The Depression Era of Horror Movies
The horror genre is loved by many even still today, having its roots as close as the late 18th century. While these writings have paved the way for the horror category in movies, modern horror is still very lacking and boring. The horror movies today are very unoriginal, boring, and overall uninteresting. This is the result of years of sequels that become dumber as the series progresses, overexposure to gore and violence, and a total disregard for originality and psychology.
Many horror flicks of today contain cheap tactics to get a scare from viewers. Often using “jumpscares”- a technique used to abruptly change image or setting that is usually paired with a loud, frightening sound. A notable example of this is Krampus, a 2015 film directed by Michael Dougherty based on German folklore of a bad Santa-like character that eats ungrateful children. Overall the film is generic with forgettable characters that have to face off against an unseen force to survive over Christmas. The film isn’t terrifying in the slightest, and the toys and the cookies Krampus uses against the family are cartoony- lessening the effect of horror overall. The only instance of horror that is actually memorable is when the family is in the attic and a toy clown jumps out at them. The design of Krampus is poor as well, it looks like a man wearing a no-name mask with horns.
This era of horror relies on shock value. Portraying torture, over the top gore and mutilation. While many films use this as basis (such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Friday the 13th) these movies are in a category of their own which uses these to shock and disgust the audience; slasher films. However when slasher films were at its prime this was a revolutionary and game changer for the horror genre. Slasher was a new thing, such outward displays were new and horrifying and something that was fresh. Since then times have changed with slashers falling out of style and newer generations being overexposed to violent and gory scene. With a click of a computer mouse thousands of obscene pictures can be displayed at the tip of your fingers. With subjection to such content slaughter and blood is no longer alarming however newer movies continue to use this as a technique.
Horror movies disregard their early roots: psychology. Psychology is a huge part of what makes things scary and hair-raising. Without psychology and the human mind we wouldn’t have the concept of fear or dread. Recent flicks barely use this concept which is such a big thing that makes horror, horror. When there is a viable threat they explain it away with ways to destroy said thing; lessening the psychology even more. The point of horror is to scare us, having ways to defeat, as an example, demons, makes us feel safe. Or other obscure ways of conjuring makes us secure knowing that we can avoid the problem and even if it does come up, there are ways of destroying it. Horror is to show that there are dangers around us, even in plain sight. A fine example of this is IT by Stephen King. He shows that common things are horrifying to specific people and that danger is lurking in every corner. He takes a common, everyday thing- a clown in this case- and amplifies its uncanniness. Pennywise’s forehead is enlarged, death are pointy and along with his colourless palate he sits in the middle of uncanny valley. Uncanny valley is the phenomenon that sits between the peaks of being recognizable and being horrifying; the act of being unsettling. Most creators go for either of these peaks. So recognizable that we can detect it almost immediately or so terrifying that it immediately looks fake and registered as not a threat. Psychology is a huge aspect of horror that movie creators often forget or neglect.
Horror is a wonderful thing loved by many, it shows that life is not always a happy place where only good things happen. Horror is to remind us of our own mortality, that bad things do happen and it can happen to normal, everyday people. Current horror neglects this and if it were to have more psychological elements and less gore, we can raise the state of horror films to something that it once was.