Differences Between Horror And Horror Movies

Watching a scary movie tends to heighten our emotions, allowing fear, excitement, and anticipation to course through our veins. Many experience an adrenaline rush, due to their intensified emotions, causing a pull towards watching horror movies. This thrill is an unexplainable sensation, that has the ability to captivate the viewer. Furthermore, the suspense posses us to continue to watch the movie, keeping us at edge of our seats. We become driven to know what will happen next. Moreover, the dramatic irony in horror movies has a tendency to keep the viewer engaged. For example, the viewer knows who the murderer is, however the characters on screen perceive him to be a trusted confidant. Although, many people are scared to face their fears,

What is horror? Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives the primary definition of horror as "a painful and intense fear, dread, or dismay." It stands to reason then that "horror fiction" is fiction that elicits those emotions in the reader. An example of a horror film is "The Shining", directed by Stanley Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick was a well-known director, producer, writer and cinematographer. His films comprised of unique, qualitative scenes that are still memorable but one iconic film in his collection of work is The Shining. Many would disagree and say that The Shining was not his best work and he could have done better yet, there are still those who would say otherwise. This film was not meant to be a “scary pop-up” terror film but

This open letter is directed at the directors of Horror films. This letter will discus the over used gimmicks and the lack of creativity on their part. It will be written in a conversational way with the use of pathos of how these movies are faulty with a touch of humor, and rhetorical questions to emphasize certain points of my discussion of this topic. I will also use ethos through my time as a film fanatic who is passionate on all that is film especially horror film which is my favorite film genre, and is the largest genre with so many subgenres within it that have the ability to use so much imagination. I have crafted this conversation to be directed towards the directors of horror films with the use of film lingo that is used for this genre, movie examples they should look at, and a deep analysis of what and how this problem cause movie of today to lack in appeal.

Horror is the genre that keeps the reader on their toes for nights upon end. It keeps them thinking. Thinking about how cruel and disturbing someone, or something, could possibly be. Thinking about what in the world happens to a character after the story drops off in a cliffhanger. Thinking about the probability that the events in the narrative could transpire in real life. Thinking about how likely it is for those things to happen to the reader. Refusing to look out their window in fear of seeing the glimpse of a murderous face, and listening to every sound with acute accuracy, praying that the noise is not one of a stranger creeping up the stairs. Scary accounts make the reader live in fear whenever the

The foundation of horror genre was set by monsters that not only haunted your dreams but also conveyed rich themes found deep beneath the surface. Vampires are considered a symbol of seduction and sophistication while Frankenstein monsters represent misunderstanding, oppression, and rebellion. Some of the strongest symbolism is found in standard films of the horror genre does not come from the frequently updated relics. Utilizing fear and horror as mechanisms for subtext, social commentary, and symbolism, George Romero created a new horror genre, one that scares and shines just as much as great horror classics. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead revolutionized the once stagnant zombie film and made into something unstoppable, still to this day zombie movies rake in millions of ticket sales at the box office while remaining culturally relevant.

If somebody asked me what my favorite type of movie is I would probably say horror. I would say horror because it provides a thrill in me that no other type of movie sparks within me. When reading Stephen King’s article I realized there is more to a horror movie than just thrill, there is anticipation, and even suspense shown. In “Why We Crave Horror Movies”, Stephen King uses a mysterious tone and pathos to successfully persuade his audience of kids and adults into watching mysterious horror movies that will let you re-establish your feelings.

A thriller is a type of film that usually instills excitement and suspense into the audience. A thriller is commonly described as a tense edge of the seat environment. The movie, Vertigo, is one of the most famous thrillers ever made. However, Vertigo does not fit into the stereotypical genre of thriller. Vertigo, often viewed as an experimental film because it was one of the first major thrillers of that time that used many different and innovative camera techniques. These techniques used in this film are different types of lighting, montage, intense music, etc. Vertigo is known to be one of Hitchcock’s best movies because of his unique sense of style and his famous

Hitchcock’s Psycho is a great representative of horror and thriller genres. The director masterfully creates an atmosphere of suspense and creates tension. Hitchcock blends characteristics of a thriller with horror, making the audience terrified. The director creates situations that can happen to anybody of the viewers, and thus, makes such scenes even more scaring and disturbing. For instance, the scene of the murder in a shower impresses the audience to a

Horror movies. The type of genre that gives a thrill of adrenaline, yet also gives nightmares late at night. Everyone has watched a horror movie at least once in their lives. And during the movie there is also a time in which the viewer just wants to punch the TV screen and call it quits. Whether it is because their favorite character just did something dumb, or because the ending was horrible, there is always a moment in which one thinks: I would have chosen a better option. I could have survived. In literature, it is often the same thing. Believe it or not, fear is a huge contributor to how the story goes; how it ends, and who dies. Fear either motivates the character to take action or, defeats them. But fear doesn’t act alone. Fear influences people, but what influences the fear? The answer is quite simple, no matter how shocking it can be. Just as love brings happiness, it also brings forth the poison of fear. Whether it is the fear of losing the person they love, or fear that they are no longer loved, both of them are huge contributors on how a character’s actions or decisions are influenced.

