Fear inspired by horror movie

Today, I feel like putting actuality aside to focus on symbols and rituals. As the leaves are changing colour and falling outside, it reminds me that Halloween is coming and once again this year I'm excited to rush to the cinema to re-watch the great classics of horror or to discover new ones.

Even if a lot of people don't takes the horror movies seriously, they represent a huge portion of the capital of the cinema industry, and they are also the best medium for the transmission of symbols, stereotypes, and rituals. They are easy to understand and normally they expose the myth and their rules without detour or subtlety. The story needs you to understand what  the symbols are or the myth it is attached to, so normally they just present it very clearly. The director also excessively uses the stereotypes so you get attached to the characters very quickly, and he can use them against you to add surprise to the production.

The horror filmmakers really try to attach the production to your worst nightmare to reach the core of your soul and awake your most basic instincts to create FEAR. What is fear? Fear is an instant reaction to danger or the apprehension of danger. It makes you want to run as quick as you can or scream as loud as your lungs allow. Don't confuse it with anxiety, which is a long term reaction to a situation that can't be avoided. Fear is not suspense, it comes after it. You can't control it unless you know what is the outcome of a situation will be.

Often I hear my friends saying: " I wasn't afraid, I just jumped at some point !" Understand, dear friends, this jump is a reaction out of your control. It is your body entering into defense mode. It is fear. You weren't anxious, I agree, but they got you at the second you jumped.

In cinema, fear is controlled, and it's where the thrill is coming from. When I say it's controlled, I mean that you won't jump in the movie trying to defend yourself against a killer or a ghost. You are spectator. You connect with the situation and your connection with the story and the characters make you feel fear, but this fear normally vanishes the second the action ends. Fear reactions in the movie are not the same as you will experience in real life. Here are the more common reactions you will feel when you are watching an horror movie: jumping, sweating, cold hands, shortness of breath, scream, or the urge to close your eyes. To be fair, I have to admit that some of those are also the result of the anxiety, but you can experience them with just fear as well.

The thrill is not coming from those instant reactions, it is coming from the suspense, then the relaxation phase of the body after fear. The movies have to be paced to give you a moment of relaxation, if not your body will never stop being stimulated and you will be tired at the end of the scene. Normally the pace should go like this: suspense, fear, relaxation. It can also go this way: suspense, fear, relaxation, fear, relaxation. Suspense makes the fear and the relaxation moments more efficient. Your body prepares itself to react, then reacts, then relaxes. Often, you can observe this phenomena in cinemas just by listening the audience. In suspense situation people will be very silent - the most stressed people can chuckle to try to relax before fear. Then, you will often hear little screams, surprised exclamations, or see people jump in their seat at the fear moment. Finally, at the relaxation phase, people are often laughing or just exhaling deeply. It is a lot of fun to go to cinema to just experience the audience ambiance. If you've never done it, you should try it, it is a real thrill.

A lot of people are addicted to those fear moments. They like the loss of control, the feeling of unconsciousness, or just the perfect moment of relaxation it gives. In some cases, it can also cause anxiety issues or numbness. Everything can be abused with consumption. If you are experiencing those troubles, you should stop your horror consumption and meet a health professional. I'm going a bit extreme on this one, but a lot of people don't take those trouble seriously. So, be responsible.




If you are looking for a good experience, you can also consider video games that involve you at another level. To experience fear without excess of suspense, you should try The House, a free game very simple that was developed by Jaylsgame. Follow this link : http://www.gameshed.com/Scary-Games/The-House/play.html.




If you are looking for a suspense and fear experience, I recommend Slender, another simple game that will test your level of anxiety developed by Parsec Productions. Follow this link: http://slendergame.com/.

I know, I went on the physical and psychological aspect more than on the mythological one. I promise, in my next post, I'm going to analyse a horror movie with my mythologist eyes and give you symbol interpretation and their link to our society.