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Essay on Horror Films

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How The Horror Genre Reflects Societal Fears Throughout Time

February 24, 2021 by Emily Um Leave a Comment

Genre films, first emerging in 1895, have increased in popularity throughout history, beginning with just three genres: tragedy, comedy, and melodrama, to now countless others, including their subgenres like action and romantic comedy (Casper). However, horror genre films are uniquely distinct in their adaptability. They are produced within various horror genre cycles, such as slasher films or science fiction horror films, these cycles occurring as studios and filmmakers remix elements of the horror genre in order to keep up with and appeal to contemporary audiences. These cycles speak to the adaptability of the genre, as films were created within these cycles to reflect the real-life societal fears of audiences during the time at which the film was being made (Cherry 11). For example, the cycle of independent slasher films with movies like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) came at a time following the particularly bloody and brutal Vietnam War (Dewan). Audiences were seeing horrors of the war and subsequent riots in real life and on the news, as well as chaos and gore on screen in the film. As such, the horror genre works across time by constantly adapting to what events occur in the real world, attempting to both intensify the fear factor of its films, as well as help viewers process the societal fears they faced in reality by presenting them on screen. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) are no exceptions to this, the former reflecting concerns of evilness of man as Hitler rose to power and the latter reflecting fears of the occult and satanic practices, each utilizing the iconographies of their respective horror genre cycle and practices of the eras of film they were made in to enhance these fears.

With World War II beginning just two years prior and Adolf Hitler’s power and influence growing rapidly, the release of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde came at a time when fear of dictatorship was at its height, despite it being a remake of the film of the same name released a decade earlier (“The 1930s”). In the film, Dr. Jekyll, a noble doctor, becomes Mr. Hyde, a violent criminal, when taking a self-invented serum, unleashing an evil and sinister side of himself. This duality of man, the sides of both good and evil in one person, seen in Jekyll/Hyde connect to the reality of Hitler’s rising of power. His extremely evil ways, despite his being a mortal human being, was similar to the evilness within Dr. Jekyll. In this way, the presentation and vilification of the Jekyll/Hyde character on-screen allowed audiences to process their fears of Hitler and the depravity of man. The iconography of the film as a part of the gothic horror genre cycle, as well as its use of the law of natural morality as a classical era genre film element both aid in emphasizing these fears by intensifying the chilling effects of the film, and therefore enhance the process of understanding and working through these real-life fears.

Iconography, an element of genre films, “refers to particular objects, archetypal characters and even specific actors” (Grant 12) and settings are a part of a genre’s iconography as well (“Genre”). The iconography used in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is common in its gothic horror genre cycle. The inspiration behind early horror films was rooted in works of gothic horror literature, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and the basis for the film, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (Renée). These works of literature incorporated gothic settings such as dark, imposing, and decaying castles and mansions, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde subscribe to this tradition as well, as scenes are set in shadowy gothic locations. For example, the scene where Dr. Jekyll and his friend Dr. Lanyon first encounter Ivy and save her from being attacked is set in a dark and mysterious alleyway (17:25). The gothic setting is seen all throughout the film, from Dr. Jekyll’s lab with peculiar glass test tubes and bottles lining the walls and the dark park with ominous trees through which Dr. Jekyll walks home and transforms into Mr. Hyde (1:20:06), to outside of Beatrix’s home where Mr. Hyde beats her father to death (1:41:30). These shadowy settings accentuated with chiaroscuro lighting and heavily contrasting shadows aid in highlighting the chilling content of the film. Additionally, it nods to the real-life concerns and fears about evil lurking in the shadows, potentially in every ordinary person you meet and regularly interact with, like the grocery store clerk or even your family doctor.

As a film of the classical era, it displays the era’s considerations of morality. While the modernist era, to come years later, considered morality to be situational, with different rules applied depending on the nature of the situation, the earlier classical era considered morality to be absolute and following the natural law ethic (Casper). Moral good and evil were dictated by the rule and law of nature, with good being good and evil being evil, no exceptions or changes made based on the situation at hand. This notion of absolute natural law morality is seen in the film through the characterizations of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll is good, moral, and respectable in every way. He is professionally ambitious, striving towards innovation and discovery in his work as a doctor. He is romantically deferential, courting Beatrix and being respectful to her and her father in the process. And he is generally moral, stopping to save Ivy, who was a stranger at the time, from being attacked and not giving in to her advances afterward. By all accounts, he is an absolutely ethically sound man as Dr. Jekyll. Meanwhile, Mr. Hyde is bad, immoral, and depraved in every way. When seeing Ivy for the first time as Hyde at the club, he trips the waiter with his cane for no reason (47:55). He then decides to keep her hostage in her apartment, raping her whenever he pleases. Later in the film, he beats Beatrix’s father to death when he comes out in response to Beatrix’s cries. All three characters were innocent, having done nothing to Hyde to make him act that way towards them. In this way, the law of nature morality dictates that Hyde’s actions are immoral since he preyed on innocent individuals. There is no room in the film to interpret his actions as anything other than morally bad because there was no situation presented by which his actions could be interpreted in any other way.

Through these elements, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows the real-life fear of the evilness in man as Hitler’s rise to power occurred at the same time and attempts to help viewers process this fear as a result. The element of iconography in its gothic horror settings intensified this fear by emphasizing the evilness of Mr. Hyde by showing him against shadowy gothic backdrops and reinforcing his character as an evil villain. Moreover, the presentation of the law of natural morality as a facet of classical era films further differentiates and adds depth to the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, allowing the fear of evil within man to become more real and three-dimensional. As a result, viewers are able to process their fear by easily vilifying the Jekyll/Hyde character.

Meanwhile, Rosemary’s Baby (1968), an adaptation of the novel by Ira Levin published one year prior, was of the occult horror genre cycle, associated with the likes of The Exorcist (1973) and The Omen (1976). The release of the film reflected real-life fears of the devil and religious counterculture, as both the iconic April 1966 Time magazine cover asking, “Is God Dead?” in large red lettering and the month of June 1966, written as 6/66, “the number of the beast”, struck fear and anxiety in individuals (Counter). Additionally, the Church of Satan was forming in San Francisco at the time, a further source of fear of religious counterculture for audiences (Counter). The film’s iconography as it relates to the occult horror genre cycle and elements as a film made during the modernist era helped underscore these fears.

The film incorporates various common iconographies of the occult horror genre. Throughout the film, there are numerous references made to Catholicism. When Rosemary and Guy go to the Castevets’ apartment for the first time (26:26), they discuss the Pope at the dinner table, Roman and Minnie asserting that he is a hypocrite as a religious figure because of the amount of money spent on his lavish robes and criticizing organized religion as a whole. Furthermore, the rape scene in which Rosemary is impregnated by the devil is full of Catholic symbolism, from Rosemary being put on an altar-like bed to images of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (42:30). The iconography in this scene in particular is strikingly fearsome, as images related to religion are juxtaposed with images of satanic ritual and the devil, making the scene all the more terrifying. Additionally, at the end of the film when the baby is in the crib in the Castevets’ apartment, there is a silver upside down cross hanging from atop. As a common symbol of satanic practices, the upside-down cross is unmistakable and aligns well within the iconography of the occult horror genre cycle. With public fears swirling around about resistance to traditional organized religions like Catholicism, the iconography of the film, with its references to Catholicism and use of the upsidedown cross symbol helps to magnify this fright and helps audiences process it by presenting it on screen.

As a film made during the modernist era of genre films, Rosemary’s Baby shows various elements or commonalities seen in films of the era, like the use of situational ethics and a non-closure ending. In contrast to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , the content of Rosemary’s Baby is presented in moral shades of grey. For instance, Minnie Castevet bringing Rosemary vitamin smoothies and cakes every day throughout her pregnancy could be open to moral interpretation. Some may interpret this action as Minnie just being a friendly and motherly neighbor, trying to be as helpful to Rosemary as possible. Others may interpret it as her being suspicious and covertly sinister, with ulterior motives. There is no formal, absolute right or wrong determination of her actions, audiences instead left to their own devices to judge the morality of the situation depending on their own interpretations of the circumstances.

This also connects to one of the era’s basic tenets in being self-conscious in questioning social and moral values. The modernist movement emphasized the protagonist’s journey in searching to figure out modern society and whether or not norms should be blindly accepted (Casper). Throughout the second half of the film, Rosemary is willfully determined to figure out the truth about the Castevets and whether or not she is being used as a part of their witchcraft. She strives to find her answer and refuses to simply accept what everyone around her, from her husband to her doctor, is telling her. Therefore, she subscribes to this feature of the modernist genre film as she searches for the truth.

Furthermore, the non-closure ending is another characteristic of modernist films used in this film. While Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde had a nice, resolute, and finite ending with Jekyll/Hyde being arrested, Rosemary’s Baby had an unsettling and non-closure ending. The film ends eerily with Rosemary rocking her half-devil baby after uncovering and verifying the terrifying truth, and viewers are unsure of what will happen to them both. Will she give in and help the satanic cult in order to be with her child? Will she think up a ploy to save the baby and raise it as a normal human? Or will something else entirely different happen? No one will ever truly know Rosemary’s fate and the film’s ending is unsatisfying and disconcerting in that way, not providing a clear closed ending.

These elements in Rosemary’s Baby , from the iconography to the modernist characteristics, reinforce the dismay of audiences concerning the occult at the film’s time of release. The modernist characteristics especially relate to the audience’s fears because religion as an institution is open to interpretation, as countless religions and its subsects declare different beliefs regarding humanity and what happens to humans when they die. No one truly knows the nature of the afterlife except those who have passed away, and the modernist elements of situational morality and non-closure ending reinforce this notion. Moreover, the iconography and modernist elements of the film serve to enhance the broader societal fears of the occult and establish the film’s position in the occult horror genre cycle and subsequently, the cycle’s place within the greater landscape of the general horror genre as well.

In conclusion, the horror genre has worked throughout time, in an ever-changing culture, by adapting to reflect the common societal fears of US audiences during the films’ times of release. This is done by utilizing different iconographies of the various genre cycles as they emerge within the horror genre, and by incorporating characteristics of the genre film era during which the film was made. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde addressed fears of evilness found in mortal men, as Hitler was rising to power at the time. A part of the gothic horror cycle, the film employed the iconographic element of shadowy, gothic settings. Also a part of the classical genre film era, the film clearly applied natural law morality in its characterization of Jekyll/Hyde. These elements served to reflect the good vs. evil fears audiences faced in reality and attempted to aid in audiences’ processing of these fears. Similarly, Rosemary’s Baby reflected audience fears of religious counterculture and satanic ritual by utilizing iconography common in the occult horror genre cycle, such as references to Catholicism and upside-down crosses. Additionally, as a film made in the modernist era, it presented situational morality, self-conscious questioning of social and moral values, and a non-closure ending, using these to enhance Rosemary’s assumed paranoia and resultantly make the film that much scarier. All in all, horror genre films throughout time have served as a way for audiences to process the scary situations that are happening in real-life by adapting to present similar situations on screen.

