horror movies

Why Horror Films Rule the World?
More and more horror seekers are willing to line up to buy tickets for a scary movie and sit in the front of the screen to watch with blood and terror, all to enjoy the intense experience of being afraid. Scary films provide a terrifying experience of fear in many moviegoers; however, not everyone is willing to take time to enjoy the feeling of being scared and such, instead viewers reject horror movies because they do not want to spend money to feel afraid, threatened, and uncomfortable. On the other hand, many moviegoers are so attracted to watch those horrible scenes, which provide a channel for them to face their inner emotions without telling anyone else. The increasing popularity of scary films raises an interesting question: if fear is a natural survival response to a dangerous, threatening, or painful situation, why will a lot of moviegoers desire to seek out that feeling? The answer is obvious. Even though horror movies reveal something disgusting and terrible, the appeal of being afraid is one way for viewers, especially young audiences, to achieve spiritual fulfilment.
Watching horror movies leaves moviegoers feeling a rush of excitement when they explore their fears, like the experience of riding a roller coaster. Allegra Ringo, in her article “Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?” describes how the excitement of self-scaring comes from the history of roller coasters. She explains that constructing the tracks and carriages to carry screaming riders across the mountains, which instead of sitting in sleds and speeding down the mountain with additional man-made bumps (Theatlantic.com). The improvement of roller coasters was making riders more excited. Scary movies, are similar to roller coaster, although viewers feel terrified, they enjoy the experience of screaming out and new thrills. The stimulation satisfies many viewers’ emotional enjoyment when the appeal of horror films reaches their inner fears. In addition, Stephen King, author of “Why Crave Horror Movies”, argues that “An horror movies, like roller coasters, have always been the special province of the young” because they have higher desire “to show that we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster”, an observation that compares the idea of scary movies to roller coasters that design are for people, particularly young adults, to seek excitement and build confidence (29). Horror movies are most popular with the young generation, but middle-aged and older adults have less need for getting their scares from horror movies because their real lives are scary enough, such as facing layoff, losing loved ones, dealing with poverty. In other words, young viewers are drawn to the appeal of being scared because they are more likely to look for intense experiences and confirm their capacity of facing their fears. Going to a horror film may not result in immediate excitement like riding a roller coaster, but those scary plots will lead most viewers to gradually feel excited by building the suspense for the audience.
Watching horror movies not only offer a wealth of stimulating feelings for audiences to explore their fears, but the monsters in those scary scenes are relatable on a very human level. According to Jason Zinoman, author of The Critique of Pure Horror, states the theory of the philosopher Noël Carroll, a staunch critic of the psychoanalytic approach, “One virtue of Mr. Carroll’s theory is that it captures the paradoxical nature of horror’s allure: the very oddity that makes monsters repulsive is precisely what makes them attractive” a observation that monsters so attracted to the viewers because those monsters as symbolisms reflect the darkest feelings of humanity (31). Many people put on masks to conceal their darkest fears when they around others in their daily lives. People may often have the same feelings as monsters who want to change the world in some ways. They also want to break the unfair rules without following the law. Even though some of them have those evil ideas, they cannot really do this. Watching horror movies provides a chance for them to expose emotions that society considers unacceptable. Monsters like zombies and ghosts are the horror and disgust elements of scary genres let evil thoughts, wrong decisions, opposite emotions totally expose. When people are brave enough to sit in front of a movie screen that shows the bloody and terror, they can understand their darkest side of themselves. In other words, film producers create monsters, which sketch out the most natural darkest fears of human, to help moviegoers accept and face their fears. Enjoying scary condition is a safe way to earn emotional release that help viewers temporarily escape from the real world. Zinoman mentions that “while these scholars argued that horror taps into positive emotions that are otherwise repressed, other psychoanalytic theories saw horror in the opposite light: as a safe and cathartic way to deal with darker feelings” an observation that suggests that scary genres are the safe paths leading to emotional relaxation and on escape from the real world (31). Moreover, Sharon Begley, in her article “Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies”, mentions that “we know that, in an hour or two, we’re going to walk out whole. We’re not going to have any holes in our head, and our hearts will still be in our bodies” (Thedailybeast.com). This illustrates why fans of horror movies are willing to spend one or two hours to sit in the theaters. They know horror movies allow them to explore their fears without placing them in real danger. In other words, the viewers are comfortable with dealing with their darkest fears when they watch those scary genres because they are in a protected state of their minds; they understand that no real harm can come to them. To really enjoy a horror movie, people have to know that they are in a completely safe space.
