I've been edified by some of the better renditions of "Frankenstein", and the trick there is that there is a context that the horror arrives from Dr. Frankenstein's attempt to usurp the right of God to create and destroy. That is to be contrasted with the "slasher" genre, where the overall goal seems to be to come up with as many instances of violence and nudity/sexuality as possible without getting to an NC-17 or X rating.
The latter is hilariously spoofed, by the way, by Weird Al's song "Nature Trail to Hell", off of his "3D " album.
But overall, my take is that the various genre or horror stand or fall based on the context, and my personal tendency is to be a little bit squeamish at the thought of witnessing the on-screen murders of my fellow human beings. There are ways of portraying the reality without giving every little detail.
As a genre, I’ve never had much use for horror, but sometimes horror crossover happens a bit in genres I do appreciate. If it’s a good story and the story requires some dread, anxiety, shock etc. I don’t mind it, but I don’t value it for its own sake. For me, there is sufficient dread and anxiety in real world living! So, even ‘suspense’ is a genre I prefer in pretty small doses, whether fiction or film.
But ‘suspense’ and ‘horror’ as elements of a good story. To me, it’s worth it.
Related, perhaps: To me, it’s a really interesting question why humans are so interested in narrative in general. We turn almost everything into story, just like we turn random shapes into imaginary faces. We don’t just enjoy narrative, we deeply hunger for it.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Discussion
NewDepends on the movie, I guess
I've been edified by some of the better renditions of "Frankenstein", and the trick there is that there is a context that the horror arrives from Dr. Frankenstein's attempt to usurp the right of God to create and destroy. That is to be contrasted with the "slasher" genre, where the overall goal seems to be to come up with as many instances of violence and nudity/sexuality as possible without getting to an NC-17 or X rating.
The latter is hilariously spoofed, by the way, by Weird Al's song "Nature Trail to Hell", off of his "3D " album.
But overall, my take is that the various genre or horror stand or fall based on the context, and my personal tendency is to be a little bit squeamish at the thought of witnessing the on-screen murders of my fellow human beings. There are ways of portraying the reality without giving every little detail.
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
NewGenre
As a genre, I’ve never had much use for horror, but sometimes horror crossover happens a bit in genres I do appreciate. If it’s a good story and the story requires some dread, anxiety, shock etc. I don’t mind it, but I don’t value it for its own sake. For me, there is sufficient dread and anxiety in real world living! So, even ‘suspense’ is a genre I prefer in pretty small doses, whether fiction or film.
But ‘suspense’ and ‘horror’ as elements of a good story. To me, it’s worth it.
Related, perhaps: To me, it’s a really interesting question why humans are so interested in narrative in general. We turn almost everything into story, just like we turn random shapes into imaginary faces. We don’t just enjoy narrative, we deeply hunger for it.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
NewSuspense I like, horror I don’t
Good examples: Alfred Hitchcock. Like Vertigo