Works Cited

Casper, Drew. “Genre Lecture.” CTCS 190. University of Southern California, California. 7 Nov. 2018.

Cherry, Brigid. Routledge Film Guidebooks: Horror . Routledge, 2009. Counter,

Rosemary. “The Most Cursed Hit Movie Ever Made.” Vanity Fair , Vanity Fair, 30 June 2017, www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/06/the-most-curs ed-hit-movie-ever-made-rosemarys-baby.

Dewan, Shaila K. “Do Horror Films Filter The Horrors of History?” The New York

Times , The New York Times, 14 Oct. 2000, www.nytimes.com/2000/10/1 4/movies/do-horror-films-filter-the-horr ors-of-histor y.html.

Fleming, Victor, director. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . Dailymotion , MGM, 1941, www.dailymotion.com/video/x209b0i.

“Genre.” Edited by Film Reference, Film Reference , www.filmreference.com/encyclope dia/Criticis m-Ideology/Genre-MYTH-AND-H ISTORY.html.

Grant, Barry Keith. Film Genre: from Iconography to Ideology . Wallflower, 2011.

History.com Editors. “The 1930s.” History , A&E Television Networks, 16 Sept. 2010, www.history.com/topics/great-depression/1930s.

Polanski, Roman, director. Rosemary’s Baby . William Castle Productions, 1968, archive.org/details/S23TB.

Renée, V. “From Nosferatu to Jigsaw: a Look at the History of Horror Films.” No Film School , 4 Nov. 2014, nofilmschool.com/2013/10/a-look-at-th e-history-of-horror-films.

Reader Interactions

What is Horror? Definition and Examples in Film

W hy are humans drawn to the horror genre? From books to film, we can’t seem to get enough of what scares us most. In this article, we will look at the definition of horror and why we enjoy the genre so much. We will also look at a brief history of American cinema and how horror has evolved over the years. While this article will provide a general definition of horror, the genre is open to interpretation. After all, what is horror to you, is Child’s Play to me.

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Define Horror

The horror genre explained.

Horror is one of the most popular genres in storytelling. What began in literature can now be found in movies, television, theatre, and video games. The horror genre has been divided into many sub-genres with their own definitions and criteria. Before we get to those, let's define horror at a basic level:

HORROR DEFINITION

What is horror.

Horror is a genre of storytelling intended to scare, shock, and thrill its audience. Horror can be interpreted in many different ways, but there is often a central villain, monster, or threat that is often a reflection of the fears being experienced by society at the time. This person or creature is called the “other,” a term that refers to someone that is feared because they are different or misunderstood. This is also why the horror genre has changed so much over the years. As culture and fears change, so does horror.

What are some defining elements of the horror genre?

Themes : The horror genre is often a reflection of the culture and what it fears at the time (invasion, disease, nuclear testing, etc.).
Character Types : Besides the killer, monster, or threat, the various sub-genres contain certain hero archetypes (e.g., the Final Girl in Slasher movies).
Setting : Horror can have many settings, such as: a gothic castle, small town, outer space, or haunted house. It can take place in the past, present or future.
Music : This is an important facet in the horror genre. It can be used with great effect to build atmosphere and suspense.

Horror Subgenres

Different types of horror movies.

The horror genre has given birth to many sub-genres and hybrids of these various types. Each has its own unique themes, but all of them share one common goal: FEAR.

Found Footage

The point-of-view takes place from the perspective of a camera. Famous titles include The Blair Witch Project and Rec .

Lovecraftian

Focuses on cosmic horror. Monsters are beings beyond our comprehension. Often incorporates science fiction, including horror classics like Alien and The Thing .

Psychological

This sub-genre focuses on the horror of the mind. What is real? What is madness? Two great psychological horror movies are Silence of the Lambs and Jacob’s Ladder .

Science Fiction

Focuses on the horror and consequences of technology. Monsters are often aliens or machines. Two great sci-fi horror movies are The Blob and War of the Worlds .

The monster is a psychopath with a penchant for bloody murder. Often focuses on the punishment of promiscuous teenagers. Popular movies include Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street .

Supernatural

Focuses on the afterlife. Primary creatures include ghosts and demons. Great titles include Poltergeist and The Exorcist .

Similar to slasher; focuses on the punishment of people. The villain takes pleasure in the physical and psychological torment of victims. Famous movies include Hostel and Saw .

One of the oldest horror sub-genres in which icons like Dracula feed on human blood. Some of the best vampire movies include Nosferatu and Interview with the Vampire .

When a full moon is out, beware of these beastly shape-shifters. The best werewolf movies include An American Werewolf in London and The Wolf Man .

A group of survivors is usually attacked by a horde of flesh-eating undead. Night of the Living Dead is considered one of the best zombie movies along with 28 Days Later... and Shaun of the Dead .

A History of Horror Movies 1896-2018

Horror vs thriller, the relationship of horror and thriller.

While the two genres are often confused, there is a clear difference between horror and thriller movies. Horror movie rules demand violence and a monster that appears early and relatively frequently. The climax revolves around a final fight or an escape from the monster. The "monster" in horror is typically "unnatural" or even "supernatural," whereas thrillers tend to rely on human threats.

In a thriller, there is much more mystery and discovery. Tensions rise as the protagonist gets closer to discovering the evil threat. The climax revolves around a big reveal, such as the true intentions of the villain.

The two genres con blend, of course, such as the modern horror/thriller Get Out (2017). Something like Halloween might also be considered a crossover since the killer is human but he exhibits supernatural abilities — like how he never seems to die when he's "killed."

Now that we've covered our horror film definition, let's take a look back at a history of horror movies. Through the decades, the horror movie has evolved to reflect what we we fear the most, as explained in this video.

The Horror Genre and Cultural Fears

1930’s horror, horror and the depression.

The 1930s was a tough period for America. We were in the midst of the Great Depression and Americans were feeling more desperate than ever before. Despite the economic turmoil, people spent what little they had on entertainment, like movies. One of the first great American horror films that garnered much popularity was Dracula (1931), based on the novel by Bram Stoker. And it set the standard for the Best Vampire Movies thereafter.

But why was Dracula so terrifying? Americans were afraid of European influence. World War I ended only 13 years prior. The American mindset was still heavily influenced by the atrocities that took place. Combined with the influx of European immigrants, people were afraid of outsiders corrupting American culture. Someone had to be the scapegoat.

Another film that was a reflection of the fears of the time was Frankenstein (1931), based on the novel by Mary Shelly. This movie created a more sympathetic monster; one that was fleeing from the oppression of his creator.

Below is the original disclaimer that ran before the movie began. It is a warning played up for dramatic effect ("...it might even horrify you!").

Frankenstein Disclaimer

Americans felt as though they that their government had failed them. They blamed their leaders for their misfortune, much like how Dr. Frankenstein failed to protect his creation.

A recurring theme in horror is that the monster is often mankind itself. The villagers lashed out against something they didn’t understand, becoming monsters themselves.

What is Horror? Dracula (1931)

1950s horror, horror in the '50s.

World War II ended in 1945, but it left a huge mark on the world, both literally and figuratively. The use of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki gave way to a new era of fear in the nuclear age. The consequences of mankind’s use of science and technology would become a common theme.

Often not thought of as horror, Godzilla (1954) is a Japanese film that came to America. It was a response to the bombs used by the U.S. In this story, an animal is transformed by nuclear radiation into a giant monster and terrorizes the country. With the advent of the nuclear age, many questions and fears were brought up with this powerful but dangerous energy source.

The monster movie has a rich tradition within the horror genre, dating back to the very first movies. Do yourself a favor and watch this documentary on the history of the monster movie.

History of the Horror Genre • Monster Movies

The 50’s also gave to the Red Scare and the fear of communism. The theme of invasion became prevalent in many monster movies. Science fiction would blend with the horror genre, giving birth to films such as War of the Worlds (1953) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).

In the first film, aliens begin an invasion of earth in a small town, indicative of a communist attack. In the second film, humans are replaced with alien duplicates, which represents the fear of communism overtaking democracy.

What is Horror? War of the Worlds (1953)

1960s-'70s horror, when the monster became human.

The 1960s-'70s was a period of uncertainty and violence for America. We were in the midst of the Vietnam War, a conflict that caused much controversy. For the first time, the U.S. was no longer in the right for a global conflict. The violence committed by men led to the fear of what we as a species were capable of.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) came as a result of this fear and uncertainty. The monsters, which looked very human, would mercilessly attack, kill and devour people. What made the zombies most terrifying was that they could take on the appearance of our loved ones. If we cannot trust our fellow human, who can we trust?

Thanks to a copyright error, Night of the Living Dead belongs in the public domain. That means you can watch it for free right now. Any self-respecting horror genre fan has to watch this movie.

Watch Night of the Living Dead in its entirety

The 70’s were also known for the increase in news coverage on serial killer murders. Media outlets reported on these maniacs as if they were celebrities. People were afraid of the monster next door coming by and killing them in their homes.

This gave rise to the first “slasher,” Halloween (1978). Despite appearing human, Michael Myers was an unstoppable killer that stalked his victims with murderous intent. Slashers grew immensely in popularity, even affecting movies that are not slashers .

The slasher sub-genre would also explore the subject of morality. The sexually promiscuous would be punished and violently murdered, while the moral “Final Girl” would survive to the bitter end.

One would think that these human monsters would drive people away from horror. But the blood-soaked films would make the genre more popular than ever.

What is Horror? Halloween (1976)

1980s-'90s horror, what is self-aware horror.

Coming out of the serial killer era in the '70s, the '80s would continue the trend of slashers with a massive influx of these movies. Friday the 13th , A Nightmare on Elm Street and even Halloween would spawn numerous sequels, each one more absurd than the last.

Hitting a breaking point, the horror genre became more "aware" of itself in the form of Scream (1996). Though very much still a slasher, this film acknowledged the well-worn tropes established by its predecessors, such as the Final Girl.

What is Horror? Scream (1996)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) would take the trope of the weak high school girl and turn her into a monster killer. While the protagonist, Buffy, was killing vampires and other monsters, she and her friends would still experience the woes of being a teenager.

The '90s would also pave the way for a new sub-genre: found footage. The Blair Witch Project (1999) gave the audience the point-of-view of a camera, putting them in the shoes of the victims. This made the horror more personal for viewers, revitalizing the genre as a whole.

Horror Sub-genres • Found Footage

2000s horror, when the horror film took a dark turn.

After 9/11, the war on terror would spawn a generation of films that would redefine what horror is: torture. The prospect of psychos capturing and torturing their victims, both physically and psychologically proved to be a box office success.

Perhaps the most notorious of these is Saw (2004). In this film, a sociopath captures several people and forces them to play his sadistic games if they want to survive. This gruesome concept would spawn a plethora of sequels and copycats, flooding the market and coining a new term for the excess of violence: torture porn.

Global fears and international terror attacks made the end of the world seem more plausible. People became more fascinated than ever over the prospect of a catastrophe like a zombie apocalypse.

