What defines a scary movie? The wretched horrors of the afterlife? The risk factors involved? How about those ever-changing technological special effects that tend to scare people out of their seats?
In present day, the ‘horror genre’ is loosely thrown out to moviegoers who want to get a scare from a ghost, alien or any other non-existent gory creature. It seems cinematic excellence of the horror genre is given to the most outrageous, creative and extreme movie that encourages self-urination from fear of impossible, extreme circumstances that will most likely never occur in one’s life.
From early millennia Final Destination’s traumatic psychic visions of death, to 2005’s The Exorcism of Emily Rose, horror has become the world’s getaway from reality into fantasy land of pure unrealistic fear of creatures and animals, giving praise to “the freakier, the better.” Along with the fear tactic of imaginary elements, one key component seems to be consistently missing with all this gore. That key element is the substance, the psychological essence within every horror depiction that gave the horror genre its dark, gruesome and ominous reputation from the beginning.
Intelligent thought is slowly slipping away with society’s new perception of the “scary” movie and it’s the people’s responsibility not to encourage this epidemic. Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds, Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange and Shining didn’t lay out tales of psychologically disturbed cases for no apparent purpose.
Many more key horror films displayed human terror at its finest, urging the audience to look within themselves to understand the darker components of every human, and to understand the world is not as innocent as it seems. The Exorcist gave an excellent balance to the horror and the psychologically thrilling components of the movie, as the individual is able to see the great inner conflict this innocent girl came under, showing the struggle one has between good and evil, right and wrong.
What was special about horror was the compelling argument the movie gave to the audience about life; is it as simple as it seems? Are there people with no good in them? Questions arose and stimulated the people watching, death was complex, not as simple as being wiped out by multiple gun shots and cool robot explosions; man had to face his own inner demons and was forced to make sacrifices: should he save himself or his neighbour? Inner conflict haunted him, not only spooky noises and voices coming from Paranormal Activity and Devil who wants to rule earth.
When choosing a movie next time, take a moment to think about choosing one that will lead your mind along a new journey that may be darker than the intended beginning. Don’t let the psychology leave the horror. With Halloween on its way, sit back, relax and enjoy getting two different types of “scared,” it will knock your socks, and maybe your mind, off.