Why I Don’t Watch Horror Movies, and Why have I watched the ones I have?

Why I Don’t Watch Horror Movies, and Why have I watched the ones I have?

Today, we are delighted to welcome author Yadav B.V., who has written a truly fascinating and thought-provoking piece about his complex love-hate relationship with horror movies. In his insightful article, he explains in detail why, as a general rule, he tends to avoid watching horror movies altogether.

Why Don’t I Watch Horror Movies Anymore?

It’s pretty simple, I watch a horror movie, I have proportionately bad dreams, especially if they are watched at night. Not to mention the bad vibes it retains in the form of gore-associated visuals that stay with you for a few hours at least after watching the movies. 

Also, I would never watch a horror movie in the theater, as the jump scares are really jumpy in the theater, the volume is always loud, and the silence-to-scream differential is really high, which is unpleasant to me to say the least

I don’t enjoy that particular brand of adrenaline, even though it appeals to the rollercoaster crowd. I completely support it even though I’m not into it. 

Exceptions to Watching a Horror Movie Today

The last horror movie that I watched was with a great friend of mine, and the movie was The Legend of La Llorona. The only good thing about it was the company of my friend and his friend, who came along as well. When asked about the extreme jump scares, he said this is basically as good as it gets when it comes to a horror movie and that this is pretty standard for a typical horror movie.

These days if it is a slipstream such as The Prestige, or has sci-fi elements or apocalyptic elements, I would watch it. But such stories are rare. If it is a clever psychological horror I would probably watch it in the theater as well and those are even rarer these days.

Types of Horror Movies

Horror has come a long way since “The House of the Devil,” made in the mid-1890s, when Méliès created “Le Manoir du Diable.” There is a lot more to horror these days, with the genre giving rise to sub-genres, which in turn create newer categories of horror. Here are a few fundamental sub-genres of horror that have evolved over the decades, even though these days a horror movie or series will have a mix og sub-genres to make it a compelling watch for fans of horror content. 

1. Slasher

The most active and vibrant genres out there, there have several successful franchises, ranging from Halloween, Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, to Chucky and Jeepers Creepers

2. Monster/Alien

Ranging from John Carpenter’s The Thing, Alien, and Life to Shyamalan’s Signs, A Quiet Place, to Colossal, and Gremlins

3. Psychological horror/Body horror

Ranging from Gone Girl to the human centipede and Orphan, these genres are often used together with elements of one in another. 

Supernatural horror/Gothic fiction/Folk horror/Ghost story

The OG horror movie usually involves a ghost that haunts a family, from The Amityville Horror to the Conjuring Franchise and more. 

The plotline is as robust as it is old, since this has always been the traditional definition of horror, where ghosts haunt a place or a set of people

4. Zombie/Apocalyptic

This is a sub-genre of horror that has both serious and not-so-serious versions, from 28 Days Later to Shaun of the Dead.

5. Found footage/Analog horror

Archive 81, Cloverfield are examples where the story is told through the shaky lens of an observer ( pun intended ). The horror here is mostly implied.

6. Comedy horror/ Horror Comedy

This is a spectrum where the horror can range from downright comedy slapstick to clever jokes that lean into situational comedy, and the ones with serious stakes dealing with dark humor

• Scary Movie Franchise 
• Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
• Warm Bodies
• Zombieland
• Evil Dead: Army of Darkness

7. Slipstream

One of the newest mashups of genres, it includes The Prestige, which incorporates elements of sci-fi, thrillers, mystery, and psychological plot points and jump scares along with moral and ethical dilemmas.

M3gan and M3gan 2.0 are also great examples of this genre of horror, mashing up cyberpunk, thriller, and psychological horror all into one movie franchise. 

