Why You Need To Watch A Scary Movie Now
How to find calm in on-screen chaos
For me, it started with the movie Contagion. The same night that I learned one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors had come down with the virus and that the NBA season would be suspended indefinitely (seems so long ago, doesn’t it?), I also found myself scrolling through Amazon Prime, searching for a cinematic panacea, something to mellow out or placate the mixed bag of emotions I was feeling, all of which could be summed up by the very perceptive and provoking question I asked my husband from the couch, “So, I guess this coronavirus is, like, really a thing?”
The six faces on the Contagion thumbnail — Jude Law looking befuddled in a hazmat suit; Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet, stone-faced, talking into outmoded cell phones; Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Marrion Cotillard all suffering through different stages of a fight-or-flight response — along with the very apropos name of the movie itself, were enough to convince me that the 2011 Steven Soderbergh blockbuster would be the perfect prescription to ease my newfound anxieties (so much so that I even paid $3.99 for it).
And for the moment it was.
Some have suggested that pandemic movies provide comfort during the novel coronavirus outbreak because they offer reference points, albeit fictional ones, for what we’re all going through — reference points that can’t be found anywhere else within our personal and even collective history.
And, after watching Contagion, this theory made sense. The overwhelming feeling I had at the end of the film was relief — relief that COVID-19 isn’t nearly as deadly as MEV-1 (the disease in the movie), relief that COVID-19 isn’t nearly as contagious as MEV-1, relief that I wasn’t Gwyenth Paltrow’s or Kate Winslet’s character. I drifted to sleep that night thinking, “We’re going to be okay.”
Put simply, the movie was an incredibly effective reference point.
As effective as it was, however, I told myself watching a scary pandemic movie was going to be a one-time thing. Anything else seemed masochistic and unhealthy.
That was until the one-time thing became a two-time thing… and then the two-time thing became a three-time thing… and before I knew it, my husband and I were cycling through all of the popular contagion/zombie/apocalypse movies available for streaming — Contagion, Outbreak, The Andromeda Strain, 28 Days Later, It Comes at Night, Children of Men — and had then moved into the more general genre of horror — The Invisible Man, Midsommar, It 2, Ready or Not. The rom-coms and family dramas I had once gravitated towards now paled in comparison to the heart-thumping, palm-sweating terror I could access with one click.
It was this transition from general scaredy-cat turned temporary horror movie buff got me wondering… why, during a time when my anxiety levels were close to an all-time high, was I actively seeking out entertainment that would only exacerbate those same feelings? It felt counterintuitive, antithetical. Plus, the explanation of reference points didn’t seem to cover off on the non-pandemic movies I was seeking out because most of these movies were so far-fetched and totally unrelated to the situation I was experiencing. I knew there had to be some additional explanations, so I started digging. Here’s what I found:
Scary Movies Provide Suspense, but Also Resolution
One of the reasons the coronavirus is so hard to grapple with is the vast amount of uncertainty surrounding it. (Will I or a love one get sick? Will I lose my job or my business? How long will it all last?) And when the human brain is faced with uncertainty, its stress response goes haywire. Right now, with no certainty or resolution to our situation in site, we are all left in this constant state of stress, waiting for some inevitable pain to befall us or for some metaphorical monster to attack. Ironically, as this dread builds up overtime, the unpleasantness it causes might eventually come to exceed the unpleasantness of the dreaded pain itself.
When we watch a scary movie, however, there is a finite resolution — an end to the uncertainty and stress we experience as the movie’s protagonists face terrifying situation after terrifying situation — and it comes fast — usually around 90–120 minutes after we start watching (a heartbeat in comparison to the months of stress we’re going through now). And with that resolution, all of the negative feelings we felt during the movie convert to positive ones. Dopamine rushes to our synapses and, for the first time in a long time, we feel relaxed, even euphoric.
Scary Movies Create a Sense of Control
Another reason scary movies make us feel good is because — unlike with violent or disturbing documentaries and newscasts — when we watch horror movies, we place ourselves at a psychological distance. As viewers, we recognize that the things we’re seeing on screen are unreal — absurd even — and that the feelings we’re feeling are fleeting. This in turn gives us a sense of control over our situation. At any moment we can look away, turn down the volume, or completely turn off the TV screen (a feature I think we’d all love to have these days IRL). If all goes well, this feeling of control could even transcend the time we spend watching the movie and buoy our confidence in everyday life.
Scary Movies Offer a Welcome Distraction
During a time when multi-tasking has become the new reality for people balancing home and work lives, admitting that the human brain has a limited capacity for focus (in fact, studies have found that humans can only effectively for focus on 3–4 things at once) can feel like a tough pill to swallow. However, in situations where we’re trying to cope with negative emotions, this biological limitation might actually offer an advantage.
A great scary movie takes us out of our own world and immerses us in a totally different one. During that time, we aren’t looking at the news on our cellphone, ruminating about finances or work, or thinking about all of the “could bes” and “what-ifs” that clog our minds normally. Instead the bulk of our cognitive capacity is taken up by the movie, and we are effectively “distracted” from everything else. And, as psychology studies have shown this distraction can effectively lessen undesirable emotions, and even physical pain.
In Closing…
While scary movies might be an effective coping mechanism for me, I realize they’re not everyone’s cup of tea. And for some — especially those who are dealing with intense anxieties or past trauma — scary movies can actually cause negative emotions to intensify.
With that in mind, however, if you’ve reached the point where bath balms and essential oils aren’t cutting it anymore, maybe it’s time to pick up your remote and seek a little calm in some on-screen chaos.
