HORROR FILMS

Horror films tap into our deepest fears and anxieties, and what is suggested is often more frightening than what is revealed. The German expressionistic films of the 20s (Nosferatu, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari), inlfuenced by the English Gothic novel, were among the first examples of the Genre. The central character is a victim, rather than a hero; the antagonist is often manifested from a technological aberration (such as Frankenstein’s monster) or a social aberration (such as Jason, Freddy or Michael Meyers); unbridled aggression and sexuality play an important role; technology, science, and scientific activity often unleash the antagonist – fears about the future are as important as are our fears about the past; children have special powers in this genre – children exhibit vision, insight, and tolerance; adults exhibit the opposite traits; the location (house, village, ruins) has a special significance that influences the outcome of events; the supernatural has a significant role in the horror film genre; the genre dwells on the irrational.

Sub genres: The uncanny: The source of horror is astounding but subject to ‘rational’ explanation, such as beings from outer space, science-made monsters, or a maniac (Signs, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jeepers Creepers); The supernatural: The source of horror is an irrational phenomenon from the spirit of the realm (Poltergeist); The super-uncanny: The audience is kept guessing between the other two possibilities: (The Tenant, The Shining) ; and splatter films: Gore and blood dominate: (Bad Taste, Dead Alive, Freddy vs Jason)

What to Watch: The Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre( 1974 and 2003), Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Ring (2002), Friday the 13th (2008).

Villains

1. Anti-villain: The anti-villain is a villain archetype in which the bad guy has a sympathetic motivation or appealing characteristics. In the same way that an anti-hero is ostensibly a good guy with villainous or immoral tendencies, an anti-villain may have justifiable, noble goals or even a good side. Examples of anti-villains include Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the film version) and Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

2. The beast: A classic villain whose goal is to terrorize and attempt to defeat the main character, the beast is a literal monster. This type of villain cannot be reasoned with and is often found in the horror or science fiction genres. The whale from Moby Dick and the shark from Jaws are examples of this type of villain.

3. The bully: Bullies serve as simple, straightforward opposition to the protagonist. This character archetype is sometimes marked by a backstory that explains their mean and oppressive tendencies, such as a childhood marked by abuse or insecurity. Other times, they are simply mean for the sake of being mean. Examples include Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Fletcher from the film Whiplash.

4. The machine: The machine is similar to the beast, with one major difference: It is a technological construct and is therefore lifeless and incapable of pain, fear, and emotion. The machine can often be found in science fiction thrillers—like Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s robotic killing machine in The Terminator.

5. The mastermind: The mastermind opposes the protagonist by overseeing a brilliant, diabolical master plan. They are a gifted schemer and evil genius who attempts to defeat the protagonist mentally as opposed to physically. Great villains in the mastermind tradition include Hans Gruber from Die Hard and Lex Luthor from the Superman series.

6. Evil incarnate: This villain personifies evil itself, offering little in the way of character development or backstory. This type of evildoer serves as an obstacle to the hero’s journey and is primarily found in fantasy and superhero genres. Examples include Sauron from The Lord of the Rings, Darth Vader from Star Wars, and the Joker from The Dark Knight.

7. The henchman: The henchman exists to do the dirty work of someone else, usually the mastermind or another major evil character in the story. They are functionally the sidekick of the main villain. Though they usually lack the villain’s brains, they make up for it in brawn. Examples include Boba Fett from Star Wars and the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.

8. The fanatic: The fanatic’s villainy is driven by an extreme ideology. Oftentimes, they are propelled by religion or a twisted moral belief that gives them fuel to carry out their twisted mission. The serial killer John Doe from the movie Seven is a true villain in the fanatic tradition.

Victims

#10: The Non-Believers

We start our list with what’s perhaps the most frustrating victim type of all: The Non-Believers. These are the characters that simply refuse to acknowledge any of the creepy, suspicious, or downright terrifying things that happen to be going on around them in the film. The Non-Believers often arrive armed with an explanation for just about everything… until it’s too late. These characters are usually separated from the main group, or otherwise refuse to do anything about the killer – and they end up becoming mincemeat for their troubles. Hey guys, you were warned!

#9: The Redneck

Not every horror film has a Redneck-like character in it, but when they do, they’re often in cahoots with the killers, rather than victims. They do sometimes appear on the other end of things, though, like the tragically doomed Jake and Bobby Joe from Sam Raimi’s "Evil Dead 2." In this sense, The Redneck is usually hardheaded and stubborn, and it’s these qualities that often prevent this victim type from surviving to the end. Do you find it impossible to compromise or collaborate with others in even the direst of situations? Then you just might be The Redneck in a horror film.

#8: The Fat One

Okay, we know it may not be PC to use this term, but political correctness was never exactly the calling card of 1980s’ slasher movies. This was where the character archetype of The Fat One was often found, usually as the butt of a joke or as some sort of comic relief. Then again, there are also examples like Shelly from "Friday the 13th Part III," a lovable but socially awkward sort who uses cheap scares and masks to hide his self-consciousness. Shelly was one of this franchise’s most memorable and beloved characters, yet even that fact didn’t save him from dying at the hands of Jason Voorhees.

