Poll: Avoidance of Horror Movies and Depression

[Gigano]

Generally I'd think those who avoid them do so because they can't or won't stomach the content they have on display. A simple matter of personal taste and boundaries. If you previously appreciated them, then you might just have had your fill from overexposure for now. Too much of a good thing and all that.

It's possible that one would react by seeking out lighter stuff in an attempt to brighten the days when things get tough though. Ain't going to work with a fundamental discontent with what a steady ordinary life - the dream of billions - has to offer though.

 

[Rofl-Mayo]

For me it's just the fact that they can't hold my interest and I find them completely boring. If there are actually any super interesting scary movies out there then feel free to suggest them to me, otherwise I'll still avoid that genre.

Zombie movies aren't counted as horror movies are they? They're the only "scary" movies that interest me.

 

[Burningsok]

I think it's the lack of artistic merit. Horror, as we know it, has yet to have that one movie that helps to really define it as a genre with something that is recognizablly and obviously good to even the layperson; put another way, Horror has yet to have its own "Citizen Kane", if you will. Name almost any other genre of film and you will probably get a few titles that most people will say is the best in that genre because of a deeper message about life or something along those lines. Right now, the best most people can even sugggest is "Se7en" and that's more of a suspense thriller than a horror film. Basically, horror needs to make its own film that most people can agree is actually art if it wants to be taken seriously.

"Night of the Living Dead" is about as close to a "Citizen Kane" for horror that I can think of.

Good one. What about "The Exorcist". "Jaws" maybe, but it doesn't look like a horror; more like a thriller. Oh yeah, "Psycho" is another.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

Hello Escapist! Long time lurker, first time poster.

I find this thread, quite distressing, being a long time horror connoisseur it's slightly upsetting that so many deem horror, an entire genre, as lacking artistic merit. Perhaps it's that the classics are often more ignored than in other genres (or so it has always seemed) but I feel that it's utterly ignorant to punish the genre for a few bad eggs.
Horror works much the same way as science fiction, one could argue horror (read gothic horror) invented science fiction, eg: Frankenstein. But yes, horror works in that it places people in impossible situations, often examining how one would respond, or more often it gives us an examination of mortality, or such, the darker side of things from an unusual, usually paranormal slant.
Horror does not lack artistic merit, not on any medium
To say that horror lacks a "Citizen Kane" figure too, is quite wrong. Why, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is arguably the first horror classic and one of first classics of film. In fact, many early classic films are also classic horror films.
Now, why do people avoid horror?

Easy. The subject matter and material. Not everybody likes being upset by the usually morbid subject matter. Some just don't have the thick skin it requires.
P.S. Slasher films are not horror.
P.P.S. To say that people "grow out" of horror I would find somewhat offensive. It's an entire genre of fiction, not some child's play thing. Fantastic authors, grown men and women have spent their lives contributing fantastic tales to the genre, that statement was somewhat on the mean side.

 

[Burningsok]

Go watch Alien and come tell me Horror movies dont have artistic merit.

Most people I know either cant stand the gore or cant take a scare.

^ THIS!!!

People are just too squeamish now a days and can't see the Art in horror. It's disgusting if you ask me.

Sure there are alot of crappy horror movies, but there are a lot of good horror movies too that truely display every spectrum of the emotion known as Fear.

Correct.

Horror today seems to consist of only jump scares. I want a horror movie that scares me using more then one method.I want something that can leave a lasting impression on me; one that stays with me after I leave the theater, or turn off my TV.

Also, I found Paranormal Activity to be good. Why? because it made me feel uneasy. The movie built up this tension, and instead of exploding with a big scare, it oozed out; giving me a weird feeling I couldn't shake off for the rest of the day. I believe that if it wasn't for the above average acting and focus on character, this movie would of been another horror throw away.

 

[Cheesus333]

The poll option says 'can't take a scare', but I don't think that's fair. Some people just don't want to pay to inflict paranoia and terror upon themselves. In other words, they're not masochists.

Now obviously, that's a generalisation, because horror connoiseurs peobably don't enjoy their own suffering. Maybe they enjoy the thrill and suspense of not knowing, or the utter scare that comes from psychological horrors where you learn something new about human beings or even yourself that shakes you to the core.

That just isn't for some people, and it's not anyone's place to hold that against them.

Personally, I prefer the milder horror films cause I like to be able to sleep, but I still like the odd one here and there, especially with friends because then it can become even funnier than a comedy. Me and four friends watched Alien one time, and I tell you - watching them venture out into the picth-black hallway in pairs for fear of sudden Xenomorph attack (and watching them suddenly rush back in when they heard a door slam upstairs) was hilarious.

 

[shogunblade]

As far as horror movies go, everything has gone to the dogs (Rather, either being a complete copy of Hostel,Saw something similar to The Exorcist or being a remake)
and as such, nothing is all that interesting once you narrow it all down. I'm not saying that there isn't such a thing as a good blood and guts movie, but there are so many mindless versions, I would love to watch the one that makes me think a little bit.

If I am going to watch Hostel, I would love to watch the one where there are characters who I actually care about. Even Last House on the Left or its original movie that was inspiration The Virgin Spring gives you something to mull over, and then you have I Spit on Your Grave or Chaos to put a mean twist on it if you so choose.

 

[Mr Somewhere]

That's not totally true. Though, I agree with you, the state of horror films is abysmal. At least with novels and such, there is always something to find, always something new and exciting, I don't believe the stream of good horror literature has ever ended.
But yes, if you look, you'll find some great stuff. Black Swan was a recent great, you never know we may see more as a result of Swan's success.

