Last night before I went to bed I decided to watch a movie on Netflix. So I began looking through Netflix and came across a documentary called "Ghost Adventures". I love watching paranormal type films, but to be completely honest with you I get pretty freaked out after watching these movies. I have to sleep with some lights on and face towards the room because I am scared that I will be attacked or a ghost will find me. I then began thinking why the hell do I still watch these types of movies even though I get scared each and ever time.
So I figured out why I continue to watch them. I found Psychologist Dr. Glenn D. Walters who identifies three primary factors of the horror film allure.
The first is tension – created through mystery, suspense, gore, terror, or shock. This is pretty straight forward elements of horror, the craft and technique of filmmaking.
The second factor is relevance. In order for a horror film to be seen, it has to be relevant to potential viewers. This relevance can take the form of universal relevance – capturing the universal fear of things like death and the unknown, it can take on cultural relevance dealing with societal issues. Audiences can find subgroup relevance – groups like teenagers which many horror films are about. Lastly, there’s personal relevance – either in a way that identifies with the protagonist or in a way that condemns the antagonists or victims to their ultimate fate.
The last factor, which may be the most counter intuitive is unrealism. Despite the graphic nature of recent horror films, we all know at some level that what we are watching is not real. Perhaps its because when we walk into a theater we know what we’re seeing on screen is fabricated reality. Movies are edited from multiple camera angles with soundtracks and sometimes horror is tempered.
So I am now I am off to watch another scary movie alone in the dark! :)
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