As such, the horror genre would reflect this with shows such as The Walking Dead (2010-present). How would any of us survive? How can something so overwhelming ever be stopped? As zombie movies grew in popularity, so did the number of movies. And as this video explains, what we now call "zombies" began as something quite different.

Horror Sub-genres • Zombies

The future of horror, what is horror today.

To say we live in a new world would be an understatement. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we act, think and feel. Global culture as a whole has changed and it will continue to do so for some time. As such, expect the horror genre to reflect this evolution of fear. Don’t be surprised when an influx of movies revolving around isolation and global pandemics hits theaters.

There has been a sort of renaissance of horror movies in the last decade that has been quite excited to watch. Films like The Witch , It Follows and Hereditary have been dubbed "elevated horror" — a divisive term to say the least. Whatever we call them, they are all still really strong and effective horror movies. Here's a breakdown of Midsommar and how the shape of the horror genre continues to evolve.

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The best horror movies of all time.

We just covered a very broad horror genre definition and there is a lot more to explore. We've been talking a lot about the horror genre but now it's time to face our fears and actually watch some. Through the last century, across genre to sub-genre, from ghouls to goblins, here are the Best Horror Movies of All Time.

Up Next: Best Horror Movies →

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Our Favorite Essays and Stories About Horror Films

Reading Lists

Make tonight's evil dead marathon more literary with our best writing about the genre.

It’s the spookiest day of the spookiest season, but you already had your party last weekend, and now you have to stay home and either hand out candy to grabby children or turn out all lights visible from the street and pretend you’re not home. What makes a night in both fun and seasonally appropriate? Horror movies, of course! So while you’re waiting for, or hiding from, trick-or-treaters tonight, put on a Nightmare on Elm Street marathon and make your way through some of the best stuff we’ve published about scary films.

“ There’s Nothing Scarier Than a Hungry Woman ” by Laura Maw

Maybe you haven’t noticed this, but horror movies contain a lot of scenes of women eating—and not only eating, but eating voraciously. Laura Maw has noticed, and she thinks she understands. This essay is both a sensitive cultural analysis of a horror movie trope and a beautiful personal narrative of coming to terms with both the threat and the banality of hunger.

As a woman, to say that you have found eating uncomfortable at times is not particularly groundbreaking. The anxiety has become mundane because it is so common for women, but isn’t that in itself noteworthy? Horror invites us to sit with this disgust, this anxiety, to acknowledge our appetite, to refuse to let us suppress it. There is something uncomfortable and enthralling about watching a woman devour what she likes with intent.

“ Horror Lives in the Body ” by Meg Pillow Davis

This Best American Essays notable is about the physical experience of horror—both horror films, and the familiar horrors we encounter in our normal lives, the ways we brush up against mortality and violation and fear. Why do we seek out this physical experience—”the pupil dilation, the quickening heart, the sweat forming on your upper lip and the surface of your palms, and the nearly overwhelming urge to cover your eyes or run from the room”?

If those other viewers are anything like me, they watch horror movies because they recognize the horror, because its familiarity is strange and terrifying and unavoidable. It is the lure of the uncanny filtering into the cracks and crevices of the cinematic landscape and drawing us in.

“ What ‘Halloween’ Taught Me About Queerness ” by Richard Scott Larson

Michael Myers wears a mask to hide his face while he kills—but is that the only mask he wears? Richard Scott Larson talks about watching Halloween obsessively as an adolescent, while he was starting to understand that his own desires were also considered monstrous.

The experience of adolescence as a closeted queer boy is one of constantly attempting to imitate the expression of a desire that you do not feel. Identification with a bogeyman, then, shouldn’t be so surprising when you imagine the bogeyman as unfit for society, his true nature having been rejected and deemed horrific.

“ If My Mother Was the Final Girl ” by Michelle Ross

The “final girl” is the one who’s left standing at the end of the film, the one who survives the carnage. But what do you call someone who’s still standing after childhood trauma? This short story is about horror films, but more than that, it’s about mother-daughter relationships—a deeper and more mundane form of horror than the kind in slasher flicks.

The one thing my mother and I share is a love for slasher films. When the first girl gets hacked up or sawed in half or stabbed in the breast, my mother says, “Now there’s real life for you.” And I glance at her sideways and think, you can say that again.

“ A Love Letter to the Girls Who Die First in Horror Films ” by Lindsay King-Miller

Unlike the “final girl,” the girl who dies first doesn’t have a catchy title. Lindsay King-Miller writes about the lost friend who taught her that we don’t all have it in us to be a final girl—and that we should celebrate the girl who dies first, because she’s not living in fear.

To survive a horror story you have to realize you’re in one. The girl who dies thinks she’s in a different kind of story, one that’s about her and what she wants: to dance, to party, to fuck, to feel good. She thinks she is the subject of this story, the one who watches, desires, sees, the one who acts upon the world. She does not feel the eyes on her, does not know she is being observed, that her fate is not to reshape the world but to be reshaped by it.

“ Nothing Has Prepared Me For The Reality of Womanhood Better Than ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ ” by Sarah Kurchak

Yes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is a cheesy horror-comedy hybrid in which women are menaced and their bodies are treated as set dressing. But so is adolescence. Sarah Kurchak writes about the many ways in which this movie taught her what to expect from the world.

Sure, this was, on many levels, a schlocky B-movie with so many of the expected hallmarks of the time — women in hot pants and peril, over-the-top gore. But it was a schlocky B-movie in which a woman faced men’s threats, both implicit and explicit, and was left breathing but almost unrecognizable at the end of it. That felt familiar.

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DON’T MISS OUT

Why Horror Matters

“The cinema was made for horror films. No other kind of film offers that same mysterious anticipation as you head into a darkened auditorium. No other makes such powerful use of sound and image. The cinema is where we come to share a collective dream and horror films are the most dream-like of all. Perhaps because they engage with our nightmares. ” – Mark Gatiss

In November of 2017, I visited the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) in Seattle. Not knowing anything about MoPOP ahead of time, I felt delighted and genuinely surprised by everything I encountered. I walked through an insightful section about independent developers and video games with live demos, spent a fair amount of time in a remarkable exhibit about Jim Henson ‘s career that included real Muppet fur on the walls (it’s softer than you’d think), and couldn’t help but do several laps around a wonderful David Bowie exhibit that featured rare photos of the rock star by Mick Pop. I took a break and eyed the brochure. A certain exhibit piqued my interest: “Scared to Death: The Thrill of Horror Film.” I rushed over and found myself descending a creepy stairwell and into the heart of an incredible collection of horror props and history. I felt at home. Seeing all of the different people of all ages wander around the exhibit re-affirmed what I knew all along: HORROR MATTERS.

Fast-forward to October of 2018, my copy of the new Fangoria reached my mailbox. I took the issue out, flipped through it, and couldn’t help but feel like I did exploring MoPOP’s horror exhibit. I adore everything about the new Fangoria from the beautiful design work and magazine stock that feels like a trade paperback to the thought-provoking essays and insightful interviews. Longtime scribe for the original Fangoria, Michael Gingold, penned a new essay for the Fall 2018 issue called, “IT IS A HORROR FILM.” It’s a lovely reflection of the genre and Fangoria magazine, the “is it or is it not a horror movie?” debate, and how things have changed in some ways and stayed the same in other ways. It brought me back to my early years with the genre.

Horror has faced aspersions time after time. In being on the fringe of pop culture, the genre has had the space to do bold things. To be transgressive. To leave an indelible mark on the medium of film. This isn’t to say every horror movie is inherently great, but it most assuredly has the potential for greatness. The genre is perfect for poignant stories that tap into a primal part of us. Horror movies can be exhilarating and boast rich subtext. Some more so than others and that’s okay. There are different subgenres and kinds of horror movies. This hasn’t stopped people from dismissing the entire genre, much like people dismissed science-fiction movies during the genre’s nascence.

This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about the flaws of the work within the genre—including problematic things—for having a dialogue is how we can be mindful and do better. Essays upon essays have and will be written about this topic. Engaging with the genre instead of dismissing it entirely is important. My mother forbade me from having anything to do with horror when I was a child. She had her own preconceptions about the genre, perhaps due to the sociopolitical climate at the time, the negative reputation of horror that spawned from the onslaught of the slasher subgenre, and her own fears. This didn’t stop me from feeling drawn to horror. It primed my imagination, scared the living hell out of me, helped me process traumatic parts of my life, and thrilled me in a way that felt entirely different.

My earliest memories with horror were surreptitiously reading pages of Stephen King ‘s Pet Semetary in the library, watching bits and pieces of the IT mini-series on ABC, and looking at all the VHS covers for horror movies at video shops. I had to make do with my imagination and accounts from people who were familiar with these things. Long before I had watched The Exorcist (1973) for the first time on DVD, I had seen the VHS cover of it countless times, as well as glimpsed bits of it on a nearby drive-in screen during a re-release of it. My mother eventually changed her mind about horror and later watched even watched a few movies with me. I dove headfirst into the classics—often with my grandma who loves movies and the genre—while trying to keep up with the new releases. I worked at a movie theater as a teenager which was next to a home video store, and I’d take recommendations from co-workers and pick up used horror DVDs to watch and later discuss with them. My love for it hasn’t waned.

At its core, horror is about fear. Survival is innate to us. Programmed into our autonomic nervous system are two responses: the sympathetic (“fight or flight” response) and parasympathetic systems (“rest or digest” response). Think of them as a “balancing act” to either amp us up or relax us with physiological changes in the brain and body. It’s a survival mechanism. This along with our brains placing a greater emphasis on narratives with emotional resonance are why horror is thrilling, memorable, and has prevailed for so long. We live in a world that has beautiful AND horrific things. There are acts of compassion and grisly acts of violence. There is life and there is death. There is what we know and what we don’t know. The unknowable is terrifying and at the heart of what we fear.

Horror is a fertile ground for stories that can take us to dark and dangerous places without actually being dangerous. Universal’s classic movie monsters brought horror literature from the page to a medium in its nascence. Frankenstein (1931), The Invisible Man (1933), and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) are fascinating explorations of mortality and the downfall of egotistical men toying with things beyond their understanding. Psycho (1960), Black Christmas (1974), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) were what set the stage for Halloween (1978), which in turn led to Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Child’s Play (1988), and Scream (1996). I don’t have the space to name every slasher horror movie, but those I’ve mentioned all have different approaches. Then there is, of course, the spate of horror films from Hammer Film Productions in London throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. At Hammer’s peak, they made vibrant, gothic horror movies that pushed content boundaries with the well-oiled machine that was the production studio and lean budgets. Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak (2015) is a beautiful tribute to the gothic atmosphere of those Hammer films.

