Why do people judge and hate horror movies the second they watch one? I love to watch horror movies. Sure, they do scare me, but that’s the point. Some people enjoy getting scared, and believe it or not, there’s a scientific explanation for that.
According to a scientific report “The role of excitement and enjoyment through subjective evaluation of horror film scenes” published in Nature, “a horror movie activates the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in increased cardiovascular function, alertness, and shallow breathing among the audience.” The report continues, “a fearful event (such as a visit to a haunted house) triggers fear, leading to increased arousal, which can be experienced as excitement. If the observer appraises this excitement as desirable, they will find the event enjoyable.”
To put it another way, when you get scared, it kicks in your fight or flight response, which can produce feelings of enjoyment if you know the thing that scared you isn’t real. So while actually seeing a huge, hairy spider in your bathroom might freak you out, watching a horror movie about tarantulas might be fun, since you know the spiders aren’t real.
So why do some people hate horror movies?
“I think a lot of people don’t like the violent concept or violent nature they bring,” said teacher FCHS teacher Jesse Stover. I agree with him on that. I don’t like the idea of real violence in general, but when I see it in a movie, it’s different, since no one is really getting hurt.
Jump scares are another reason some people don’t like horror movies. According to the Truism Center, “Jump scares, a staple of many horror films, can also be a significant deterrent. The sudden, unexpected shocks can be too intense for some viewers, causing them to avoid the genre altogether. These elements can create a negative and distressing experience, leading some to steer clear of horror films.”
I’m a fan of such jump scares, such as in the movie Annabelle Creation. I love the feeling of being suddenly shocked, and that fear can last a minute or so, but I quickly realize that it’s just fake, so I can experience the thrill of fear safely.
In an article on CNET.com titled “5 Tips to Calm Down if a Horror Movie Triggers Your Anxiety,” they suggest several ways that may allow you to still watch scary movies without getting too anxious.
One tip is to know your limits when watching horror movies. For example, if I set my limits and boundaries when choosing which horror movie to watch–such as drawing the line at a lot of gore or anything spider-related–I’m less likely to find the scares to be too much for me.
Another tip the articles gives is to watch a positive movie afterwards because it can make all the negative thoughts generated by the horror movie to go away. For example, when I watched Pet Cemetery with some friends, I didn’t find it very scary, although my friends did. So we immediately started watching Inside Out 2. After five minutes, my friends started to calm down and find peace.
At the end of the day, I love horror movies no matter what I crave the adrenaline rush they give me. Even if you’re not a fan, I suggest you give horror movies a chance before you judge the genre. Start out small and work your way up to watching the more scary stuff. The thrill is worth it.
