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Horror in my opinion, isn't all about blood guts n gore, a lot of it can be psychological and just slightly unsettling imagery. However it also can use blood n guts, I just think recently that's all people's expectations are when going into a "disturbing" horror movie. They hear the phrases "scariest/most disturbing/most traumatic movie I've ever seen" and they expect either crazy gore or crazy depraved scenes. And then when it's not that over the top on screen scene, they down play the movie and seek out even more depraved things until they're too far into it and that's all horror is to them.
Especially when it comes to people who want to push themselves to see how much they can watch. In my opinion that can start as harmless fun, like when things such as Saw, Terrifier, or Human Centipede are brought into conversation. Obviously those guys are super different to each other, but theyre still considered relatively disturbing. However, I feel like that will not do any good to someone if that's all they seek out and that's what they water horror down to.
Like for example, when Megan Is Missing was getting a rise in popularity during 2020, people were rightfully disturbed by certain scenes in the movie, which then caused other people to play up the scenes and basically get disappointed with what they saw. They expected more than what they got, which I'll admit when I first watched it, I was one of those people. When I was 14/15 I really had a skewed view on what horror is and isn't, I sought out disturbing shit and it really did ruin how I viewed people around me and movies that I should have enjoyed at the time. It's pretty embarrassing to talk about, but now that I'm out of that weird edgy phase, looking back, in my opinion, it's kind of sad. Especially when I think of the people who are really, truly into that shit to the point it's all they want to consume, all they can consume really. If it's not over the top, insane shit, why watch yk.
And then there's arguments that this is what Hollywood wants. Movie directors want you to get desensitized to this shit, they're pushing it. I personally don't agree, but I also don't completely disregard this side. I feel it's most definitely the viewers choice and responsibility on what they watch, and how far they let themselves slip into the habit of seeking that kind of stuff out. Although, there are some movies and directors that I really do think there might be some weird stuff going on. Like Lucifer Valentine, I feel a lot, if not all, of his stuff is just obscenely unnecessary. Or exploitation "horror" films, like the one that basically just slapped Junko Furuta's case onto their script to capitalize off the absolute torture she endured. That's the point where I really do have distaste for the horror genre. In my opinion, stuff like that is not horror. And yes, one of the main points of horror is to feel uncomfortable, uneasy, and scared, but it just gets to a point where there needs to be a massive barbed wire fence between what should be depicted and what shouldn't.
And like "blah blah blah freedom of expression" yea yea whatever, there should still be limits.
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Dilan the vampire
I totally see what youre saying, like I love the Saw franchise, and one of my favorite things about horror is seeing the artistry it takes to make the fake g0re, but that shouldnt be all there is to horror! I love more psychological movies that make you uncomfortable with suspense and like an example would probably be The Blair Witch Project, that movie is scary as hell, but i dot think i remember any g0re, the scary part of the movie is "what the fuck would i do if i was there.", it gets you thinking about what the characters are going through, and the mental trauma they are in by just being simply stuck in the wood slowly going insane. Horror is so much more rich and flavorful when its in that sort of setting, not just blo0d and and gross uncomfortable things that have no other educational use but are simply used as a way to make the audience feel uncomfortable!
exactly, it really does make me sad when horror gets watered down to just blood, gore, and gross scenes, it's so much more than that. obviously they can be ridiculous movies like terrifier, but they can also have crazy social commentary and parallels, like a lot of jordan peele movies.
by Danny; ; Report
YES!!! Im still fairly shallow end in the ocean of horror, but another thing i really like that creeps me out is cult theme or religion themes, like the idea of worship of an omniscient being and not being in that mindset or being forced into it is very creepy and disturbing, plus the idea of sacrifice but that usually just plays in to the blood and g0re horror so its not relevant in this setting
by Dilan the vampire; ; Report
i personally am not really into those types of horror movies, they honestly just dont interest me all that much. but i completely understand where people are coming from when they say they enjoy it. it really is an unsettling and pretty scary thing to think about, especially when you think about real life scenarios where somewhat similar things do take place
by Danny; ; Report
Of course, and i understand your view! I personally find those movies to be the most haunting towards me, with paronormal and other things that we as humans have little information about, traveling into the unknown and the question of "who made earth, why am i here, what purpose do i serve?" those are just mind boggling things to think about and the perception of that is truly frightening to me!
by Dilan the vampire; ; Report
oh yea most definitely, those thoughts freak me out as is LOLLL
I think i may be going into paranormal horror movies with not necessarily a wrong outlook on them, but i think since i havent liked them in the past i kind of just dont give them a chance anymore. If you have any recs for the type of movies youre talking about, I'm more than happy to hear them !
by Danny; ; Report
Of course!! A movie i really liked about religion and paranormal aspects was Incantation, its a korean horror movie or maybe thai? But its in a different language, its on Netflix, and its about this mom who finally is giving her daughter a home after she had to clean up her life, but when she takes care of her daughter a lot of things go wrong!! I dont wanna spoil it, but its really good and freaked me tf out!!! Oh and a classic horror movie is definitely Carrie, but the book is SO SO GOOD, if not better, its got a somewhat paranormal aspect, but i think most people know what its about by now, same with the shining, but that book is 1 million times better than the movie!! The movie doesnt really feel like the book at all, its ok as its own movie separated from the book though! Oh and Parasyte is an amazing one, its about a poor family, and the brother gets a job for these rich people, its starts off nott scary at all, but when they discover the true secret of the staff's lives they were replacing, it gets fucking wild. I also liked Evil Dead Rise, the newer one, but that is mostly paranormal and g0re, but yeah!! Those are a couple of the ones I like, I guess not too many deal with religion besides Carrie and Incantation, but theyre all still really good movies (and books!!!)!
by Dilan the vampire; ; Report
OOOOO ive been meaning to watch Incantation and Parasite for a while. I've seen Carrie, it's cool. And dont hate me, but I am not an Evil Dead fan
I LOVE Ash Williams as a character in the first three, but I'm just not all that into the story lines themselves. Army of Darkness was probably my favorite of the three. I haven't tried to watch Rise, but I've heard it's actually really good so I might check it out if I get the chance. I dunno, paranormal horror has never really gotten my attention, I do believe in ghosts and find that very fascinating, but it's just not my favorite as a horror genre :p
Will definitely be checking out Incantation and Parasite tho, thank you :D
by Danny; ; Report
YAYYYYY and DW, I just watched it with my step dad and sibling randomly after school, i ust was thinking of random movies, but I REALLY HOPE YOU LIKE PARAITE N INCANTATION!!! :oD
by Dilan the vampire; ; Report
(in response to the original comment cause i didn't read the replies) i completely agree. i feel like psychological horror is scarier because its more convincing (imo), and you can more easily place yourself into the story and think about how terrifying it would be if that actually happened to you.
by thrifted ♱; ; Report
For real!! thats like the TRUE heart of horror, is placing yourself in the situation!! :o]
by Dilan the vampire; ; Report
right!!
by thrifted ♱; ; Report