Why Do People Love Horror Movies?

[Adaryn]

I would add that to me horror movies were once meant to say something interesting - or so it seems - about the 'world of the unknown' often inherited by novels i.e. Der Golem, Nosferatu,

I agree. I like the Nosferatu movie (both versions) - In the same vein Vampyr is also a meaningful movie. The same for The Haunting - the 1963 version with Russ Tamblyn aka Doctor Jacoby (Twin Peaks amateurs will see who I'm talking about :))

I find the scariest and most disturbing "horror" movies are the ones where there isn't any "splatter" or overt violence, but where all is merely suggested. For that, the Haunting is really an excellent example.

The Entity...

One of the scariest movies I've ever seen! Specially that it's _supposedly_ based on a true story

(Dario Argento's was mainly splatter, even if with some useful introspection on the world of psychopaths

Oh yes, like the Stendhal Syndrom - very disturbing.
Otherwise I can't stand his other movies (the ones I've seen, haven't seen them all, thankfully)

 

[TOTEM36]

This is an old thread, but I have enjoyed reading it alot. I appreciate that people in this thread can see the value in some horror movies.

I find horror movies to be a good therapy when used as a conscious tool. Saw and Hostel-type movies are not my cup of tea, although I enjoy horror movies dealing with revenge fantasies, -villains who became that way from an abusive family or incident etc.

A great depiction of a true STS character is 'Pinhead' from the Hellraiser series. Clive Barker must have been familiar with channelling material when he wrote that character in 1987 - that character is flawless.
The dysfunctional parent child relationship in the movie ‘Carrie’ is also memorable.