly true for guys, who need to keep up their “I AM MAN” reputations. In fact, people will even get help to resist the fear. They’ll watch the film with friends and talk as it goes and/or forcefully joke and laugh about it. At home, they might watch it in daylight for extra support.
How do we fix this? Step one, the hardest, is to try to be scared. You have to want it. That means defying your instincts that try to protect you from fear. Step two: don’t talk during the movie. Let yourself drift into the atmosphere. That can also include not thinking too much about the movie as you watch it. This way you’ll spend more time feeling emotion instead of analyzing it.
Now you might ask, “Why the hell would I want to be afraid?” That’s the easiest! The same reason you watch action movies, the same reason you go on roller-coasters, the same reason you drive fast: for the rush. Being afraid is just another kind of stimulation. It gets your heart racing, adrenaline pumping, and that feels good (sorta). It can take your breath away. I might sound like a loony idiot for saying this, but why would you not want to be afraid? It can be damn good fun!
So, everybody, now you can go out and watch horror movies. And if you follow my instructions, you might just enjoy them more than you used to. It’s worth a try! Leave your skepticism at the door and have a good time. If you’d like to discuss or debate any of this further, you’re welcome to come see me 'after class' (in other words, you’re welcome to continue the conversation in the comments ^_^ ).
well i cant agree with you that adrenaline rushes are unfeminine. but the part about defying human instincts and facing fear is exactly the reason why I dont watch horror movies! Almost any horror movie gives me nightmares I will openly admit. I havent seen any recent horror films because of that reason and from the commercials I can tell that they are only getting more frightening and violent. Also, movie concepts I've heard about like SAW and the HIlls Have Eyes really turn me off of the genre because it just reminds me how unnecessarily morose some human minds can be. However I have enjoyed some movies in the past but maybe they are categorized as "terror"? Not sure but these are the ones that dont have the blood and guts factor like "The Others" - for me this is an extremely terrifying movie! I liked it alot but I cant seem to bring myself back to any genre or subgenre of horror because I value a good nights rest. My half ass explanation has been that I am already a paranoid enough person and I think the world is pretty scary as it is - I dont know if that makes sense outside my own head lol. Thank you though for this 101 and maybe next time I will at least ask a few questions as opposed to outright refusing when someone asks me to watch one of these movies!
ReplyDeleteMost horror movies I'm just disappointed because I'm not scared. If one actually gave me nightmares I would be impressed.
ReplyDeleteOne that truly did freak me out (if I heard a sound at night I thought it was a crazy person breaking in) was The Strangers.
But I just went to see Friday the 13th and I think it was a total waste of time. Jason never dies, he always wins. And I really don't care about the characters he kills anyway, they go wandering around at night by themselves.
Anyway, I do want to be scared.. but only during the movie.
@Nicole
ReplyDeleteI agree about adrenaline not being unfeminine just as I agree that empathizing is not unmasculine. I was just to point out the beliefs that often drive others, though I admit I should have made my sarcasm more obvious. :D
I also get nightmares from horror movies, quite easily. I just embrace them as dark interesting stories, and the fear a powerful manifestation of my imagination that must be embraced. But I'm one'a those weird people who are interested in that stuff.
I agree that the violence is overdone in some, heck, many movies. The first Hills Have Eyes had decent image of what people pushed to the limit will do, but the second one lacked any good psychological evaluation in favour of pure grit. As for Saw, I think the mentality is fascinating. How far are people willing to go? And how obsessed is this madman with his belief? It is a dark view of what is right and wrong. He is punishing those who deserve to be punished as well as trying to make them appreciate their lives, but are his methods just? Would any other methods work? I agree, though, that even in that series the gore is pushed for those who have this strange dark fascination with pure violence that has been on the rise lately.
@Courtney
Well, hopefully some of my methods of allowing yourself to be drawn in will help. :) If not, try dwelling on the possibility of these things happening to you, as you watch, after you watch.
"Anyway, I do want to be scared.. but only during the movie."
Unfortunately, that's sometimes part of the problem. The fear at times needs to be embraced in full, and allowed to grow enough to flow into life after the movie. This can be disruptive, such as with sleep, or being alone. But maybe that's what it takes, in certain cases. That's what I allow for myself, though I fight the real-life disruptions to keep everything flowing nicely. ;)
Well done, Pierre. I was extremely interested in this post. It might just be your best because you are so right. I hate being scared and am mostly like Nicole. I wish I could take your advice and try it out but I really don't think it's going to happen.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that I love dark fantasy(Pan's Labrynth, Skeleton Key, Underworld), thrillers(What Lies Beneath) and other kinds of scary stuff. But even thinking about any SAW movie freaks me out! I think watching things like torture is damaging to the psyche and honestly don't know why people even consider it. I would worry about my mental health. The world might be better off without these movies even though I agree that my intellectual self is really intrigued by the idea of the whole thing.
My advice to you would be to take you own advice and possibly apply some of these theories to the chick flick genre, as you mentioned. I was excited to see it mentioned.
my dad is definitely famous in my house for watching scary movies over and over again. he also likes watching them alone the first time and then watching our reactions when we watch it as a group. i think he has more fun watching us freak out more-so than he does about watching the movie! i'm definitely one to watch my favourite flicks a billion times over and repeat, word-for-word, every scene. but, like you said, i can't watch a horror flick more than once...i'm just too chicken!
ReplyDelete@Vanessa
ReplyDeleteHehe, thanks. :D
I'm glad you mentioned dark fantasy movies, because I absolutely love those too. They're like horror, cousins or something, because they work in the shadowy area in imagination, but in general they work to move or unnerve you subtly whereas most horrors try to traumatize you by taking extreme measures. Not all of each category fall into these descriptions (though it's pretty often) and I always enjoy when a subtle horror comes along because it can unnerve the watcher even more deeply than dark fantasy, if done right.
Haha, you're right, I should apply my theories to chick-flicks. Problem is, just as people have an aversion to fear, do they not also have an aversion to sorrow? Many of the chick-flicks I've seen strike the "cry note" at some point. But then there's comedies and adventures... I'll definitely try, but I empathize with movies too easily, and there are some emotions that just don't interest me as much. :D
Nonetheless, I need to try to open my mind more! That was the whole point of my post, wasn't it? I'll get to work on that. ;)
@Jenna
Yeah, I'm a little like that too. Your dad, I mean. :)
The next best thing to enjoying a horror flick is watching other people react to it. Actually, my dad is a person who really reacts to movies. It somehow makes it more enjoyable to see that he's getting so involved in it.