Why are people are afraid of horror films??

vampyr789 · 07-12-2009, 07:04 AM

WOW me and my friends are about to watch Dead Alive (Braindead) and one of my friends is scared to watch it............i keep telling him thats its not scary at all, just gory and funny. But he keeps saying no. he did the same thing for Repo!, Evil dead, and Sleepaway Camp. he tells me that he thinks im lying, i show him the trailers but he wont even watch that...so please tell me why do you think people are afraid of horror films??

Shlockjock81 · 07-12-2009, 07:09 AM

Usually scarring from early childhood. They walked in on their parents or sibs watching a flick and it really struck a raw nerve with them. Believe it or not, I used to be like that (It was Gremlins for me... shush!!). However I was always still VERY intregued with horror films and would force myself to watch them. For some people it's a little bit harder. Those are also usually the people that suffer from extreme paranoia or anxiety. Never give those people pot... you'd probably have to take care of them all night.

I think the best way to help people get over their fear of horror films is to show them some DVD extras... documentaries and stuff. The more they see HOW these films are made, the less terrified they'll be (and, possibly, more curious).

People are funny.

Katatonia · 07-12-2009, 07:36 AM

Easy, they're wimps and need a crash course of behavioral therapy.

Seriously though, the real world's everyday news is more horrific than any horror film has ever been. I heard something the other day, and it's still reverberating in my mind.

Matt89 · 07-12-2009, 07:51 AM

Yeah I have a friend like that. He wouldn't watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre when a bunch of us were my friend's place. He's serious about it too.

I dunno, some people just don't like horror films. You have to respect that. Sure life can be scarier than a horror film, but it's in a different context. Haha, maybe people can handle blunt reality as opposed to an allegorical representation of it. Who knows?

~Matt

Slackjaw83 · 07-12-2009, 08:20 AM

I think that Shlockjock81 really nailed it. Most people I know that refuse to give the genre a chance generally have some "traumatizing experience" in their childhood (I know one friend that was made to watch "Wizard of Gore" and "Re-Animator" around 7 years old and I honestly think it scarred him for life).

Also, Shlockjock81, Gremlins was THE movie for me as well. I, having a dad that loves horror fliks and a sister 4 years older than I am, was forced to watch Horror films froma really young age (Seriously, who lets their 6 year old see "Evil Dead" or "Halloween"?!?!?....freakin' parents...)If I had to pick 3 films that i watched as a kid that left "scared the all holy bejesus outta me" marks, they'd be "Gremlins", "Nightmare on Elm St. 2 : Freddy's Revenge" and "Friday the 13th 4 : The Final Chapter".

Strangely enough, I refused to watch those movies again until I was around 15, which was a few years after I started getting heavily into the genre, and they became some of my favorite fliks.

rxfiend · 07-12-2009, 08:27 AM

I never could understand why adults are afraid of horror movies. I mean they're just movies after all. I can understand why kids are scared, but when a 30 year old tells me they're too scared to watch the latest horror remake, I just shake my head....

bwana the clown · 07-14-2009, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxfiend

but when a 30 year old tells me they're too scared to watch the latest horror remake, I just shake my head....

Of course they may just be afraid of wasting their precious time on unoriginal pap.

shithead · 07-12-2009, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vampyr789

WOW me and my friends are about to watch Dead Alive (Braindead) and one of my friends is scared to watch it............i keep telling him thats its not scary at all, just gory and funny. But he keeps saying no. he did the same thing for Repo!, Evil dead, and Sleepaway Camp. he tells me that he thinks im lying, i show him the trailers but he wont even watch that...so please tell me why do you think people are afraid of horror films??