The Top Five Horror Movies I Have Ever Watched

1. The Blair Witch Project

The first movie that managed to scare me while also entertaining me that included an awesome screenplay, minimalist scares, and implied menace. This was the very first movie that had an amazing plot that leaves the audience unsettled without actually showing anything that scary or using too many jump scares ( I actually don’t remember many unexpected jump scares at all! )

Now, what made this scary AND entertaining at the same time ( although I wasn’t able to sleep properly for the next few nights because of this movie ) was the way they stuck to reality and what people might face on a camping and/or hiking trip.

The movie makers induced terror in the audience by letting it sink in that the documentarians are stuck in a situation that any of us could experience while camping or hiking, upon nightfall. None of what the found footage scenes showed was implausible or unbelievable, considering that the trio was already in a subliminal state of fear that surfaces with every night they spend in the woods. 

What’s also unsettling is the almost realistic third-party accounts of The Blair Witch sightings, with some of them even being interviewed in the woods and in the suburbs of Blair town. 

The fact that it ends so abruptly adds to the appeal of the movie.

They also had a viral marketing campaign ( guerrilla marketing ), which is one of the first times that anything like this has been used with great success. Another time this was used was for Limitless, with theNZT tablet being advertised in a fictional universe that appears realistic. 

This kind of marketing worked back in the day as there was no internet and social media, leading to capping the effects of word of mouth. 

2. 28 Days Later

One of those movies that redefines an entire genre ( Zombie horror ). It had a really tight script and screenplay. Danny Boyle does a fantastic job of portraying a post-apocalyptic world where people have been infected with a virus that turns people into flesh-eating zombies.

Cillian Murphy offers up a career-defining performance as the bike messenger who survives the end of the world because he slips into a coma after an accident, leading the Zombies to consider him dead or of no particular interest.  

Naomie Harris plays Selena, a tough-as-nails survivor armed with nothing more than a machete and a literal cutthroat attitude who finds Jim ( Murphy ) and takes him into their care. You might recognize Harris from her recent roles in Daniel Craig’s Skyfall, Dwayne Johnson’s Rampage, Venom, and a whole lot more. 

This movie stands out as it portrays the plight of the survivors even when there is nothing to kill and the little road trip including a killer ( Harris ) with probably future Zombie killers in a London cab. 

The starting sequences might look amazing as Jim, the bike messenger, walks through a completely abandoned London, realizing that something is definitely off. This sequence will immediately become more impressive when you learn that Boyle filmed these sequences by using the few minutes right before dawn so that he wouldn’t have to pay to keep the streets clear of people and traffic. This means the starting scene isn’t CGI but pieces of real London filmed during the wee hours of the morning. 

This is also one of the first movies where the Zombies are fast, unlike in most movies until then, where the Zombies travel at a crawling pace. The practical effects are quite impressive, as well as minimal CGI, if any. The plot is strengthened by moral and ethical dilemmas, self-sacrifice that doesn’t seem like overkill, and sharp U-turns in movie pacing that keep the audience on its feet.  

3. Friday the 13th 1980

I like this mostly because it is the cornerstone of slasher movies, and it introduces an iconic horror icon that is both scary and entertaining, unlike Mike Myers from Halloween, which is just plain scary.

Granted, I watch Jason Voorhees movies only for the gory kills that are more entertaining than scary, but it still represented a significant step forward for movie enthusiasts across the world. This horror movie has a Big Bad who is almost supernaturally strong, can return to life with the help of some unwitting grave robbers and a bolt of lightning, and can take Solomon Grundy level of damage without flinching and still keep calm while slashing on.

The Friday the 13th movie franchise is not about clever plot points but mostly kill counts and carnage that is truly enjoyable, considering it is expectedly over-the-top, with the chilling mouth sounds background score making it highly entertaining. 

4. Urban Legend 1998

The plot of Urban Legend involves an unidentified killer targeting college students and killing them in ways that are depicted in modern urban legends that are revealed early on in the movie. 

At the time it dropped, it was on the cutting edge of slasher movies ( pun unintended ). There is a lot of suspense, a high kill count, a somewhat original and novel plot, even though it is based on cliches, and clever subversions of audience expectations leading to genuine scares and thrills. 

