Do you like or dislike horror movies?

[Mia]

Or are you somewhere in between? Like movies that are a little suspenseful, and even a little frightening. Old vampire movies, zombie movies, japanese godzilla, the first jaws and the first alien movie.

Yet I find the true horror movies not so much frightening as manipulative. Where they continually keep you in a state of fright, and then give you a few minutes of peace and then return to startle or shock you. It seems sometimes like a cheap device.

My reaction as someone with autism is to be anxious for days afterward, jumpy and even shaky for hours after the movie is over. Likely why I don't watch them. How do you feel about horror movies?

 

[Ezra]

There's some I've really liked. Others I've thought were lame. I like ones with good suspense and mystery. Silence of the Lambs was top notch. Alien and Aliens. The Thing. The Ring. The Exorcist.

 

[Fino]

I don't like scary movies. I prefer to watch animated movies just to be safe.

 

[Thinx]

Occasionally I watch them, especially if it's historical or a classic story by a well-known author. I like Scrooge for example, there's been some great adaptations of that, and there I'd say is an example of the effects being there for a reason other than cheap manipulation. It's still manipulation I guess, but nearer to the moral end of the spectrum.

Yes the ones where you watch as someone creeps towards a darkened doorway where perhaps horror lurks are too stressful for me. Although I liked Beetlejuice. And The Adams Family, so fun!

Like in Adams Family Values, where Morticia gives a long list of bad stuff her new sister in laws done, including horrific items, then says, But Debbie, PASTELS??? Because the worst thing is her mainstream, non gothic home decoration style. I also like the bit where Debbie shows a home movie explaining that her parents gave her Malibou Barbie when she wanted a different one, hence we see the family home in flames. And Grandma Adams empathising with her like a therapist! Ah, good times...

 

[SusanLR]

Love.
The more realistically scary the better. Because they don't scare me.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Well I am more into movies that are thrilling,movies with horror they either make me laught or disgust me(when its gore),or make me bored.

 

[Progster]

Horror movies don't affect me that much, but I don't watch them because they just aren't my kind of thing. i seek intellectual rather than emotional stimulation/adrenalin, and unless the movie has some underlying message, purpose and content other than the horror, it won't interest me.

 

[Theta.G]

Dislike...
I agree with you that it's exploitative and cheap.
Can it even be called horror anymore? the genre category should be changed to gore.

I feel no fear from movies or television shows. If one is looking for real fear they only need to dig into the news and see through the right lenses. Or research certain things i won't mention. Or face themselves. Lol

How do horror movies make me feel? They don't make me feel anything due to desensitization and other things... On a comparative scale to the real world, "horror" movies and shows are like children's cartoons. For these reasons i often don't know if a movie is horror or thriller unless someone mentions it to me or there is something extremely obvious i.e tons of edge lord gore in the movie.
Stranger things is listed as horror. I don't see why. I do understand why but my perception would definitely not define this show as horror.
The walking dead? Gorey yes. horror? Not to me. I do not perceive it as such although i'm sure most everyone else will.

Why i dislike them: the intrusive thoughts and/or nightmares which can be brought on from exposing ones self to repeated gorey imagery and content designed to fear imprint. + various other negative psychological effects that can install a fear response in certain scenarios in ones real life. Whether they are aware of it's origin or not.

 

[Progster]

@Hdphn33 I agree. There's enough horror in real life, without having to watch it in movies.

 

[SusanLR]

How do horror movies make me feel? They don't make me feel anything due to desensitization and other things... On a comparative scale to the real world, "horror" movies and shows are like children's cartoons

That's why I like them. I like some entertainment along with the educational programs.
They're like cartoons for adults, at least for those that don't feel scary about watching them.
I like Sci-Fi and Fantasy too.

If they don't cause nightmares or disturbing sensations then how do they hurt you?
I think psychological thrillers might be a better term for horror movies I like.
Things like Texas Chainsaw, Hills Have Eyes, Freddie Kruegers, the scream theme things
don't bother me, but, I don't find them interesting either. They're like Hallow Scream horror nights at Halloween they have in the big theme parks.
I like trying to figure out the who did it and why types the best.
The gore that is thrown in is just a part of it.

 

[Gracey]

Generally speaking, unafraid.

I find I surprise myself with how unaffected I am watching what is technically murder.

One Saw movie had me wondering about the accuracy of the machinery used and timings rather than the torture, cruelty and eventual gruesome death of the victims.

The Purge had me wondering about the best ways to disappear for 24 hrs and who was responsible for disposal of so many bodies rather than the mass slaughter.

I can’t help but like the character Dr Hannibal Lecter. As if the serial killings and cannibalism are of no consequence. Prepared to overlook that.