Sounds like he's a pussy, find a new friend.

vampyr789 · 07-12-2009, 09:10 AM

lol howd you know??

but my other two friends LOVED It

now they want to see Bad Taste...(ive never seen it either, now im excited too)

hellraiser40 · 07-12-2009, 01:28 PM

hmm, about getting scarred at an early age...

when i was 8-9, my mom took me to the local video store and, of course, i immediately went to the section with all the cool covers, which was the horror section

maybe ignorance on her part, but she let me rent The Howling III, which was, to me at that age, quite an experience and it made me a fan of scary, gory and strange flicks from then on

sidenote : when Braindead (= Dead Alive) was released here on video, she refused me renting it, even when i was older then (about 12), so i did the only thing i could do, go rent it alone when she was away one day, ahh, good days...

msw7 · 07-12-2009, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellraiser40

sidenote : when Braindead (= Dead Alive) was released here on video, she refused me renting it, even when i was older then (about 12), so i did the only thing i could do, go rent it alone when she was away one day, ahh, good days...

I had a disagreement with a friend of mine (in the late 90's) about the goriest movie ever - she was convinced it was Braindead. I was convinced it was this low budget British movie that I couldn't remember the name of, but in which limbs were falling off, and a guy jumped through an alien chainsaw first the long way. She finally had a chance to show me Braindead, and I finally found out (via google) that the movie I didn't remember very well was Bad Taste.

I called it a draw (but she may have been right).

KR~! · 07-12-2009, 03:16 PM

People are scare of all kinds of weird and wacky things. Meanwhile, I LOVED monsters as a kid so I also loved horror films. Re-Animator was considered one of the best, since it was so funny. Same with the Evil Dead films.

Harry Warden · 07-12-2009, 05:05 PM

I have a ton of friends that simply will not watch horror films. They hate them. I think it's a combination of whether your parents watched them and perhaps being introduced to violent acts on film way too early. I loved monsters ever since I was 5 or 6. My dad liked horror films as well, and thus my brother and I grew up watching all sorts of great horror moves. My parents were always careful to allow me to watch only what they thought may not give me nightmares. Kids view violence much differently and are impressionable. I think this can carryover into adulthood. I'm imagine I'm older than most on this board at 43, but the film that gave me nightmares was the original Blob in 1958. I can remember being scarred shitless after watching this, and til this day, those memories are still there even watching it as an adult. My mother made my dad leave the local drive-in one summer after Night of the Living Dead (1968) began. I was sooooo pissed, and it was years later that I finally saw it, but looking back, I believe they were right to ease me into various horror films.

BoredSeal · 07-12-2009, 05:00 PM

That´s simple. Most of people don´t want to see violence, some sick brutality or torture. I have no problem to see classic splatter violence and I like to be scared or shocked personally, but, for example, my 26-years-old friend doesn´t want to watch the horrors or thrillers, because he doesn´t want to see something violent or shocking what could shake him psychically.

Somebody can´t handle stuff like old good Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where group of friends fall in hands of violent sick people and almost everybody dies painfully. For us, horror fans, these people are just fodder for Leatherface´s family, but somebody who is not exposed to violence and horror/thriller movies sees/senses victims as real people who don´t deserve their death or way of death, plus, at the end the evil is not even properly punished.

So I would not call this "some people are scared to watch horrors" but "some people don´t want to see torture/pain/brutality/death of other people because they are too innocent inside"

I think I´m quite immune or dehumanized by watching so many movies, but I have my weak sides - movies like Inside where pregnant woman goes through what she goes through or Saw series where innocent people are forced to mutilate themselves to survive only because some maniac thinks he teaches them how to appreciate life. If somebody would told me before I should not watch them because they are too much for me, I would never watch them and save myself from feeling depressed few days of what I had to watch.

(sorry for bad English

CrazyFatEthel · 07-12-2009, 05:14 PM

I guess I was te weird child, because I have always been interested in all films? I saw Halloween when I was prob 8, Evil Dead when I was 9 or 10, and for some reason I was obsessed with seeing The Blair Witch Project when I was around 7 or 8.

