Why Horror Movies Still Grip the Viewers?

The roots of horror genre dates back to the days of film making itself. In 1896, Georges Melies with his Le Manoir du diable (The House of the Devil) became the first filmmaker to have made a horror film. Horror films typically incorporate elements of fantasy, science fiction, black comedy and thrillers. 

Watching horror movies evoke dark feelings of thrill, shock and suspense.  In its early phase horror films were inspired by popular characters in classic literature such as Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and The Phantom of the Opera. Changes in technology made its impact on the texture of horror films. They bid adieu to Gothic element and embraced science fiction in a big way. 

Appeal

According to psychologists, horror movies address the crass instincts with their gore, frightening monsters, dollops of insanity and the supernatural. Enjoying an avid fan following, horror films make good money at the box office.

In the view of Jeffrey Goldstein, a professor in social psychology, “People watch horror movies because they like to be frightened”.  He argues that the audience enjoys the adrenaline rush, the distraction it provides from mundane life and the voyeuristic opportunity to watch the horrific from a safe distance.

Classic Horror Films

In the 1950, the new trends were signified by The Thing from Another World and Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers. They conveyed the paranoia without resorting to direct exploitation of the events of the day.

Today the the horror genre has come of age. The imprints of masters such as George Romero, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, John Landis and Frank Darabont have contributed to its growth and innovation.

The last few decades also saw many average, mediocre and good horror films making  their calibrated presence. Horror movies such as Drag Me to Hell, Zombieland, The House of the Devil, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight series, 30 Days of Night, Daybreakers, Thirst and Let the Right One continue really enriched the genre in many ways.

In the new millennium, the year 2005 was a watershed; it showed an overdose of creativity with the likes of The Blair Witch Project and The Sixth Sense enjoying super acclaim and success. The Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Interview with the Vampire, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Vampire in Brooklyn succeeded in showcasing newer facets of horror.

The piece cannot be concluded without a tribute to the stupendous success of horror flick Paranormal Activity which brought many laurels to its unknown filmmaker who made a record with its lowest  ever production cost ($15,000) and an exciting box office collection of more than $85 million.  The arrival of horror movies online is giving an extra boost to the genre. It is true that horror movies have many strange ways!

Thrillers Give a Therapeutic Effect to the Viewer

Action movies provide tension, thrills, energy, and high-impact action aided by special effects and fast-paced storylines. The episodes can involve action such as explosions, car chases, aerial chases, fist fights and gun fights. In advanced thrillers, the storyline may carry elements of espionage and heroism.

Targeting teens, youngsters who are adventurous and love to get their adrenaline going thriller genre comes in many sub segments such as Superhero Film: Action Thrillers: Action-Adventure: Crime Action: Espionage Action: Futuristic/Sci-Fi Action.

Alfred Hitchcock is the father of suspense and thriller movies. His movies portrayed fear and fantasy in the protagonists who are mostly innocent people. Caught in tight circumstances on which they have no control or understanding, these protagonists are forced into a journey of mystery and the struggle to wriggle out of their dark destiny.

Mentioning a few thrillers that caught our fancy in the not so remote past will be worthwhile. They are The Final Storm: The Business of Strangers: Captive Women: The Cool Surface: The Wilby Conspiracy and Don’t Bother to Knock.

Now the experience of watching a thriller can be intellectually summarized like this. Thrillers can set our heart pounding. They provide booster doses of thrill and leave us aghast at the fact that we can fall prey to the circumstances. The appeal of thriller movies will never wane at a time watching thriller movies online has emerged as a great opportunity.

In short, a thriller satisfies our inner urges to explore the hitherto untouched aspects of lives. Watching a  thriller movie amounts to putting a bright torchlight into the unexplored, inexplicable avenues of our mind to ignite wonder and curiosity perpetually.

Romance Movies: Immortalizing Love

“Romance, who loves to nod and sing,
With drowsy head and folded wing,
Among the green leaves as they shake
Far down within a shadowy lake…”

This is how Edgar Allan Poe described his perception of Romance in the quoted poem.   

Yes, romance is always in the air. It was and will stay as the main component in movies. Who can forget Brokeback Mountain and Pride and Prejudice that sent people weeping and made its way to many Oscar awards for cinematic excellence? 

The all time romantic hits admired by all romantics are a handful. Movies like The Notebook, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, You've Got Mail, A Walk to Remember, Casablanca, Titanic, City of Angels Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,  Lake House, Moulin Rouge will definitely find a place in the elite list of romantic movies.

