Different Types of Horror-film Viewers

Student: Ivy Liu 402110219
Professor: Ching Ching Yi
English Composition (1): Classification
2013.12

Different Types of Horror-film Viewers
Horror films have always been a popular genre among the movies. You might wonder: If the film is so scary and terrifying, why are people still willing to spend time and money to be frightened? What are they thinking when they are watching? Generally speaking, these people can be divided into three categories depending on their different motivations.

The first type of horror movie fan is ‘’Excitement seekers’’. This kind of person is usually bold and takes this amusement as a way to relieve their stress in life. The scarier the film is, the more excited they feel. They are straight-faced when the audience is screaming at a particular scene because they do not find anything frightening. As the ‘’dreadful level’’ is getting to the peak, this is the time for them to shrill (while others are senseless because they have already been scared to death). However, it is not because they find the plot horrifying, but because they finally find something REALLY ghastly. Thus, their stress and unpleasant emotions are also swept away at that moment, just as the archaeologists who had been searching for the antiquities for a long period of time and finally found the real treasure would do.

The second type of horror film viewer is ‘’Guts-trainees’’. Due to their timidity, they want to watch horror films to boost their courage. When these people are watching horror films, they often invite a bunch of friends (with some timid while others bold) going together. Why? To begin with, the more people accompany them, the more relieved they feel because they find security. Furthermore, those who are bold will sometimes make jokes about the plots, making them feel not so terrifying. For instance, when a long-haired ghost climbs out slowly from a girl’s television, the joking person might say, ‘’Ha, ha! It would be so awkward if the television were stabled on the wall far away from the floor. That way when the ghost climbs out, it will fall and die on the scene! ’’ These illogical words are so funny that those timid people will forget the scary feelings and laugh out loud with the crowd. As time passes, those timid people can regard the horror film as a comedy. The more films they watch, the bolder they will eventually become.

The third type is the ‘’Great pretenders’’, which means these people dare to watch horror films in reality and have never been terrified by any dreadful scene, but pretend to be timid so as to show that they need protection. Take my friend for example. Watching horror movies during free time is one of her hobbies. Yet, if you do not understand her and only look at her appearance, you can hardly imagine that this little girl likes to watch horror films because she looks so graceful and quiet. She has a boyfriend who also likes horror movies. However, she told me that whenever they watch horror films, she is the one who is screaming and crying. ‘’My boyfriend always held me in his arms when he saw my response, trying to calm me down. What he does not know is that I was actually acting. Come on, who will be scared by that kind of plot? It is not even terrifying. I only want to let him know that I need his protection and affection. ’’ So insidious, isn’t she? However, this has become a common flirting trick for many couples. Recently, going to the theater to watch horror movies has become one of the most popular amusements for couples!

After reading this, you might understand more why people watch horror movies. Next time when you see your timid friends watching horror movies, do not be so surprised. Perhaps they are trying to train their guts, or make a wishful thinking sneakily.