#7: The Love Interest / The Best Friend

Every horror hero needs some backup, right? Well, this is where The Love Interest or Best Friend characters come in: as moral support to the film’s primary protagonist. These peripheral characters could be romantically involved with or in a platonic relationship with the main character, and sometimes they even serve as one of the few survivors of a maniacal killer’s attack. Unfortunately, The Love Interest or Best Friend is also just as likely to end up a victim, usually as a result of some courageous and heroic final stand, so that the hero can attain the upper hand over the killer. Rest in peace, guys... they couldn’t have done it without you!

#6: The Stoner

Many of us might be able to identify with The Stoner. After all, isn’t there a small part of us that would just want to say, "screw it! I’m getting as high as possible before I have to deal with this maniac stalking me." Okay, maybe that isn’t the best of ideas now that we say it out loud, but that hasn’t stopped The Stoner from puffing away in countless horror movies. Sadly, this is usually the last thing they do before falling under the killer’s blade; one last bit of escapism before it all fades to black. Much like the usually none-too-bright Stoner, The Idiot is another victim type that’s dead meat right from the start.

#5: The Authority Figure

Existing alongside The Non-Believers as some of the horror world’s most infuriating characters, The Authority Figure does all they can to impede the progress of the heroes. They could align themselves with another victim type, The Useless Cop, and temporarily imprison the heroes while the rest of the town gets cut up. Or, The Authority Figure could find other ways to abuse their power to get in the other characters’ way. Although this victim type often sees the error of their ways before the film’s end, this usually isn’t enough to save them from death - although The Authority Figure occasionally receives a nice scene of redemption before biting the dust.

#4: The Jock / The Jerk

You love to hate ‘em, these jocks and jerks of the horror movie universe. This character type is usually attached to one of the film’s main characters as some sort of dysfunctional love interest, but this situation rarely lasts the entire film. This is because The Jock or Jerk is such an insufferable character, picking on almost everyone around them, and alienating themselves from the rest of the group. This usually leads to their demise by the film’s killer: scared, alone, and without any friends to save them from their deadly, but just, desserts.

#3: The Promiscuous Girl

It might actually be unfair to label this as one gender over another, because, let’s face it: sex equals death in many classic horror films. Still, The Promiscuous Girl serves a twofold purpose: not only is she there to die after her prerequisite sex scene; she’s also there to provide slasher and exploitation films with their expected amount of nudity. Unfortunately, The Promiscuous Girl rarely, if ever, makes it to the end, further emphasizing the connection between conservative, ‘80s-era values and old school horror flicks. Still, there are worse ways to go out, though, right?

#2: The Black Guy (Who Always Dies First)

This one’s simultaneously something of a misnomer, while at the same time remaining a statistic to this day. Although films like 2017’s "Get Out," thankfully modernized some of the racial roles in horror films, minorities in the genre suffered for decades as victims, with very few making it to the end credits alive. Indeed, for every black protagonist, like Peter from George Romero’s original "Dawn of the Dead," we’ve had a slew of token African-American characters that are simply there to diversify the cast and increase the body count. They may not always die FIRST, but for The Black Guy, death is almost certain in the world of old school horror.

Before we reveal our top horror movie victim type, here are a few, dead to rights, honorable mentions!

- The Nerd

- The Goth

- The Loud Mouth

#1: The Final Girl

The Final Girl is one of the most defining tropes of classic horror, especially within the slasher boom of the 1980s. The term is used to represent the pure, virginal, or otherwise wholesome main character that faces off with the killer in a climactic battle. The Final Girl is often aided by The Love Interest or Best Friend in this goal, and is usually successful... barring, of course, any last second sequel teases by the filmmakers. The Final Girl is also a character that often returns for those sequels, although history has shown us that even these brave, resourceful women end up falling to the Freddys and Jasons of the world eventually.

The current review sought to determine why people watch horror film and how exposure to horror film affects behavior. Based on the literature from various disciplines, the following conclusions can be reached:

(1) low empathy and fearfulness are associated with more enjoyment and desire to watch horror;

(2) specific dimensions of empathy are better predictors of people’s responses than are others, but these dimensions are inconsistently predictive;

(3) empathetic concern and personal distress are negatively correlated with enjoyment of horror involving torture;

(4) there is a positive relationship between sensation seeking and horror enjoyment/preference, but this relationship is not consistent and may depend on the component of sensation seeking;

(5) men and boys prefer to watch – and enjoy and seek out – horror more than do women and girls;

(6) women and girls report experiencing more fear and anxiety generally than do men and express greater anxiety and fear when watching horror than do boys and men;

(7) this sex difference may be attributable to women’s typical higher disgust sensitivity and anxiety proneness (both of which are inter-related);

(8) women report more empathetic concern than do men, and this may be another explanatory mechanism;

(9) no study to date has systematically explored disgust sensitivity as a mediator in horror enjoyment and preference, but the evidence would suggest that the former will predict the latter;

(10) older children are more afraid of concrete objects/stimuli when very young but of symbolic stimuli when younger;

(11) individuals tend to prefer horror less as they age, but there is little literature on this topic;

(12) children use various coping strategies to overcome horror film-related fear and the success of these depends on the age of the child;

(13) physical coping strategies are more successful in younger children;

(14) priming with information about the feared object helps reduce fear and increase enjoyment when children watch a film featuring the feared stimulus;

(15) the startle reflex is amplified in the presence of threatening stimuli; and

(16) little is understood about the role of neuropsychology in the response to horror film generally although the understanding of the structures and regions of the brain implicated in fear and fear conditioning is well documented; the amygdala is likely to be involved in the reaction to (and enjoyment of) horror.