My First Experience Watching a Horror Movie
How this led to my love of the genre
Not everyone likes horror. Terror isn’t a feeling people want to experience.
But the real world is more terrifying than any movie, video game and Halloween Horror Night event. It’s nice to be scared of something different for a change with no damaging repercussions.
We enjoy the scare and the feeling of relief. The feeling that everything is going to be okay because it’s not real. A feeling we don’t get very often in the real world.
Your brain reacts by letting you know:
“It’s just a movie so there’s no real danger”
“The monster in the video game might kill your character but you can try again”
“That chainsaw killer at HHN won’t actually murder you”
Then, your fear subsides and you can enjoy the creativity of the monster, the haunted house that was built by hand and the visuals developed for a horror game.
However, I didn’t come to enjoy these elements of horror overnight. I started when I was really young and saw my first horror movie called Scream.
When I Was 10
Scream was the first horror movie I saw back in Elementary school. The film thrived on classic horror cliches by both using it and making fun of it.
At the time, cliches didn’t exist for me. I didn’t understand most of the jokes or most of what was happening, but all I knew was that it was scary. If I remember correctly, I sat about 20 feet away so I could watch it without getting too scared.
A friend brought the movie to my house and really wanted to see it. He convinced me that it wouldn’t give me nightmares.
He was wrong.
Once Scream ended, I was incredibly relieved. It felt as if I ran a marathon and won first place. Getting through the film actually felt rewarding. I don’t know why, but I’ve been fascinated by the idea of intentional fear ever since.
When I Was 13
The second horror film that led to my urge to see more was The Grudge.
A friend in Middle school let me borrow his DVD copy so he could get my opinion. Once I brought it home, I thought long and hard about subjecting myself to what my friend called “the scariest movie he’s ever seen.” I toughened up and popped the disk in the player. This time I was about 5 feet away from the screen and saw the entire film through the cracks of my fingers.
When it ended, I loved it and couldn’t wait to see what he had next. I thought the creature was terrifying and the mystery surrounding the events in the house kept me engaged.
What I Learned
I’ve come to realize that a good horror movie is hard to come by and hard to make. When a great one releases, we flock to theaters to support the creators.
We become engrossed in their world and absorb the lore, mystery, story and creative genius behind every horror film.
We pursue other avenues that present more terrifying experiences, such as video games and haunted houses, to see what crazy ideas people come up with next.
We intentionally scare ourselves to forget about the real world for just a bit and take in that shower of relief we rarely feel.
That’s why I love horror.
