What Makes a Horror Movie Scary?

The movie industry would suffer greatly if there were no horror films. Every year, producers, writers, and directors apply their skills to one of cinema's oldest genres. But along the way, something has happened to horror films. Many of them are still entertaining to some degree. But very rarely anymore do these films really have the ability to frighten. Many of the movies brought to the big screen in recent years fit into the PG-13 horror thriller category. But viewers are finding these films a bit lukewarm. So what does it take to make a really scary film? Here are some theories...

Elements of the Extreme

The reason why movies like "Friday the 13^th", and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" were so terrifying in the 1980's is because they provided elements of the extreme. In both films, a murderous culprit (or culprits) could readily be identified. But the extreme nature of the violence is what kept viewers' eyes glued to the screen when these movies were first released. While murder is an everyday occurrence in society (even some as gruesome as the ones depicted on screen), seeing someone getting split in two with an axe is much more disturbing than hearing about a stranger who's been killed in a random drive-by shooting.

This is why more recent films like the "Saw" Trilogy have been so successful. The murderer's twisted, and bloody survival games in the "Saw" films tested the limits of the average viewer's imagination. People that watched the movies put themselves in each of those trying situations. Doing so made the film that much more intense.

The Soundtrack

Everyone knows that the key to having a successful horror film is the appropriate use of sound. Traditional horror films have fairly predictable soundtracks and scores. It is often extremely easy to predict when the frightening parts are about to take place, based on the forboding tunes played immediately beforehand. Another common trick that producers and directors like to employ, is placing the music right before the scary part, ending it suddenly (providing the audience a false sense of relief), and then resuming immediately, just as the next "shock" appears on screen.

This formula has worked for several years, and it continues to be a staple of the horror genre. But much like a magic trick seen multiple times, it loses its allure after awhile.

Truly scary films are excellent at creating a mood that isn't too obvious. For instance, in the movie 2003 thriller, "High Tension", the director limits his use of sound to the noises of the killer's boots creaking as he walks across the floor in search of his victims. There is music in the film. But the most horrible scenes are usually prefaced with abstract noises, though most of the horror is relatively quiet.

Ironically, the eerie sound effects used in "The Hills Have Eyes" remake are just as impressive. They should be, considering that director Alexandre Aja was at the helm of both films. When movie makers employ sounds that are successful in making the audience nervous, that is when a truly horrifying atmosphere has been created. The viewer is now at the mercy of the film.

Another trick that works in some films is omitting sound completely. Sometimes, using music as a "cue" for the scary parts is distracting. For example, if you were alone in a house and saw a ghost, you wouldn't have a musical warning. Therefore, when directors opt for no sound in introducing their frightening material, the scares often seem and feel more authentic.

The Unexplained

It is no secret that people are most afraid of what they don't know or understand. Consider the fact that while most people are not afraid of death, they are deathly afraid of the manner in which they will die. In essence, it is the unknown---the unexplained phenomena in life that causes a huge sense of discomfort.

That being said, horror movies that employ gross examples of the unexplained tend to be far more frightening than those films which center on a specific [human] killer. Stories about ghosts, the occult, and human possession are fascinating because to this day, these subjects are still ultimately a mystery. While people know that the action in the films is not real, the subject matter itself is enough to cause some people a lot of anxiety; it is one thing to tell someone that what they're seeing is not real. But in real life, when similar incidents (like the presence of ghosts) occur, it only validates the fact that what is being seen on film could possibly happen.