WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HORROR FILMS?

hor·ror
[hawr-er, hor-]

–noun

1.

an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by something frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting; a shuddering fear: to shrink back from a mutilated corpse in horror.

So why do people decide to put themselves through 2 hours or more of fear?

According to investigators, there are one of two theories:

The first being that the audience isn't actually scared but excited by the film, and the second being that the audience is willing to endure the terror in order to feel the sense of euphoria at the end. In other words, Horror movie viewers are 'happy to be unhappy' because whilst watching the film they experience a mixture of posistive and negative effects simultaneously, i.e. people may not just be scared but also relieved when the threat is removed.

The horror genre has to shift and change as the fears of the audience changes.

 'The Omen' is a perfect example of how the horror genre fitted in with the time of society and the fears of the audience. This 1976 horror about a mother giving birth to a child called Damien whom we later find to be a demonic child believed to be possessed by the devil was one of the most fearful horrors of its era.  It related to the time due to a anti-nausea drug (Thalidomide) in the 1960's given to pregnant women to reduce morning sickness, was causing 10,000 babies being born with some sort of mental or physical derfomity. This controversy was a media epidemic and a panic in society. This was a perfect time for directors as this gave them a new fear as women were scared that their child would be born with a deformity. 

The 2006 remake of 'The Omen' was therefore not as successful as this was no longer a current fear within society and many are now aware that this cannot happen.