How do people define horror movies

[dicconzane]

Following a previous post of mine which got a little off topic (went from movies to avoid to how people define what is a horror movie and what not) I thought I’d re post here under a topic related thread to get more people’s views.

For me you can only define what is a horror movie from past experience as there is nothing I can find that is in ALL horror movies but that would also exclude many films not considered horror. If you can think of any characteristics that fit the bill I’d be very interested to know. For example having the supernatural features in a lot of horror movies but not in things like Psycho or I spit on your grave and others, scream, saw, hostel, wolf creek etc etc. Similarly Pirates of the Caribbean has ghosts in but isn’t horror. Many Suspense and Thrillers have a lot of the same characteristics as horror films. So do a lot of sci-fi, Alien for example.

So as I said, for me we can only define horror from experience. As in comparing it to films in the past you have been told are or ones you yourself have thought to be horror and feeling it fits in the same category without actually having to rationalise it. In the same way we decide what is and isn’t art or is and isn’t a game. Neither have set rules as to what can and cannot be we just know, e.g. games can be one or many people, competitive or not, athletic or not, even fun or not. So I’d say we have to define horror in the same way.

[crabapple]

To be really simple, I don't think it's possible to define what a horror film is. Each person will interpret the term differently.

I think a person can attempt to define it, and can come up with many interesting parameters, many interesting definitions, for the genre.

[Disease]

But I think a lot of people cross over other genres such as sc fi and thrillers which arn'y horror!

[crabapple]

Actually, one of the things that I like about this "genre" is its nebulous quality.

The word "horror" refers to an emotion, a feeling, and there are an endless number of things that can inspire that feeling.

There's always something different kicking around in the horror genre! ...It is like roaming free in the subconscious.

[tic]

I would agree that the term horror implies an emotion; but what that particular emotion is hard to define. It may be fear, disgust or be disturbing or perhaps worse make the audience think, e.g. I spit in your grave would propbably fit in the disturbing area, but the reaction from the viewer to the vengeance of the victim against her violators, could also classed as disturbing, therefore in that sense is a definite horror film.

I think also horror films with a possibility of fact or reality could fill the above categories, e.g Wolf Creek, and i would suggest those type of films are perhaps the most scary, simply because they could happen in real life.

[crabapple]

That's exactly what I mean, actually. The definition is wide open for anything that a person thinks is appropriate. Emotions themselves are nebulous, so how does one go about defining a genre based on an emotion? It's not really possible. But people could nonetheless talk endlessly about it, which I think is why hdc is such a bustling place all the time.