Assignment 3-1: Horror Movies

This week’s analysis topic is why are horror movies so popular? One reason is people enjoy the part of being scared to death as long as they still have some degree of control over the situation. Some other reasons would be to squirm in your seat, make the hair on the back of your neck stand up, what is that noise in the attic or basement, how afraid are you in the dark, and what would I really do in a situation that happens so often in a horror movie. These are all perfect examples of why horror movies are so popular and stay that way.

Horror movies have been around for over 100 years and have increased in popularity over this time. The improvement of special effects is possibly the main reason; the blood, gore, make-up, and the costumes all look very realistic. There are also several different genres of horror movies, here are some examples: Horror classics, creatures, cult classics, comedy horror, monsters, science fiction horror, slasher films, and teenage terror. Alien, Godzilla, and Predator are popular in the monster genre. Freddy, Jason, and Michael are popular in the slasher genre. Alfred Hitchcock is popular in the cult classics. This gives you a wide variety of horror movies to select from.

According to Dergarabedian (as cited by La Monica, P. R., 2005), “Horror is one of those genres that have a seemingly inexhaustible supply of audience" (Do you like scary movies?, para. 4). The movies are relatively cheap to produce, but they bring in a moderate profit (La Monica, 2005, Nothing frightening about the profits, para. 4). As Brandon (as cited by La Monica, P. R., 2005) points out, “Horror always has a consistent audience. That doesn't often translate into blockbuster numbers but since they tend to be cheaper anyway, they don't need to do over $100 million" (La Monica, 2005, Nothing frightening about the profits, para. 5). Of course, you always have the option of going to the theater or renting the DVD; either one helps the overall profit of the movie.

References
La Monica, P. R. (2005, September 30). Boo! Scary movies are big business: Horror is helping Hollywood during this year's slump. Do movie fans want more thrills and chills? CNN Money.com. Retrieved October 16, 2008, from http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/30/news/fortune500/horror/index.htm