Page 35 - Seniorstoday Nov 2024 Issue

more fun when there are others to share true crime, and morbid curiosity, who
the humour or the fear. They are also
popular date movies – the somewhat sexist
assumption being that terrified girls will
cling to their boyfriends, making them feel
more protective and manly.
Horror films with supernatural elements
have a different impact than slasher movies
with their blood, gore and violence that
evoke disgust.
According to a piece by Daniel Parris
in statsignificant.com. who has done an
extensive statistical study of the genre,
“Horror movies command significantly
smaller budgets than the average film, with
adventure, Sci-Fi, and animation projects
typically receiving five times the funding
of scary movies. As such, horror films
don’t have to achieve blockbuster grosses
to turn a profit. Better still, when it comes
to scary movies, there is little correlation
between a project’s critical acclaim and
box office performance. Horror films
come with a loyal built-in audience, much
like superhero franchises or Star Wars
spin-offs—this fandom will reliably show
up to theaters, often agnostic of quality.
When we bucket movies by average user
review, sorting films into quality quartiles,
horror flicks enjoy strong returns for
low-scoring projects and outstanding
returns for acclaimed works—significantly
outperforming other genres. A bad horror
movie makes for a good investment, while
a decent drama will likely lose money for
its producers. Scary movies are one of
the few “sure things” in a film industry
marked by ever-declining ticket sales—a
phenomenon largely driven by the genre’s
unique fanbase.”
He cites the work of University of
Chicago researcher Coltan Scrivner, a
leading expert on the science of horror,
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #65 | NOVEMBER 2024
has conducted extensive research on the
appeal of horror. “Further qualitative
research indicates that individuals with
heightened anxiety may gravitate toward
horror films as a way of confronting and
controlling their fear in a safe environment.
Scrivener and his colleagues at the
University of Chicago suggest that horror
fans often exhibit greater psychological
resilience during times of stress, possibly
due to their engagement with fictional
threats as a means of preparation (even
if this “preparation” is unintentional). A
2020 analysis by Scrivner and Aarhus
University’s Recreational Fear Lab found
a strong link between a subject’s horror
fandom and their ability to cope with the
stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those
who identified as consumers of horror
films or demonstrated “morbid curiosity”
had higher levels of positive resilience
and preparedness in tandem with low
levels of psychological distress. The
study also found a positive relationship
between the quantity of pandemic-oriented
content consumed pre-COVID-19 and a
participant’s mental preparedness.”
Image courtesy: variety.com
Moviegoers entertained by the antics
of Rooh Baba and Manjulika, or Stree’s
blood-curdling gaze, would not analyse
their responses to horror with any degree
of seriousness, but if they did, they would
realise why being scared at the movies has
a science behind it, before the creativity
even comes into play.
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