There is a very specific set of philosophies behind the inclination to enjoy horror films, a few of them being the theory that the gore and freakish content shown on the screen satisfies a dark, cruel part of the human mind and persona- “the beast within” as stated by Malcolm Turvey, director of the Film and Media Studies program and professor. He also goes on to say that while the genre of horror is thought to be one of low dignity and has a ‘trashy’ reputation for appealing to the most basic and vice-filled human desires, the art of the film is capable of intense complexity and exploration of very diverse themes, often being very raw and unfiltered- very much like the genuine human experience.
This further splits into the idea of demographics attracted to this genre; according to statistics from psychcentral.com, men tend to watch more horror films than women do. This is said to coincide with the concept of masculinity and feeling internal validation when a horror movie with life threatening themes or violence does not scare the man watching, a means of feeling tough and traditionally masculine. In the earlier eras of this art, the visuals were also catered to a male gaze- hardly clothed women, women being brutally murdered, chased, crying, being in pain, or generally falling into discomfort due to a male antagonist. Naturally, this turns most women away from enjoying slasher or other genres of horror that reflect real life- while the media is a mirror to reality, these films depict fears and struggles that seem far fetched to men, but are a harsh truth for women. This same dynamic of a male antagonist and a female victim can be considered a violent male fantasy, appealing to the aforementioned inner beast. It is hard to ignore the spotlight put on women in older 2000’s horror films; we have all seen the ditsy woman who screams too much and is the first to get killed, probably in a skimpy outfit if the antagonist does not rip off or tear parts of her clothing while the actual killing is in progress.
At the same time, there is the flipside to the genre, where a female antagonist goes after a male or group of victims with both genders. While at first glance this seems like it shows a woman or female creature in a powerful position, that position/character is almost always sexualized to maintain the male gaze. While it can be said that all films do depict a desire or fantasy held by someone or the other, this one in particular involves the fantasy of technically having a smart, sexy, violent and deranged female character in the spotlight- and while she may maintain this dominating position for a length of the film, it is wise to remember that she is almost always killed at the end, a final victory for the (usually male) protagonist.
The concept that men are more likely to watch and enjoy a horror film does lie in inherent misogyny and the sexualization of women. It also lies in a bed of toxic masculinity, which prompts them to watch to prove their fearlessness and bravery. The hand of society also has a play in this- considering the themes of these flicks involve the famous sex, violence, and crude language, it would be considered a more masculine form of media for its unrefined humor and explicit content- content ‘no self respecting woman would subject herself to.’
That being said, which films are aimed at women? What do we as an audience consume referring to the female fantasy? Romantic comedies… written by men? Well. Yikes.
One film notably aimed at women with a message women will relate to is Jennifer’s Body by director Karyn Kusama, starring Megan Fox- iconic sex symbol of the 2010’s, and Amanda Seyfried- iconic ‘good girl’, best known for her lead in ‘Mamma Mia!’. With a plot centered around sexual assault leading to a blood sacrifice (of course) which turns antagonist Jennifer into a literal boy-eating demon. The film takes stereotypes in the entertainment industry and uses them as metaphors to highlight the ‘female problem’- which is “the utterly sad fact that women, no matter how much they love each other, are always, always in competition with one another, and it is horrific to see,” according to Megan Fox herself. The film was considered a flop due to a marketing mishap; the movie was heavily advertised as a sexy school-girl slasher flick, contrary to the director's notes and the actual content in the movie. However, while it did not do numbers when it was originally released, it started to gain popularity over the last two years, 2018-2020, thanks to social media & female film critics analysing the real message Jennifer’s Body had put out to the public.
The basic plot revolves heavily around teenage duo Needy and Jennifer, who are stark opposites but of course, joint at the hip in self proclaimed sandbox love, referring to the fact they used to play together as little kids and never grew out of it. As the story goes on and Jennifer starts consuming highschool boys, it gets to a point where Jennifer goes after Needy’s boyfriend in an epid face off at a very gross abandoned old pool. Needy asks “why him?” and throws the fact Jennifer could have anybody she wants, and yet she went for her best friend’s boyfriend. Jennifer doesn’t have a genuine answer. The symbolism of the whole scene highlights the silent competition women, no matter how close and how much they love each other, are always in- and how it is always somehow affiliated with the opposite sex. Men are treated as a temporary fix to Jennifer's demon problem, while the only characters that are properly developed are the two female leads. Essentially, men become a power up drink. There is a reason men did not enjoy this movie all that much. Catered to women as a movie about the underlying effects of living in a patriarchal society, it embodies a cry only women can really grasp and find relation within.
Aside from a gender demographic, horror films are also more widely consumed by younger people looking for a thrill or rush of adrenaline, similar to a rollercoaster or a haunted house. One might say that the elder generation could be considered more sensitive to extreme content despite them experiencing the effects and real-life horrors of war; this is for two major reasons. Entertainment media can be media that allows an escape from real life while still relating or mirroring it; it is a commonly held idea that horror films take a bad situation and make it worse.
The elder generation, having seen and experienced the tragedies of real life through experiences that come with age, might not want to see media that reminds them or brings them back to that memory. Another reason would be the exposure the younger generation as already received when talking about tragedy and horror- while maybe not having seen it with their own two eyes, the internet generation has seen and heard almost double the explicit content experienced by others, and as they are only interacting with it through a screen, they are desensitized to it and do not hold it with much gravity, therefore seeing it as just another slightly different type of content.
This also means that when there are films containing plotlines that this younger generation inherently relates to, such as social media and the dangers that follow it, there is a massive chance the warnings of the movie can be taken lightly- and at the same time, as they are young, if the message is frightening enough to make an impact on the way they behave, they can very easily be considered traumatized- no director really aims to traumatize their audience and would much rather simply dabble in the art (I assume) and it becomes a question of where art meets real life problems. Documentaries are their own genre of course, and though enjoyed by many, the hype differs between them and full fledged horror movies.
So, that concludes this little dive into horror film demographics and the feminism in between the lines of so called trashy movies. Next we’ll go into the stereotypes in romantic comedies and how they negatively impact our perception of what falling in love is like.
Thank you for reading,
Yours in passion,
The Attic Team
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