What is Horror?

I would like to make a list of my favorite horror movies, but first I have to answer the question, "What makes a horror movie a horror movie?"

One criterion that may come to mind would be the presence of non-human or super-human creatures as antagonists (monsters/aliens/evil psychics). But one quickly runs into problems with this criterion. For one thing, there are movies with wholly human antagonists that most people would still want to classify as horror. Many of the classic "slasher" film movies of 70s and 80s, like Silent Night, Deadly Night, or the Scream franchise from more recent years, feature psychopaths as the antagonists, for example. What's more, many films that DO feature non-human creatures as antagonists wouldn't quite fit. Take the Underworld franchise; those stories fit more into the fantasy-action genre than the horror genre, despite the main characters being vampires and werewolves.

So if a horror movie isn't defined by the characteristics of the antagonist, what does define horror? Another contender for the essence of the horror genre is the attempt to elicit fear. Maybe what makes a horror movie a horror movie is that it tries to make the audience feel horrified. But this, too, has some problems. There are many films where the audience is clearly meant to feel fear that few would classify as horror. In thrillers and action films, much of the dramatic tension comes from the audience feeling anxious about the characters' peril. In a film like The River Wild (one of my favorites from the thriller genre), the antagonists are dangerous psychopaths who put a family in peril. The dramatic tension during the entire film surrounds whether the family will survive or not.

So what makes The River Wild a thriller, while Silent Night Deadly Night is considered a horror film? They both have psychopaths putting innocent people in peril.

I think maybe the essence of horror is its underlying message: evil is a powerful presence on earth that can destroy you, your life, and your loved ones at any given moment. You are never, ever safe. You, in your house or in the theater, on your couch or comfy stadium seating chair, are not NEARLY as safe as you believe yourself to be. In a thriller, the message is, "YOU yourself are safe, but once in a while, people out there in the world stumble into some bad situations, and they often can get out of them. It could possibly be you, but it probably won't be." In horror, escape from the horror may or may not happen, but if it does happen, it's because of luck. In a thriller, bad luck gets people into bad situations. In horror, it's only good luck that gets people out of bad situations. In horror, death for all is probable. In a thriller, death is possible.

So, I guess that's my definition of horror. A horror movie is one that instills fear by sending the message that evil is real, pervasive, unpredictable, only avoidable by luck, very powerful when it manifests itself, and hell bent on killing you and everybody you love.