Horror can explore difficult or even unspeakable subjects and give the audience a greater understanding through metaphorical imagery and the visceral nature of the genre. Rod Serling left the guaranteed screenwriting work inside the movie studio system and put up his own money for The Twilight Zone (1959) television series. Serling wanted to write stories with sociopolitical messages, and his work was stymied over and over by the network sponsors’ demands. In creating an anthology show that billed itself as “science-fiction,” but really felt like the nexus of the former and “horror,” Serling was able to write stories with biting social commentary. The reputation of the genre gave The Twilight Zone a facade to subvert viewers’ expectations and escape the censors. George A. Romero pushed the genre further with Night of the Living Dead (1968), Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Day of the Dead (1985) — all movies with an incisive social commentary, and boundary-pushing gore and thrills. Get Out (2017) masterfully uses horror by subverting the supernatural/possession subgenre and creating a powerful story about race in America. The Twilight Zone (2019) revival series in good hands with Jordan Peele at the helm.

Horror feels like the direct descendant of fairy tales, folklore, and the like; they’re stories we told to run each other through the gamut of emotions. John Bloom in his detailed essay published in the Texas Monthly about the making of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre cites professor and critic Mikita Brottman ‘s analysis of the movie as an “inversion” of the fairy tale with parallels to Hansel and Gretel . “In this fairy tale there is only evil: the good that exists is either defeated, annihilated, or driven away.” Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos (1993), The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), and The Shape of Water (2017) are beautiful and haunting fairy tales framed through a lens of modern sensibilities. I love that Scream (1996), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Juan of the Dead (2012), Cabin in the Woods (2012), and What We Do in the Shadows (2015) all exist together as earnest subversions of the genre made with the utmost love for it.

Horror movies don’t happen in a bubble. Ask any horror filmmaker to name their favorite horror films, and they’ll rattle off not just a bunch of horror movies but also a bunch of movies. That’s the magic of storytelling. If you love a medium, you may be partial to certain genres or subgenres, but you can love more than one kind of thing. The beauty of horror movies is that there are different spectrums they fall under. You have bigger and smaller movies, artistic and mainstream films, and stories that intersect with other genres such as comedy and science-fiction. There’s an undeniable visceral quality to the genre. If done right, the catharsis is palpable. You can appreciate the artistry of the visual effects, the energy of the performers, and the craft of the editing and sound design. The story, characters, and themes can be simple and surface-level, but they can also carry multiple dimensions. There’s room for nuance. This isn’t relegated to just horror or the medium of film, but every genre and every form of storytelling.

During the process of writing this piece, I came to the understanding that fear is relative to each of us and how we FEEL about something is more important in a medium than necessarily how we UNDERSTAND it. I’m most assuredly not alone in my experience with the genre of horror. Each of us has a story to tell about our relationship with it. For this piece, I reached out to writers whose work I like a great deal and asked them how they would define “horror.”

Here are the great contributions I received:

“Horror, for me, is about sedition: an active (often gleeful) irreverence for givens about our world, bodies, and values. Horror picks at sanctified safety blankets like ‘organs stay on the inside’ and ‘it’s wrong to eat people’ and makes us watch. There is discomfort here but there is also joy. Joy and relief at confronting the disturbance of hallowed ground and coming out the other side in one piece. Mostly.” – Meg Shields

“At the bottom of it all, fear and revulsion are among the most common human experiences. They are certainly the first emotions we feel when we’re brought into this world, and to a lesser extent, we encounter them every day. Horror brings out the animal in all of us, and it not only reminds us of what we fear, it inevitably makes us ask ourselves why we fear it. These fears are not always specifically about death and decay, though those are obviously huge parts of horror, but also social mores and taboos. I think the best works in the horror genre elicit strong physical and emotional responses that may not make sense on an intellectual level until much later. But the gut level is where the intellectual work begins.” – Kate Blair

“For me, the best horror strikes straight to a dark, thrilling place in my heart, a sort of cozy scariness, both a safe and unsafe place that reminds me of hiding behind the couch while my big cousin watched A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, or staying up late to watch POLTERGEIST on the TV after my parents went to sleep, eating peanut butter straight out of the jar. It feels old and new in that way, hitting both the nostalgic and adventurous parts of my brain. Great horror always makes me feel 8 years old again, like I’m getting away with watching something I shouldn’t be watching, and I love that feeling.” – Meredith Borders

What I love about all of these responses is that each one is different but all stem back from one thing: WHY HORROR MATTERS. John Carpenter ‘s In the Mouth of Madness (1995) feels like a reflection of horror and us grappling with our fears through it. The scene in which John Trent (Sam Neill) walks over to the portal torn through Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow) and can’t help but stare at the horrors in the abyss encapsulates why we watch horror movies. The genre matters because it’s persisted not just in the medium of film, but in storytelling as a whole. Fear is a primal part of us. It’s a necessary part of our being. We can’t help but stare at the abyss as we reconcile the horrors of the world around us. Horror can have downbeat endings. Characters can have a pyrrhic victory or perhaps no victory at all. Our own lives are complicated and horror embraces this truth.

Jennifer Kent , Bong Joon-ho , Panos Cosmatos , Karyn Kusama , Jordan Peele , Robert Eggers , Guillermo del Toro , Julia Ducournau , Mike Flanagan , Ari Aster , and Yeon Sang-ho are just a small selection of the filmmakers doing amazing things in the genre today.

It’s been a hell of a journey so far with horror, and the exciting thing is that I still have plenty of movies to watch—both old and new. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Related Topics: Ari Aster , Fangoria , George A. Romero , Guillermo del Toro , Horror , Jennifer Kent , John Carpenter , Jordan Peele , Julia Ducournau , Karyn Kusama , Kate Blair , Meg Shields , Meredith Borders , Mike Flanagan , Mikita Brottman , Museum of Pop Culture , Panos Cosmatos , Robert Eggers , Rod Serling , Stephen King

Horror Movie Analysis and Its Approaches

Refraining from discussing the merits of horror as a genre, the choice of the most optimal analysis method appears complicated. To regard horror movies analytically, it is worth considering that they are, at large, a projection of fear or anxiety, which are the main target of their appeal. Adult audience tends to be afraid of things coming from the domain of rationality. Horror movies find a way to compile the rational and irrational, using the metaphor and symbolism of the supernatural, the incognoscible.

There are several approaches of horror film analysis, including, but not limited to the analysis of sexuality, the psychoanalytical approach, etc. Although each of these approaches provides an in-depth perspective, the following paper is devoted to discussing what it regards as the most optimal one, which is the socio-political and socio-cultural.

As said, there is quite an extensive body of approaches that can be adopted when analyzing horror movies. To conduct a competent analysis, one might start by applying diachrony, linking the ideas from the horror movies’ past to their present. Such analysis might require additional research to establish the place of a particular movie within the timespan of horror movie history. On the other hand, such approach speaks in broad terms about individual matter, and the analysis can turn out to be overly evasive and vague.

Considering that horror movies often incorporate elements that have to do with sexuality, including the one that is commonly regarded as perverted, sexuality analysis can prove sufficient to understand the message. Such analysis is particularly applicable to movies with increased presence of naked flesh and torture. Erotic imagery and the imagery of violence serve as an attention grabber to sharpen the audience’s perception and communicate the message in the most efficient way (Pinedo 347).

From another perspective, the analysis of sexuality is not applicable to movies where such imagery is not abundant. Another approach includes applying psychoanalysis, particularly the Freudian one. Psychoanalysis of the horror movies does not necessarily concern sexuality, but rather, the fears that the viewer experiences as a child and sees them projected in the movies’ visual and sound effects (Dumas 28).

Among those, the fear of madness in general can be enlisted, as well as some other fears and pervasive thoughts that might overwhelm the viewer from time to time. Some horror screenplay moves and features can be explained and clarified through the lens of, say, Oedipus complex or the fear of castration. Also, the archetypal characteristics of some of the characters tend to correspond with archetypes that invade the viewers’ nightmares (29). On the flipside, the psychoanalytical approach to horror movies is likely to drift entirely into the realm of psychoanalysis, ignoring the movie message and its technical components.

It appears that, to conduct a competent study, it is worth applying as many approaches as possible. On the other hand, as it was stated above, horror as a genre largely amounts to projection of fears, including those that are experienced by the audience as a society, as a culture. Art is inseparable from the posture of affairs in which it is created, either societal or cultural, or the personality of the creator which is, again, influenced by their status quo. Just as any form of art, horror movies are produced within a certain timeframe with its socio-political situation, ideological demands, and common concerns (Sharrett 71).

Such analysis, therefore, appears the most optimal since it helps reveal societal fears in broader – and at the same time, more focused – terms, in terms of discursive practices. At that, socio-cultural and socio-political approach incorporates the discourses of psychoanalysis and sexuality analysis since the disorders that cause anxiety in observers can be applied to the society as well. There are examples of societies becoming violent and suicidal, of children murdering their mothers (66).

Such actions can be analyzed from the point of Freudian methodology – the infamous Oedipus complex, for one – but the socio-cultural approach implies these to represent fears that encompass the culture; particularly, the fear of destruction of the seemingly solid nuclear family value. Zombies can be referred to as a vampire sexual fantasy in reverse, as a mockery of the society’s hype about the vampire sexuality (64). On the other hand, what the rise of undead represents in cultural and political respect is the fear of the collapse of the global society, especially on the aftermath of the millennium with its nuclear and apocalyptic concerns (65).

To conclude, entertainment culture reflects what the society is currently interested in. Horror movies as a segment of such culture speculate on the society’s fears and anxieties. The messages embedded in such films can be analyzed from diverse viewpoints but it is the socio-cultural and socio-political approach that can be argued to be the most optimal for horror film analysis. Such conclusion can be made on account that it not only regards screenplay and effects through the prism of common societal concerns but also incorporates other approaches, creating the fullest perspective of analysis.

Works Cited

Dumas, Chris. “Horror and Psychoanalysis: An Introductory Primer.” A Companion to the Horror Film . 1st ed. Ed. Harry M. Benshoff. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley & Sons, 2014. 21-37. Print.

Pinedo, Isabel C. “Torture Porn: 21st Century Horror.” A Companion to the Horror Film . 1st ed. Ed. Harry M. Benshoff. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley & Sons, 2014. 345-361. Print.

Sharrett, Christopher. “The Horror Film as Social Allegory (And How It Comes Undone).” A Companion to the Horror Film . 1st ed. Ed. Harry M. Benshoff. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley & Sons, 2014. 56-72. Print.

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Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal

Robin Wood on the Horror Film: Collected Essays and Reviews ed. by Barry Keith Grant (review)

Khara Lukancic
Center for the Study of Film and History
Volume 49, Number 1, Summer 2019
10.1353/flm.2019.0009
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The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories Essay

Horror novels and stories are a dying brand of media in today’s world. Once so popular, they now are somewhat of a rarity. While the horror publication has lost its acclaim, it has given way to the rise of the horror movie. It is a shame that films with amateur acting and shoddy writing are replacing these works of art. The classics are forgotten, such as Dracula and Frankenstein, diverting our attention to these inferior film pieces. Therefore, the once exorbitant quantity of horror writers is starting to become a dying breed. Unfortunately it has become quite a dilemma to find quality horror writing and authors. However, there is one story “Holiday” by M. Rickert, which encompasses all of the true elements of a horror story. This story fits the genre of horror due to the display of serious intense fear and unease. It is not similar to the horror pieces of today that revolve around gore and violence, but it sticks to the principles of an original horror story.

