![]() ![]() The characters are there to be fodder for a higher kill count, and we often crave the excitement of the brutal, bloody kills without feeling an emotional response. We aren’t made to invest in them we aren’t supposed to really care about their plight. The violence is usually extreme, but the characters aren’t well fleshed out. It’s why many hack-and-slash films - like the popular slashers of the 80s - can be super fun to watch but are often not that scary. The horror comes from empathizing with the characters and the situations they are in. In my opinion, horror is one of the more empathetic genres, emotionally. ![]() Exposure to frightening and violent imagery and scenarios free from actual danger can help us face our deepest fears and work to overcome them.Īccording to the article, as early as the 1950s, Martin Grotjahn, a University of Southern California School of Medicine professor and a Freudian psychoanalyst, argued that scary movies are “self-administered psychiatric therapy for America’s adolescents.” In other words, watching horror movies have been shown to help people overcome real-world trauma. Is it exploitative? Does it desensitize us in a harmful way? Or is it a healthy way for us to confront our fears in a safe and healthy way? Does exposure to onscreen horror help us better prepare for the horrors of the real world?ĭo people who watch horror movies need to see violent scenes? Why are some people so drawn to fear-inducing forms of entertainment?Ī recent National Geographic article explored the benefits of watching scary movies, with many viewers experiencing psychological responses similar to exposure therapy, a technique used to treat anxiety disorders. There are ongoing questions about how exposure to this violence affects viewers. Often, what is not shown can be more disturbing than what is overt.īut what is it about this violence that attracts some while repelling others? Should there be a stigma attached to seeking out films filled with violent content? Is there anything wrong with craving onsceen violence while condemning that violence in the real world? Violence in films, especially horror films, has long been a topic of debate and controversy. In an arthouse horror film or psychological thriller, there might be less gore and visceral imagery, but the impact could be more intense given the realism and slow-burning buildup often associated with these films. A violent scene in a slasher movie, for example, might be thrilling or terrifying silly and over-the-top, or downright heart-pounding. Though not all violent scenes are crafted to be scary, most of them are designed to evoke an emotion and create a sense of unease or tension. Violence exists in most horror movies regardless of the movie context. New additions for this year’s update include His House and Candyman, and classics like Dario Argento’s Creepers creepin’ in.The psychology of horror and why our obsession with screen violence may be healthier, more beneficial, and more healing than long believed Each of these best scary movies thrown into our bubbling cauldron had to have at least 20 reviews with a Fresh rating, before being sorted by our ranking formula, which accounts for a movie’s number of reviews and year of release. Or so it would seem.Īnd we honor the recent stabs and strides made by female horror directors ( A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Babadook, The Invitation) and directors abroad ( Under the Shadow, The Wailing). ![]() Slashers ( Scream), zombies ( Dawn of the Dead), vampires ( Let the Right One In) abound with terror of the more psychological persuasion ( Don’t Look Now, The Innocents). Creature features ( King Kong, The Fly) nestle with Best Picture nominees ( The Exorcist, Get Out). Caligari) and Universal monsters ( Dracula, The Wolf Man). So we’re pulling from 100 years of movie history, from those early days of German expressionism ( Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. The wonders of seeing the unknown has always been the luring temptation of movies, and so horror feels especially close to this medium, a genre that exposes audiences to beyond normal, and into death. Something is stalking on your screen, primed to to kill all your free time: The big, boo-tiful list of Rotten Tomatoes’ 200 Best Horror Movies of All Time! The wind forces open the curtained window. ![]()
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