How comfortable are you with ambiguity?

[JamesGBoswell]

One thing I've noticed is that there's a spectrum when it comes to comfort levels with ambiguity as a plot device in horror. Some people prefer the very ambiguous, creeping, growing dread of existential horror like in Bird Box, while others prefer the explicit, in-your-face, "I'm going to kill you right now with this knife I'm holding in my hand"-sort of unambiguous terror like in slashers and gore-fests.

I fall almost completely on the side of the former; I don't want to see what the monster looks like or even know if there's really a monster there at all, I just want to be afraid that there could be a monster and believe it's probably horrible, if so. What about you?

[MockTurtle]

When you said "ambiguity" I thought you meant something slightly different. I was thinking sort of Kafka's Metamorphosis type stuff where the explanation for how he turned into a giant insect is never there.

But yeah, I really feel you. The crux of horror is mystery. Imagine if for example the plot of Spiderman really happened. It would be a very scary experience but we don't call this movie a horror. It's an action movie. Horror is about something much less obliging, something much less understandable. It needs to be something that goes beyond our comprehension (at least for the moment).

When I was watching "The Double Life of Veronique" I remember being intrigued throughout and then the screen went black. I said out loud "If credits start rolling I am going to be so ticked" and then they did. But Veronique is not a horror movie and I think if I rewatched it I would get it more.

I want a horror movie to recreate a sense of helplessness in me and I agree totally, you can't see too much. I'm not saying categorically they should never show things (like what the monster looks like) but if a person want's to see all the viscera from the beginning or have the identities of everything explained (like a lot of people wanted after watching "The hole in the ground") then I think they don't want horror. They want supernatural thrillers or adventure movies. Which is fine.

As much as I love movies like Hostel, Evil Dead or The Thing, sometimes when I hear people mention "Slow Burn Horror" I think: "As Opposed to what?"

[Dream Follies]

Originally Posted by MockTurtle

Horror is about something much less obliging, something much less understandable. It needs to be something that goes beyond our comprehension (at least for the moment)...

I like that. Something beyond our comprehension, and this makes me think of another feeling that often comes along with horror...the feeling of awe...

[Tricker]

I enjoy books with ambiguity, especially the ending, but there's nothing wrong with horror that's full on. One recent book I read that applies ambiguity well is Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.