Dark copers of the world... watch The Invisible Man, with Elizabeth Moss. Last movie I watched in a theater before lockdown began, wouldn't have had it any other way -- for statistically valid reasons, I now know!
Just read this with interest. I have loved horror films for as long as I can remember. I definitely fit the adrenaline junkie category and am definitely not neurotic. I wouldn’t say I was particularly exposed to the genre growing up although I guess my dad did watch some horror and I was aware of that in a peripheral sort of way so maybe that had an effect. My daughter also loves horror but I think she is more of a dark coper. We also both love disaster movies and I wonder if the two genres fulfil the same need.
Back when Netflix was a service for DVDs, I used to do a thing where I'd constantly have something like 100 discs in my queue and would periodically shuffle it so I'd never know what would be available at any given time.
One night I got a bit drunk and put in the 1999 Japanese film "Audition", having no idea what it was but also not bothering to look it up. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the way the horror elements were slow to develop, but I realized I had made a terrible mistake somewhere around the point where the female lead starts threatening to saw off the male lead's foot with a wire.
This is how I accidentally discovered that if a horror movie is too much because it's a bit too good at its job, I can still enjoy it by putting it down and then picking it back up on a later day.
Very interesting. I cohost a podcast called Horror Makes Us Happy where we interview creators in the horror biz, and build a light/amateur psychological profile on them as we go. Our short-term goal is of course that fans of these creators might get to hear them share something they've never shared before, and a long-term goal that's similar to what you're talking about here - gathering data, to see what it might teach us about the horror community.
We've seen some of the things you've written about here, though I think our interviews go deeper - they're usually 1-2 hours long per guest. We're seeing some trends, and we're interested in seeing where they lead!
When I was a kid I rented a copy of "Alien" on VHS. There was an older lady who ran the video rental place, it was a real hole in the wall. We struck up a friendship after she told me all about what it was like to see it in the theater in 1979. Every time I'd come to the store, we'd chat about the scary movies she's seen. She was definitely an adrenaline junkie.
Your analysis uncovers a key reason for horror's appeal: it taps into deep psychological needs. The distinction between "fear-approaching" and "fear-avoidant" personalities shows that horror isn't just about scares; it's about hitting a "fear sweet spot" that thrills some and helps others cope. This genre's unique power to evoke such varied responses makes it a psychological playground for exploring our darkest anxieties. In other words, while some are watching horror to face their fears, others might be stuck with mind-numbing blockbusters. Horror’s role as both entertainment and emotional mirror explains why its here to stay, no matter how much it divides opinions.
Dark copers of the world... watch The Invisible Man, with Elizabeth Moss. Last movie I watched in a theater before lockdown began, wouldn't have had it any other way -- for statistically valid reasons, I now know!
Just read this with interest. I have loved horror films for as long as I can remember. I definitely fit the adrenaline junkie category and am definitely not neurotic. I wouldn’t say I was particularly exposed to the genre growing up although I guess my dad did watch some horror and I was aware of that in a peripheral sort of way so maybe that had an effect. My daughter also loves horror but I think she is more of a dark coper. We also both love disaster movies and I wonder if the two genres fulfil the same need.
Back when Netflix was a service for DVDs, I used to do a thing where I'd constantly have something like 100 discs in my queue and would periodically shuffle it so I'd never know what would be available at any given time.
One night I got a bit drunk and put in the 1999 Japanese film "Audition", having no idea what it was but also not bothering to look it up. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the way the horror elements were slow to develop, but I realized I had made a terrible mistake somewhere around the point where the female lead starts threatening to saw off the male lead's foot with a wire.
This is how I accidentally discovered that if a horror movie is too much because it's a bit too good at its job, I can still enjoy it by putting it down and then picking it back up on a later day.
Fascinating read thank you! I’m also a white knuckler whose parents didn’t watch horror.
Wow! This is some great research. I need to show it to my film students!
Very interesting. I cohost a podcast called Horror Makes Us Happy where we interview creators in the horror biz, and build a light/amateur psychological profile on them as we go. Our short-term goal is of course that fans of these creators might get to hear them share something they've never shared before, and a long-term goal that's similar to what you're talking about here - gathering data, to see what it might teach us about the horror community.
We've seen some of the things you've written about here, though I think our interviews go deeper - they're usually 1-2 hours long per guest. We're seeing some trends, and we're interested in seeing where they lead!
Thanks for going deep on this. Now I know _why_ I hate horror movies. Though I have to say I liked The Blair Witch Project. Does that count?
When I was a kid I rented a copy of "Alien" on VHS. There was an older lady who ran the video rental place, it was a real hole in the wall. We struck up a friendship after she told me all about what it was like to see it in the theater in 1979. Every time I'd come to the store, we'd chat about the scary movies she's seen. She was definitely an adrenaline junkie.
Really great article!!
Your analysis uncovers a key reason for horror's appeal: it taps into deep psychological needs. The distinction between "fear-approaching" and "fear-avoidant" personalities shows that horror isn't just about scares; it's about hitting a "fear sweet spot" that thrills some and helps others cope. This genre's unique power to evoke such varied responses makes it a psychological playground for exploring our darkest anxieties. In other words, while some are watching horror to face their fears, others might be stuck with mind-numbing blockbusters. Horror’s role as both entertainment and emotional mirror explains why its here to stay, no matter how much it divides opinions.