Can the Horror Genre be Redeemed? -  713 days ago

 

Is Horror a genre that can be, for lack of a better word, redeemed? That’s the question that was posed a month or so ago on the Christian Filmmakers e-mail list. There have been quite a few interesting responses. A quick summary of some of the thoughts and ideas posed:
– Horror touches on the supernatural, allowing the filmmaker to explore issues of God, angels and demons as an integral part of the genre.

- Does a Christian filmmaker using horror to communicate truth end up just sucumbing to a “frighten people into heaven” mode of communication?

– Think about your audience. Will horror most effectively communicate with them? Also, good and evil are NOT on equal standing, so a horror film that makes the evil the most powerful force might be unbalanced.

-Horror makes bloodshed and evil acts what the audience looks forward to, instead of dreading those events. Wouldn’t suspense be a better genre to accomplish some of the same storytelling goals?

– Horror focuses on irrational fear. Irrational fear isn’t healthy. If you’re promoting fear, wallowing in fear, glorifying fear, there’s something wrong with your story.

- One quote from a horror actor about the genre:
“There are certian rules to abide by to successfully
survive a horror movie… #1 Never have sex, sex =
death… #2 Don’t drink or do drugs, sin factor. and #3 never ever under any curcumstance say I’ll be right
back cause you won’t be back.”

Well, there was more to the discussion. I just don’t have the time to condense it. What do you think about Horror? My personal viewpoint is that to “redeem” horror would probably result in a totally different genre, so then the question would be moot. And the brief time I was a horror fan in my teens was enough to cure me of ever wanting to dabble in it again – I’m just not into blood and scary things jumping out at me. Any other genres you wonder about “redeeming”?

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