Why Scary Movies Are Scary

People have been going crazy over horror movies since the first one was released in the late 1890s. Since that time, horror movies have significantly evolved, branching out into many different sub-genres, such as thrillers, suspense, psychological thrillers, slashers, and much more. Classic slasher films are especially popular with teenagers and young adults who crave the rush that a scary movie can give them. Some popular horror movies would be the Saw series, the Scream trilogy, Halloween, Psycho, and classics such as Frankenstein and Dracula.







As you can see, the clip from Frankenstein greatly differs from the other movie clips. People today would probably not find the clip from Frankenstein very frightening, it would have been when it was first released, and it still shares the same stylistic elements that many horror movies have, such as the dark atmosphere, and frightening sounds. Hollywood has come a long say since the original Frankenstein to make movies generally scarier.

When horror movies first started becoming popular, most of the movies were based off of novels that were written in the 1800s, mainly Frankenstein, Dracula and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. All of these are still popular today, though The Hunchback of Notre Dame has definitely been tamed down, considering it’s been made into a popular Disney movie.

As horror movies have progressed the things that horror movies seem to be based off of is situations that could easily happen in real life. This allows the viewer to be even more creeped out when they can imagine the movie happening to them. Some movies with this type of plot are The Blair Witch Project, The Strangers, and even some of the classics such as Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street. All of these movies are meant to get to the viewer and scare them more during the movie, and the film will stick with the viewer as they become scared that this could actually happen to them.

Although horror movies have always been popular, a big time for them was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. This was the time when such popular movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Shining came out. Many of the movies that came out during this time are still widely watched and remakes are even made of some of these movies. Many of these movies also use the typical serial killer plot, which isn't completely realistic, but manages to greatly scare audiences when they watch the movies. The movies of this time also have iconic icons, such as Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface.

Today, horror movies couldn't be what they are without the artists that have really brought them to life. When horror movies first came out, the authors that wrote the many books were the ones that helped the development of the genre. As time has gone on though, original directors who write their own movies have risen above and contributed a lot to this popular genre. Wes Craven, for example, has been making horror movies since the 80s when he directed the original Nightmare on Elm Street and recently directed the remake. Another director who has really made this genre grow is James Wan, the person who created the popular Saw series.

Like every movie genre, horror movies all typically have something in common. Mainly the stylistic things that make the movie seem so darn creepy. Horror movies are usually in a very dark setting, and a lot of the plots take place at night. If the scenes in the movie don't take place in a nighttime setting, the colours are still often muted so they don't appear bright. Horror movies also need gore. Without the gore, the movie probably falls under a sub-category of horror movies, like possibly a psychological thriller. One can also never forget the creepy music that plagues horror movies. Many of the movies have theme songs to them, and a very well known one is the theme song for Halloween.

Listen to this and try not to continually look around in fright...
Many serial killers in horror movies also seem to wear masks. The fact that viewers can't see the face of the person who is doing the killing helps to scare them even more, since our imagination is left to wonder what might be behind the masks, and it could be anything. And usually, this scary guy in a mask will be chasing a 'vulnerable' young woman. Directors in Hollywood just seem to think that the woman needs to be all dainty and scream a lot. Now, throughout horror movies there are also many close ups. Of the guy in the mask, the vulnerable young woman, and usually the weapon the killer is using.

Unpredictably, horror movies don't send out the best codes or conventions. The stupid teenagers who drink, do drugs, or have sex in the movie are not going to live- the virgin always stays alive. One of the best examples of this would be Scream, where they thoroughly explain this theory. Friday the 13th is also an example of when this happens. Another theme in most scary movies is that if you go in the basement, something bad is bound to be there. A classic example is Psycho.

Horror movies have been entertaining audiences for years and will continue to do so. They have come a long way since the late 1890s and continue to test extremes to scare their viewers. I can only imagine what the movies will be like within the next ten years.