Why is the horror genre less successful than any other genre?

[LuvablePsycho]

Well a long time ago back in the days of black and white movies you really didn't have any violence or nudity in horror movies and people were still afraid of them. Then once they got used to them movie makers started pushing limits and adding things like sex, nudity, violence, and gore to shock as many people as possible. But nowadays people really aren't bothered by that kind of thing anymore because we see it all the time in movies.

I mean I imagine there will always be some people who still get afraid watching horror movies but I think that for the most part people are too desensitized to really be effected by them anymore.

[ImmortalSlasher]

Originally Posted by LuvablePsycho

Well a long time ago back in the days of black and white movies you really didn't have any violence or nudity in horror movies and people were still afraid of them. Then once they got used to them movie makers started pushing limits and adding things like sex, nudity, violence, and gore to shock as many people as possible. But nowadays people really aren't bothered by that kind of thing anymore because we see it all the time in movies.

I mean I imagine there will always be some people who still get afraid watching horror movies but I think that for the most part people are too desensitized to really be effected by them anymore.

I don't know the oldest horror movie I've ever seen. Dracula is pretty old and most likely violent for it's time.

I just watched the IT remake and that's scary. I'll do a small review for next week or so. I still haven't seen the original yet.

[cheebacheeba]

I'm not really sure where the term "success" is coming into play here...sorry if I've missed that in the replies.

Financial success?
If horror makes less in total, I'd say that...
It's one of the things I don't think a lot of people like to admit they like, for fear of the stupid judgement that gets visited upon them for such an admission.
The whole "You like seeing people get killed or something?" bit - so they leave the horror stuff to home.
Add that it's almost impossible to actually ENJOY and absorb yourself in a horror film on the big screen because people act like fucknuggets there, seemingly more in horror films than any other.
I think these are part of the reason why we see more horror not even making the cinemas.

If it's "more people talking about it" type success?
Well...again the judgement thing comes into play...and overall numbers I'd say there's more missed horror films than anything else.
Like *good* thought provoking, non-explodey type sci-fi - The "majority" like the easier watch, the less confronting watch, the "think for me", turn your brain off type shit.

I think that people also have difficulty separating their own emotional process and self reflection from enjoying these movies...here's a BIG example that I think its prevalent even among horror fans;
Take "A Serbian Film", people stay right the fuck away from it. Horror fans included. They hear one thing or another about a TINY part of the content and dismiss it.
Why?
I think they also self judge a bit.
Obviously in the case of ASF, it's a little moreso...but I do believe that with standard horror, there's a small part of the average person that thinks "I shouldn't be enjoying this...does this make me a bad person?".
I think we lose horror fans this way, or, they end up being horror fans in secret.
Humans are weird like that.
Just my take So less people talking about it might not necessarily mean too much.

I know we're not at all like that. We embrace what we watch and who we are here at HDC and I don't know about you guys, but I'd just as soon dismiss anything further a person had to say the moment they tried to fit me in a box, for simply being a horror enthusiast, among other things.

So there it is.
The majority like dumb movies that don't confront or provoke much thought.
People act like fuckrags in horror films, droves of horror FANS wait.
People judge others.
People judge themselves.

[Sculpt]

Originally Posted by cheebacheeba

I'm not really sure where the term "success" is coming into play here...sorry if I've missed that in the replies.

Financial success?
If horror makes less in total, I'd say that...
It's one of the things I don't think a lot of people like to admit they like, for fear of the stupid judgement that gets visited upon them for such an admission.
The whole "You like seeing people get killed or something?" bit - so they leave the horror stuff to home.
Add that it's almost impossible to actually ENJOY and absorb yourself in a horror film on the big screen because people act like fucknuggets there, seemingly more in horror films than any other.
I think these are part of the reason why we see more horror not even making the cinemas.

If it's "more people talking about it" type success?
Well...again the judgement thing comes into play...and overall numbers I'd say there's more missed horror films than anything else.
Like *good* thought provoking, non-explodey type sci-fi - The "majority" like the easier watch, the less confronting watch, the "think for me", turn your brain off type shit.

I think that people also have difficulty separating their own emotional process and self reflection from enjoying these movies...here's a BIG example that I think its prevalent even among horror fans;
Take "A Serbian Film", people stay right the fuck away from it. Horror fans included. They hear one thing or another about a TINY part of the content and dismiss it.
Why?
I think they also self judge a bit.
Obviously in the case of ASF, it's a little moreso...but I do believe that with standard horror, there's a small part of the average person that thinks "I shouldn't be enjoying this...does this make me a bad person?".
I think we lose horror fans this way, or, they end up being horror fans in secret.
Humans are weird like that.
Just my take So less people talking about it might not necessarily mean too much.

