Introduction
With the passage of time, horror movies have become one of the more important spectacles of popular culture. If one talks about how horror culture has affected mainstream cinema, one needs to look at some of the more popular characters in mainstream movies. Characters like Jason Voorhees and Leather Face have become part of the mainstream language. Even though superhero movies have become much safer bets at the box office, horror movies still have performed reasonably well, and people still prefer them. It begs the question of why people are still interested in horror movies and what makes them face their worst fears. It is one of the things that will be examined in this paper (King, 1981).
The Feeling of Excitement When Watching a Horror Movie
The key thing that is being talked about when people watch horror movies is that they are not afraid. Instead, it is the feeling of excitement that they get when they are watching other people go through an emotional roller coaster that prompts them to watch horror movies (King, 1981). This idea is supported by the fact that a survey was carried out among moviegoers on the most intense feeling they have when they are watching a horror movie. Most of the respondents believed that the feeling of excitement was the most intense rather than the fear. Some other people believe that people like to watch horror movies since they are happy to be unhappy (King, 1981).
Feeding the Sadistic Beast Inside Us
Some other researchers have pointed out the fact that at times, the reason that people tend to enjoy the horror movie is because they have sadistic feelings inside them. It is one of the main reasons that horror movies such as “The Hostel” series and Saw series are considered one of the major successes of the horror genre. They allow people to face the sadistic side that they have inside them and how, at times when the decisions are made with reference to the particular people, they enjoy inflicting pain and misery on other people. It is also called torture porn and there are some people who are huge fans of the genre (King, 1981). At times, these movies cannot generate the same level of box office figures as they are Rated R, but still, there is enough following for them. As mentioned in the journal “The fun comes from other people being killed or menaced (King, 1981).
Conclusion
There are a variety of reasons why people watch horror movies. Despite the fact that they are not one of the higher-grossing movies, the considerable number of horror franchises and their relative success shows that there are enough takers for horror movies these days (King, 1981). The novel approach towards human emotion points out the fact that people are bound to feel both positive and negative emotions at the same time. As a matter of fact, people might enjoy being scared, which is a negative emotion. But simultaneously, they enjoy the victory of the final protagonist or the one who overcomes all the odds in equal measure. It is one of the primary reasons that people might enjoy horror movies, and it tends to bring out emotions in them correctly (King, 1981).
Works Cited
King, Stephen. “Why we crave horror movies.” Short Essays for Composition (1981): 524.
