Isolation In Psychological Horror Movies: A Psychological Analysis

Isolation, in medical psychology, is defined as the state or quality of being alone away from others. According to Corey, psychoanalytic theory defines isolation as a defense mechanism that emphasizes on keeping negative cognitions and feelings from influencing other thoughts and feelings (57). Isolation, therefore, is more of a psychological process that creators of psychological horror often exploit to create horrifying films. This paper investigates the effects of isolation on the mental processes of an individual. It also explores the spectacle of isolation in psychological horror films and looks at the deep-seated mental processes and emotions that form the basis for the genre of psychological horror.
The art of using horror stories to instill fear in individuals and caution against isolation a phenomenon that started recently. Dennett observes that different cultures around the
Researchers agree that isolation may be the most effective strategies for dealing with negative cognitive thoughts (Brownfield 141). People who practiced or experienced isolation are observed to have fewer unhappy memories than those that maintained continuous social interactions. This is not to say that the people who live in solitude do not have strong negative reactions to unpleasant memories; the difference is that the degree or intensity of these negative emotions is not as intense as those who maintain normal interactions. It is these intense emotions that are collectively referred to as psychological horror (Brownfield 147). Jarrett outlines some of the factors can cause an individual to experience intense psychological horror (812). Deeply buried memories can be brought to the fore when individuals watch a movie or read a story that vividly reminds them of the situations or feelings that they went through in the past, and they would rather