07-12-2009, 07:04 AM	#1
vampyr789 9, 10. Never Sleep Again. Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,632	Why are people are afraid of horror films?? WOW me and my friends are about to watch Dead Alive (Braindead) and one of my friends is scared to watch it............i keep telling him thats its not scary at all, just gory and funny. But he keeps saying no. he did the same thing for Repo!, Evil dead, and Sleepaway Camp. he tells me that he thinks im lying, i show him the trailers but he wont even watch that...so please tell me why do you think people are afraid of horror films?? __________________ "A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake." ~ Alfred Hitchcock New Friday the 13th Boxset Petition

07-12-2009, 07:09 AM	#2
Shlockjock81 Maniac Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 936	Usually scarring from early childhood. They walked in on their parents or sibs watching a flick and it really struck a raw nerve with them. Believe it or not, I used to be like that (It was Gremlins for me... shush!!). However I was always still VERY intregued with horror films and would force myself to watch them. For some people it's a little bit harder. Those are also usually the people that suffer from extreme paranoia or anxiety. Never give those people pot... you'd probably have to take care of them all night. I think the best way to help people get over their fear of horror films is to show them some DVD extras... documentaries and stuff. The more they see HOW these films are made, the less terrified they'll be (and, possibly, more curious). People are funny. __________________ Sara: "Have you ever heard of the three sisters?" Carlo: "You mean those black singers?" -Dario Argento's Inferno.

07-12-2009, 07:36 AM	#3
Katatonia Hellbound Heart Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Missouri Posts: 15,883	Easy, they're wimps and need a crash course of behavioral therapy. Seriously though, the real world's everyday news is more horrific than any horror film has ever been. I heard something the other day, and it's still reverberating in my mind. __________________ "The machines are faster and the bombs are worse, as we're all sucked into this unholy curse." - Saint Vitus - War Is Our Destiny DVD Profiler Collection

07-12-2009, 07:51 AM	#4
Matt89 HackMaster Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,998	Yeah I have a friend like that. He wouldn't watch The Texas Chainsaw Massacre when a bunch of us were my friend's place. He's serious about it too. I dunno, some people just don't like horror films. You have to respect that. Sure life can be scarier than a horror film, but it's in a different context. Haha, maybe people can handle blunt reality as opposed to an allegorical representation of it. Who knows? ~Matt __________________ "If a man can bridge the gap between life and death ... I mean, if he can live on after his death, then maybe he was a great man." - James Dean

07-12-2009, 08:20 AM	#5
Slackjaw83 Lonely St. Tattooer Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Lock Haven, PA Posts: 808	I think that Shlockjock81 really nailed it. Most people I know that refuse to give the genre a chance generally have some "traumatizing experience" in their childhood (I know one friend that was made to watch "Wizard of Gore" and "Re-Animator" around 7 years old and I honestly think it scarred him for life). Also, Shlockjock81, Gremlins was THE movie for me as well. I, having a dad that loves horror fliks and a sister 4 years older than I am, was forced to watch Horror films froma really young age (Seriously, who lets their 6 year old see "Evil Dead" or "Halloween"?!?!?....freakin' parents...)If I had to pick 3 films that i watched as a kid that left "scared the all holy bejesus outta me" marks, they'd be "Gremlins", "Nightmare on Elm St. 2 : Freddy's Revenge" and "Friday the 13th 4 : The Final Chapter". Strangely enough, I refused to watch those movies again until I was around 15, which was a few years after I started getting heavily into the genre, and they became some of my favorite fliks. __________________ ...And so Charlie Noodles says "I don't know what it is, but it's got my pants and won't give'em back!"

07-12-2009, 08:27 AM	#6
rxfiend Joe Six-Pack Join Date: May 2001 Location: Southern IN Posts: 4,055	I never could understand why adults are afraid of horror movies. I mean they're just movies after all. I can understand why kids are scared, but when a 30 year old tells me they're too scared to watch the latest horror remake, I just shake my head.... __________________ My web domain * Night Screams BLOG

07-12-2009, 09:10 AM	#9
vampyr789 9, 10. Never Sleep Again. Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 1,632	lol howd you know?? but my other two friends LOVED It now they want to see Bad Taste...(ive never seen it either, now im excited too) __________________ "A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake." ~ Alfred Hitchcock New Friday the 13th Boxset Petition Last edited by vampyr789; 07-12-2009 at 09:12 AM.

