{"id":17400,"date":"2023-11-06T17:07:17","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T01:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=17400"},"modified":"2024-09-23T15:07:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T22:07:23","slug":"why-we-love-horror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/why-we-love-horror\/","title":{"rendered":"Why we love horror"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_Top-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_Top-1920x1080.png 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_Top-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_Top-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Max Schreck portrays vampire Orlock in 1922\u2019s Nosferatu. Horror movies have captivated audiences since cinema\u2019s beginnings. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Why we love horror<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Scholars uncover why horror attracts millions of devoted fans \u2014 and reveal which films scared them most.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Margaret Crable<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">November 6, 2023<\/span>\n      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<ul>\n              <li><p>Horror films have been around for as long as humans have been wielding motion picture cameras.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>These spooky spectacles often possess the power to make change in the real world.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>USC scholars have found psychological thrillers to be as scary, or scarier, than blood-and-guts horror.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n  <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The movie theatre business may be on wobbly footing these days, but it can still rely on one genre to fill seats: horror. Scary movies <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/features\/2023-10-31\/hollywood-loves-halloween-inside-the-lucrative-business-of-horror-movies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rake in millions<\/a> at the box office, often on relatively low-budget productions, and can spawn multiple sequels, which bring in just as much cash as the original.<\/p>\n<p>These aren\u2019t films for the faint of heart. Horror movies sometimes cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/fainting-audiences-embalmed-hand-behind-150038707.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">viewers to faint<\/a>, vomit or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/more-than-100-walk-out-of-lars-von-trier-movie-the-house-that-jack-built-at-cannes-2018-5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">leave the theatre in protest<\/a>. Yet, crowds keep coming back. Why?<\/p>\n<p>Scholars recently joined a Dornsife Dialogues event, moderated by pop culture expert <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/karen-tongson\/\">Karen Tongson<\/a>, professor of gender and sexuality studies, English and American studies and ethnicity, to discuss the origins of horror movies, their enduring appeal and their power to live on long after the credits roll.<\/p>\n<h2>How did the horror genre gurgle to life?<\/h2>\n<p>Horror as a genre \u201cwoke up\u201d in the 18th century as part of a larger literary trend focused on making readers respond emotionally, says <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/profile\/leo-braudy\/\">Leo Braudy<\/a>, University Professor and professor of English and art history at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a revolt against rational, straight forward literature, part of what we call romanticism or pre-romanticism,\u201d he explains. Alongside horror literature came tear-invoking sentimental novels as well as pornographic books.<\/p>\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-13890253\"><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/2126441\/13890253-unmasking-horror-movies.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-13890253&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Find a transcript of this audio <a href=\"https:\/\/uscdornsifedialogues.buzzsprout.com\/2126441\/13890253-unmasking-horror-movies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a> under the transcript tab.<strong>When did horror films first startle us?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Modern audiences often believe that the genre emerged in the 1970s, but it\u2019s been part of cinema since the beginning. Motion picture pioneer and inventor Thomas Edison filmed a reenactment of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RpNQJV8KblQ&amp;ab_channel=benfl0gin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots<\/a> in 1895.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s an old saying that as soon we invented the video camera, the very first thing we did was to make a horror film and <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Le_Coucher_de_la_Mari%C3%A9e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shoot porn<\/a>,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/cinema.usc.edu\/directories\/profile.cfm?id=44396&amp;first=&amp;last=&amp;title=&amp;did=1&amp;referer=%2Fproduction%2Ffaculty%2Ecfm&amp;startpage=1&amp;startrow=61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rebekah McKendry<\/a>, a horror film writer and director and adjunct assistant professor at the <a href=\"https:\/\/cinema.usc.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC School of Cinematic Arts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What horror films have left a mark?<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_17402\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17402\" style=\"width: 500px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-17402\" src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_InStoryB-500x344.