What Does Horror Mean to the Average Person

[hammerfan]

Originally Posted by Banshee

I've spoken with workmates and for them horror equates to gore/slasher movies. A lot of them mention the Saw movies, Scream etc.

While there are some good horrors that involve blood and guts, but more often these types of movies are just anatomy lessons.

I prefer subtlety in the horror genre. Movies like The Haunting, Juon, The Fourth Kind.

I hope this is the kind of thing you were looking for. :)

And I prefer "monsters", as in, vampires, werewolves, zombies, "Frankenstein's creature", etc., including creatures like Godzilla, Cloverfield, etc.

[Sculpt]

dictionary.com

hor·ror
[hawr-er, hor-] Show IPA
noun
1.
an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear: to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.
2.
anything that causes such a feeling: killing, looting, and other horrors of war.
3.
such a feeling as a quality or condition: to have known the horror of slow starvation.
4.
a strong aversion; abhorrence: to have a horror of emotional outbursts.
5.
Informal. something considered bad or tasteless: That wallpaper is a horror. The party was a horror.

Did they actually write, "to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror"...

[DrFrankensteinsGirl]

Most people around me classify gore flicks as horror nowadays and if it takes 10,000 mutilated bodies to scare someone I feel sorry for how accustomed to death we as a society have become. Back in 1931 all Frankenstein's monster had to do was stand up and people fainted. Back in the day it was about telling a story, but most of my friends don't want a story though, they want mindless torture porn for an hour and a half. I watched Hostel with my cousins one time and after it was done they didn't even remember the characters names but they could describe in detail how they all died.

[Haifisch]

To me, an effective horror movie is the type that I can watch in the dark and get this deep feeling of dread, as if at any moment some unknown being will grab my shoulder.
I also like it when horror movies or stories can make me afraid of things that I don't normally find scary. For example, I'm sure we can all agree that butterflies aren't scary at all, but The Cocoon by John B. L. Goodwin was very tense and creepy. Also, I'm not a religious person, but Jigoku put the fear of hell in me as I was watching it.
I'm also in full agreement with Banshee, in that subtlety can be the mark of some of the best in the genre. One recent film in that regard which I highly recommend is Session 9.
It does befuddle me as well that so many people don't think horror is horror without some blood and tits. They say that slasher movies are "old school," but was The Haunting a flasher film? What about Freaks? Or The Phantom of the Opera?
Still...I do think the gorehounds have better taste than some. I've heard one guy claim that the Resident Evil movies were "real" horror. Oh, and some people who claim to be horror fans name I am Legend, The Unborn, and the American version of One Missed Call as some of their favorites. I can't help but shake my head.

[knife_fight]

For someone that isn't a fan, a horror film is just another movie. Something that can entertain them for an hour and a half or so and they can turn their brain off and forget about it 5 minutes after it's over.

For me, as a horror fan, a big part of the way I enjoy horror movies is turning my brain on and asking "Why?" and, hopefully, remembering the film for a long time afterwards.
Why is this film good or bad?
Why is it scary or not?
Why is this movie popular or unpopular with horror fans or the general public?
And so on and so forth. I like to analyze why I like things or dislike them.

[HorrorJ]

What gets me is when people say stuff like, "How can you watch that garbage?"..."Turn it down, she's screaming so loud!"..."The acting is so terrible!".

You have to be a fan of any genre to truly appreciate it. Like me...I don't understand why so many women love those romance books. Blech! To me, that's smut. And they consider what I like to be smut. So there you go.

:rolleyes: :cool:

My fiancee, Bill, isn't a horror fan. But, when we were watching FT13th the other night on cable, he was all, "No, wait! I wanna see what happens!...Oh, what's gonna happen to her...Oooh!" :D So yea, I do think that, deep down, there are a lot of people who have that need for horror, even though they won't admit it.

[CaraBloodyCara]

Originally Posted by Haifisch

To me, an effective horror movie is the type that I can watch in the dark and get this deep feeling of dread, as if at any moment some unknown being will grab my shoulder.

Exactly. I like that. It's somewhat of an adrenaline rush, if you find the right film to watch in the dark. That perception of danger without (ideally) ever actually having to experience real danger is what got me hooked on the genre in the beginning.

For a long time, horror meant a safe place for me. When life gets difficult, and you have to be strong, it's nice to escape into a situation where you are not only permitted, but expected to be disturbed, scared or anxious.

It can still be that sometimes, but I've also stayed just for the love of the variety and the originality that horror can at least attempt to offer when everything else is horrible crap. Musicals getting turned into movies, more Nicholas Sparks novels getting turned into movies, more Oscar bait about a historical figure that 80% of viewers will be pretending to give a crap about for the first time...but horror, if you look hard enough and you're willing to take a risk as a viewer, can be refreshing and new.

[Haifisch]

Originally Posted by CaraBloodyCara

Exactly. I like that. It's somewhat of an adrenaline rush, if you find the right film to watch in the dark. That perception of danger without (ideally) ever actually having to experience real danger is what got me hooked on the genre in the beginning.

Thank you :)
It is a real treat to find a horror movie that's actually horrifying. Same goes for horror comedies that actually make me laugh.

[knife_fight]

Originally Posted by CaraBloodyCara

For a long time, horror meant a safe place for me. When life gets difficult, and you have to be strong, it's nice to escape into a situation where you are not only permitted, but expected to be disturbed, scared or anxious.

I've read numerous things that would claim that this is exactly why people like the horror genre. Instead of being nihilist, as some would claim, horror is actually a very life-affirming experience.

Because while America possibly invading yet another Middle East country may be scary, at least they aren't wearing a knifeglove and stalking us in our dreams.