The horror genre in films is a broad category that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in their audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apocalyptic events, and religious or folk beliefs. Horror films have existed for more than a century.
Common Elements of Horror Films
- Supernatural elements: often feature supernatural elements, such as ghosts, demons, monsters, and curses
- Violence and gore: they tend tp depict violence and gore, either explicitly or implicitly
- Suspense and dread: build suspense and dread in the audience, leading up to a scare or jump
- Dark and atmospheric settings: they can take place in dark and atmospheric settings, such as haunted houses, abandoned buildings, and dark forests
Horror films can be combined with other film genres, such as action, adventure, comedy, drama, science fiction, or Western.
Examples of Popular Horror Films
- Nosferatu (1922)
- Dracula (1931)
- Frankenstein (1931)
- The Mummy (1932)
- Psycho (1960)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
- Alien (1979)
- The Shining (1980)
- Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- Get Out (2017)
- Hereditary (2018)
- Midsommar (2019)
Horror films continue to be popular with audiences today because they offer a sense of escape and excitement. They allow viewers to vicariously experience the thrill of fear without having to put themselves in any real danger. Horror films can also be thought-provoking, exploring complex themes and challenging societal norms.
In addition to the above, horror films can also be used to comment on social and political issues. For example, some horror films explore themes of racism, sexism, and classism. Others may use horror elements to address issues such as mental illness, trauma, and addiction.