The appeal of horror movies goes beyond thrill-seeking and emotional relief because it serves as an effective way to learn how to handle terror. As Begley suggests, “by learning to suppress feelings and display mastery or cling to others in a dependent ploy for protection, a person learns to cope with another aspect of his or her environment, a skill that may be useful in dealing with more than just horror pictures” (Thedailybeast.com). Scary genres help people learn to manage fears, particularly for teenagers and young adults. More and more moviegoers are willing to line up for the tickets of horror movies, and place themselves in a fear inducing situation for one or two hours. After they expose their forbidden emotions in the cinema, they should try to control those feelings that society consider unacceptable in their real lives. Although people can happily face the best aspect of themselves; at the same, they need to learn how to deal with their worst and darkest inner emotions. The horror movie genre allows horror seekers to gauge their respective capacities of facing their undesirable feelings.
People sometimes love to watch horror films with their friends, families, or lovers because a scary situation helps them to build stronger relationships. Shelley Taylor, in her article Tend and Befriend: Biobehavioral Bases of Affiliation Under Stress”, shows that “in addition to fight-or-flight, humans demonstrate tending and befriending responses to stress—responses underpinned by the hormone oxytocin” (psych.ucla.edu). When people feel afraid, they can release hormones, like oxcytocin, that solidity the scary moments in their memory. Sometimes audiences care more about the experience of going to a horror movie with the person, who they consider important, than the scary movie itself. If those viewers have a good movie experience with their friends, families, or partners, they are more likely to build a special closeness in stressful and scary situations. In particular, horror movies help build relationship between partners. Benjamin Le, author of “Scream 4: A Good Date Movie”, believes that “it may seem odd, but there’s good reason to expect that watching a horror movie could increase attraction between partners” (scienceofrelationships.com). When a couple enjoys the thrill of fear, they share their reactions of being scared with each other, which leads to a stronger feeling of intimacy because the mutual uneasiness naturally tends to develop stronger bonds between two or more individuals.
As I have shown, horror movies present stress inducing subjects, but those scary images provide a special way for moviegoers, especially young people, to experience psychic satisfaction. Those horrific experiences offer viewers an opportunity to look for stimulation similar to riding roller coasters and a means to deal with the feelings that society consider unacceptable. Monsters in scary films play an important role in creating a link with the feelings of an individual’s heart. Moreover, horror films develop an environment of being scared but in a safe environment. People allow themselves to release their inner fears. More importantly, the purpose of watching scary genres is to learn how to manage ones fears because it as a skill to help people lead a better life. Experiencing fear together can lead people to build stronger relationships with each other. Therefore, these factors reflect why horror movies are watched by so many people all around the world.

Works cited page
Begley, Sharon. “Why Our Brains Love Horror Movies?” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/25/why-our-brains-love-horror-movies-fear-catharsis-a-sense-of-doom.html/ 25 October. 2011.

King, Stephen. “Why We Crave Horror Movies”. English 96 Course Reader. Nathan Wirth. Novato, CA. Somewhere in Nathan’s Mind, Inc., 2014. Print.

Le, Benjamin. “Scream 4: A Good Date Movie?” http://www.scienceofrelationships.com/home/2011/4/15/scream-4-a-good-date-movie.html/ 15 April. 2011.

Ringo, Allegra. “Why Do Some Brain Enjoy Fear?” http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/why-do-some-brains-enjoy-fear/ 31 October. 2013. Taylor, Shelley E. “Tend and Befriend: Biobehavioral Bases of Affiliation Under Stress” http://taylorlab.psych.ucla.edu/2006/

Zinoman, Jason. "The Critique of Pure Horror.", English 96 Course Reader. Nathan Wirth. Novato, CA. Somewhere in Nathan’s Mind, Inc., 2014. Print.