First of all, this story is considered a horror story because it has many of the elements of classic scary pieces. In essence it is a ghost story, but deals with much more than the average novels of this type. This narrative revolves around a writer who is visited by a ghost of a small girl around the age of six. As time passes he starts to form a relationship with her, as well as other ghosts of children that have begun to appear. The author’s father was a child molester and he is attempting to write a novel about his father’s life. This story utilizes this revolting back-story to incite fear into the audience. Although the author is not a pedophile like his father, nearly everyone that he interacts with in the story believes him to be one. This is due to the fact that he is attempting to entertain all these ghost children, and thus has to keep buying items for them, such as Shirley Temple DVDs. It is as if only the children know of the author’s innocent nature. Fear is generated in the audience because one concludes that since the author’s father was an abuser of children, he will have to pay for what atrocities his parent committed. It really keeps the reader on edge. This is an excellent feature of the story and a staple of an effective horror piece. “’Horror is not a genre, like the mystery or science fiction or the western. It is not a kind of fiction, meant to be confined to the ghetto of a special shelf in libraries of bookstores. Horror is an emotion.” (Horror Writer, 2009, p. 1). I whole-heartedly agree with this statement and this story does a fantastic job of galvanizing apprehension and fear into the audience. Additionally, the author sets the mood of the story very well. This is a very dark narrative. The elements of a house full of ghost children, a disturbed father, a drug addict brother, and a greedy publisher make it nearly impossible to feel any positive feelings when reading this piece. This is the strength of the work and another effective aspect of the horror genre that is portrayed.

Another substantial feature of this story is the descriptive writing. It puts very creepy and fearful imagery into your head. One passage that really stuck with me was when the main character sees the ghost for the first time. “Her body starts jerking in a strange way as she moves across my bedroom floor, her arms out”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 27). This depiction really was one of the parts that encouraged fear and unease. Another description that was effective and demonstrative of the aspects of the horror genre was when the protagonist decides to research the ghost girl’s story and the reason for her death. “When I read about how her father found her, wrapped in a blanket, as though someone was worried she would be cold, but with that rope around her neck”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 28). That is a terrifying depiction of nearly the worst occurrence that can happen to someone. It was memorable, yet disheartening A third passage that aids in supporting the elements of a horror story is when the main character begins to find that the ghost girl is bringing more ghost children into his house. “’And today is her birthday.’ I turn to the girl who looks up at me with her beautiful black eyes. ‘Your birthday?’ Both girls nod solemnly. This description really does a great job of setting the scene and extenuating a hair-raising vibe. This story goes for unease rather than in your face violence or heart-pounding excitement. It is a consistent depiction of a chilling atmosphere.

Although this story is quite hair-raising, it does have some novelty moments that make it somewhat comical. There are many lines and depictions that stand out for their novelty, rather than their terrifying nature. One in particular was the passage at the beginning. It did an amazing job of instilling intrigue into the reader; as well as urging them read more. “She says her name is Holiday, but I know she’s lying. I remember her face. It was all over the news for weeks, years, even but of course she doesn’t know that. I briefly consider telling her ‘Hey, did you know you’re a star?’ But that would necessitate bringing up the subject of her death, and I’m not clear if she knows that she’s a ghost, or that almost everyone thinks her parents killed her.” (Rickert, 2009, p. 27). This was just great writing by the author, and has to be considered as one of the most effective passages in the story. Another striking depiction was actually one of the few comical occurrences in the piece. It takes place after the protagonist has begun to care for all these ghost children. “Suddenly it’s like I’m running some kind of day care center for dead kids. She keeps bring them to me, I don’t know why. We watch Shirley Temple movies”. (Rickert, 2009, p. 31). This just is a humorous happening within the story, which is one of the few happy elements that occur. The last thing that an individual would expect in a ghost story is that the main character would be running a ghost day care. The last memorable depiction is near the end of the narrative. The protagonist decides to throw a party for the ghost children that he has been taking care of. He also purchases a clown costume for this gathering. “The doorbell rings and I run to answer it, laughing because it’s very funny the way she’s hidden outside but when I open the door, my brother is standing there. ‘Oh, fuck,’ he says. ‘It’s not the way it looks.’” (Rickert, 2009, p. 34). This is a humorous coincidence that occurs in the novel due to these ghost characters. Although the main character attempts to care for them they end up getting him into trouble. In fact, the protagonist is beginning to get the same reputation as his father, except for the fact that he is not abusing anyone. It is possible that the main character feels that he has to take care of these ghost children to make up for the fact that his father was so horrible to adolescents. He may have reasoned that there has to be some type of repentance.

Rickert’s story “Holiday” is a horror story that is chilling and hair-raising. The author does a great job of setting a dark and gloomy mood, by covering disgusting and scary subject matter. There also is effective utilization of the English language, making the piece ripe with memorable passages. The author clearly has a substantial grasp on what is high quality writing. Furthermore, there is clear and efficacious understanding of the elements that should make up a horror story and they are convincingly employed in this piece. Rickert is a rarity in today’s generic and untalented author pool. It is comforting to see that some still value the classic elements of the horror genre and in “Holiday” this is forcefully demonstrated.

Horror Writers. (2009) What is Horror Fiction? Web.

Rickert, M. (2009). Holiday. Urbana, IL: Golden Gryphon Press.

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IvyPanda. (2022, January 12). The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-horror-genre-novels-and-stories/

"The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories." IvyPanda , 12 Jan. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/the-horror-genre-novels-and-stories/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories'. 12 January.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories." January 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-horror-genre-novels-and-stories/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories." January 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-horror-genre-novels-and-stories/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Horror Genre: Novels and Stories." January 12, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-horror-genre-novels-and-stories/.

Is Kafka's The Metamorphosis Horror Fiction?
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Debunking Ghosts in the World Literature
Cognitive Dissonance and Reduction Strategies
Consideration of the Ghost in "Hamlet" by Shakespeare
Antianxiety Drug Therapies and Prescriptions
Ghost's Fear
I do not believe in ghosts
"The Illness of the Mourning & the Fantasy of the Exquisite Corpse" by Maria Torok
“Catfish and Mandala” by Andrew Pham: The Methods Used in The Novel and Their Functions
Chekhov’s Writing Style in ”The Lady With the Pet Dog”
“Since Cleopatra Died” by Neil Powell
The Use of Allusion in "Drown" by Junot Diaz

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In a Violent Nature: The new movie that completely flips horror genre on its head

‘fascinating’ movie takes the genre in completely different direction, article bookmarked.

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A new horror film is making waves for completely flipping the slasher genre on its head.

The first trailer for the film – titled In a Violent Nature – has been released online, proving why exactly the film received a rapturous response at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024.

In a Violent Nature screened in the US festival’s “Midnight” strand , which is where films including The Blair Witch Project, Hereditary and the controversial Dashcam , first premiered – and early word-of-mouth has branded the film as “fascinating” and “impressive”.

The detail that is exciting horror fans is the fact the film is a slasher told through the killer’s eyes. The synopsis of the In a Violent Nature reads: “Delve into the wilderness where an undead horror awakens. In a Violent Nature flips the script on traditional slashers, inviting you to witness the rampage from the monster’s eyes.”

At the time of writing, the film has a score of 93 per cent on review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes after 28 reviews.

Bloody Disgusting called the film “a fascinating arthouse horror experiment that plays more like a minimalist slice-of-life feature with a grim, gory twist”, with Polygon adding: “It’s a rare treat and a fantastic exercise in taking a genre in the opposite direction that everyone else has tried.”

However, it’s worth noting that those who enjoy faster-paced filmmaking might be left somewhat frustrated: those who saw the film at Sundance have said the film is inspired by slow cinema, and features longer takes and has no musical score.

‘In a Violent Nature’ is told from the killer’s perspective

Canadian writer-director Chris Nash, who named Tree of Life director Terence Malick as an inspiration, described this as a “slower, more methodical, more deliberate” way to “follow characters through a scene.”

In a Violent Nature will be released in the US by IFC Films on 31 May before being added to horror streaming service Shudder later this year. No UK date has been announced.

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10 Most Legendary Horror Actors

H orror has been one of the most successful and enduring genres of cinema since the film industry began, due in large part to its incredibly loyal and passionate fan base. The genre was built by countless actors, some of whom rose to fame through their roles as terrifying monsters and horrific heroes. These stories represent one of the most versatile corners of the film industry, so it's only natural that they feature some of the best actors of all time.

Some of the most iconic actors in Hollywood history have turned in great performances as heroes, villains, and monsters. Some of the genre's actors became iconic for their portrayal of protagonists, while others earned respect for the sheer variety of monsters and villains they played. Many of these actors are practically inseparable from their best-known roles, and each brought something unique to the genre.

Jamie Lee Curtis Is The Best Final Girl

Best known for her role as Laurie Strode , Jamie Lee Curtis helped create both the final girl and scream queen tropes in one fell swoop. Although Halloween is the horror franchise that typically comes to mind when discussing her career, her footprint in the horror genre also extends to films like Prom Night , The Fog, and the horror series Scream Queens .

Jamie Lee Curtis didn't allow her career to be relegated to horror and eventually branched out to comedy and thriller films like Freaky Friday , True Lies and Blue Steel . However, the lasting impact she left on slasher films as the genre's most iconic final girl cannot be disputed, and her return in the 2018 Halloween trilogy continued Strode's legacy as one of horror's toughest characters.

Donald Pleasence Is A Recurring Face In Supernatural Horror

10 of the goriest movies ever made.

Donald Pleasence isn't thought of as a horror actor due to his performances in war movies and dramas. However, his role as Sam Loomis in Halloween , as well as other collaborations with John Carpenter, firmly cement him as one of the genre's best actors.

Donald Pleasence's roles in films like Prince of Darkness , Buried Alive and The House of Usher maintained his presence in horror, often placing him in the role of a seasoned protagonist who would aid other heroes against villains. In addition to playing Sam Loomis five separate times, Pleasence also starred in classic movies like Dracula , which brought out the best in his acting.

Peter Cushing Was A Hammer Horror Icon

Though most modern movie fans know Peter Cushing for his role as Star Wars ' Grand Moff Tarkin, Peter Cushing actually built his career through Hammer Horror. There, he played a number of horror icons , including Victor Frankenstein and John Banning in 1959's The Mummy . However, his best role was that of Van Helsing, which he played a number of times.

Peter Cushing was at his best when acting opposite his close friend, Christopher Lee, who portrayed characters like Dracula, the Mummy and Frankenstein's Creature. Cushing typically played a gentlemanly, intelligent character, and was best-suited for the roles of various heroes, with Van Helsing remaining his best. His frequent collaborations with Hammer made him as integral a part of their success as Lee.

