The definition of a horror movie is to seek fear and/or disgust from audiences for entertainment purposes. For awhile, this used to be freaky creatures like werewolves, Frankenstein, zombies or even a serial killer.
But nowadays, there are films that focus more on scaring people with psychology and using their own mind against them. These type of Horror films are known as Psychological Horror. There are many fans on both sides of the film genre, but having both exist begs the question: Is there one that’s better than the other? maybe more scarier?
I sat down with Fanshawe Film Genres Professor John Plantus, and he discussed some of the things he’s noticed from teaching students about the Horror Genre.
“Horror by It’s nature allows us to tap into topics and subjects that are considered taboo, and the value of being able to experience that vicariously through movies. There’s also a value of tapping into our own subconscious by experiencing these taboos, and these horror movies that are popular really have something to say about us.”
Plantus continued on talking about whether or not he thinks the gory, traditional horror will ever die out in a sense.
“I don’t think so. I think it sort of scratches an itch that a lot of viewers have, and I think that Horror films are always pushing the boundaries. A lot of horror filmmakers are working with relatively low budgets, and one of the things they sometimes do is sink their money and energy into the special effects because there not gonna be able to get Hollywood actors like Leonardo DiCaprio or Adam Sandler.
“But when their special effects are so well done, it really changes the way horror looks.”
Credit: Pixabay
I also had the chance to meet with Local filmmaker Daniel Turres who specializes in horror, about how classic horror films having a low budget benefits the genre.
“Fans are able to look at these movies and say wow, look at what they’ve achieved with what little they got. That’s the part that really gets to me because of how impressive it is of them to be able to utilize every aspect whether that’s location, performance, the effects, storytelling.”
“There’s so much more work and craft put into those classics that some films today even with all the budget you’ve got, they still miss that mark because with a small budget your able to work harder and think more creatively and care more about each shot your taking.”
Horror continues to not only give a fright to fans, but also inspire horror filmmakers like Turres to put passion behind each and every film that he creates. It also inspires professors who teach film like Plantus to teach the proper techniques behind both sides of horror and why they both impact the genre so much.
Overall, there are many things that make horror an amazing film genre. And it doesn’t matter if it’s something that manipulates your mind like Get Out, or something more traditional and gory like Nightmare on Elm Street.
Horror helps us escape our daily lives and take break from everything we go through, by witnessing characters portray the very fears that we have in real life from both traditional and modern horror films.
