We go to these films to be scared but no one knows why, especially now that modern day horror movies are based more on torture,blood and gore rather than the terrifying suspense of Alfred Hitchcocks 1960's film 'Psycho'.At the time it scared the nation but now appears tame when compared with full on movies such as 'Saw'(and the other 6 movies in the franchise) and 'The Human Centipede'.
The infamous 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' was banned in several countries after its release in 1975 (despite being inspired by the same real life story as 'Psycho')but was then legalised again due to popular demand.Why do we want to watch something that has been deemed so unsuitable for us it is legally forbidden to view?'A Nightmare on Elm street' has 9 movies in its franchise and 'Halloween' has 11 also proving high demand .''People go to horror films because they want to be frightened or they wouldnt do it twice'' says Jeffrey Goldstein, Professor of social and organisational psychology at the university of Utrecht in the Netherlands.He believes its the proving we can tolerate it that drives us to watch them.
If this is true, should we watch them?Joanne Cantor PhD director of the centre of communications research at the university of Wisconsin, Madison believes they will have a negetive effect on us in years to come as they evoke negetive emotions in us.
Good or bad for us, the number of scary films almost doubles around Halloween and many of them make millions at the box office.At the same time of year, children of all ages dress up on the 31st of October in an attempt to frighten each other in keeping with the annual tradition.Is our love of fear just us echoing childhood memories of Halloween as it's something we have grown up with at that time of year or could there be something more sinister going on inside all of us???
COD