Horror movies, according to yours truly.
Tone/Mood
The audience should know how to feel in every movie, but it’s especially important with horror. The benefit of the genre, however, is that you can leave your audience confused in a way that can be very intentional towards your purpose. There are many ways to instill terror in people, but the filmmaker has to be intentional in how they do so.
Likeable Characters
If I don’t care if any of the movie’s characters live or die, I might as well not watch the movie to find out. “Likeable” may not be the right word, as many horror movie characters commit horrific crimes or act horribly stupid for the sake of the plot. However, I want to enjoy seeing every character, including the antagonist, on screen.
Well-Done Violence
I have a great appreciation for creative and gory kills when done well. It’s not for everyone, nor for every movie. The decision whether or not to kill or maim a character on-screen is important, and there’s usually not a right or wrong.
Themes rooted in societal fears
For a film to truly be scary, it has to bring your real fears to the surface. These are usual existential or social themes that truly shake you to your core even when the TV turns off.
Horror Movie Subgenres Explained
Disclaimer: These are only a few of the hundreds of horror subgenres.
Slasher
Follows one or more killers as they hunt down a group of people to kill one by one. The kills are usually bloody, with a weapon such as a knife or axe: bladed and sharp.
Psychological
Unsettles the audience by creating a sense of dread and discomfort. The horror focuses on the characters’ mental and emotional states.
Horror Comedy
Combines classic horror elements with a comedic tone, to varying degrees. Also known as “black comedy,” and includes many parodies of the genre.
Vampires
Pretty self-explanatory. Follows a mythical creature that sustains itself on human life-force, usually blood. Vampires are some of my favorite fictional characters ever, and most of my favorite vampire movies are not horror movies.
Supernatural
Horror comes from beyond the natural world- usually in the form of ghosts, demons or spirits.
Some of My Favorites from Each
My picks are based on my limited exposure as a young American, and I will not pretend to have any kind of authority on the topic. Not all of the movies I will list are my favorites, just ones I want to highlight for one reason or another.
Get Out (2017 | Jordan Peele)
Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend getaway with Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries leads him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
Jennifer’s Body (2009 | Karin Kusama)
When a demon takes possession of her, high-school hottie Jennifer (Megan Fox) turns a hungry eye on guys who never stood a chance with her before. While evil Jennifer satisfies her appetite for human flesh with the school's male population, her nerdy friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), learns what's happening and vows to put an end to the carnage.
