The Healing of Horror
October, 2021
a secret recipe to making a horror movie that always works
Did you know...
Us
Get Out
The Cabinet of
Dr. Caligari
were ranked the top 3 horror movies of all time in 2021?
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
While these horror movies had entirely different storylines, they shared the following things in common:
An eerie commentary on reality
The use of prolonged silence to accentuate fear
Unique symbols that appear more than once
The use of irrational fears like aichmophobia
Fear elements that are highly culture-specific
What if we could build a compilation of horror elements that would, on average, lead to the making of a highly successful horror movie?
Hmm.
Horror production houses that have faced losses, especially since the onset of the pandemic, could find a way to resurface
1.
More movie creators might be encouraged to experiment in the horror genre, leading to a greater number of horror flicks for theater goers and OTT consumers
2.
A recent declining perception of horror movies could be taken as an opportunity to better research the genre and transform audience sentiments
3.
How can we reverse this trend? Let's first look at some interesting data on fear elements:
A high percentage of Americans reported they were most afraid of heights, death and natural calamities. A relatively large percentage of the American sample population was also afraid of deep lakes and oceans, small, enclosed spaces and flying. Unsurprisingly, these fears have been used as common horror tropes over the years. Examples of horror movies that use these fear elements include Vertigo, Final Destination, Open Water and Buried.
Most common themes in the top 50 horror movies of all time
The most common components in the top 50 horror movies of all time include:
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A sense of starting something new (move to a new house or begin working at a clinic)
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A diverse range of ages, but more skewed towards extreme numbers (either young or old)
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An emphasis on relations, especially with women in the family
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A range of physical spaces, but more closely linked to domestic and human activity
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A choice of English character names, of which Dracula is most identifiable
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Adjectives that are typically negative in sentiment
Other common elements used to incite fear in the bestsellers...
Now build your recipe!
Set your next horror movie up for success by using 3 or more of the following ingredients:
One leading symbol
Masks, a weapon, a gift box, a camera... its frequent appearance on screen conditions the viewer to feel fear.
One side character
Who has an irrational fear, a sensory impairment, or unique social behavior. This elicits a sense of discomfort, empathy or attention from viewers.
Phased scares and stretched suspense
Staggered fear elements and gradual build-ups help viewers stay psychologically committed to the story.
A fixed premise
The use of a singular location (a house, carnival or school) makes a movie more consumable.
Fales scares
This elevates your fear levels because it delays closure in a frightening, uncertain environment.
A rich culture and time
A world that is consistent and accurate in relation to time and culture makes a horror movie feel more authentic.
Experiment as you like. After all...
"Horror is a wonderful, popular art form through which very complex ideas and creative techniques can manifest themselves—and if you can get past that very cliched view, you realize there’s an embarrassment of riches in the genre."
Malcolm Turvey, Professor of Film Studies at Tufts University
Wait no longer. Go ahead and -
1. Try a recipe mix that works for your next horror movie
2. Join the popular Subreddit for horror movies and watch, discuss and share your favorites
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3. Stay on top of the latest horror movie news, reviews and recommendations
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4. And finally...
References
1. Top 100 horror movies - rotten tomatoes. Accessed October 2, 2021. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt/top_100_horror_movies/.
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2. “Find Open Datasets and Machine Learning Projects.” Kaggle. Accessed October 2, 2021. https://www.kaggle.com/datasets?search=horror.
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3. Ramella, Brynne. “Blumhouse Is on the Brink of Changing Horror Movies.” ScreenRant, May 20, 2020. https://screenrant.com/blumhouse-horror-movie-changes-small-budget-after-coronavirus/.
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4. “Features.” Flourish. Accessed October 9, 2021. https://flourish.studio/.
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5. Zygomatic. “Free Online Word Cloud Generator and TAG Cloud Creator.” wordclouds.com. Accessed October 10, 2021. https://www.wordclouds.com/.
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6. “Has the Quality of Horror Movies Declined over Time?” Where's The Jump?, February 23, 2020. https://wheresthejump.com/has-the-quality-of-horror-movies-declined-over-time/.
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7. Shelton, Jacob. “15 Ways You Didn't Even Realize Horror Movies Are Manipulating You into Fear.” Ranker. April 5, 2017. https://www.ranker.com/list/horror-movie-tricks-for-scaring-the-audience/jacob-shelton.
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8. “By Shreya Sheth, Henley Research Fellow, Chapman University.” Accessed October 9, 2021. https://www.chapman.edu/wilkinson/research-centers/babbie-center/_files/americas-top-fears-2019.pdf.
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9. Weinberg, Scott. “15 Movies That Will Scare the SH*T out of You.” Thrillist. Accessed October 10, 2021. https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/best-scary-movies-to-watch-based-on-phobias.
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10. “Why Do We like Horror Movies?” Tufts Now, October 30, 2018. https://now.tufts.edu/articles/why-do-we-horror-movies.
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11. “R/Scarymovies.” reddit. Accessed October 11, 2021. https://www.reddit.com/r/Scarymovies/.
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12. III, Trey Hilburn, and Waylon Jordan. “Horror Movie News.” iHorror, August 31, 2021. https://www.ihorror.com/.