Vincent Price Is The Face Of Mystical Horror

Vincent Price joined the horror scene of cinema in the 1940s , beginning with The Invisible Man Returns . However, it wasn't until the 1950s that Price started earning main roles in the genre, most notably as Professor Henry Jarrod in House of Wax , which began his move into horror as a mainstay icon. Later in the decade, he featured in films like The Fly , House On Haunted Hill and The Bat .

Vincent Price has kept up his status as a horror icon despite being known for some low budget B-movies, many of which didn't become popular until later in the century. Price often played the roles of stereotypical evil scientists or vengeful killers, though he's also known for playing the role of hero, most famously in The Last Man On Earth . Today, Price is looked back on as one of the definitive faces of 20th century horror.

Bela Lugosi Played A Charming Dracula

Best horror shows to watch on prime video.

Bela Lugosi played a number of different horror characters, but it was his performance as Dracula in the 1931 movie of the same name that made him the icon he soon became. Lugosi appeared in films such as The Raven , The Body Snatcher, and The Invisible Ray , often paired with Boris Karloff. That said, it was ultimately his performance as Dracula that defined his career, and he's often cited as the quintessential version of the villain.

Bela Lugosi was competitive with Boris Karloff for the title of leading horror icon following the death of Lon Chaney. Unfortunately, Lugosi was limited in both genre and character type due to his Hungarian accent, which left him taking on roles of eccentric evil scientists. Nonetheless, he has since been recognized as the talent that he was.

Bruce Campbell Is The King Of Comedy-Horror

Best known for his career-defining role as Ash Williams in the Evil Dead franchise, Bruce Campbell is treasured by horror fans for his comedic approach to the genre. Although his breakout role in the original Evil Dead was a more traditional 'final boy' role, the reinvention of the franchise in the second movie changed everything. In Evil Dead II , Campbell endeared himself as the king of B-movie comedy horror through a campy performance that brought laughs to the chaotic horror.

Bruce Campbell has continued his streak as horror's B-movie king through films like Bubba Ho-Tep , My Name is Bruce and Maniac Cop . His work extends beyond cinema, and the actor has also proven himself a talented writer, especially in the comics space, where he's worked on some of the properties he starred in. When it comes to scary movies that can get a laugh, fans can't go wrong with Campbell.

Robert Englund Is The Face Of Campy Horror

Robert Englund burst onto the horror scene through his role as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare On Elm Street . From the start, he brought a unique combination of camp and terror to the big screen, with his signature character stalking the children of Elm Street in their dreams. While the role started out as horrifying, Freddy has since become a horror mascot thanks to Englund's comedic take on the villain.

Robert Englund's place in the horror genre doesn't end with Krueger, and the actor has shown himself capable of going well beyond the role. He has appeared in 170 movies, most of which are horror, with even brief cameos being enough to lend legitimacy to small films. After A Nightmare on Elm Street, Englund is known for roles in films and shows such as Wishmaster , 2001 Maniacs , Stranger Things and Hatchet .

Christopher Lee Perfected Dracula

Christopher Lee may be known for his roles as Count Dooku and Saruman to younger generations, but before those roles he was the king of horror cinema throughout the mid twentieth century. Under Hammer Horror, Lee picked up the mantle from the likes of Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney as cinema's best monster, where he played the roles of the Mummy, Frankenstein's Creature and, most famously, Dracula.

Christopher Lee's Dracula is still the definitive take on Bram Stoker's vampire count, and Lee played the character more than any other actor, a total of ten times. Through other Hammer productions, such as The Devil Rides Out , Lee brought a classy style to the horror genre in the role of heroes and villains alike.

Lon Chaney Was The Man Of A Thousand Faces

The 10 highest-rated horror movies of all time, ranked.

In the era of silent movies, some of the most chilling horror movies were made, and Lon Chaney stood out as the best of his craft at that time. Known for undergoing on-screen transformations into monsters (most notably the Wolf Man), Chaney emerged from silent cinema into the dawn of the Golden Age of Horror, with his final film being 1930's The Unholy Three .

Lon Chaney was very much the face of horror at the start of American cinema, and deserves respect for being a genuine pioneer of the film industry even irrespective of horror. It's doubtful horror would have been as treasured by audiences later had it not been for the work of Chaney and his generation of actors.

Boris Karloff Led Hollywood's Golden Age Of Horror

The horror genre has seen many actors pass through the halls of Hollywood donning masks and make-up to become monsters. However, nobody came close to Boris Karloff, who was very much the right person at the right time, becoming the face of Hollywood's Golden Age of Horror.

Boris Karloff initially received praise for turning in a sympathetic performance as Frankenstein's Monster, something integral to the role. After that, he took on the roles of Imhotep, Dr Fu Manchu, Dr Scarabus and many more, as well as returning to the role of the Monster. Karloff took over directly where his predecessor, Lon Chaney, left off, and ushered horror into the era often seen as its greatest heyday, especially for monsters.

16 Best Liminal Space Horror Movies That Define the Genre

Everything is liminal these days, but liminal horror movies have always been around. Check out the best movies in the popular subgenre of horror.

The word "liminal" is something we have been hearing more and more these days. The word is nothing new but its definition pertains to a lot of what we see around us. Liminal is a word that relates to transition, or the initial stages of a transitional process. Think of it as the end of one thing, but the next phase of whatever it may be describing, has yet to really take shape.

Horror is often, if not always, a reflection of the world around us and how we react to it. It's the fear of the unknown in everyday life. Whether you like it or not, the 2020s have kicked off in a very liminal way. The old ways seemed to have been torn down, but we've yet to see a new world come together. Many are nostalgic of the past, but the problem with nostalgia is that it feels good to stare at something that reminds you of the good ol'days, but you will never truly obtain what it meant and felt like ever again. Look around you, the world many of us were promised no longer exists.

Malls are closing, technology is advancing, politics sways back and forth between conservative and progressive ideals, and here we all are, waiting for something new in this liminal space of life. To help us through that transition is a long list of liminal horror films that hit that spot of feeling like and limbo as you yearn for a past you can't have anymore.

16 The Langoliers (1995)

The Langoliers was a two-part ABC miniseries that aired back in 1995 and is based off of a Stephen King novel about a group of passengers on an airplane who wake up to see that most of the passengers on the flight have vanished. Once they get on the ground and into the barren airport, they learn that there's a bigger existential crisis at play, and they're the next target.

Across Space and Time

Some Stephen King adaptations should have just waited awhile to get a bigger budget, but oh well, Tom Holland directs this fun-made-for-television thrill ride with special effects that do not hold up today at all. Critiques aside, The Langoliers explores how abstract the mind of Stephen King can get.

The Langoliers are indeed creatures that are destroyers of worlds and literally eat them up. It's a strange and, in some ways, laughable idea, but when you get down to the nitty-gritty of The Langoliers , it's utterly terrifying. There is an overarching theme that death is always coming for us, and we can't stop it, even if it is in the shape of a creepy-looking group of Pacmen. The Langoliers is available for rent on Vudu.

Related: How Stephen King's Underrated Miniseries The Langoliers Predicted Lost

15 Dimland (2021)

Dimland is a low-budget film about a woman looking to shake off her depression, so she and a lover head out to the country to visit a family-owned cabin for a getaway. There, she encounters a childhood friend she believed to be imaginary when she was a kid but learns they are very real, and she reconnects with them on a deeper level.

Not All Liminal Horror Is Loaded with Jump Scares

Dimland gets talked about among horror crowds. It's an indie film that is hard to categorize by genre. You'll see that on this list. Liminal horror oftentimes does not frighten you in its jump scare but rather in its atmosphere. Dimland creates a beautiful sense of melancholy in its short run time. It's clearly a film that is an allegory for depression.

Most liminal horror films are just that, as depression can often times be the human struggle of being stuck in between two phases of your life and not knowing how to escape it. Dimland explores the joyful experiences we may have had as children, and once we've grown, what did we leave behind? And are those experiences now stuck waiting to reconnect with us, leaving those memories that were so full of light now in the shadows? Dimland is available to stream on Tubi.

14 We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)

We're all going to the world's fair.

*Availability in US

Not available

If you were one of the many in the late 2000s and early 2010s who fell into internet chat rooms and message boards, We're All Going to the World's Fair is definitely a film that hits home. It's about a teenage girl who decides to take part in an online horror game, and reality and fantasy begin to blend together.

What's Real and What Isn't

Liminal horror is supposed to feel like a fever dream. Especially the more recent versions of this subgenre. We're All Going to the World's Fair is hard to follow at times. It's hard to know what it is trying to tell its audience, but if you got into creepypasta internet stories, you will find yourself sucked into the film. We're All Going to the World's Fair feels like it's not taking place in the world we live in now.

There's an isolation from the outside world feel to it. Watch it while you're home sick or late at night. It's not meant to jump out and scare you, but rather lure you into its strange internet world setting and linger with you long after. We're All Going to the World's Fair is available to stream on Max.

13 Cube (1997)

Cube is about a group of strangers who wake up in a prison of cubic cells and are not sure how they got there. After the fear of the situation settles down a bit, the group must all use their specific set of skills to find a way out of this maze before it's too late.

Cube Works as a Precursor to Saw

There are a lot of films on this list that have a mellow kind of feel to them, even though there are a lot of unpredictable scares within them. Cube takes big swings with its horror, as you never know what traps the group is going to fall into within the cubic cells. Cube feels like a precursor to Saw in some ways, as it was released less than a decade before the original 2004 horror hit.

Cube 's set design is what gets it onto this list. The industrial, dream-like feel to it puts viewers in a transverse state and never lets up, as it makes you wonder if all this is even real or some terrible fever dream. Cube is available to stream on Tubi.

12 Dark City (1998)

Achieving cult-like status over the years, Dark City is a sci-fi thrill ride that dabbles into the world of horror like a lot of late 1990s films seemed to do. It's about a man named John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell), who awakens in a hotel room but learns he is wanted for a series of murders. Murdoch can't remember if he committed them or not, but now he must go on a strange journey to re-learn his identity.

One Crazy Night

Dark City could also fall into the category of a One Crazy Night film , if you really think about it. The film makes you wonder a lot about the protagonist's fate. Is he a man who has died in this world but is stuck in purgatory and needs to find acceptance in the next world? What even is Dark City? Who are The Strangers? There are a lot of mind-bending questions in the film.

Although this takes place in a vast world with stunning imagery, Dark City is indeed liminal. There is a sense that Murdoch is stuck in between two worlds and can't get out. Dark City is available to rent on Prime Video.

11 Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010)

Beyond the black rainbow.

Beyond the Black Rainbow is about a telepathic, mute woman who is being held captive in a strange facility. Although she is under heavy sedation, she plots to make her way out of the commune to achieve her freedom. Her overlords may have other plans, though.

Panos Cosmatos' Liminal Classic

Director Panos Cosmatos has it in his genes to direct films of this nature; his father, George P. Cosmatos, could take simple movie plots and take you down the wormhole a bit. Beyond the Black Rainbow paces like 2001: A Space Odyssey , slow but hypnotic. It takes its time and leaves you wondering if the payoff of it all hits for you.

