Is Horror in Video Games More Effective Than in Movies?

There are some terrifying horror movies that have come out in recent years, but somehow no matter how scary they are, they never really come close to the fear that good horror video games generate. Though horror video games don't usually get as much attention, I feel like most of the time they really are a lot scarier, and the reason for that is in no way coincidental.

First of all, and most importantly, horror games have something that horror movies simply can't - a consequence for your actions. If a hideous creature is running after you and you can't run fast enough, nobody will run in and save you at the last moment, you'll simply die and have to keep doing it until you win. Most movies have a plan to put characters in dangerous situations, but don't plan to kill them off in those situations (or, otherwise, quite obviously plan to kill them off). This adds an element of predictability to movies that games can't have, simply by definition. In a horror video game, you cannot sit back and watch the proceedings, you have to earn your way to the next level without getting killed, which makes people's adrenaline pump much more because they can't be so sure that everything will be okay.

Also, in general, games have more time to pull off these effective scares and don't have to worry quite as much about pacing. A game places you in a scary situation and makes you do something about it, whereas a movie placed a character in a situation and then pulls them through various plot elements or staged scares. This can be very scary, but not as scary as when you are placed into a building you have to make your way through, knowing that creatures can be hiding anywhere and you must come upon them at your own pace. Also, sometimes character development is necessary to provide good scares, and obviously a 10 hour game has much more time to do this than a one and a half or two hour movie.

There are also a lot of things in horror movies that came make them unoriginal, and no longer able to be taken seriously, such as the aforementioned example in which a character gets rescued at the last moment. Game developers don't rely on these moments because they don't have to, since you're the one who's in control. Therefore, games are a lot less prone to trite conventions (except for the occasional jump-at-you scare) and have more potential when you're surrounded by an overwhelming amount of dreadful creatures. Because in a movie, the character either makes it out of that situation or they don't, but in a game, you know only that it's possible to make it out, and that it's up to you to do it.

There are some great horror movies out there, but I don't think any of them can provide nearly enough adrenaline as horror games can. Both types of horror can be very good, but in this situation the game industry quite clearly has more potential.