Christopher B

Definition of a "Horror Movie"?

While compiling my list for the Scary Movie Challenge, my wife and I started discussing what makes a movie a horror movie. I know that Battle Royale is classified as a horror movie, but why? Is Giallo considered horror? What makes a movie a horror movie, is it the way people get killed, or is it just the fact that people get killed?

Just looking for opinions.

Thanks

Malcolm R

I generally look for some element of the supernatural to differentiate between a Thriller (run-of-the-mill serial killers) and Horror (ghosts, vampires, zombies, etc.).

george kaplan

Any movie that Justin S. likes.

"Movies should be like amusement parks. People should go to them to have fun." - Billy Wilder

"Subtitles good. Hollywood bad." - Tarzan, Sight & Sound 2012 voter.

"My films are not slices of life, they are pieces of cake." - Alfred Hitchcock

"My great humility is just one of the many reasons that I am vastly superior to everyone else." - Ramrod Clerk

Don Solosan

Someone once said that terror is of the mind, horror is of the body. So Vertigo is a thriller, Silence of the Lambs is horror.

Robert Powers

My opinion of a good horror movie is a movie that consists of some sort of supernatural force but not off the wall enough to make it unbelievable. A movie that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"The Exorcist" was a good example for me. I would not consider any of the "Jason" or "Freddie" movies true horror movies. They just consisted of killing without reason.

Michael Elliott

I personally don’t consider films like SEVEN, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, JAWS, ROSEMARY’S BABY or PSYCHO to be “horror” movies. However, I also don’t consider THE EXORCIST a horror movie but only the director and I agree on that. : ) For a film to be a horror movie I think it needs a monster and not just a human killer. Even saying that, something like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE would be left out so there are a few that could slide in as horror. If a killer is the only thing that counted then something like TAXI DRIVER could be included as a horror movie.

Of course, there are various sub-genres to be considered including the giallo, exploitation and a psychological drama. Films by Dario Argento are often called “horror” but I think that’s because most movie books have a “horror” section and not one for giallo. Of course it could always be put into “mystery” but Argento’s reputation is of a horror director. Even something like METROPOLIS could be called horror or THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Lon Chaney is considered a “horror” star yet he really only made one or two horror films. Go figure.

We could debate the word “horror” and what should be included but in the end everyone has their own ideas of what a horror movie is. I’m in the Horror Challenge and I’m being fairly kind to what I let in so every title I’ve named in this post is something that I would include. I bought FIRE IN THE SKY today, which is basically a drama about alien abduction but I would include this. The same as I would include Carpenter’s THE THING or Robert Wise’s THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, even though I also consider this a drama with sci-fi elements.

Since 1910 with FRANKENSTEIN, critics and movie fans have looked down on the horror genre but very very few will ever say they don't like the genre. If you accuse them of not liking this genre then they'll ALWAYS come back with hey, I like SEVEN and JAWS. To me, this would be a casual viewer who really wouldn't pay any attention to Jason, Freddy, Myers, a John Carradine, smaller Lugosi titles or various other horror films that critics don't love. They enjoy the critic's picks yet wouldn't go as far as a horror fan to watch Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Lucio Fulci, Al Adamson or various other "B" movies.

Seriously, isn't it amazing how many people love the film ED WOOD yet wouldn't bother watching a Wood movie? How many of those who bought ED WOOD are going to buy BRIDE OF THE MONSTER, PLAN 9 or GLEN OR GLENDA? How many loved Lugosi in ED WOOD but are they going to watch VOODOO MAN, THE APE MAN or THE DEVIL BAT?

Chris Lockwood

> Seriously, isn't it amazing how many people love the film ED WOOD yet wouldn't bother watching a Wood movie?

Not really, since Ed Wood, the movie, was actually good, unlike the movies he made.

Michael Elliott

Which ones have you seen? This here is another reason why the non-fans simply don't understand horror movies.

Also, someone couldn't really get all the jokes in the film unless they had seen the movies in question. The movie is far from the truth in many details but again, people wouldn't know this unless they knew the history before seeing the movie. We've always got the MST3K crowd but that's a different issue.

Joe Karlosi

Michael, I wouldn't agree that only films with monsters in them may be considered horror, if that's what you meant. And I also think some films with human killers are "horror" (like FRIDAY THE 13th, like MANIAC, like TEXAS CHAIN SAW).

"Horror" as a term means all sorts of things, I think. It's movies with monsters, yes - it's also the supernatural - it's something "scary". I think "horror" is a subjective term which can mean something different for everyone, but I think that heading of HORROR is okay to be loosened a bit for purposes of categorizing our movies. ROSEMARY'S BABY and THE EXORCIST are certainly horror movies (the latter being so no matter what William Friedkin thinks). If it shocks, if it's scary, if it's spooky and makes you horrified - it's horror. Be it physical, psychological, whatever.

Joe Karlosi

I'm a hororr fan and I get the appeal of Ed Wood's movies - but they're not good films.