The Resurrection of the Horror
Horror films; the last link between excitement and insanity. Our need for horror and the thrill of fear feeds our unconsciousness. Over the past century, the horror genre has evolved from the original Frankenstein in 1931, to Jaws in 1975. The horror style has changed, as well as the viewers appreciation has changed. It seems as though present day teenagers are not captivated at all by the classical horror films of this century. As a society we obsess on murder, death, and destruction; “the fun comes from seeing others menaced – sometimes killed”(King 648). The media glorifies these events and those individuals who are the cause, take for example the long followed lives of Charles Manson or Adolf Hitler. These are extremely evil people, yet we are so interested with their lives. How often is there something positive that is mentioned on the 6 o’clock news? It seems as though, that unless someone died or a building burned, people just wouldn't be interested. Stanley J. Solomon had a great view on why people are attracted by horror films, “our hidden wish to attempt everything and to survive unaltered, to get murdered without being murdered.”(671) Unfortunately, due to many of these aspects, the postmodern gener
ation seems to be immune to violence and the classic horror genre. Classical horror films have become ineffective to the postmodern generation. Original horror movies do not promote fear in one’s conscience, but acts more as a comic relief due to its content. The postmodern generation has become more resistant, as well as more reluctant to the classic horror films. Classic horror has become a standardised image in our minds; movies such as Psycho, Halloween, and many more have become mere stereotypes of horror to this generation. This next passage, written by Jay Boyar, was taken from the article, “Horrors, They’re back”. “It’s back – back from the dead! The horror movie is back!” (656) This passage demonstrates the arrival of a new type of horror, one that will grasp us in new ways. It is a different genre of horror altogether, a new style that is due to a lack of presence for the past 20 years. Boyar said it best when he mention that the eighty’s horror films have been thoroughly marginalized due to their own repetition (656). The author mentions a new generation of movies for the postmodern era. Young adults of the 21st century seem to be resistant to ‘old school’ horror films. One can say that the sixty’s horror has become a stereotype to young adults which they laugh about. On the other hand, such new films as, the Ring, Scream, etc. are examples of modern day horror films, which defy many basic guidelines of classic horror movies. Jay Boyar mentions that postmodern teenagers are fed up with the same old repetitive clichés (657). These teenagers/young adults, get a lot more laughs out of these old movies than screams, there are just
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Jay Boyar,
Silence Lambs’,
Stanley Solomon,
Horror Movies”,
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Stephan King,
horror films,
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Ring Scream,
Solomon Dirks,
Walter Lippmann,
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jay boyar,
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repetitive clichés 657,
ineffective postmodern generation,
standardised image minds,
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Approximate Word count = 1138
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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