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I agree that a wide net is a good thing. My definition of horror is pretty broad, but also makes a distinction that, if applied strictly, would eliminate some of the movies in our Master Lists. It would also add some that are missing.
I also don't believe in categorizing a movie in a single genre (i.e.. "That's not horror, that's a thriller.") I believe that many of the best movies qualify as true entries in more than one genre. Alien, for instance is a sci-fi movie. It's also a horror movie. It could go on either shelf in the video store. I also consider horror to be a subset of thriller, so essentially all horror movies are also thrillers, but not all thrillers are horror.
Here's my definition of a horror movie:
A movie qualifies as horror if
a) a significant focus is given to characters in a situation where a deadly or harmful force -- be it a metaphysical force, such as a ghost or demon, a physical enemy, such as one or more creatures or humans, or the characters' own psychological state -- is threatening to harm or scare them, AND
b) that the intent of film is to scare, shock, disturb, disgust, or cause discomfort to the viewer.
I haven't seen any of these old giant monster movies, but by my definition, if the movie is about the people under attack, and the movie is intended to make the viewer feel fear for those people, it qualifies as horror. Even though they probably also qualify as other genres, such as sci-fi, action, adventure and thriller.
By my definition, a movie like Se7en, for instance, does not qualify as horror. That movie satisfies part b) (disturb or disgust the viewer), but not a). No scene in the movie puts the characters in a situation where they fear for their well being. There is one chase scene, but that's really an action scene, and the main characters are the ones doing the chasing. The murder scene set-pieces are certainly disturbing, but at no point are the cops entering the scene at risk. The characters don't know that they are victims of the antagonist until the final reveal, and neither does the viewer.
As a side note -- off topic for this post -- I did rank Se7en in my 90s list for the "100 years of horror" because I consider the purpose of this project to not just rank horror movies, but point out the important points in the history of horror. Although I don't consider Se7en a horror movie, it made a significant contribution to the genre, being a huge influence with it's crisp, cold, stylized production, high level of gore, and aggressive industrial rock musical score. James Wan owes a lot to Fincher for the style of his Saw series. Its influence can be found all over the place, even in TV with the Hannibal series.
I understand that others won't have the same definition of horror that I do, or may strongly disagree with mine. That doesn't bother me. Entertainment and art are personal things, and everyone should be entitled to interpret and define it as they please. The lines are always grey and ripe for debate. I prefer to adhere to whatever definition the community uses, but I'll stick with my definition for my personal use.
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