Horror movies used to be so scary fans would have to run out of theaters to the nearest trash can to spill their guts out. Now, we are lucky if a horror movie has a real jumpscare.
Although, I don’t think that’s entirely the film industry’s fault.
In 2024, viewers are far more desensitized to gore and evil than they used to be. Fans see horrific things on the news every day, as well as a plethora of horror movie clips on their phones while scrolling on social media, never mind the fact the scariest shots are usually included in movie trailers nowadays.
The new trend of advertising the best scares in the quick two to three-minute promotion video is doing a great job of getting folks into the theaters, but only leaving viewers dissatisfied when they had already seen the most horrific scream a month prior when scanning what was coming to the box office.
There is no element of surprise, no real fear that could leave someone throwing up from a simple scare, instead horror movies have entered the age of psychological thrillers which may be even worse.
When thinking of a scary film, the first that comes to mind is 20th Century Studies “Barbarian,” which debuted in theaters in Sept. of 2022. Characterized as a horror/thriller film, the description of the movie includes dark, creepy and gory themes.
The film follows a young girl on a trip for a job interview in downtown Detroit but finds herself in the middle of a real horror show at the Airbnb she is staying at as she encounters the monster in the basement, created after years of physical and sexual abuse.
Though the horrific graphics, “The Mother” or the monster can create nightmares from a single glance, the real terror behind it all is the lack of awareness the police have in the destroyed neighborhood on the outskirts of Detroit, and the abuse and manipulation the monster went through for decades to become the creature she is.
“Barbarian” is an example of one of the better horror movies in the last few years, but it is far from a slasher like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” or a typical monster film like “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
Half of the fear is the storyline behind it, and the many years worth of destruction that creates the evil in these psychological thrillers.
Though jumpscare horror still exists, and typical demon or monster movies can be found on the silver screens they do not impact the audience the same as they may have in the 70s or 80s.
Viewers have seen real-life gore on their TVs or phones and scroll looking for spoilers or horror movie clips on their lunch breaks. The culture of getting popcorn and a soda and sitting down for a screaming thrill doesn’t exist as it used to, and I think the reason horror may not be what it used to be is because the audience is not what it used to be either.
Horror films can only be as scary as the innocence and vulnerability of the audience, no matter the terrifying graphics and horrific script.