Further, King goes on to state that when we watch a horror movie, “we are daring the nightmare,” meaning we are almost begging to be scared. King also states there are multiple reasons for this, but one of the main points is “to show that we can, that we are not afraid.” He then appeals to the audience experiences by making his paper more relatable and comical when he compares horror movies to roller coasters. King states, they are both usually liked by the young, but once their age reaches to the forties or fifties, “one’s appetite for double twists or 360-degree loops may be considerably depleted.” Additionally, King uses his clever collage of comparisons to explain one of the horror genre’s many intentions are to show us right from wrong. Which might also provide some of us with “psychic relief,” throwing ourselves in a place where intensive questioning is unnecessary, giving people a small break from their complicated daily life.

Despite the fact that the format in which a story is told can create a plethora of differences, the genre can link stories together across medium. Horror has ties to stories that date back hundreds of years and use similar conventions which allow one to classify these stories together in the horror genre. Part of what makes a classical horror story is some form of a supernatural element that tends to focus on either life or death however since the introduction of visual media certain stylistic conventions have been adopted in order to create an emotional effect in the audience. Although the genre tends to link together stories from medium such as film and video games there are still drastic differences between them due to core differences in their functionality that are able to change the way in which one receives the story.

John Carpenter’s Halloween is an example of what a great film composer can achieve with any budget. When it comes to film genres, Halloween has to be one of the greatest examples of what a horror movie is. Throughout the film, many of the story elements can easily be seen contributing to the idea of what makes a film fit in the horror genre. There are many horror films that stray quite far from the basic idea of what a horror film usually is; however, Halloween is a great example of classic horror. Typically, horror films have a set of basic guidelines or expectations that can be seen portrayed; such examples of what is to be expected in a horror film would be the presentation of a ‘monster’ or something that violates the natural world in a perverse way, something that is unknown, or that a monster is unintentionally unleashed, and the film takes place in creepy setting or suburban neighborhood/summer camp (slasher sub-genre). In Halloween, Carpenter brilliantly matched his film to the genre guidelines of horror. The variety of ways he did this can be seen in the presence of an unknown being which extends human knowledge, introduce the killer into the story by an accidental release from a facility, and depict the sub-genre horror being a slasher film.

These days scary movies have many things in common, including events, settings, and characters. Of course, there are just as many differences used to keep the audience interested. Two horror movies “Let the right one in” and “twilight” are taken for comparison and tried to prove that “Let the right one in” has more depth and meaning of human spirit, invokes feelings and thoughts that stay with you, long after the movie is over. These two movies have many similarities, but they also have characteristics to make them unique. Both movies are based on superficial acts, but “Let the right one in” has much better effects as compared to Twilight. “Let the right one in” is life changing in composition to “Twilight” because it shows remarkable acting

Horror is designed to scare, cause alarm and dread, while also entertaining the audience at the same time in a cathartic experience (Dirk, 2016). Horror films are meant for a specific type of audience that enjoy scary films. Dirks (Tim, 2016) approach to genre horror, is that films went back as 100 years ago, from the earliest days our vivid imagination in seeing ghosts in the shadows to be connected emotionally of the unknown, and fear things that are improbable. You watch a horror film, it makes you aware of the scary surroundings, the essence of fear itself, without actually being in any sorts of danger. Dirks argues that there is a fun and thrill factor in being frightened, or watching something disturbing. It gives you that feeling of an adrenaline rush, as well as having that feeling someone is actually next to you lurking in the dark (Dirk, 2016).

The genres relationship lies in the danger of human lives in an unfamiliar milieu. There is a threat to the lives of the characters whose fear and danger is a common element. The source of this can be from both humans and imaginary monsters. The horror films Psycho and The Mist both have humans as the real threat to the main characters. Schizophrenic Norman Bates in Psycho is a heinous, disturbed killer who dresses up in woman’s clothes when he is about to kill someone. The danger is first