The Role of Gore in Horror

With Halloween right around the corner, more people are going to be interested in the horror genre than usual. A common misconception about the genre is that ever horror film is full of senseless violent and gore. A good horror film requires many things. Gore, in no way, shape, or form, is ever a required element of the genre.

First and foremost, a good horror film needs a good screenplay. The screenplay is the foundation of film. It defines what the story is going to be about, how it will be told, and allows the director the ability to shape the audience's impression of the film. Horror films with gore, like the original Black Christmas or Suspiria, have solid storytelling defined by well written screenplays, which allowed for the films to be good. Likewise, non-gory horror films, like The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby, have well written screenplays that work on a psychological level to produce their scares.

Second, a good horror film needs suspense. This is helped out by the screenplay, but falls in the hands of the director and editors to get it done right. A film can have all the kill scenes in the world and be no good because it drags on far too long without moving the story farther. Every horror film requires a different type of pacing to create its suspense. A modern gore film like Scream relied on early exposition to set up the scenario so the latter portion of the film could be one elaborate set piece after another. A modern non-gore film like 1408 slowly developed the story throughout the film without skimping on any opportunity to throw in disturbing visuals and tense scenarios for scares.

Third, a good horror film needs good performances. Many people associate horror films with completely over the top, campy performances, but those same people automatically associate horror films with bad filmmaking. The truly great horror films actually have strong, realistic (based on the rules of the reality of the film) performances that drive what is happening. If you didn't care about Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode in the original Halloween, you wouldn't have cared about what was happening in the film and quite possibly watched just to see who would die; Curtis' performance helped lend a sense of realism to the proceedings, elevating the film from cheap scares to an engaging horror film. Likewise, a non-gore film like The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane has to be entirely run by quality performances; if the characters didn't seem real, the bizarre conceit of the film falls flat, the suspense stops, and the film becomes a lifeless flop. Good performances, more than any amount of gore, will be the final determining factor in the quality of a horror film.

Don't get me wrong. Gore, when used appropriately, can be the icing on a very scary cake when it comes to horror. But gore alone does not make a good horror film. All the blood in the world can't turn a pointless film into a great one.