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_InStoryB-500x344.png 500w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_InStoryB-768x529.png 768w, https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/11\/DD_Horror_Recap_InStoryB.png 980w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-17402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Horror film directors may find no greater compliment than to hear audiences scream the way actor Carol Ohmart did in 1959\u2019s <em>House on Haunted Hill<\/em>. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Horror films sometimes jump the screen and affect change in the real world, or linger in our consciousnesses long after their release. The scholars pointed to a few they believe have struck a lasting chord.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oscars.org\/collection-highlights\/jaws\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Jaws<\/em><\/a>: During its reign as a summer blockbuster, beaches experienced a massive drop in attendance. Our heightened fear of sharks has endured, says McKendry. \u201cIf the film is well done, it can truly ingrain a fear, whether it\u2019s a just fear or not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2008\/07\/ff-wargames\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>WarGames<\/em>:<\/a> Featuring a super computer that comes close to destroying the world, the film was prescient about our modern fears of artificial intelligence running amok. It\u2019s part of a longstanding anxiety about science and its power, stretching back to the lab-created monster in Mary Shelley\u2019s <em>Frankenstein<\/em>, explains Braudy, who also holds the Leo S. Bing Chair in English and American Literature at USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/culture\/2018\/10\/31\/18037996\/jennifers-body-flop-cult-classic-feminist-horror\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Jennifer\u2019s Body<\/em>:<\/a> \u201cWhen <em>Jennifer\u2019s Body<\/em> came out it was really critically panned, but a lot of people, like me, who had seen it when we were teens, later realized just how important it was to us. It had a lot to say about self-image, self-worth, about sexuality. It had this resonating effect within our psyche,\u201d says McKendry.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/arts-and-entertainment\/wp\/2017\/03\/08\/you-have-to-see-get-out-in-a-movie-theater\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Get Out<\/em>:<\/a> Movies are increasingly streamed at home on the couch, but some recent films, like <em>Get Out<\/em>, were box office draws that replicated the communal viewing experience of bygone eras. \u201cI remember people screaming in the theater, freaking out, packed to the brim,\u201d says film director and School of Cinematic Arts alumna <a href=\"https:\/\/www.annazlokovic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anna Zlokovic<\/a> \u201914.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Unmasking Horror Movies\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C37yUx_F628?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>Which movies entranced our scholars most?<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cThe cerebral, cosmic horrors were the ones that always hit me the hardest. The first one that I remember having a lingering, lasting effect on me was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jacob%27s_Ladder_(1990_film)\"><em>Jacob\u2019s Ladder<\/em><\/a>. I was probably in fifth or sixth grade and was thinking about it for days afterwards,\u201d says McKendry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would say what moves me, rather than scares me, would be something like Nicole Kidman\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/criticism\/movies\/the-others-one-of-the-best-ghost-movies-nicole-kidman-1234921445\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Others<\/em><\/a>. In terms of schlocky movies, I like <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Trollhunter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Troll Hunter<\/em><\/a>, about these kids going around looking for trolls that still exist somewhere. It has this mixture of reality and unreality that attracts me to horror,\u201d says Braudy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first one that deeply, spiritually disturbed me was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eraserhead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Eraserhead<\/em><\/a>. I was just like, \u2018What is happening? What is going on? Why is this little creature so scary?\u2019\u201d says Zlokovic. \u201cI rewatch it now and I see a bit of humor in there, it\u2019s a little more playful than I remember. Maybe I\u2019ve changed as a person, which is kind of cool. When you watch horror, you also grow with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/gothic-literature-recommendations\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Lifting the veil on history\u2019s best Gothic literature<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a 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most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":17401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[70,123,63,57,54],"class_list":["post-17400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","tag-academy-in-the-public-square","tag-cinema","tag-community-engagement","tag-entertainment","tag-events"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why we love horror<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"USC scholars uncover why horror, especially scary movies, attracts millions of devoted fans \u2014 and reveal which frightening films left them most stricken.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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