Theoretical approaches to Horror films
There have been many social and psychological reasons why so many of us are interested in the horror genre. Below are some theories into why we are so attracted to watching them.
Noel Carroll (The philosophy of horror) - This suggests that society is attracted to gore. It relates to the relationship between attraction and repulsion. One example I could give of this is vampires. We are initially scared and afraid of them, yet there is something about them that we find alluring and enticing. This is supported by the 'Twilight' franchise. Audiences tend to hate gore but can't seem to pull themselves away from it because we want to see POV shots of the killer. Also we can argue that FOMO is linked, proving that people only watch these to be able to say they did.
Freud (The Uncanny) - This idea explores something that is secret and almost disturbingly strange. It makes the person uncomfortable because it takes control of peoples thoughts by force. (repression)
The Uncanny Valley Effect - idea that when human replicas appear life - like, they give feelings of disgust and loath within the audience.
Jung (The shadow) - this is the idea that all we fear is projected onto an external figure. So essentially the 'monster' in a horror film is all the worst part of us.
Laura Mulvey - 'Male Gaze' suggests that films position themselves as the males eyes. In this the audience get to spy on the female characters which objectifies them. An example of this is in 'Halloween' the audience are seeing events of the POV of the killer, looking at his naked sister. Even though the viewers are in the point of view of the killer, it means they can sympathise more with the victim because it is not something we would usually do which therefore supports the theme of attraction/ repulsion. The audience can sometimes gain closure from seeing the point of view from the killers eyes to the victims.
Cynthia Freeland - She argued that horror films are so over the top and unrealistic that they create a kind of 'perverse sublime'. We can enjoy the shots and films because they are so far fetched and we know we are watching something fictional. This also explains why some people don't like horror films to be too real.
Adam Lowenstein (spectacle horror) - Which is the idea of appreciating the combination of camera work, special effects, music and gore rather than darker motives. Similar to Freeland's approach, the audience can realise the film is not true.
Noel Carroll (The philosophy of horror) - This suggests that society is attracted to gore. It relates to the relationship between attraction and repulsion. One example I could give of this is vampires. We are initially scared and afraid of them, yet there is something about them that we find alluring and enticing. This is supported by the 'Twilight' franchise. Audiences tend to hate gore but can't seem to pull themselves away from it because we want to see POV shots of the killer. Also we can argue that FOMO is linked, proving that people only watch these to be able to say they did.
Freud (The Uncanny) - This idea explores something that is secret and almost disturbingly strange. It makes the person uncomfortable because it takes control of peoples thoughts by force. (repression)
The Uncanny Valley Effect - idea that when human replicas appear life - like, they give feelings of disgust and loath within the audience.
Jung (The shadow) - this is the idea that all we fear is projected onto an external figure. So essentially the 'monster' in a horror film is all the worst part of us.
Laura Mulvey - 'Male Gaze' suggests that films position themselves as the males eyes. In this the audience get to spy on the female characters which objectifies them. An example of this is in 'Halloween' the audience are seeing events of the POV of the killer, looking at his naked sister. Even though the viewers are in the point of view of the killer, it means they can sympathise more with the victim because it is not something we would usually do which therefore supports the theme of attraction/ repulsion. The audience can sometimes gain closure from seeing the point of view from the killers eyes to the victims.
Cynthia Freeland - She argued that horror films are so over the top and unrealistic that they create a kind of 'perverse sublime'. We can enjoy the shots and films because they are so far fetched and we know we are watching something fictional. This also explains why some people don't like horror films to be too real.
Adam Lowenstein (spectacle horror) - Which is the idea of appreciating the combination of camera work, special effects, music and gore rather than darker motives. Similar to Freeland's approach, the audience can realise the film is not true.
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