Have you ever wondered why people are drawn to watching horror movies? Stephen King, a famous author for his outstanding horror novels, explains why people watch horror films in his article, “Why We Crave Horror Films”. The author examined the possible reasons why people choose to watch horror movies through a psychological perspective. King thinks that “…we are all mentally ill” and watching horror movies is suppose to release that negative energy that is being bottled up inside (King 516). King had both strong and weak arguments why people watch horror movies and he should have added more reasons with support to make his argument stronger.
King expressed some good arguments why people enjoy watching horror films in his article. The one that stood out the most is that people want to show others “that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster” (King 517). People want to present themselves as fearless and powerful. They do not want to be consumed from this “…unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation… (Thomas, Geoff 1). For example, when a boy takes a girl on a date, he wants to show his masculinity and not show signs of weakness.
Although King had some great ideas, however, some of the ideas were not totally agreeable. King stated that people have these “anticivilization emotions – and the function of horror movies is to appeal to those dark elements within ourselves…” (King 516). He is saying that the reason why people tend to watch horror movies is because these movies are like food to our inner monsters. However, people watch horror films for numerous of other reasons such as the adrenaline rush and for the suspense aspect. It is not to fulfill some twisted pleasure.
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King should have added more ideas to make his argument stronger. One argument he could have used is that people enjoy watching horror movies for the thrill and excitement and violence aspect. The suspense and thrill of these movies cause the body to fulfil its “need for affect, which measures the level of intensity at which people want to feel things…” (Romm, Cari 1). This allows all the adrenaline seekers to be able to experience many different emotions. And other individuals just like the violence and action aspect of it. It is known that “…violence has always been a popular subject with moviegoers” (Kendrick, James 25). These individuals like how intense the scene gets at times.
Furthermore, Stephen King’s article explained thoroughly why people watch horror movies. He had good points such as people wanting to show others that they are not scared and that they are tough. However, some of his points were questionable such as the need to watch horror films to please our inner darker self. He could have added more ideas to make his argument stronger such as the thrill and the adrenaline aspect of it.
