A Personal Theory of Aesthetic Horror

A fear or paranoia of pain, vulnerability and death, the feeling that someone is watching you, the feeling that your life is in jeopardy. Aesthetic horror is the same feeling as horror but through what we see. It is similar to horror because it is the same feeling as horror. It is different because the threat is not real. For example when I am walking in the woods at night and see someone following me I am experiencing horror. Contrary to when I am safe at home viewing horror and the danger is not real, which is an aesthetic horror.

The appeal of aesthetic horror is the feeling of being alive, it is an adrenaline rush when you have a near death experience. People want to be horrified, to be on their toes, and experience the excitement of a near death experience. All while they are safe and sound on their couch. “The dark lighting, the long steady-cam shots, and (most importantly) that damn eerie music create the most claustrophobic and uncomfortable scenes I have yet to see in film. There is a body count, but compared to the slew of slashers after this it's fairly small. That and most of the murders are nearly bloodless. The fear is not in death, but in the not knowing.”

An example of aesthetic horror is in, Halloween. When Michael Myers grabs Annie from the back seat of the car stranglers her. This scene makes us all paranoid so when we are out driving by ourselves at night we always have a little bit of fear and paranoia. Why go through this? Fans of Aesthetic horror go through this in pursuit of an adrenaline rush. Another example is the appeal of turning an everyday task into something scary is in Us Movie Scene. The scene where Adelaide goes to the fun house which is on the beach. When she’s walking through the dark room with mirrors and runs into the person who is a mirror image of her. (Us Movie Scene) This is an example of the appeal of turning everyday things into an adrenaline rush.

The appeal to aesthetic horror is the adrenaline rush you get from being a little bit paranoid all the time. An example of this is when, (Us) Jason tells everyone, “There is a family in our driveway,” This simple line lets the audience know that something is about to happen.This turns the simple act of a car pulling into your driveway or someone walking in your driveway into a terrifying event. And then directly after the event is over you are rewarded and flooded with adrenaline. The societal value horror has is that it makes everyone a little paranoid which not only gives people joy but makes them extra safe. For example when in, Halloween 1987 when Michael stalks and kills babysitters it makes people think and be conscious when they are being watched. This in turn makes people safer. Another example the appeal of aesthetic horror is making coincidences even eerier. The movie makes the victim think that there is someone bigger pulling the strings an example of this is when the victim and the audience realize that the man who is on the stretcher is holding a sign that says, 'Jeremiah 11:11' which is the same sign that the guy Young Adelaide sees on the beach has. This scene messes with the viewers head and makes them instantly confused and horrified. Part of the popularity of aesthetic horror is how each movie takes on what is going on in society today. An example of this is with racism as well as the militarization of police in, The Ballad of Black. In this movie Tom Undermines the police’s shootings as well as the common militarization of police, especially where minorities live.The movie highlights the racism that has always been present in America.

Personally one of the scariest parts about horror movies is the Children. They always seem so vulnerable and innocent but yet not. It is really scary and weird when they are obviously possessed. One particularly creepy scene is when in the, Paranormal Activity series, when the child comes out of the mud and then finds his way to the really creepy room. One of the most unsettling parts of kids in horror movies is what they look like when they do basic things while possessed. For example, a young possessed kid walking down a dark hall is scary due to the blank look on his face.

One of my favorite techniques used in aesthetic horror is when the filmers show something part way, whether it is with shadows, aperture, just not showing the full scene, it adds a sense of unknown and lets our imagination take off in a fearful spiral.An example of this is in, the Paranormal Activity series, when the filmers show the dark lady starts walking towards the bed where arthur is. This is scary because we do not know who she is or what she wants, we face the unknown which is scary. Aesthetic horror is the using of people irrational fear, paranoia and fear in general to tell a story.The requirements for a good aesthetic horror movie is something that is believable and possible as well as good storytelling through film. An example of this is, Insidious, which would be a bad movie if it wasn't for the excellent storytelling. Another example is, Halloween 1987, The film makers use a very simple plot where Michael stalks and kills babysitters. They only use the basics, no flashiness. It's Carpenter's overpowering use of fear and dread that makes the movie good. The filmers use foreshadowing, like every good aesthetic horror movie, and always have suspense. The last trick is that all good filmmakers leave not an ounce of doubt in the minds of their viewers.

One of the things that makes horror such a popular drama is because the viewers who enjoy horror enjoy the murder and death and would do the same if they could. “The beast within” is the most popular theory explaining the genre’s popularity, according to Turvey. “It argues that an unconscious, repressed part of every human is actually savage; that the veneer of civility is very thin, and beneath that is essentially a monster,” Turvey said. “According to this idea, although we consciously disapprove of what the monster is doing, deep down part of us enjoys seeing the murder and mayhem the monster unleashes—because if we could, we would do that.” To sum that up the genre of aesthetic horror is enjoyed because its fans wish that they had supernatural powers that allowed them to dominate over other humans.

However in my experience with horror movies I did not want to be the killer but I did feel terrified. To understand this I researched why humans like the feeling of fear in horror movies? The answer is that we don't. “The first is that the person is not actually afraid, but excited by the movie. The second explanation is that they are willing to endure the terror in order to enjoy a euphoric sense of relief at the end.” This quote explains that humans don’t enjoy the fear but would either push through it for the relief or are not scared by it.

The part of the brain that reacts to horror movies is not the logical but the survival part of the brain. This means that the brain doesn’t digest of try and understand what is on the screen but instead releases adrenaline into your body. “Scary movies bypass the conscious parts of the brain to tap directly into the fight or flight response. It begins in the amygdala, which evolved to respond immediately to anything that looks like a threat, regardless of how real it actually is. The amygdala sounds the alarm to your body, first activating the hypothalamus, which tells your adrenal glands to inject you with a big boost of adrenaline. This causes the heart to pump faster and faster, delivering more oxygen to the muscles in case you need to fight something or run away.”

In today's world the most pressing issues that terfy us is being overcontrolled by big brother, militarization of police, politicians and the fear of nuclear war. The monsters are our leaders. They are rich, in power and untouchable. Their weaknesses are people rising up against them and revolting. Their goals are to maintain power and to keep their money. The victims of these monsters are the people of which they rule over.