Horror Genre Theory

Horror as a genre in films dates all the way back to the origin of film. Horror is a genre which has been around since cave men and the stories they painted on their cave walls of mythical monsters. It is easy to see why horror immediately entered cinema considering the first horror movies made were about horror books. Stephen Prince author of the book The Horror Film gives us a rundown on why horror is an elite genre in this excerpt:

“Like other genre movies any given horror film will convey synchronic association, ideological ad social messages that are part of a certain period or historical moment. One can analyze horror films in terms of these periods or moments, just as one can do with westerns or gangster movies.  But, unlike those genres, horror also goes deeper, to explore more fundamental questions about the nature of human existence, questions that, in some profound ways, go beyond culture and society as these are organized in any given period or form. Here lies the special significance of horror, the factors that truly differentiate it from the other genres and that make it conform most deeply with our contemporary sense of the world.” (Prince 2)

Prince makes an excellent point. I always knew horror was one of my favorite genres of film but aside from the thrill of being scared I never knew what attracted me so much. After reading the prior excerpt I realized that’s just it. Horror scares me because it challenges the unknown. For example one of my great fears is ghosts. The film sixth sense the first time I saw it as a young child opened my mind to the possibility that ghosts surround us and sometimes can become visible and that it can happen to the average American family truly frightened me.

Also characteristic to horror genre is the struggle of good and evil. Originally horror films plotted some unthinkable monster against an individual or group of people who must fight to stay alive. Over the years the monster has mutated into several things including, lunatic fathers, possessed children, ghosts, aliens, the psychotic murderer next door and etc. The struggle of good and evil can be thrown onto many situations and made into a horror film.

Another aspect which makes these films so appealing in more modern times is the idea that humans are not atop the food chain. The idea that we as a race are not the end all be all most powerful creature in the universe. Some of my favorite horror films are the ones where the monsters prevail or are near impossible to kill. In the film Jeepers Creepers, there is some type of human looking monster with wings and fangs and skin made of leather. As it terrorizes a country side every decade its victims are rendered helpless to the much bigger, faster, stronger, and flying monster. The feeling of helplessness is on of the aspects of the films that helps to keep me interested.

Horror as a genre has remained same over the years yet changed so much. The genre mutated time and time again to create sub genres and various aspects to be added to films. Horror films have caught the attention of the American public from the time of their arrival and surely will not stop anytime in the near future.