All horror films hinge upon a ‘shadow’. This shadow in an impenetrable cloud, behind which lies the ‘source’ of the terror.
Audiences want the experience of seeing behind the shadow, without the associated consequences. We know that there is something behind the shadow we ought fear, we know it the same was a mouse fears a snake.
When you watch a horror film, you experience a fight or flight response, without the option or need to do either. You can of course shut off the television or leave the theater, but then you’ll never see what’s behind the cloud, and that lack of knowledge will forever haunt you.
In order to defeat it, you must watch it.
Horror is unlike any other genre. While other genres offer stories of love and hate, civilization and oblivion, horror films are experiences, (often cheap experiences), yet experiences all the same.
Horror films are paradoxical in construction. They need to terrorize, yet if the source of that terror is defeated or shown unworthy of fear (which is the same thing), all the terror evaporates from the theater and the film becomes an accidental comedy.
Horror films walk a fine line between rational fear and irrational fear, as it is in the nature of fear that we are often unable to distinguish between the two. In order for something to be truly terrifying, it’s existence must appear to be irrational. In order for me to be enticed into watching a film, I need to believe that there will be a rational explanation for the the terror.
It is only when horror films blur these lines that they become truly great.
In short, Horror movies exist because we are unsure if we want to see what lies on the other side of the shadow. If we never see it, the fact of our ignorance will haunt us. If we face it, we may not survive. Sticking around to find out if your fears were rational or irrational has its risks and rewards, if not a bounty of entertainment. (Screams = Box Office Receipts)
Image Credits: onionstatic.com, collider.com, and cineworld.co.uk