I’ve had a lot of questions in my life asking “why horror?”. A lot of people seem to view it as low brow or gross. Some people think there is something wrong with you if you’re a huge fan of horror movies because of the violence or people being repulsed by the idea of being scared on purpose. I, however, believe horror is an under appreciated genre and fear is an under explored emotion. Life is scary, fear is about as real and raw as an emotion can get and I believe experiencing it is healthy.
Horror can be such a strong conduit for political or social issues and fears as well as highlight aspects of the human experience better than other genres, in part due to the nature of horror films kind of taking the training wheels off the writing and illustration of some of these topics. Horror as a genres purpose most of the time, aside from to entertain the audience is to explore what we as people or a society fear and why and push the envelope in doing so. And what’s great about horror movies is that you can explore these fears and emotions in a safe environment. Be it from your couch or a friends easy chair or a theater full of other people sharing that experience with you. You’re brain can process that fear and danger without you actually being in danger. Horror has also been a way to explore the fear and lived experience of marginalized groups of people. Two recent examples being Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” and Coralie Fargeats “The Substance”.
The themes and plot in which highlight issues faced in the black community and the female community respectively. Not only does this shine a light in issues in our society and make these groups of people feel understood in a way maybe they hadn’t before but also can imbue audiences outside that group with a new level of empathy if the themes are understood. I don’t, as a white male, understand what its like to be black or a woman. However I can share in a similar fear for 90 to 120 minutes and maybe gain a new understanding from that experience. The substance for instance highlighting the fears of aging as a woman and the need to want to look younger. By illustrating these themes with the backdrop of a horror movie you can effectively make something look as scary as it feels to some, to bring that monster into the light if you will.
Other great examples of horror tackling political issues are things like Night Of The Living dead having themes of racism and civil rights, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with themes of industrialization and slaughtering/ eating animals, The Watcher talking about violence against woman and societies tendency to write them off or not believe them, or even Dawn of The Dead being a commentary on consumerism. Horror has almost always been political weather it intended to be or not.
Horror movies are also often misunderstood. Take American Psycho for example becoming a symbol in some circles of this alpha male money, power and status when in reality it was kind of the opposite. Patrick Bateman was a superficial shell of a person constantly living for approval and comparing himself to others and climbing ladders he himself created. The movie intentionally stripped the characters of individuality and Bateman is an unreliable narrator showing that he himself is losing his grip on what’s real and what’s in his head. Other instances people just focus on the wrong thing like with some reviews of The Platform missing the themes of the movie entirely by way of the imagery on screen, same can be said for the afore mentioned Dawn Of The Dead.
Horror is important because it thrusts our fears and anxieties in our face and forces us to see them for what they are and hopefully learn to manage them. Horror reminds us that death is the great equalizer and life is precious. It gives us a safe place to process and explore worries, stress, grief, and fear. Horror in history gives context to the fears and worries of those people at that time in history when it was written and created. Horror has always been inclusive. A place for the marginalized and rejected to come together, the horror community at large is welcoming. Although often misunderstood, horror is important.
But what do you think? Feel free to leave a comment with your personal experience or thoughts. Thanks for reading!