I know we're not at all like that. We embrace what we watch and who we are here at HDC and I don't know about you guys, but I'd just as soon dismiss anything further a person had to say the moment they tried to fit me in a box, for simply being a horror enthusiast, among other things.

So there it is.
The majority like dumb movies that don't confront or provoke much thought.
People act like fuckrags in horror films, droves of horror FANS wait.
People judge others.
People judge themselves.

Yep. I think the Horror genre, despite the usual formulaic copies tippified by the "Friday the 13th slasher" films, throughtout film history (the Horror genre) has been given a more experimental-hand to explore certain subjects, especially as you said, confrontational subjects. Audiences give some open-minded leyway. And generally speaking it helps they don't tend require big budgets.

Si-fi and fantasy also opens those experimental boundries, but tends to require big budgets.

[fudgetusk]

Originally Posted by LuvablePsycho

Personally I think it's because it's very hard to come up with stories to scare people. Most people really aren't afraid of things like the undead or monsters because deep down we all know that they don't exist, and for every GOOD horror movie that manages to succeed in scaring people there's like 10 or 50 bad ones that are all either copycats of a good one or just really bad movies with no effort put into them (many border on being softcore pornos).

So yeah, I think it's just hard to scare people. Especially nowadays with people being as cynical and jaded about violence as they are. Also I feel like the people who actually are fans of the horror genre aren't really afraid of it either but they enjoy it for some other reason like myself for example.

And honestly things that go on in the real world like war, violent crime, and natural disasters are a helluvalot more scary than what you see on TV or read in books.

I agree. Horror uses the same ideas. But that's the same with any genre. They say people seek out horror during times of real horror. Like during one of the world wars(I forget) horror films started being really popular. Maybe when Trump and Putin go at each other we will see an upsurge. Fingers crossed. ;)

[Oro13]

See, from a financial viewpoint, Horror films have been some of the most successful films ever made. Examples like Halloween and the Blair Witch Project, costed literal peanuts and made back twenty times their budget whilst launching franchises for studios to bleed for as long as possible. Horror films are also the go to for many indie and beginning directors, because they are easy to pull off with unknown actors and low budgets, not to mention studios love proven formulas, so the cookie cutter ghost and slasher flicks are gaurenteed money makers with smart marketing and quick cut trailers utilizing YouTube ads ( instead of paying for time slots like they used to ), and with the popularity of badly written creepypasta crap like Jeff the Killer and Laughing Jack, the success of purposely schlocky crap like Birdemic, and the money making potential of intellectually devoid rehashes like the Paranormal Activity sequels. Any type of horror script that comes across a studio exec’s desk is a safer bet than almost anything else.

If you’re talking about critical response, horror flicks ( slasher flicks in particular ) are easy targets for holier than thou column crusaders and keyboard warriors to shake fingers at and blame society’s/current youth’s downfall on. Then again, anyone with half a brain would take one look at these terribly biased reviews and move on without giving them an ounce of consideration. Siskel and Ebert were particular offenders about these films, but also would often contradict themselves, each other, or attempt to argue that films which garnered universal acclaim aren’t actually horror films.

A perfect example of this, is in their reviews of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, versus William Lustig’s Maniac.

https://youtu.be/0JbBtiTxxRY

Both of these flicks ( essentially ) tell the same story. They’re a sleazy and disturbing look into the mind of a deranged serial killer. Both are dark and gory character studies that flow in similar ways. Whereas Henry plays it straight the whole way through, Maniac is admittedly slightly more exploitive, but both Michael Rooker and Joe Spinell deliver haunting and engaging performances in their roles, and the films are both undeniably intense and chilling. But, while Maniac was met with shock and moral outrage because it’s about a mysogynistic serial killer who savagely kills women ( ... Because it should be about a serial killer who loves women and savagely brings them flowers ), Henry was met with acclaim and positive critical reception because it’s about a mysogynistic serial killer and his rapist partner who savagely kill men, women, and children.

But, to get back to your original point, in terms of being successful in regards to scaring people, I guess that depends on what you consider scary. If it’s jumpscares, then the horror genre is the most successful genre of all time, because the market is saturated with boo scare riddled garbage like The Bye Bye Man, The Apparition, and The Gallows that vapid audiences keep paying to see which explains how they continue to pop up every January ( dump month ). If you are talking about an effective and atmospheric experience that sticks with you and pulls off its beats masterfully, I can’t really argue with the decline, but there’s been a steady decay in the industry as a whole in terms of originality and good storytelling, not just horror. But I still maintain that horror films are probably more successful than most other types.

[LuvablePsycho]

You know what? I really don't understand why I made this topic. I must have been temporarily insane at the time.