As far as film genres go, horror movies are about as polarizing as they come. Many people love subjecting themselves to the suspense and shocks of a scary movie, but others refuse to watch them at all. For horror fans out there, you can rest easy knowing that you will always be able find some scary movie playing at a local theater. What’s more difficult to find, however, is strong variation within the genre, as most horror movies follow the exact same guidelines.
The classic horror movie begins with a young, pretty character, typically a female — see the leading ladies of ‘The Grudge,’ ‘The Ring’ and ‘Halloween’ for elucidation. Often, this character will be intelligent and determined to pursue her goals, but lacking the common sense required to recognize dangerous or shifty situations. Generally, if this woman has a husband or a male companion, he will attempt to talk her out of pursuing potentially dangerous goals, but he is rarely a significant character and is almost always one of the first to die.
And of course there’s bound to be a child with some relation to the woman, most often her own son or daughter, who is either in grave danger or is some sort of medium between the “spirits” and his or her family. The latter is the case in classics such as ‘The Exorcist,’ ‘Orphan’ and ‘The Shining’ and also in the more recent ‘Insidious.’ Recognizing the unique thrill of horror that evil children elicit, the horror genre falls back on this trope again and again.
And where would we be without the perpetrator who, for unknown nefarious reasons, has designs on the characters’ lives. Sometimes this menace is human, as is the case in old-school films like ‘Friday the 13th’ and ‘Psycho,’ but many times it is a paranormal entity that haunts a house or the family.
Of course, I could name a great number of films that utilize all these characters, themes and motifs. Though reassuring, this familiarity is also problematic — once you become used to the suspense and elements of surprise, the thrills start to subside.
If you’re looking for a true thrill, go for the ones with intriguing, but easy-to-follow storylines alongside horrific images. ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ is one of the top films of its genre for this reason. It employs dynamic characters who are just realistic enough to be horrifying. The protagonist, played by Jodie Foster, is motivated enough to seek out a serial killer, but does not lack the common sense like other horror flick female leads.
Or if horrific images aren’t for you, search out films with distinctive twist endings to break away from the norm. ‘The Sixth Sense’ and ‘The Others’ both do this exceptionally. For more recent fare, check out ‘Shutter Island,’ which does the same thing by disproving everything you thought you knew. And what could be more shocking than that?
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