They have done a great job with the cinematography and lighting, using it to great effect, scaring audiences silly with scares that you see coming now, but back then, not so much. 

The Cast is what makes the movie, with all of them turning in exceptional performances that make this glorious mess worth watching. 

Alicia Witt as Natalie Simon has her latest appearance in the Rosamund Pike thrillerI Care a Lot as her associate, and also has a cameo quite a few years ago in the sitcom Two and a Half Men as Jake’s math teacher. 

Jared Leto as Paul Gardener has never been out of the public eye with his depiction of the Joker in Suicide Squad and the Vampire anti-hero named Morbius from the MCU

Michael Rosenbaum as Parker Riley, of course, has played a great Lex Luthor in Smallville and has had significant cameos in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy II movie as Martinex with the diamond face and superhuman abilities 

Danielle Harris as Tosh, who has a cameo in the awesome series Psych 

Tara Reid as Sasha Thomas, you might remember from American Pie I and II, along with Cruel Intentions. 

Joshua Jackson as Damon Brooks, you might recognize from his latest appearance in Karate Kids Legends

5. The Ritual

One of the best horror movies I’ve seen to date, including elements of folk horror, psychological terror, and monster horror, The Ritual is the perfect blend of mystery and the modern man’s journey into the unknown bowels of what seems to be a murky world of possible witchcraft, sacrificial rites and cults hidden from society and living deep in the swedish woods. 

Four friends who have undergone a shared traumatic event make a trip into the Swedish wilderness to complete to honor their fallen friend. The trip, however, quickly spirals out of control when they seem to be stalked by what seems like a bear, leading them to seek shelter in a shack that is reeking of witchcraft and dark magic practices. 

What follows is something that is only slightly predictable but mostly suspenseful and enjoyable, with tangible horror including original horror elements that are unique to this movie, especially the way they blended several sub-genres of horror together. I won’t share any more details to avoid spoilers of any kind. 

What you can look forward to is a melting pot of horror genres with lots of nasty surprises and a satisfying finale with surprise reveals that live up to the build-up. 

This crosses a few sub-genres, such as the supernatural horror trope, along with a monster feature. It is also thrilling and suspenseful with a dash of folk horror.

Author Bio

Yadav B V is a mechanical engineer by education with a solid grasp of technical concepts, but his real passion lies in content creation and result-driven marketing strategy. He runs TheMovieJunkie.com, a blog where he shares movie reviews, insights, and his love for cinema. Currently, he’s working on a new project—Marketing Madhava—a blog focused on digital marketing tips, strategies, and ideas. Whether it’s breaking down a complex scene or a marketing trend, he enjoys making things easy to understand and fun to explore.

If you are looking for the best movie and series recommendations or need Content or Marketing Strategy for your B2B SaaS enterprise, Yadav B V can help you. Get in touch with him through yadav@marketingmadhava.com.

Further Reading

If you’re a fan of spine-chilling tales and hair-raising suspense, then you won’t want to miss the horror features page on The Ginger Nuts of Horror Review Website. This is the ultimate destination for horror enthusiasts seeking in-depth analysis, thrilling reviews, and exclusive interviews with some of the best minds in the genre. From independent films to mainstream blockbusters, the site covers a broad spectrum of horror media, ensuring that you’re always in the loop about the latest and greatest.

The passionate team behind The Ginger Nuts of Horror delivers thoughtful critiques and recommendations that delve into the nuances of storytelling, character development, and atmospheric tension. Whether you’re looking for hidden gems to stream on a dark and stormy night or want to explore the work of up-and-coming horror filmmakers, this page is packed with content that will ignite your imagination and keep you on the edge of your seat.

So grab your favorite horror-themed snacks, settle into a cozy spot, and immerse yourself in the chilling world of horror literature and film. Head over to The Ginger Nuts of Horror and embark on a journey through the eerie and the extraordinary it’s an adventure you won’t soon forget!