Opinion: Horror movies in October embody the reasons why people are drawn to things that scare them
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Halloween is my annual motivation to try and become a horror movie person. I never become one though, as I always bail after five minutes into “It”. Despite my inability to endure Pennywise, I keep attempting to watch the film through 5 minute increments. This push-pull fun of horror movies excites people. As we willingly endure discomfort and fear for the sake of adrenaline, we gain a confidence boost or we find camaraderie.
For me, watching horror movies is a contradiction. I am terrified by the things on screen, but I enjoy the company of someone with me.
Sandwiched between friends, I am free to turn and crack jokes about how stupid the protagonist is as they run from the murderer too slowly. My friends’ hands and arms become stress toys when the eerie soundtrack kicks in. Their jokes during quiet scenes relieve the stress tying my stomach in knots.
The bottom line is that being scared is much easier when someone is there to be scared with you.
“Horror movies bring people together way tighter than any other type of movie because we’re all in that fight or flight,” Quinn Connell, treasurer of the University Film Organization at the University of Oregon, said.
The shared experience of being on edge can drive people together by exposing them to unnerving or disgusting situations they don’t want to endure alone. According to Connell, horror movies place audiences in a situation of “social vulnerability” that encourages people to connect with others and tough out their discomfort.
“The fact that it challenges audiences, the fact that it’s telling you, ‘you will be made uncomfortable by this,’ allows a lot more artistic freedom,” Connell said. The unique and “avante-garde” nature of horror makes it the most welcoming film genre by inviting people to connect with those around them.
“Movies, since they were invented, have been sort of a social drug,” Connell said.
Sitting yourself down to a slasher or thriller movie also pushes you to learn about yourself, what scares you and how much fear you can handle.
Growing up, I was never brave enough to do the haunted corn maze because I was already terrified of getting lost in the normal one after dark. I knew I didn’t need to add a masked stranger chasing me with a chainsaw in order to incite fear.
Through trial and error, I found that thrillers are my perfect fit; they intrigue and scare me not with intense gore or masked killers, but by making me uncomfortable. Getting through the absurd and disturbing scenes of “Midsommar” filled me with pride that I could handle it.
People who seek out things that scare them do this to feel accomplished in overcoming a new fear or a higher level of horror. That fight-or-flight feeling that movies or haunted houses give people leads them to see their endurance as a real achievement. Overcoming fear from movies, or other settings, gives us more confidence in ourselves for everyday life.
“Horror movies are practice for the everyday things that scare us,” Connell said.. “The most fantastical, Lovecraftian, otherworldly horror movies are my practice for being scared to confront someone or scared to send an email.”
Facing the absurd situations presented in horror movies can either give the boost needed for Connell to deal with the “thing I’ve been dreading on Tuesday,” or it can make daily anxieties seem less intimidating.
If anyone is anxious about watching horror movies, I want to pass along Connell’s challenge –– watch a horror movie with the sound turned off. Since sound makes up most of a horror movie’s scare factor, muting it is equivalent to “watching it with the blindfold off,” according to Connell. Sound disguises mundane moments as terrifying, but when the sound is taken away it’s only someone dragging out a scream for a stupid amount of time. Press mute and see how little there is to be scared of and if that fails, drag a friend or two along.