Despite charges of weaving the movies around a set formula like boy meets girl, girl likes the boy, and after a few silly events and jokes wedding bells ring and love conquers all hostilities. Sometimes the idea may look simple yet archaic, romantic movies do present an amiable cocktail of emotions and carry the audience. They bring joy, smiles, laughter and unravel the beauty of love in life.

Romance movies are timeless; sometimes escapist stuff too. The appeal of romance is kept alive. No matter how happy or tragic the ending is, romantic movies are loved for keeping the dream alive.

There are many factors that make a romance movie click.

Quite often the leads in the movie become very 'likable' to the target audience who believe they are lovers or can be lovers in real life. Meg Ryan, the romantic queen in late 80s gave amazing performances in 'When Harry Meet Sally' and 'Sleepless in Seattle' with Billy Crystal and Tom Hanks. Her chemistry with the actors in both clicked and gave the movies critical and commercial success.

The movie adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (2005) was a nice romance of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Darcy. It effectively portrayed the 'games' that both played with each other until they eventually fell in love.

A killer element in a Romantic movie can be the song or soundtrack of the movie that enhances the romantic experience. It can be a pop song sung by the popular artist and a chart buster. The song "My Heart Will Go On" sung by Celine Dion in the movie Titanic was a killer hook in the success of the movie as a commercial hit. Throughout the movie, the song appears either in the form of a short music clip or instrumental background.

Classic Films In High Demand

Thanks to the explosion of online movies there is a new revival to watch classic movies. A classic means a great film. Questions like how well-known or how long that movie has been around are immaterial in deciding the worth of a film as a true classic. Generally classic movies are the best in the history of cinema. The general perspective is that the longer the movie is around, longer will be its status as a classic. Great films, essentially classics provide new insights and fresh analyses. Black and white films, films without sound and films in other languages are examples of it.

Those movies are bigger than real life. The recent launch of Warner Brothers Archive for classic movies testifies to this new demand. Online movie sites including ‘Moviesinsanity’ play a catalytic role in feeding the demand to watch classic movies online.

There is a new market for TV reruns of the old classic movies. The real classics, of yesteryear had human themes and memorable characters adapted from classic literature and popular novels. The great classics were made in 1939, generally called the Golden Year of Movies.

Warner Brothers launched the Warner Brothers Archive for classic movies covering everything that customers needed from an online shop. They can be accessed on the basis of the genre or decade, and the on-demand DVD’s are “burned”.  Good movies entertain, enthrall and move us emotionally. Once they have conquered our hearts and brains the nostalgic pull to see them again and again will pulsate in our minds. That is the magic of classic movies.

Comedy Movies Rule the Roost in Online Movies Market

It is universal that laughter is the best medicine that can cure all worries. World-over comedy movies and videos are having a dream run as people favor them over the sob stories of 24-hour news channels. For people battling so many tensions and anxieties watching comedy movies is a matter of great relief.  It is also a trend that in times of distress like economic crisis or natural calamities people watch comedies more as an escape valve from harsh conditions.  



The recent box office success of several laugh riots reinforces this. Movies like I Love You Man, The Hangover, The Invention of Lying, Extract, Year One, Land of The Lost, Funny People, Bruno The Informant and Bad Teacher were all lapped up by people for their ‘therapeutic effect”. The comic relief takes away the mental tension, anxieties and worries.   In the end it leaves a smile on your face!.  



Humor filled movies are also loved for their ingenuity. Making the audience cry is not a big deal; but making them laugh is a tough job. That is why comedy movies hold big sway over all age groups irrespective of nationality or language. As you know laughter is infectious.



There is nothing like a good laugh. It instantly lifts the mood and energy of a person. In fact, a good belly laugh is a kind of tonic to the stomach muscles and heart.



Movie lovers do vouch for the rejuvenation coming from a hilarious comedy film. People forget themselves when they see comedians like Jerry Seinfeld, Bill Cosby, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ricky Gervais in action.



The high demand is very visible in the online movie sector also. Online movie websites are vying to woo viewers with bunches of comedies that capture all cinematic guffaw.



May be the economic recession has added a new spin to the demand for Hollywood comedies. People see them as an antidote to the economic woes! So do not dither. Go for your favorite comedies this weekend and experience the change!  Release all your stress and tension that haunted you in the entire week.