We, Ourselves, are Strange & Unsusual
horror enthusists discuss why they love the genre
Horror fans are arugably more questioned about their watch motivations than any other movie-going demographic. All film lovers like and dislike any given film for quite uniquely personal reasons. Taste varies even amoung people within similar social groups and who have had similar life experiences. Even so, for some reason many cannot seem to grasp why others would enjoy violent, disturbing, or even perverse films if they aren’t violent, disturbed, or perverse themselves — the “violent media creates violent people” myth. I think those people are massively over-simplifying horror as a whole.
A lifelong friend, Kate; whom I actually met in online forums about 2008’s The Dark Knight, says practical effects are a major part of her enjoyment of horror movies. “[The] lighting, set designs” she says, “[the] more gore the better, and the blood (NOT THE PINK STUFF)”. The “Saw franchise is a favorite”, but it’s not so much about the people dying, (even though it is) but the fascinating methods used to give the illusion of the characters being mangled and ripped apart. She once recommended Frankenstein’s Army (2013), which isn’t necessarily my personal taste in premise, but I was completely blown away by the use of props, practical effects, mechanics, and costuming. You can find Kate on twitter at the handle @//stinkybeann
A favorite of horror twitter, Alfonso, spoke about his love for the genre which started with watching horror films as bonding with his family and extended family; something I think many horror fans can absolutely relate to. “Everytime I would visit my cousins, they would put on a Halloween VHS tape and we would just have fun being scared hiding behind our blankets and anticipating jumpscares. Horror sort of became synonymous with fun and family bonding”, he recounts, which is a notion actively going against the myths that horror isn’t family friendly and will create violence and disconnect in communities. The reality is, horror films have their own ever expanding community that usually starts within households. Alfonso loves horror that isn’t afraid to get political. Most horror is a commentary of something, but he finds boldness in films “being so strongly and overtly political, not hiding behind subtext, [and] wearing [their] political messaging on [their] sleeves, risking turning off a predominant part of the audience horror is usually marketed to, 18–25 year old cis & heterosexual white males”. He cites The Purge franchise, Black Christmas (2019), and Get Out (2017) as these successes of modern social commentary. To connect with Alfonso and get his many intelligent and funny takes, you can follow on twitter @//theshapeburns.
Luis, another horror twitter favorite and friend, says they watch horror films for the thrill! “Kind of like how people love riding roller coasters because they love the feeling of having no control for a minute”, they explain. Their main motivation and excitement for seeing movies stems from if it’s a fun and interesting concept, there is a familiar actor, or new installment of an already beloved franchise! Horror banks a lot on franchises and those can sometimes spin out of control, but that’s fine for Luis because they love camp (as all horror fans should, exactly)! Slasher and sci-fi horror are their favorite sub-genres, with John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982) as a favorite; especially for the practical effects and “gnarly face melting”. Like me, Luis is also a sucker for universes. Creating worlds, expanding them, and sometimes connecting different stories is such a fun aspect of both creating and watching films. For more movie discourse and funny videos follow Luis on twitter @//number1himbo and on tiktok @//dumbassluis!
Catharsis is truly the motivation behind much of my enjoyment of films across the board and probably why I gravitate towards horror over any other genre. Life itself is scary and unfortunately forces innocent, unsuspecting people into very unsavory situations. When the main character(s) survives a tragic ordeal or gets rightful revenge in ways we couldn’t imagine doing ourselves, we can still appreicate someone else doing so in the space of fiction. While I didn’t go through the same kind of abuse Laura Palmer was revealed to in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992), I can absolutely identify with the struggle of a controlling parent hurting you based on their own projections. Allowing yourself to feel from someone else’s perspective is a form of grace and practice of empathy, I feel, a lot of horror fans want to experience and can idenitfy with wanting for themselves. On the flip side, I very much enjoy watching men and white people die, but at the hands of women slashers, especially. Living as a black queer femme in The United States, I cannot pretend there is not some level of revenge based catharsis engrained in my movie watching. After a lifetime of being subjected to racist, sexist, and homophobic vitriol, I’m allowed it.
Whatever gets people excited for a film is completely valid. The stigma surrounding horror fans isn’t actually about us at all, but the fact that society has yet to deal with the systemic issues that create real life serial killers, excuses real patriarchal violence like familial and partner abuse, rape, and sex trafficking, and knowing that the government will not save us from aliens, monsters, or even what the goverment itself has done. Horror tackles subjects many people are unwilling to even discuss comprehensively. Any true horror fan is willing to look at the nitty-gritty of life because we are so aware of how it looks when portrayed on film. So many elements go into horror films (and films overall, of course), it makes complete sense that any audience certainly has several members watching for many different reasons.
I promise, we arent serial killers. Well, at least, not all of us!
IMAGE SOURCES: “Horror!” by Robert_Ball is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXIV Couch Gag 2013 NYC 6115” by Brechtbug is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“mother” by Flооd is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
