Horror Vs Thriller Analysis

Horror and thriller are a long standing favorite media type of our kind. A good scare that lingers in our minds sticks with us in ways other genres do not. The interest can span through movies and novels which both deliver results in different ways. Horrors and thrillers also affect our bodies while watching, though also differently. The reasons of why we like to be scared continue to be studied, but a few theories have emerged that are all partially accepted. Horrors and thrillers stimulate both our bodies and minds because they remain a mystery as to why we like them, they have helped us evolve, and they demand our attention.
Though they are often grouped into the same category, horror and thriller, or terror, are quite different. “Horror
There have been many studies that center around the idea of empathy being the most important variable in why someone likes a show or film. Empathy is an emotion or feeling that includes sympathy and concern of another person’s well-being, and a shared negative affect. Though empathy is feeling for someone else, it is proven that the closer you actually are to the event you’re feeling empathy for, the more empathy you actually feel. People like when good people win in the end. The punishment of evil is a theme in many type of movies, and one that pulls many people in. With this is mind, it should conclude that people that are highly empathetic should dislike horror movies for the pain and suffering of the characters, however, many fans of horror movies have stated that they cannot watch a viral clip of someone humiliating themselves on life TV, but still enjoy a good horror movie. The problem with this hypothesis is that most horror movies do not end happily, and people still like those movies. So for those select few that DO end happily, this suggestion would apply, but for most it doesn’t
Zuckerman defines this as “the seeking of varied, novel, complex, and intense sensations and experiences, and the willingness to take physical, social, legal, and financial risks for the sake of such experience.” (pg.211. Enjoyment of Mediated Fright and Violence: A Meta-Analysis) Originally, sensation seeking was viewed as someone’s level of arousal, with a high sensation feeling better at higher levels of stimulation and arousal. This would mean that individuals with high sensation seeking levels enjoy negative situations more. The intensity of the negative emotions help them gain the top level of arousal. People either can’t or won’t separate the physiological arousal from the fright. If this is true, the resolution of a film should leave the viewer in an emotionally rewarding experience, and when the film ends in a sad or disappointing way, the viewer should be overwhelmed with a saddened state. In 1975 Zillman, Hay and Bryant conducted an experiment on children. They showed an animated adventure program with various levels of suspense. They found that when suspense increased and the threat was successfully overcome, the level of likeness and physiological arousal were much higher than when suspense was not shown. Though helpful, the study did not directly examine the relation between fear or arousal and the liking of the program, and also has had many counter-studies done on how displeasing endings of horror