Many old-school science fiction enthusiasts will enjoy it. Newer fans of the genre may find it a bore. Either way, the dream-like feel to it and colorful sequences make it highly liminal, and a solid precursor to what Cosmatos would give is in 2018 with his Nicolas Cage revenge film, Mandy. Beyond the Black Rainbow is available to stream on Fubo.

10 Vivarium (2019)

Vivarium stars Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg as a young married couple looking to purchase a home in the suburbs. They stumble upon a neighborhood full of houses that all look identical, and when they try to leave, the road keeps taking them in circles around the labyrinth-like neighborhood, not allowing them to leave.

Potential Homeowner Nightmare

If you're about to settle down and start a family, avoid Vivarium at all costs. Vivarium's liminal atmosphere turns into nightmare fuel as the film goes on. It touches on the themes of young couples conforming to social norms when they settle down and the horrors it can cause beneath the surface.

To compare it to today's world, Vivarium tackles the issues of the housing market, overpriced cookie-cutter homes, and the urge to push something into a house that never really gets to feel like theirs. It's a film that plays as a bit of social commentary on the millennial experience of settling down. Vivarium is available to stream on Netflix.

9 Silent Hill (2006)

Silent hill.

Based on the video game franchise of the same name, Silent Hill is about a woman who takes her dying daughter to a healer in hopes of ridding her of what is stripping her life away. On the way there, the pair find themselves stuck in a mysterious town that seems to bend both time and space and unleashes demonic beings from beneath.

Liminal Atmosphere

Silent Hil l, the video game, has garnered a massive following for the last two and a half decades. The atmosphere of it all is terrifying and keeps you wanting to play the original and its sequels over and over. The film got mixed to less than satisfactory reviews, but die-hard fans of the game give it the respect it deserves.

Still, it makes this list for staying true to the liminal atmosphere of a decaying town that seems to be lost between our world and the afterlife. It's a fog-filled nightmare just waiting to unfold. Silent Hill is available to stream on Netflix.

Related: The 10 Best Video Game Movie Adaptations, Ranked

8 Pulse (Kairo) (2001)

The Japanese horror film Pulse is about a college student who commits suicide, and in the wake of that, many other young adults living in the Tokyo area begin to have ghostly visions on the internet. Soon, more and more people begin to disappear, and the spirits take shape past their computer screens.

The Most Terrifying Scene Ever

Pulse had a not-so-great American remake in 2006. However, the original Kiyoshi Kurosawa-directed film holds the label of having one of the most terrifying scenes ever (watch below if you dare). Kurosawa shoots Tokyo to look bleak and depressing rather than vibrant and full of life. It's almost a colorless film, with empty room after empty room. The only signs of light in most of the scenes are the characters' computer screens, which is something they are not even safe from. Pulse is available to stream on Peacock.

7 The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The blair witch project.

The movie that put found footage horror on the map. The Blair Witch Project tells the story of three film students who travel to a rural town to make a documentary about the legend of a murderous ghostly spirit. The trio collects footage and interviews from the locals, but once they travel out into the woods, things take a turn for the worse as they get lost and feel like something is after them.

Something Is Out There

The Blair Witch herself never makes an appearance on screen, but her presence is indeed felt. The Blair Witch Project may not seem like a liminal film, but go back and watch it. All the elements are there from the halfway point on.

The seemingly endless woods, the abandoned home they discover, the eerie sticks hanging from the trees. It's a highly liminal film but is overlooked, maybe because it was shot on a Circuit City camcorder. Liminal horror thrives in ambiguity. You know something is there to harm these characters, and you don't have to see it to be sure. The Blair Witch Project is available to stream on Mubi.

6 Donnie Darko (2001)

Donnie darko.

A teenager by the name of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) has a sleepwalking problem late at night. One night he travels out on one of his sleepwalks and encounters a strange figure in a rabbit suit who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days. While Donnie was out, a giant jet engine fell into his room that could have killed him. These strange occurrences set up a journey through what feels like parallel universes.

Suburban Nightmares

Let's face it, when you were 17, things may have gotten weird, but not this weird. With a cast that ranges from Jake Gyllenhaal, his real-life sister Maggie, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, and a young, unknown actor at the time named Seth Rogen, Donnie Darko is one of the most admired cult classics of all time. The film explores suburban hell, mental health, and alternate universes.

It explores teenage angst in a very lo-fi kind of way. We are all stuck in our strange worlds at this time in our lives, and Donnie Darko explores that in a very dark but entertaining way. Donnie Darko is available to stream on Peacock.

5 It Follows (2015)

It Follows is about a teenager named Jay (Maika Monroe) who sleeps with her boyfriend but then becomes the recipient of a fatal curse where a version of "Death" follows her around everywhere she goes until it catches up to her and kills her, unless she passes the curse onto someone else.

The New Age of Liminal Horror

It took a few years for us to figure out what subgenre you could put It Follows in. Liminal horror seems like a perfect spot. With it taking place in the greater Detroit area, we see a lot of rundown areas that look dated and lacking in a renewal to their aesthetic. The synthwave score elevates with the tone of the film.

The whole film feels like a dream. We don't know when this is all taking place; it all just kind of is, and there does not seem to be any hope for the characters. It Follows is available to stream on Netflix.

4 Skinamarink (2023)

Skinamarink.

Skinamarink is the newest addition to this list, just hitting theaters last year. It's an avant-garde horror film about two children who wake up in the middle of the night, and their father has gone missing. As the night progresses, they notice their windows and doors have also gone missing, thus trapping them in their home.

"In This House"

Time will tell if Skinamarink should top this list, but since it's still a newbie, we'll just put it in high regard. It's a movie that got people talking about this subgenre, what it could do, and how it could be presented. For some, Skinamrink was a bore. One hundred minutes of shots of a house in the middle of the night, some grainy voice-over audio of two children, and that's about it.

For others, it's a work of art. It's a deep dive down the wormhole of nostalgic nightmares. Remember being a kid and waking up in your house in the middle of the night, and you were a bit distorted and creeped out to go use the bathroom? Director Kyle Edward Ball took big swings on a shoestring budget to achieve that feeling on screen. Skinamarink pushed liminal horror ahead in new ways, and a lot of people appreciated it. Skinamarink is available to stream on Shudder.

3 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is the prequel to the cult hit television show Twin Peaks, as it chronicles the final days of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). The film takes place one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a woman who was murdered in a neighboring town near Twin Peaks.

David Lynch Owns the Liminal Subgenre

It's hard to put a label on David Lynch. His films have strong horror themes to them, but they are so much more than that. Twin Peaks , the show, and Fire Walk With Me thrive in liminality. Stories like these usually center around a strange town that bends reality a bit. Twin Peaks tackles that plot line and themes that go with it like nothing else.

There are parts of the world of Twin Peaks that feel like a spoof of a soap opera, and others that are ripped right out of the mind of a dream David Lynch may or may not have had. Either way, be advised to watch Fire Walk With Me after you've watched the series because it gives away Laura Palmer's killer. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is available to stream on Max.

2 Lost Highway (1997)

Lost highway.

David Lynch's lo-fi liminal drama Lost Highway follows two intersecting stories. One is about a jazz musician (Bill Pullman) who is under the impression his wife is having an affair, and becomes accused of her murder. The other is about a young mechanic (Balthazar Getty) who connects with a woman who is cheating on her gangster husband. In both stories, the actress playing the pivotal female character is Patricia Arquette.

The Master of Liminal Spaces

It was stated above, but David Lynch can nail the atmosphere of liminality. With a title like Lost Highway , you should know you may be going down the wormhole a bit. Everything feels like it is in transition, or limbo, so to speak. Through the dream-like, endless trip we seem to be on in the film, Lynch explores men's obsession with women, a lot like Hitchcock did in Vertigo .

It's a theme that, in the wrong hands, could feel exploitative, but when Lynch is behind the camera, there is a lot of artistic merit that goes into the strange, uncanny world he builds for his audience. Lastly, Robert Blake is absolutely terrifying in this movie. Lost Highway is available to stream on The Criterion Channel.

1 The Shining (1980)

The shining.

The Shining is one of the most well-known horror films of all time. When Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) becomes the winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel in Colorado, cabin fever begins to set in with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Danny starts to see ghostly visions, and his father becomes plagued by them, thus turning Jack into a homicidal maniac, and his target becomes his own family.

The Overlook Hotel

Stephen King may disagree , but the 1980 adaptation of his novel is hailed as one of the scariest movies of all time. The Overlook Hotel is a place where those from the afterlife can pass through into ours, but it's not just the ghosts that heightened our senses when watching The Shining; it's the brilliant set design that only Stanley Kubrick could envision.

The emptiness of it, the long hallways, the high ceilings in the lobby—all of it hits the right spots for being liminal. Hotels are a place of transition; people come and go and never stay but leave energy behind them, some good, some bad. The Shining captured that essence perfectly, and it still haunts us to this day. The Shining is available to rent on Prime Video.

The Best Horror Movies Of 2024 So Far

Cecilia, Lisa Frankenstein, and Jack Delroy looking creepy

Horror movies have enjoyed something of a renaissance over the past decade, with both big studios and independent filmmakers regularly delivering frightful good times at the movies. There's nothing quite like sharing scares with an audience, so horror continues to draw people to theaters even amidst the rise of streaming and the lingering aftermath of COVID. Since you don't need huge budgets or big-name stars to sell the simple appeal of the genre, unexpected blockbusters can come out of seemingly nowhere to blow everyone away. 2024 has already offered up some good ones, and there should be more high-quality horror movies to thrill and chill as the year progresses.

This article will be updated throughout the year to feature the most thorough selection of 2024's horror highlights. Movies that premiered internationally or at film festivals in previous years, but have a confirmed 2024 release date in American theaters or on streaming, qualify for this list, while some the year's best-reviewed horror films that premiered this year at festivals will have to wait for future screenings or their official release to be added.

Handling the Undead

The Norwegian zombie film "Handling the Undead" premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won an award for its original music by Peter Raeburn, and will be released in the U.S. later in the year by Neon. Director Thea Hvistendahl co-wrote the screenplay with John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of both the book the film is based on and the modern vampire classic "Let the Right One In."

This is a more mournful and meditative take on the zombie genre than many are used to. When the dead first rise up, the living mainly just want to take advantage of this seeming miracle to spend more time with those whom they've lost — even if these zombies are mere shadows of the people they once were. It's not until over an hour into the 99-minute film that it even truly becomes a horror movie, but that shift into horror arrives with such a visceral crunch that there's no doubt about its genre placement. Between the extremely slow pacing and how shocking the horror is, "Handling the Undead" won't be for everyone, but it's a distinctive and beautifully made film.

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Released in Canada in 2023 with a U.S. release planned from Drafthouse Films in 2024, "Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person" has one of the best titles of any movie in recent memory. The movie itself is a fun one, recommended for teenage horror fans, supernatural romance lovers, and those who appreciate the dark humor of classic Tim Burton movies.