 

[sageoftruth]

Strangely, I don't mind being scared, but I do mind being made uncomfortable. Somehow, I find the behavior of people freaking out offensive. As a result, I can often handle psychological thrillers, but I loathe disaster movies, where everyone from the main characters to the extras have thrown common sense out the window. I think that's also why I couldn't sit through the rom com Lisence to Wed (aside from it being a rom com).

 

[Spookimitsu]

I used to not like horror films, due to the scare factor. Now they are one of my favourite genres (Spooky-mitsu, get it?)

I think most peole avoid them because they automatically are predisposed to find them distasteful (that can hearken to the blood& guts selection).

I dont necessarily think people avoid them because they are scary.

ON that note, they generally aren't that scary, usually relying on cheap tricks to evoke frights. I miss sophisticated psychological scares, those keep you up at night, not a skeleton jumping out from the shadows.

Can anyone recommend some really good scares? Psychological, paranormal are preferred. Abstract is good. I'm kinda sick of stalker/slasher flicks, and torture porn doesnt do it for me.

 

[conflictofinterests]

I'd say it's got more to do with the ratio that people stop watching movies and get out of the house. That's certainly what I'd prescribe in your case.

Wow, I didn't see this response coming...

Get out of the house and do what exactly? Life is not a limitless adventure. You have obligations, bills, and a job.

Even the most backward shithole of a town has a Walmart these days. Go people watch. Maybe post something up to "People of Walmart". If your home ISN'T the most backward shithole of a town, you could go to a park and enjoy nature, or you could go to a museum and enjoy exhibits. Take a jog, adopt an animal, start some online courses, dedicate yourself to knowing each and every street, alley and corner in walking range. Maybe find a nifty little diner you never knew about.

 

[Light 086]

Maybe because horror movies fail to be horrifying?
None that I've seen ever scare me, It's just about people dying brutally. The only thing I've ever said during one was: "that looks like it hurt"

 

[Malrock]

I voted depressing or sad. Events in my life have left me sporadically depressed, I have a good job.....which I hate, as it eats 90% of my time. The last thing I want is to be watching a film where people are made to suffer. If I'm going to be at home alone, I flick on the big bang theory or watch a quality comedy film. Usually cheers me up for a while.

 

[SeanTheSheep]

I am a student psychotherapist and I have found in my experience of studying and working with depressed clients is that everyone, and I mean every single person on this Earth, reacts to depression in vastly different ways.

Kiddo, I love that you're interested in the human mind, but not every single person on Earth reacts in "vastly different ways"
People react very differently to depression, I know people who lash out, people who retreat, people who talk it out, and within those groups, they all deal with it differently, but with approaching seven billion people on this planet, as a mathematician who deals with statistics an awful lot, I cannot sit back and let it be said that every person deals with it in vastly different ways. There are simply not enough reasonable combinations of ways of coping to say so.

OT: I've taken to not watching horror movies because a lot of them bore me. There is the occasional one that I decide to watch for nostalgia, funsies, or because it's supposedly scary, but otherwise, I'm fairly "eh" of the whole thing.

 

[CrazyGirl17]

I avoid them because A) I don't like blood/guts/gore, B) All horror movies nowadays are mostly blood/guts/gore, C) They never have any happy endings (yeah, I know that's the point, but it's just so depressing...) and D) I don't need anything influencing my borderline paranoia.

(Word to the wise: never watch "The Top 100 Scariest Movie moment from beginning to end at a night. It's not good for your sanity.)

 

[inFAMOUSCowZ]

Sadly cant take a scare. And its sad because most horror movies that come out now in the theaters, is purely crap.

 

[radioedit420]

in response to OP:
well i have noticed when i am depressed or angry (for me they go hand in hand...its weird), i just want to see some one suffer and be destroyed in the vilest sickest way possible... Ichi the killer comes to mind. Anyways i found the opposite is true, when im happy i dont want to see destruction and be a pseudo-sadist.
EDIT: Also i've found that I have not been truly scared from a movie since the original poltergeist and exorcist. Laughable now but hey, i was young. Books will freak me the hell out though. Lovecraft especially.

 

[sazzrah]

I am a student psychotherapist and I have found in my experience of studying and working with depressed clients is that everyone, and I mean every single person on this Earth, reacts to depression in vastly different ways.

Kiddo, I love that you're interested in the human mind, but not every single person on Earth reacts in "vastly different ways"
People react very differently to depression, I know people who lash out, people who retreat, people who talk it out, and within those groups, they all deal with it differently, but with approaching seven billion people on this planet, as a mathematician who deals with statistics an awful lot, I cannot sit back and let it be said that every person deals with it in vastly different ways. There are simply not enough reasonable combinations of ways of coping to say so.

Patronising much, Kiddo? I'm so glad that you're interested in maths, but I think you'll find you took a general statement which was meant to illustrate that no 2 people react alike and took it beyond literally.

Also, you're wrong. Every single individual human being on this Earth has completely different experiences that make up who they are; no 2 people are alike and thus no 2 people will ever feel 'exactly' the same about any singular event; similar in some cases but never the same. Thus when presented with depression people can and do react in 'vastly' different ways. Take a look at the size of the DSM-IV before you try and use a statistical line of reasoning to suggest there are only a limited number of ways a person can react to depression.

Perhaps my use of the word 'vastly' offended your statistical sensibilities enough to inspire your more than slightly obnoxious reply, but I thought you should know that statistics cannot ever accurately represent the spectrum of human experience.