07-12-2009, 01:28 PM	#10
hellraiser40 Maniac Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 704	hmm, about getting scarred at an early age... when i was 8-9, my mom took me to the local video store and, of course, i immediately went to the section with all the cool covers, which was the horror section maybe ignorance on her part, but she let me rent The Howling III, which was, to me at that age, quite an experience and it made me a fan of scary, gory and strange flicks from then on sidenote : when Braindead (= Dead Alive) was released here on video, she refused me renting it, even when i was older then (about 12), so i did the only thing i could do, go rent it alone when she was away one day, ahh, good days...

07-12-2009, 03:16 PM	#12
KR~! The Apocalyptic Kid Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: In Hel's Womb Posts: 5,462	People are scare of all kinds of weird and wacky things. Meanwhile, I LOVED monsters as a kid so I also loved horror films. Re-Animator was considered one of the best, since it was so funny. Same with the Evil Dead films. __________________ We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe. - Johann von Goethe

07-12-2009, 05:05 PM	#13
Harry Warden HackMaster Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Hermitage, Pennsylvania Posts: 1,277	I have a ton of friends that simply will not watch horror films. They hate them. I think it's a combination of whether your parents watched them and perhaps being introduced to violent acts on film way too early. I loved monsters ever since I was 5 or 6. My dad liked horror films as well, and thus my brother and I grew up watching all sorts of great horror moves. My parents were always careful to allow me to watch only what they thought may not give me nightmares. Kids view violence much differently and are impressionable. I think this can carryover into adulthood. I'm imagine I'm older than most on this board at 43, but the film that gave me nightmares was the original Blob in 1958. I can remember being scarred shitless after watching this, and til this day, those memories are still there even watching it as an adult. My mother made my dad leave the local drive-in one summer after Night of the Living Dead (1968) began. I was sooooo pissed, and it was years later that I finally saw it, but looking back, I believe they were right to ease me into various horror films.

07-12-2009, 05:00 PM	#14
BoredSeal Stalker Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 258	That´s simple. Most of people don´t want to see violence, some sick brutality or torture. I have no problem to see classic splatter violence and I like to be scared or shocked personally, but, for example, my 26-years-old friend doesn´t want to watch the horrors or thrillers, because he doesn´t want to see something violent or shocking what could shake him psychically. Somebody can´t handle stuff like old good Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where group of friends fall in hands of violent sick people and almost everybody dies painfully. For us, horror fans, these people are just fodder for Leatherface´s family, but somebody who is not exposed to violence and horror/thriller movies sees/senses victims as real people who don´t deserve their death or way of death, plus, at the end the evil is not even properly punished. So I would not call this "some people are scared to watch horrors" but "some people don´t want to see torture/pain/brutality/death of other people because they are too innocent inside" I think I´m quite immune or dehumanized by watching so many movies, but I have my weak sides - movies like Inside where pregnant woman goes through what she goes through or Saw series where innocent people are forced to mutilate themselves to survive only because some maniac thinks he teaches them how to appreciate life. If somebody would told me before I should not watch them because they are too much for me, I would never watch them and save myself from feeling depressed few days of what I had to watch. (sorry for bad English

07-12-2009, 05:14 PM	#15
CrazyFatEthel HackMaster Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Rowlett, Texas Posts: 1,222	I guess I was te weird child, because I have always been interested in all films? I saw Halloween when I was prob 8, Evil Dead when I was 9 or 10, and for some reason I was obsessed with seeing The Blair Witch Project when I was around 7 or 8. __________________ tHaT dAmN dOcToR iS tRyInG tO sTaRvE mE tO dEaTh!

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