The titular "humanist vampire," Sasha (Sara Montpetit), has long lived off pre-packaged blood bags, but her parents now think it's time that she start hunting for prey herself. Since Sasha doesn't wish to kill anyone, she seeks out a victim who wants to die — but as her potential "consenting suicidal victim" Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard) gets to know and eventually fall in love with her, will this plan actually work out? The path of the story is predictable but heartfelt, with a talented cast, quirky deadpan tone, and enough blood to give its cuteness an edge.

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Lisa Frankenstein

Another Tim Burton-esque monster romcom, "Lisa Frankenstein" is among 2024's most divisive films . Critics either found it a hilarious delight or a tonally confused mess, and judging by the box office, general audiences avoided it entirely. So basically the same thing happened to this film as the last horror-comedy written by Diablo Cody, "Jennifer's Body," which has gone on to overcome its initial poor reception and become something of a cult favorite. Expect the same lightning to strike twice here.

"Lisa Frankenstein" is something of a mess, with a few narrative issues holding it back from greatness, but being funny, well-acted, and stylishly directed (by first-time filmmaker Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin Williams) counts for a lot. It certainly cancels out enough of the logic and character development quibbles to make for a fun experience worth including on this list. Kathryn Newton's great as traumatized teen-turned-gothic-killer Lisa Swallows, as is Cole Sprouse as her undead lover, but it's Liza Soberano who steals the show as Lisa's stereotype-defying cheerleader stepsister Taffy.

Released in South Korea in 2023 with plans for an American release by Magnet Releasing in 2024, "Sleep" is sadly one of the final films starring the late "Parasite" actor Lee Sun-kyun. Another "Parasite" connection: "Sleep" director Jason Yu is a protege of Bong Joon-ho, having worked as a sound mixer on "Okja" and consulted the Oscar winner on his personal directing debut. Having seen the film at its Cannes premiere, we can confirm that "Sleep" offers proof that Bong's talent has rubbed off on Jason.

This tightly-paced psychological horror film follows newlyweds Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi), whose relationship grows uneasy when Hyun-su starts walking and talking in his sleep. As the husband's nighttime episodes grow increasingly violent, the wife and new mother fears for her safety. Could Hyun-su be possessed by ghosts? Evoking "The Shining" and Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, "Sleep" ratchets up the tension while expertly handling sharp turns between chilling horror and dark comedy.

Late Night with the Devil

"Late Night with the Devil," which premiered at South by Southwest in 2023, is the best-reviewed horror film to open in theaters during the first quarter of 2024. Unfortunately, it's also been struck with controversy over an unforced error: the usage of AI-generated graphics for its '70s TV talk show. In a movie filled with otherwise excellent practical effects and period detail, it's disheartening that the production somehow couldn't pay a human being to draw a skeleton or a skyscraper.

If you can look past the AI controversy and the changes to movies and TV shows that it bespeaks (admittedly a big ask for some), "Late Night with the Devil" is one hell of a fun time. David Dastmalchian gives a great lead performance as Jack Delroy, a recent widower and talk show host desperate for ratings during sweeps week. The movie presents itself as the live broadcast of his Halloween show, with "behind the scenes" footage during commercial breaks. Delroy's guests include a psychic (Fayssal Bazzi), a skeptic (Ian Bliss), a parapsychologist (Laura Gordon), and a young cult survivor (Lilly D'Abo) who might be possessed by the actual Devil. Naturally, the show doesn't go as planned. Proceed with caution if worms make you uneasy.

"Stopmotion," a British film that premiered at Fantastic Fest 2023 before hitting theaters in 2024, makes this list almost entirely on the incredible strength of its practical effects animation. The film's story, about a stop-motion animator (Aisling Franciosi) slowly losing her mind while trying to finish a film started by her overbearing mother (Stella Gonet), is intriguing but not the most well-developed: it falls into layers of abstraction without much to grasp onto beyond the stunningly grotesque imagery. But what stunning imagery that is!

Director Robert Morgan, whose work can be seen in "ABCs of Death 2," is an expert at combining stop-motion animation with live-action, and making a film about his craft allows for a brilliant showcase. The puppets grow increasingly terrifying as their creator seeks more disgusting ingredients to build them, and the way the film-within-the-film blurs with the characters' reality creates the effect of a living nightmare. Give this one a go if watching the trailer makes you feel like the guy from that Onion cartoon in the "Sickos" shirt, screaming, "Yes ... Ha ha ha ... Yes!"

"Immaculate" comes from the arthouse studio Neon, but don't go in expecting the sort of "elevated horror" one might typically associate with them. This leans towards the trashier side of the genre, with loud in-your-face jump scares, gratuitous graphic gore, and twists that just keep getting sillier. But make no mistake: Michael Mohan's film is fun, well-made trash. Those jump scares might sometimes be cheap, but they're effective nonetheless, and the more ridiculous the story gets, the more entertaining it becomes.

At the center of it all is an all-time great Final Girl performance from 2024's big rising star Sydney Sweeney, playing the naive nun Sister Cecilia. An American entering an Italian convent, she finds herself mysteriously pregnant and at the center of a dark conspiracy, but she's ready to fight back as hard as she needs to. The setting provides some beautiful imagery and music as a backdrop to the terror, and as far-fetched as the story is, the messages about bodily autonomy are all too relevant. The ending is a jaw-dropper.

Screen Rant

Every sydney sweeney horror movie, ranked (including immaculate).

Sydney Sweeney is quickly becoming a star in Hollywood for a range of performances, but one genre that she has appeared in frequently is horror.

Sweeney has appeared in 50+ films, with over 10% in the horror genre.
Not all horror films she's been in are equal - some low-budget, others high-quality.
"Immaculate" is Sweeney's best horror film, showcasing her talent in a compelling, original story.

Sydney Sweeney is quickly becoming one of the better-known stars in Hollywood, but in the last 15 years, she has been busy working on a variety of films, with several in the horror genre. Sweeney is only in her mid-20s, but she began working on movies when she was still a child. Her first roles were in indie films, with her first film being an indie horror, before landing work in TV and larger productions.

While Sweeney has worked on a wide variety of films that range from thrillers, teen dramas, superhero movies, and rom-coms, one genre that she continually comes back to is horror. Of the 50+ credits to her name, seven of those are horror films, which makes it more than 10% of the projects she has appeared in. However, horror can be a genre with the widest gap between quality films and low-budget home movies , which means that some of these films are considerably better than others.

7 ZMD: Zombies Of Mass Destruction

ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction was Sweeney's film debut in 2009. The project was touted as a political zombie horror film that doesn't take itself too seriously and relies on humor throughout. The film has been likened to movies like Shaun of the Dead , but while the sentiment may have some minor commonalities, the standard is clearly worlds apart. As an independent picture, this movie does what it can with the budget and some of the writing is genuinely funny, but for the most part, it struggles to compete with bigger projects. Sweeney appears in a minor role as Lisa.

6 Night Teeth

Night Teeth suffers from a very different problem. As a movie being produced by Netflix, it had a significant budget and attracted some solid talent from the world of TV, but the movie fell flat in both its story and the delivery of the comedy elements. Rather than laughing at the jokes, audiences are likely to laugh at the poor attempts to be funny and comical , but it does end up crossing into the realm of so-bad-its-good in many ways.

Night Teeth: Cast & Character Guide

Sweeney was cast as Eva, who, alongside Megan Fox's Grace , is in charge of the vampiric underworld. The film does showcase Sweeney's talent and suggests a spin-off focused on her and Fox could have been a much better project than what Night Teeth became. With Sweeney making a strong showing , this movie does come in above ZMD , but despite the major difference in production, the overall quality of both is close.

Sweeney's second feature film was another horror flick, but this time by the legendary horror director John Carpenter . The Ward follows a woman, played by Amber Heard, who is imprisoned in an asylum and endures an intense haunting by a ghost. The movie has a great story and twists, but unfortunately suffers from being very predictable and by the numbers. Carpenter may be a legend in the horror space, but this film doesn't accomplish anything new and may be judged more harshly for his involvement. However, Sydney does a great job as young Alice in the film.

4 Along Came The Devil

In 2018, Sweeney appeared in another small production with Along Came the Devil , previously titled Tell Me Your Name . This was also the first horror movie where Sweeney took on a much more central role and got a chance to showcase both sides of her acting abilities for horror as both a scared young woman left traumatized by her difficult childhood and the monster. During the film, she ends up getting possessed by the devil, and it all feels somewhat reminiscent of The Exorcist .

As a genuine horror, rather than a weaker hybrid of horror comedy, the movie gives Sweeney a chance to show off her abilities , and she does the best she can with the tools she has been given. The effects are quite good, and the story has some highs, but the ending is abrupt and hollow. With a few minor tweaks, this could have been significantly better, but for what it was, it still has plenty worth praising.

Sydney Sweeney's 10 Best Movie & TV Roles, According To IMDb

3 giant killer ants.

Back to the world of comedy horror, Giant Killer Ants is a worthy addition to horror movies with over-the-top, wacky plots like Sharknado that are fun and goofy, but certainly not intended to be the strongest or best of horror or comedy. As the title suggests, the protagonists are in for a wild adventure as they fight a terrifying army of oversized ants . Sweeney's role is as a young groupie to a washed-up glam metal rock band, and she is largely sidelined during the movie. However, it is fun and has a decent cast for what it is.

Nocturne is the first horror movie where Sweeney is properly placed front and center, with her character Juliet being incredibly jealous of her older sister. Vivian is a gifted musician who is accepted into Julliard, and Juliet has often lagged behind in her sister's shadow. However, when tragedy strikes, a book comes into Juliet's possession that seems to be the answer to all her problems. The movie is an Amazon original, and it's a genuinely compelling and intense horror film that is leagues apart from the other entries on this list.

1 Immaculate

Immaculate is a 2024 horror film directed by Michael Mohan and stars Sydney Sweeney. When a devout woman named Cecilia is offered a position at a prestigious convent in Italy, she takes it with little hesitation. However, Cecilia's world is turned upside down when she discovers the terrible secrets hidden within her new place of faith.

Immaculate is Sweeney's most recent horror film, capitalizing on her growing popularity from shows like Euphoria and movies like Anyone But You . Sweeney is a young nun who is offered a chance to work in the beautiful and idyllic Italian countryside in a convent that caters to elderly dying women of the cloth. However, she quickly discovers that not everything is as it may appear, and Sweeney is given special attention in the convent . The film is a tense religious horror, with a compelling, original story, and cranks up the tension with every passing minute.

The pacing does feel somewhat jarring with time jumps happening with little warning or explanation, but that doesn't make the mystery any less intense. Like any great horror, Immaculate blurs the lines of morality, forcing Sweeney's innocent and pure character into increasingly dark and twisted situations. The movie may not be a masterpiece that will be ranked alongside Halloween and Psycho , but it is a great watch for any fans of horror, and Sydney Sweeney's best performance in a horror movie to date.

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