Analysis of Kings Statement Why We Crave Horror Movies - Essay Example

There is something dark about the human psyche which even science cannot fully explain. It is a well-known fact that every person has a different level of endurance, and if pushed further than that the inner animal emerges and even the gentlest of human beings can commit the most heinous of sins, for instance, murder. Classical authors of time past have also tried to capture this facet of human personality in their writings. The concept of ‘The Other’ in The Picture of Dorian Grey and the foiling of Bertha and Jane in Jane Eyre are startling.

These show very clearly that there is a part of our psyche that has not evolved; it has the instincts of a monster. It is that part which is taboo and that we hide from polite society in fear of being rejected. Now the question is how masterfully you control that part of yourself. We cannot give it free reign, we cannot ignore it, so what do we do? As a result, a new genre of literature and movies has emerged: Gothic or Horror. Gothic or horror movies help us exercise our inner selves without being obvious or hurting others.

There is something about horror movies that makes one feel awed. I remember the first horror movie I saw was ‘Resident Evil’ when I was eleven years old. This made me think about the real psyche of humans, later. When I read ‘The Lord of The Flies’, this feeling came back. In extreme circumstances, the luxury of our so-called sophisticated exterior is shattered and we begin to think like animals. Horror movies make us relish the emotions of horror and terror. It is as if we are taking our shot at this other-worldly reality.

The pleasure mixed with horror we feel does not mean that we enjoy doing this to others; it simply means that the boring and monotonous life is left behind and we feel as if we are with the protagonist racing through zombies, clashing swords with vampires and killing our enemies. Humans are emotional beings, who want an outlet to all the natural emotions which have to be felt to live a normal life, but are unable to because nothing extraordinary is happening in their lives and this normal world.

We try to escape from it all and feed our inner demons by watching horror movies or playing gory video games. All the pounding, the blood, and the struggle use up our adrenaline and make us more composed and controlled in our everyday life. I have asked myself after growing up what it was about ‘Twilight’ that made me, for a short period, almost worship the idea of a vampire and werewolf. In real life, a blood-drinking fanged person, or a half-man, half-wolf would be far from sexy but would be downright ugly, disgusting, and scary.

Then I understood that it was my idea of an adventure, experiencing something powerful and terrifying that I would have been unable to achieve in real life, and it filled that part of my psyche which is called ‘The Other’.