Horror movies are the worst – Northern Iowan

Horror movies have been around for years, and from “Candyman to Carnival of Souls,” to “Paranormal Activity” to “The Conjuring,” nearly every horror movie I’ve seen, with the rare exception, has been horrible. The idea of a film created for the sole purpose of scaring the soul out of its viewers just simply seems illogical to me.

Anytime someone says “I love horror movies,” my jaw drops. How can someone enjoy and love the same films that send chills up my spine and my whole body to tense? Statistically speaking, horror movies can increase your heart rate. Nick Hall’s article about “The Scariest Movies of All Time” states that “Sinister: takes the cake for the scariest movie of all time, with a “difference in resting heart rate to BPM strike of 32 percent.” In the same article, it mentions that BPMs can jump up into the 130s (from resting of 85). These stats all seem crazy to me, it can’t be normal to have that big of a jump while watching a movie. 

Those with anxiety may also have a more difficult time with horror films than others. An article titled “Can Horror Movies be Bad for your Mental Health” states, “watching horrific images can trigger unwanted thoughts and feelings and increased levels of anxiety or panic, and even increase our sensitivity to startle-eliciting stimuli, making those of us who are anxious more likely to respond negatively and misinterpret the sensations as real threats.” Regardless of my feelings, people seem to like horror movies, something about the thrill of being able to watch something scary take place while in the safety of your own home. 

The other day, I watched the film “Hereditary,” and I have spent the last couple of days turning around quickly to see if someone was behind me and sleeping with a light on. According to an article from the Harvard Business Review, there’s something called Post Horror relaxation, defined as, “while we feel highly stimulated during a horror experience, a sense of relief arrives after a positive conclusion of the experience (e.g., the evil entity gets obliterated), triggering the release of endorphins in our brain. This group of peptides can make us feel relaxed and refreshed.” I’d never had that experience before, instead, I spent the following hours anxious and nervous, attempting to convince myself that the movie was not real. 

To me, horror movies seem to be some of the most unpleasant experiences that I have encountered. The few times I have watched horror movies, I’ve found myself so tense, that after the film ends I have to unfold my hands off the pillow, or whatever I’m holding. VeryWellMind, “Because horror movies do such a good job at simulating threatening situations, this means our emotional responses to them are similar to those we’d experience if we encountered a real-life threat,” which makes sense as to why I’m so terrified. 

Overall, horror movies are the absolute worst. With every new horror movie, I try to watch it seems like they just get worse. Though I have a huge amount of distaste for horror movies, I do enjoy films with a storyline like “A Quiet Place” and “It,” but otherwise, the movies just don’t make sense to me.