Movies are very manipulative.

 

[Autistamatic]

I think there's a line to be drawn between suspenseful movies and horror which is rarely acknowledged. Alfred Hitchcock, for example, was a master of the suspense thriller. Many modern movies I like draw from the same movie DNA but are labelled as horror instead. The recent "Get Out" was a prime example. Very little in the way of gore or violence but tons of suspense and a decent twist to the story. It owes much more to something like "Psycho" or "Rear Window" than it does to a slasher movie, but it gets tossed into the same barrel.
I like horror movies that have a genuine sense of unease to them, but I dislike gore and gratuitous violence. It's about story and suspense for me, not the amount of offal and corn syrup being splashed around.

 

[Sara3]

I like old horror movies.

 

[Theta.G]

That's why I like them. I like some entertainment along with the educational programs.
They're like cartoons for adults, at least for those that don't feel scary about watching them.
I like Sci-Fi and Fantasy too.

If they don't cause nightmares or disturbing sensations then how do they hurt you?
I think psychological thrillers might be a better term for horror movies I like.
Things like Texas Chainsaw, Hills Have Eyes, Freddie Kruegers, the scream theme things
don't bother me, but, I don't find them interesting either. They're like Hallow Scream horror nights at Halloween they have in the big theme parks.
I like trying to figure out the who did it and why types the best.
The gore that is thrown in is just a part of it.

I'm the same way love a good psychological / psych sci-fi. They tend to have more depth, atmosphere and deeper understandings available to viewers who are well read. Thought provoking material.

If they don't cause nightmares or disturbing sensations then how do they hurt you?
Since fear is one is the most powerful emotion there is... 1 step above (or equal to) love. It has tremendous power for imprinting.
Here's a basic example.
As a young kid saw a horror movie where a serial killer or something was waiting in the shower. person goes into the washroom to shower, opens curtains gets killed, graphic scene. Either that or someone was possessed in a bathtub and killed themselves. either way---
For decades whenever i went into the washroom would open the curtains / check to "make sure".
This programmed action... this imprint. Came directly from viewing that movie.
Most do things like this without ever knowing why they have very little awareness of themselves. I know better though.

The same thing can effect adults even if they do not fear a particular scene it depends on how it was crafted in the movie and gets more complex from there.

 

[Autistamatic]

I'm the same way love a good psychological / psych sci-fi. They tend to have more depth, atmosphere and deeper understandings available to viewers who are well read. Thought provoking material.

Agreeed. I've been a lifelong lover of SciFi, but by far my favourite subgenre is the near future/alternate timeline variety. A story that makes minor changes to society and examines how people react and adapt to the different environment. Much post-apocalyptic fiction falls into much the same category.
For me it's always been about how the characters function psychologically, why they make the decisions they make, how they react to a world subtly different to our own, rather than spaceships and lasers

 

[Theta.G]

Agreeed. I've been a lifelong lover of SciFi, but by far my favourite subgenre is the near future/alternate timeline variety. A story that makes minor changes to society and examines how people react and adapt to the different environment. Much post-apocalyptic fiction falls into much the same category.
For me it's always been about how the characters function psychologically, why they make the decisions they make, how they react to a world subtly different to our own, rather than spaceships and lasers

I wish there more "good" 1 off dystopian shows. Sadly the most recent i could recall would be Black Mirror. If you haven't seen it yet, you'll love it.

Edit - there was one more recent than that, i think it was called... Altered Carbon. It was fairly decent.
Altered Carbon (TV Series 2018– ) - IMDb

 

[Autistamatic]

I've seen some Black Mirror but not all of it. What I have seen was great, and I've been a fan of Charlie Brooker's writing since his videogame journalism days
I keep meaning to give "Man in The High Castle" another go too. I read the book as a teenager and enjoyed it, but when we gave it a go on the first series, my wife found it hard going so we put it to one side until she was feeling more up to it.

 

[Progster]

I keep meaning to give "Man in The High Castle" another go too.

I've read this, too. I like Philip K. Dick's work, and other work based on alternative or dystopian realities. Many of his books have been used as inspiration for films, but I prefer to read the book rather than watch a dramatised version of it.

 

[Autistamatic]

I've read this, too. I like Philip K. Dick's work, and other work based on alternative or dystopian realities. Many of his books have been used as inspiration for films, but I prefer to read the book rather than watch a dramatised version of it.

I quite like to do both There's not many books which translate well to movie length, but since we moved into the era of high quality TV adaptations thanks to subscription services, I think the serialised versions have become far better.

 

[Ezra]

I'm not scared by movies either. To me it's all special just effects. Sometimes they'll get me to jump a little with some scene designed for that purpose. But I usually laugh right after I flinch.