I remember watching Hereditary for the first time: teeth gritting, palms sweating, heart racing, it felt like a thrilling roller coaster. I found myself fearing silence, still shots, and ordinary objects, just waiting for a spirit to emerge from the darkness. By the end of it all, my jaw-dropped expression gawked back at me from the computer screen: the horror genre had officially taken power over me.
Like most kids, I feared the monster under the bed, Bloody Mary in the bathroom, and the Boogie Man hiding in the shadows. I grew up thinking because of this cowardly past, I can’t enjoy horror. What if I get sleepless nights or paranoias? How will I explain that as an adult who STILL runs up the stairs after turning the lights off? Fortunately, no one pressured me to watch horror, nor did I feel like I missed out. As the years passed, my fear factor distilled, and once I hit my 20s, I finally had the thought, “Eh, why not try horror now?” What started as a harmless Hereditary watch party led to Midsommar, Smile, Talk to Me, and eventually, a newfound respect for the genre.
You could say it takes a certain type of mindset, but I learned that to not be afraid of horror movies, I needed to appreciate how these movies could make me afraid. Designing the bloodied faces? Impressive make-up choice. Coordinating the suspenseful music with the scene? Phenomenal synchronization. Laying out a scene that triggers chills down the spine? What creative attention to detail! Compared to so many other movie genres, horror requires the ability to turn the most mundane settings into something terrifying. The best horror movies also combine elements of other genres, such as mystery, action, romance, and comedy, and package them with a ghastly wrapping to be named a masterpiece.
Don’t get me wrong: it’s incredibly easy to make bland, boring horror movies too. They tend to be the ones that lean on jumpscares or demonic costumes to carry the plotline. However, when a horror movie is well-crafted, where the plotline, acting, and props are up to par, it’s hard not to admire the creativity and precision it took to snatch audience members’ breaths. As someone who enjoys when films bring out strong emotions in me, I knew no other genre has the same consistent effect as horror.
Besides the artistic elements, horror movies are also a tried and true way of bringing people together. Sure, the same can be said about other genres, but people are more likely to watch horror movies in groups than alone. I know most of my best experiences with horror involved sharing my gasps, screams, and cowers with friends. Better yet, watching horror in a movie theater can feel like the ultimate bonding experience. It’s one thing to have synched expressions with a few friends, it’s a whole other phenomenon when you share them in a dark room with 50+ people.
I found that the genre of horror expands far more than just being scary. It’s the way it scares you, the way it takes power over your emotions, and on a slightly wholesome note, the way it can bring people together to relish in that intense experience. I’m still someone who runs up the stairs after turning the lights off, so it’s not like I can handle horror movies every single day. However, the few times I do, I make sure to acknowledge the underlying work that went into giving me that exhilarating experience.